HINDEMITH: “MATHIS DER MALER” SYMPHONY, “TRAUERMUSIK,” SYMPHONIC...

HINDEMITH: “MATHIS DER MALER” SYMPHONY, “TRAUERMUSIK,” SYMPHONIC METAMORPHOSIS. NIELSEN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 and 5. San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt, conductor. London 421 523-2 and 421 524-2 (two compact discs). These first two San Francisco/Blomstedt releases from a 10-disc contract have already been surprise hits on the classical charts. Brilliant sound, explosive playing and uncommon interpretive urgency in Hindemith’s Symphony account for that, supported by a somber “Trauermusik” (with Geraldine Walther the brooding viola soloist) and a sweeping, kinetic Metamorphosis. The Nielsen pair reveal similar virtues, with the Fifth a particularly galvanic effort.