Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Started by tjguitar, April 15, 2007, 06:23:22 PM

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Wanderer

Salvaged from the WAYL2N thread; here it will do more good.

Quote from: Benji on January 28, 2021, 03:19:17 PM
The Korngold Symphony recording from Sinfonia of London (chandos). I regret all the years I didn't know this piece but I'm glad this is the recording that introduced me to this larger than life gem. Almost certainly my most played classical recording of the past 12 months and still a joy.

I'm open to any Korngold recommendations, I'm really not familiar with him at all and it needs to be fixed!

Since you loved the Symphony, I believe the next step should be the masterful Sinfonietta (don't let the title mislead you, it is indeed a proper symphony!), an utterly charming and brilliant work, with a rousing finale full of swagger and good humour. Furthermore, I'd emphatically recommend the Op.23 Suite for 2 violins, cello & piano left hand, the most accomplished among his chamber works. Do prefer the Rowland/Mitchell/Arp/Magalhães, aka "The Korngold Project" version (possibly OOP, but available for streaming). The Forsberg et al. version is also excellent (whereas e.g. the Fleisher et al. version is definitely not).
More recommendations: the (left hand) Piano Concerto (it has been described as "a keyboard Salome"), the Cello Concerto, the Violin Concerto, the Suite from "Much ado about nothing" and the operas Die tote Stadt and Das Wunder Der Heliane. And that's for starters. Happy exploring!

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Wanderer on February 08, 2021, 12:12:13 AM
Salvaged from the WAYL2N thread; here it will do more good.

Since you loved the Symphony, I believe the next step should be the masterful Sinfonietta (don't let the title mislead you, it is indeed a proper symphony!), an utterly charming and brilliant work, with a rousing finale full of swagger and good humour. Furthermore, I'd emphatically recommend the Op.23 Suite for 2 violins, cello & piano left hand, the most accomplished among his chamber works. Do prefer the Rowland/Mitchell/Arp/Magalhães, aka "The Korngold Project" version (possibly OOP, but available for streaming). The Forsberg et al. version is also excellent (whereas e.g. the Fleisher et al. version is definitely not).
More recommendations: the (left hand) Piano Concerto (it has been described as "a keyboard Salome"), the Cello Concerto, the Violin Concerto, the Suite from "Much ado about nothing" and the operas Die tote Stadt and Das Wunder Der Heliane. And that's for starters. Happy exploring!

Good recommendations all - although, once you find yourself engaged with Korngold's style and aesthetic he is remarkably consistent.  Indeed some might consider that a potential weakness - whereas some composers/artists you can chart their development from apprentice works to final masterpieces, Korngold in his teens is recognisably the Korngold of his last years.  To that end I find his early opuses truly remarkable -  and I've enjoyed a lot the recent Naxos disc of the Op.1 Piano trio and Op.10 String Sextet;



A big thumbs up for the Sinfonietta - I like the Chandos version here


although this is another good version and you get the (obilgatory) violin concerto for good measure;



Mentioning the Violin concerto - the original Heifetz is compulsory listening but there are many good versions - Gil Shaham with Previn and the LSO is lovely.  With the operas probably Die Tote Stadt is a good place to start and I still like the RCA recording which introduced most people to the work in the 70's



great cast singing their hearts out........

but like I say - you'll probably enjoy it all now.......

Mirror Image

#223
I tend to prefer Korngold's chamber music and lieder more than his orchestral works or operas. I do still have a soft spot for his Violin Concerto, though and the Symphony in F-sharp major is a knock-out piece if performed with genuine conviction, which, so far, I like the Kempe performance the best of all the ones I've heard.

MusicTurner

The Symphony on Chandos would be my single chosen Korngold CD; it's an ambitious work, and I think that it doesn't necessarily feel as radically conservative, compared to quite a lot of other symphonies up to 1952 (though Webern's, Schoenberg's and Henze's for example are of course more modernist). Some might disagree however.

vandermolen

I enjoyed the John Wilson recording but prefer this one and those by Previn and Kempe:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Symphonic Addict

Listening to this utterly spectacular symphony on a cracking performance. Now I understand the reputation this rendition has gained over the years, it's simply tremendous! Once again I'm especially struck by the slow movement, how poignant and beautiful it is, music to die for. My love for this work is much more cemented now, one of my very favorites.

Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Roasted Swan

QuoteListening to this utterly spectacular symphony on a cracking performance. Now I understand the reputation this rendition has gained over the years, it's simply tremendous! Once again I'm especially struck by the slow movement, how poignant and beautiful it is, music to die for. My love for this work is much more cemented now, one of my very favorites.



For sure the slow movement is the aching heart of this work - a lament for lost Vienna if ever there was.  You are right this remains one of the very finest performances even though it was the first so by definition unfamiliar for the players.  But Kempe is a wonderful and insightful guide.

Irons

Quote from: Roasted Swan on January 27, 2023, 11:44:49 PMFor sure the slow movement is the aching heart of this work - a lament for lost Vienna if ever there was.  You are right this remains one of the very finest performances even though it was the first so by definition unfamiliar for the players.  But Kempe is a wonderful and insightful guide.

Coincidently I listened to this very recording earlier this week. I enjoyed it so much I followed it up with his Violin Concerto which I enjoyed even more. There is otherworldly feel about the work which drew me in.

The problem for Korngold is his name. Smart-arse critics damn him with faint praise so being to appear witty (multiple times) with "more korn then gold".
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Irons on January 28, 2023, 01:19:02 AMCoincidently I listened to this very recording earlier this week. I enjoyed it so much I followed it up with his Violin Concerto which I enjoyed even more. There is otherworldly feel about the work which drew me in.

The problem for Korngold is his name. Smart-arse critics damn him with faint praise so being to appear witty (multiple times) with "more korn then gold".

Whose performance??

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Roasted Swan on January 27, 2023, 11:44:49 PMFor sure the slow movement is the aching heart of this work - a lament for lost Vienna if ever there was.  You are right this remains one of the very finest performances even though it was the first so by definition unfamiliar for the players.  But Kempe is a wonderful and insightful guide.

I was lucky I found it on YouTube. It cries out for a reissue!
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Irons

Quote from: Roasted Swan on January 28, 2023, 07:47:03 AMWhose performance??

Ulf Hoelscher with Radio Orchestra of Stuttgart directed by Willy Mattes.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Irons on January 29, 2023, 12:21:21 AMUlf Hoelscher with Radio Orchestra of Stuttgart directed by Willy Mattes.

One of the first stereo recordings I remember and very good too.  Hoelscher was a fine player - his collection of all the (famously hard) Saint-Saens concerted works has stood the test of time too....

Irons

Quote from: Roasted Swan on January 29, 2023, 01:49:27 AMOne of the first stereo recordings I remember and very good too.  Hoelscher was a fine player - his collection of all the (famously hard) Saint-Saens concerted works has stood the test of time too....

A fabulous box set which has pride of place on my shelves.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Roasted Swan

Just been listening this new release;



The Tippett Quartet play this terrific but horribly hard music spectacularly well.  As a demonstration of ensemble playing under duress(!) its hard to beat.  But the problem is they play just about all of it "pedal-to-the-metal".  In Korngold there is gentleness and nostalgia as well as virtuosity - often within bars of one another.  The Tippetts seem set on emphasising the technical over anything else.  The Dorics on Chandos give little if anything to the Tippetts in terms of address but are more atuned to the range of Korngold's emotions.  I noticed that the leader of the Tippetts is John Mills.  A John Mills - I assume the same person? - leads John Wilson's Sinfonia of London who seem to favour a similar fast and be dammed approach to swathes of their repertoire.  Perhaps Mills has caught Wilson-itis?

lordlance

#235
Korngold wrote lots of orchestral music and film music. Which works and recordings are recommended that are more extroverted in character (aside from Kempe for the Symphony.)
If you are interested in listening to orchestrations of solo/chamber music, you might be interested in this thread.
Also looking for recommendations on neglected conductors thread.

BWV 1080

Quote from: lordlance on April 27, 2023, 06:38:11 AMKorngold wrote lots of orchestral music and film music. Which works and recordings are recommended that are more extroverted in character?

There is the theme from Star Wars


Maestro267

Sursum Corda on Chandos. Plus you get the Symphony-in-all-but-name that is the Sinfonietta as well!

Franco_Manitobain

Enjoying my thrift shop find here, the Korngold quartets.  Unique chamber music.

I thought it was a 'first listen', but upon review in this thread, I had actually listened to this very recording over a decade ago via a library check-out.


Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot