Erich Wolfgang Korngold

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Ok, no problem. That's a work that can work either fast or slow for me.

I enjoyed it but it does not displace Previn as my favourite recording.

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I enjoyed it but it does not displace Previn as my favourite recording.

Yes, Jeffrey. The Previn performance is quite special, indeed.

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I find this to be gorgeous performance of the Suite:



Deeply Romantic feel in this performance and find that it gets better and better with each successive listen.

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Strong recommendation for this. I wrote about it more on the WAYLTN thread:

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Strong recommendation for this. I wrote about it more on the WAYLTN thread:

Jeffrey, do you know the performance of the Suite I posted above? I think you'll rather enjoy this work.

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I received the Kempe world premiere of Symphony in F sharp, so I'll definitely be giving this recording a spin at some juncture (probably over the weekend). I've been drooling over this recording for years and when I finally found a copy for a good price on eBay, I jumped on it.

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Jeffrey, do you know the performance of the Suite I posted above? I think you'll rather enjoy this work.

No, I don't John. I must look out for this. Thanks.

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I received the Kempe world premiere of Symphony in F sharp, so I'll definitely be giving this recording a spin at some juncture (probably over the weekend). I've been drooling over this recording for years and when I finally found a copy for a good price on eBay, I jumped on it.

Excellent. It's the classic first recording.

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Excellent. It's the classic first recording.

Yep and I finished about an hour ago and I LOVED it. So far, this is my reference for this symphony even surpassing Previn on DG.

[Wanderer]

I find this to be gorgeous performance of the Suite:



Deeply Romantic feel in this performance and find that it gets better and better with each successive listen.

Actually, I find this is one of the weakest interpretations of the superb Op. 23. I believe I have reviewed my top recommendation earlier in the thread. The Forsberg et al. and Benjamin Schmid et al. renditions are also excellent.

[Roasted Swan]

Yep and I finished about an hour ago and I LOVED it. So far, this is my reference for this symphony even surpassing Previn on DG.

In many ways the Korngold Symphony - once it got accepted and once it managed to achieve a 2nd recording has been lucky on disc.  You are right - the Kempe is excellent - I think he captures the 'in memoriam' spirit of the work as well as any.  But there are several other versions well worth a mention too which if not the best are well worth a hear.  Welser-Most's Philadelphians are sonically well-suited to the piece and Downes with the BBC PO benefit from Chandos glamour.  The only ones that leave me relatively underwhelmed are Storgards who I find only competent as an interpretation and Albert who I find competent as execution.

My feeling about Wilson - which I expressed the very first time I heard it - is that it is technically astonishing.  Some of the most electric playing of any orchestral work I have heard in a long time.  But somewhere down the line this comes at the expense of the sense of loss and memorial that surely the work should encompass.  Fascinating - as always with Korngold - to compare early and late works.  The Sinfonietta and Symphony almost book-end his career as large-scale orchestral works.  On a compositional level it is remarkable how "fully formed" the teen-aged Korngold was - he creates orchestral sounds in the earlier work that can be heard echoed in the later.  But the key is the change in mood from youthful leaping confidence of the former to regret and loss pervading the latter.  That is where Kempe (and Previn) can tap into literal life experience in a way that Wilson cannot.  A Wilson recording of the Sinfonietta would be interesting for sure.......

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I'd be interested to hear your view of Halffter's recording with the Grand Canary Philharminic which I think you alerted us to. I've now played it a couple of times with great pleasure. I think that it's a very exciting and deeply-felt performance.

[Roasted Swan]

I'd be interested to hear your view of Halffter's recording with the Grand Canary Philharminic which I think you alerted us to. I've now played it a couple of times with great pleasure. I think that it's a very exciting and deeply-felt performance.

I completely agree - I bought it on a whim because - as I mentioned - at the time it was a really cheap download.  I was completely taken aback by how successful it is on every level - artistically, technically and its a pretty good recording too

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In many ways the Korngold Symphony - once it got accepted and once it managed to achieve a 2nd recording has been lucky on disc.  You are right - the Kempe is excellent - I think he captures the 'in memoriam' spirit of the work as well as any.  But there are several other versions well worth a mention too which if not the best are well worth a hear.  Welser-Most's Philadelphians are sonically well-suited to the piece and Downes with the BBC PO benefit from Chandos glamour.  The only ones that leave me relatively underwhelmed are Storgards who I find only competent as an interpretation and Albert who I find competent as execution.

My feeling about Wilson - which I expressed the very first time I heard it - is that it is technically astonishing.  Some of the most electric playing of any orchestral work I have heard in a long time.  But somewhere down the line this comes at the expense of the sense of loss and memorial that surely the work should encompass.  Fascinating - as always with Korngold - to compare early and late works.  The Sinfonietta and Symphony almost book-end his career as large-scale orchestral works.  On a compositional level it is remarkable how "fully formed" the teen-aged Korngold was - he creates orchestral sounds in the earlier work that can be heard echoed in the later.  But the key is the change in mood from youthful leaping confidence of the former to regret and loss pervading the latter.  That is where Kempe (and Previn) can tap into literal life experience in a way that Wilson cannot.  A Wilson recording of the Sinfonietta would be interesting for sure.......

The Symphony in F sharp is a remarkable achievement and I'm quite happy with the Kempe and Previn performances sitting on top. I'll probably end up listening to the Kempe again today at some point.

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Actually, I find this is one of the weakest interpretations of the superb Op. 23. I believe I have reviewed my top recommendation earlier in the thread. The Forsberg et al. and Benjamin Schmid et al. renditions are also excellent.

Oh well. I like it.

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And here they are - The Philharmonic of Grand Canary:

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Here's another photo:

[Click to enlarge]

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Here's another photo:

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Very nice John!
Do you think that their concert hall really overlooks the sea?

PS actually I think it does!

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Very nice John!
Do you think that their concert hall really overlooks the sea?

PS actually I think it does!

Yes, indeed. I checked it out on Google Maps:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alfredo+Kraus+Auditorium/@28.1299713,-15.4578278,15z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sThe+Philharmonic+of+Gran+Canaria!3m4!1s0xc40951c3f26b075:0xefbac9ff16ede6b1!8m2!3d28.1299713!4d-15.4488581

[vandermolen]

Yes, indeed. I checked it out on Google Maps:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alfredo+Kraus+Auditorium/@28.1299713,-15.4578278,15z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sThe+Philharmonic+of+Gran+Canaria!3m4!1s0xc40951c3f26b075:0xefbac9ff16ede6b1!8m2!3d28.1299713!4d-15.4488581

Yes, me too. Great minds etc