Zurich, 30th May 2014
To Whom It May Concern:
In December 2012 I first had the chance to listen to a superior integral performance of Paul Hindemith’s rarely played work for piano “Ludus tonalis” in the Swiss Institute in Rome. I had been invited by the director of the institute to give a short introduction about this important work to the Roman audience. I was deeply impressed by Ms Walker’s rendering of this immensely difficult cycle of fugues and interludes.
When I started planning a concert in memory of the 50th anniversary of Hindemith’s death in the auditorium of Zurich university (Hindemith was professor of musicology at Zurich university from 1951 to 1958) I therefore knew immediately who to invite to play “Ludus tonalis” – Ms Walker was the obvious choice. There could not have been a more worthy setting for this festive occasion on 27th November 2013 than Esther Walker’s seminal interpretation of this major opus.
Regrettably, integral performances of Hindemith’s “Ludus tonalis”, his key work for piano, have been a rarity in concert halls world-wide. Not only has Esther Walker helped to change this situation, her interpretation of this work is outstanding and exemplary in every respect. In the meantime other works for piano by Hindemith played by her have been published on CD; the recordings are of first-rate quality.
I recommend Esther Walker with great enthusiasm.
Professor PhD Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen
Institute of Musicology
Zurich University
(translated from German)