The decline in the reputation of Korngold is one of the scandals of modern
musical times. Like Mozart he declared his genius at a young age. It was
Mahler who declared him a genius when the 10 year-old played him his cantata,
Gold, at the piano, and Puccini who regarded him as "the greatest
hope of German music". He was only 13 when his ballet Der Schneeman
(orchestrated by his teacher, Zemlinksy) was produced at the Vienna Hofoper,
whilst Artur Schnabel was programming his Op.2 sonata. Korngold was still
only 18 when Bruno Walter peformed Der Ring des Polykrates and
Violanta in Berlin. 1923 saw the simultaneous premières of
Die Tote Stadt in Hamburg under Egon Polak and in Cologne with Otto
Klemperer. Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City) was a great success
(although the music has been described as "tawdry - Strauss and Puccini,
plus dashes of Mahler and Debussy, served in syrup. The melody flows like
treacle - and is similarly adhesive" [Andrew Porter]). Clearly Korngold
was a new wunderkind who was able to write wonderful, romantic tunes and
it was this ability that served him well when, in 1935, he moved to Hollywood
to findfame as a composer of film music. He accepted American Citizenship
in 1943. His greatest successes were The Sea Hawk (reviewed below),
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Prince and the
Pauper whilst earning Oscars for Anthony Adverse and The Adventures
of Robin Hood. He was, at the same time, producing other major works:
String Quartet No.2 (1935), Violin Concerto (1945), Cello Concerto (1946),
Symphony (1951) but the critics and musical public were no longer prepared
to regard him as a serious composer. He died in 1957 a forgotten man. It
is only through the cinema and the recording industry that his name has been
kept alive and with a spate of releases in recent years he is once again
being regarded as a major composer.
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Erich WOLFGANG KORNGOLD
Symphony in F sharp;  The Sea Hawk
Suite Oregon SO conducted by James De Preist DELOS
DE3234 |
Max = 5stars
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The Snowman (Act I); Fairy Tale Pictures (Premiere
Recording); Overture to a Drama; Prelude and Carnival from Violanta Matthias
Bamert conducting the BBC Philharmonic CHANDOS
CHAN 9631 [65:41] |
EDITOR'S CHOICE
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD Piano Concerto
in C sharp for the left hand Joseph MARX Romantisches Klavierkonzert
in E Major Marc-André
Hamelin (piano); Osmo Vãnskã conducting the BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra HYPERION CDA66990 |
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD Suite
for 2 Violins, Cello and Piano Left Hand Franz
SCHMIDT Quintet in G Major for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and
Piano Left Hand Leon Fleisher (piano); Joseph
Silverstein and Jaime Laredo (violins); Michael Tree (viola) Yo-Yo Ma (cello)
SONY SK 48253 |
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD
String Quartets Nos 1 (1924) and 2 (1934) Flesch
Quartet ASV CD DCA 1035 [57:31] |
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD
Piano Music Ingrid Jacoby
CARLTON 30366 01102
Fairytale Pictures; Four Little Caricatures; Much Ado About Nothing;
Pierrot's Dance Song (The Dead City); Don Quixote; Four Waltzes for Piano;
Tales of Strauss
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Eric Wolfgang KORNGOLD The
Sea Hawk
Utah SO conducted by Varujan KojianVARÈSE
SARABANDE VSD-47304 [44:28] |
EDITOR'S RECOMMENDATION
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD's
arrangements of Mendelssohn's music for Max Reinhardt's
production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Celina Lindsley (Titania); Michelle Breedt (Fairy); Scot Weir (Demetrius
and Lysander); Michael Burt (Oberon); Rundfunkchor Berlin; Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester
Berlin conducted by Gerd Albrecht.
cpo 999 449-2 [59:58] |
EDITOR'S RECOMMENDATION
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD Die
Kathrin
Melanie Diener; David Rendall; Robert Hayward; Lillian Watson; Della Jones;
BBC Singers; BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins
CPO 999 602-2 3CDs [162:22] |
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD Songs
and Chamber Music
Anne Sofie Von Otter; Bengt Forsberg
2CDs DG 459 631-2 [119:15]
4 Lieder Des Abschieds Op.14, Quintet for 2 violins, viola, cello,
and piano,
Songs of the Clown, 2 Lieder, 4 Shakespearean Songs, 3 Lieder Op. 22, Suite
for 2 violins, cello, and piano (left hand), Marietta's Lied (arr. Forsberg) |
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD The
Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (World Premier Recording
of the complete score)
Carl Davis conducts the Munich Symphony Orchestra
VARÈSE SARABANDE VSD-5696 [65:35] |
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Erich WOLFGANG KORNGOLD
Symphony in F sharp; The Sea
Hawk Suite Oregon SO conducted by James De Preist
DELOS DE3234 [62:00] |
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD
Devotion
William T. Stromberg conducting the Moscow Symphony Orchestra
MARCO POLO 8.225038 [69:40] |
&
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ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD (1897-1957)
String Sextet (1915) String Quartet No 3
(1945)
Flesch Quartet plus others
ASV CD DCA 1062 [59:27] |
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD
Piano Quintet in E Major. Suite Op. 23 (1930)
Kathryn Brake (Piano); George Marsh (Violin); Claudia Chudacoff (violin);
Nancy Thomas Weller (viola), Steven Honigberg (cello).
ALBANY TROY 348 [68:58] |
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March2000
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD Juarez
- The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex - The Sea Wolf
James Sedares
conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Koch International Classics 3-7302-2H1 [60:35] |
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May2000
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ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD
(1897-1957)
Prelude: Act II Die Tote Stadt (1920) 7.25
Sursum Corda overture (1920) 18.36
Baby Serenade (1928) 21.32
Prelude and Serenade from Der Schneeman (1908) 4.42
Interlude from Das Wunder der Heliane (1926) 8.29
Bruckner Orchestra Linz/Caspar
Richter
rec 29-31 March 1999 ASV CDDCA 1074
[61.45] |
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March2001
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Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD
(1897-1957)
Complete works for violin and piano:
Violin Sonata Op. 6 in G
Tanzlied des Pierrot (Die tote Stadt)
Marriettas Lied zur Laute (Die tote Stadt)
Caprice fantastique
Serenade (Der Schneemann)
Gesang der Heliane (Das Wunder der Heliane)
Much Ado About Nothing suite
Sonja van Beek (violin) and
Andreas Frölich (piano)
cpo 999 709-2 [72:05] |
A valuable addition to the Korngold discography that would have
benefited more from more expressive playing. |
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The Complete Piano Music - Martin Jones
NIMBUS
4-CDs NI 5705/8 [5 hrs] |
An
essential survey and I feel sure that they will derive much pleasure dipping
into these four CDs |
