When Paul Hindemith was asked about the importance of Max Reger in his later years, he declared: "Max Reger was the last giant in music. I am simply inconceivable without him." Hindemith did not make this statement lightly; rather, it stemmed from his comprehensive knowledge of music history and compositional technique. With this assessment, he indirectly challenged the prevailing postwar opinion that Reger's obscurity was justified. After 1945, Reger's star seemed to have definitively faded—his works did not receive the same acclaim as Strauss's operas or Schoenberg's twelve-tone music, nor did they experience a revival like Mahler's symphonies.
After 1933, authentic interpretations of Reger's compositions were scarce in Germany, as important performers such as Adolf Busch and Rudolf Serkin were forced into exile. Even Scherchen's radio recordings and the cultivation of his organ and choral works in the 1950s did little to fundamentally alter this situation. The post-war avant-garde viewed Reger's music negatively—it was considered hopelessly outdated and formally inadequate. Only with a postmodern re-evaluation of tonality did Reger's work regain aesthetic relevance.
Hindemith described Reger as the "last giant" because of his instinctive mastery of tonal composition and its sonic and linear possibilities. Like Schoenberg, Hindemith admired Reger's ability to think not "with" but "in" notes and to create music with a natural consistency—comparable to an apple tree bearing fruit. Although Reger confidently forged "new paths" and, as he provocatively remarked in 1907, "rode unwaveringly to the left," he was simultaneously concerned about being considered too modern—a politically explosive accusation in the German Reich, which was equated with suspected sympathies for "social democracy."
Like Schoenberg, Hindemith admired Reger's ability to think not "with" but "in" notes and to create music with a natural consistency—comparable to an apple tree bearing fruit. Reger composed primarily for piano and organ, but he also aspired to write for various ensembles. His works for violin, which permeated his entire artistic career, are particularly noteworthy—from the Sonata for Violin and Piano in D minor, Op. 1, to the Two Romances, Op. 50, for violin and small orchestra. His Violin Concerto, Op. 101, marked a significant milestone in his oeuvre. Premiered in 1908 by Henri Marteau, it is characterized by an impressive density of motivic development.
Despite initial criticism and difficulties in interpretation, the Violin Concerto gained acceptance. Adolf Busch championed it extensively and ultimately conducted the American premiere with the New York Philharmonic. Reger's Violin Concerto remains a force of nature, its grandeur revealed in the simultaneity of line and color, of construction and expression.