Table of Contents
     * 1 The miracle child
     * 2  Success   

     * 3 Hollywood

    Works: 

     * 4 Orchestral and vocal works

     * 5 Piano music and Chamber works

     * 6 Operas

     * 7 Arrangements for operettas

     * 8 Film soundtracks

     * 9 Re-Recorded Film Works

     * 10 Weblinks

 

Korngold conducting the Warner Brothers studio orchestra (Rhino Records)

Biography

Miracle Child Korngold

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was the son of Brno, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic) derived Jewish music critic Julius Korngold, as a successor to Eduard Hanslick for the Neue Freie Presse wrote. His first teacher was Robert Fuchs; later, he was a student of Alexander von Zemlinsky and Hermann Grädener.

Erich Wolfgang was in Vienna as a child prodigy. With eleven years he caused by the composition of ballet mime The Snowman stir, 1910 in the choreography of Carl Godlewski at the Vienna Court Opera was listed. Since he was elected by the Viennese aristocracy promoted. With thirteen years, he wrote the piano sonatas, followed by a drama-overture and a Sinfonietta. Korngold was celebrated as a miracle child. The performances of his works were often youth by prominent music personalities of the early 20th Century as Bruno Walter, Artur Schnabel, Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwangler, Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss.

Success with the dead city

Korngolds opera compositions "Der Ring des Polykrates" and "Violanta" (both 1916), Die tote Stadt (1920), The Miracle of Heliane (1927) had at that time, great success and made him alongside Richard Strauss-for most opera composers of Austria and Germany. His success was probably the most important opera Die tote Stadt.

1924 married Korngold Luzi Sonnenthal, with whom he has two sons. 1926 he received the Art Award of the City of Vienna.

Korngold felt itself as a representative of the modern age. His G-Dur-Violinsonate op 6 was on 9 In March 1919 in Schoenberg's Society for Private Musical Performances played. But he never left the tonality. In the 20s, he took over more and more of the views of his father, a auspesprochener opponents of musical modernism. So he composed 1931, the four small cartoons for children op 19, in which he styles Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartók and Paul Hindemith's caricatured.

Between 1932 and 1937 to music Korngold the basic fabric of the novel The maid of Aachen (Zsolnay Verlag, 1931) by Henry Edward Jacob (1889-1967) to the opera Die Kathrin. The libretto and the draft text comes from Ernst Decsey (1870-1941). The premiere took place on 7 In October 1939, the 50th Birthday Jacobs, in Stockholm. Only on 19 In October 1950, the opera in Vienna for the Austrian premiere.

Hollywood

1934 followed Korngold invitation of Max Reinhardt to Hollywood to promote his film A Midsummer Night's Dream (A Midsummer Night's Dream), the film musical based on Mendelssohn's music drama to arrange. Korngold had with Reinhardt in Europe for the treatment of the operetta Die Fledermaus and La Belle Hélène cooperated. With the work on the Summer Night's Dream Korngold set new standards in the young history of film music: he enlarged the orchestra of dance-band weight to Symphonie-Orechester-Stärke. He took part in a directed to the language of the actors to the rhythm of the music. Partial he wrote dialogues themselves Korngold fit the music of Mendelssohn's dramaturgy Reinhardt, composed in the style of Mendelssohn's long passages new, as Mendelssohn's music zeitmäßig by far not enough, in part by using images from other works of Mendelssohn's. The reviews on the film prompted Reinhardt, no other film. The music Korngolds was unanimously praised.

In the next few years, he spent the winter in California as a film composer of the Warner Brothers. For 1936 resulting film Anthony Adverse he received in the following year the Oscar, the second 1938 for The Adventures of Robin Hood. These and his other works were characteristic of the entire industry. [3] In total, he wrote between 1935 and 1946 the music for 19 films (including The Sea Hawk, The Sea Wolf).

At the time of connection Korngold was just in Hollywood with the work of Robin Hood. His contacts with Warner Brothers allowed him, his family and his parents in the United States to collect.

1946 he finished largely the work on film scores and turned back to the classical orchestral music. 1946 was the Cello Concerto Op 37, 1947, the Violin Concerto in D Major. Between 1949 and 1951 he held in Austria, where he by the public, but not by the music critic positively received. During this time, the Symphonic Serenade in B flat major op 39 by the Vienna Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwangler, and the Stumme Serenade Op 36, both in Vienna, premiered. During a second Europe trip 1954/55 saw the world premiere of his Symphony in F-sharp major single op 40th

The attempt, after 1946 the absolute music back remained largely without success. His late work by the contemporary reception in the USA and Europe with strong criticism and often disregard escorts. Korngolds music got as a result increasingly forgotten. Under new edition of his works in the United States from 1972 witnessed Korngolds compositions international renaissance.

Works

Korngolds works include film scores, operas, orchestral and chamber music, including three songs on poems by Hans Kaltneker, op 18 (1924).

 

Orchestral and vocal works

• Der Schneemann (a Pantomime). Composed and first performed 1910
• Schauspiel-Ouvertüre (Overture to a Play), Op.4, composed and first performed 1911)
• Sinfonietta, Op.5, (composed 1912, orchestrated and first performed 1913)
• Der Sturm (The Tempest) for chorus and orchestra, after Heinrich Heine, composed 1913
• Kaiserin Zita-Hymne for solo voice, choir and piano / orchestra, composed 1917
• Military March in B major, composed 1917
• Much Ado About Nothing, Op.11, (Incidental Music to the play by Shakespeare 1918-1919. First performed 1920
• Sursum Corda. Op.13, (Symphonic Overture, composed 1919, first performed 1920
• Piano Concerto in C Sharp for the left hand alone, Op.17, (composed 1923; first performed 1924)
• Baby Serenade, Op.24, composed 1928-1929, first performed 1932
• Tomorrow, Op.33, tone poem for mezzo-soprano, women's choir and orchestra, for the movie The Constant Nymph. First performed in concert 1944
• Violin Concerto, Op.35, (composed 1945; first performed 1947)
• Cello Concerto in C major, Op.37,(1946, expanded from a work written for the 1946 film Deception)
• Symphonic Serenade in B flat major for string orchestra 1947-1948; First performed 1950
• Symphony in F sharp major, Op.40 (composed 1947–1952; first performed 1954)
• Theme and Variations, Op.42 (composed and first performed 1953)
• Straussiana, for orchestra, (composed and first performed 1953)

Songs

• So Gott und Papa will (If God and daddy agree), Op.5, composed 1911
• Einfache Lieder (Simple Songs), Op.9, composed 1911-1913
• Lieder des Abschieds (Songs of Farewell), Op.14, (composed 1920; first performed 1921; orchestral version first performed 1923)
• Drei Lieder (Three Songs), Op.18, composed 1924, first performed 1926
• Drei Lieder (Three Songs), Op.22, composed 1928-1929, first performend 1930
• Narrenlieder (Songs of the Clown), Op.29, from Twelfth Night by Shakespeare, composed 1937,first performed 1941
• Vier Shakespeare-Lieder (Four Shakespeare-Songs), Op.31, composed 1937-1941, first performed 1941
• Fünf Lieder (Five Songs}, Op.38, composed 1948, first performed 1950
• Sonett für Wien (Sonnet for Vienna), Op.41, composed 1953, first performed 1954

Spiritual Music

• A Passover Psalm, Op.30, hymn for solo voice, chorus, and orchestra. Composed and first performed 1941
• Prayer, Op.32, for tenor, women's choir, and organ. Composed and first performed 1941

Piano music and Chamber works

• Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor with concluding passacaglia, (composed 1908; first performed 1908–9)
• Don Quixote. Six characteric pieces for piano, composed 1909
• Was der Wald erzählt (What the Forest tells). Suite for piano, composed 1909
• Piano Sonata No. 2 in E major, Op.2, in four movements (composed 1910; first performed 1911)
• Sieben Märchenbilder (Seven Fairy-Tale Pictures, Op.3, for piano, composed 1910, first performance 1912
• Vier kleine fröhliche Walzer (Four little cheerful Waltzes), composed 1912
• Vier kleine Karikaturen für Kinderr (Four little caricatures for children), composed 1926
• Geschichten vom Strauß (Tales from Strauss), Op.21, for piano solo, composed 1927
• Suite for 2 violins, cello & piano left hand, Op.23, composed 1930; first performed 1930
• Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op.25 (composed 1931; first performed 1932) ([1])

• Piano Trio in D major, Op.1 (composed and first performed 1910)
• Violin Sonata in G major, Op.6 (composed 1912; first performed 1916)
• String Sextet in D major, Op.10 (first performed 1917)
• Quintet for two violins, viola, violoncello and piano in E Major, Op.15 (composed 1920–21; first performed 1923)
• String Quartet No.1 in A major, Op.16 (composed 1923; first performed 1924)
• String Quartet No.2 in E-flat major, Op.26 (composed 1933; first performed 1934)
• String Quartet No.3 in D major, Op.34 (composed 1945; first performed 1946)
• Romance-Impromptu for cello and piano. Composed for the film Deception (but not used) 1948

Operas

• Der Ring des Polykrates, Op.7 (1916)
• Violanta, Op.8 (1916)
• Die Tote Stadt, Op.12 (1920)
• Das Wunder der Heliane, Op.20 (1927)
• Die Kathrin, Op.28 (1939)
• Die stumme Serenade, Op.36 (musical comedy) (1954)

Arrangements for operettas

• Eine Nacht in Venedig (A Night in Venice), Johann Strauß II, (1923)
• Cagliostro in Wien (Cagliostro in Vienna), Johann Strauß II, (1927)
• Rosen aus Florida (Roses from Florida), Leo Fall, (1929)
• Die Fledermaus (The Bat), Johann Strauß II, (1929)
• Walzer aus Wien (Waltzes from Vienna), Family Strauß, (1930)
• Die schöne Helena (The Beautiful Helena), Jacques Offenbach, (1931)
• Das Lied der Liebe (The Song of Love), Johann Strauß II, (1931)
• Die geschiedene Frau (The divorced Woman), Leo Fall,(1933)
• Rosalinda (= Die Fledermaus), Johann Strauß II, (1942)
• Helen Goes to Troy (=La belle Hélène) Jacques Offenbach 1944
• The Great Waltz (= Walzer aus Wien), Johann Strauß II,(1949)

Film soundtracks

• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) (a re-orchestration of music composed by Mendelssohn)
• Captain Blood (1935)
• Give Us This Night (1936)
• Hearts Divided (1936)
• The Green Pastures (1936)
• Anthony Adverse (1936)
• The Prince And The Pauper (1937)
• Another Dawn (1937)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• Juarez (1939)
• The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
• The Sea Hawk (1940)
• The Sea Wolf (1941)
• King's Row (1942)
• The Constant Nymph (1943)
• Between Two Worlds (1944)
• Devotion (1946)
• Of Human Bondage (1946)
• Deception (1946)
• Escape Me Never (1947)
• The Magic Fire (1956) (after Wagner)

Re-Recorded Film Works

• Sea Hawk: Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Charles Gerhardt and National Philharmonoic Orchestra - 1972 - RCA Victor
• Elizabeth & Essex: The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Charles Gerhardt and National Philharmonic Orchestra - 1973 - RCA Victor
• Captain Blood: Classic Film Scores For Errol Flynn - Charles Gerhardt and National Philharmonic Orchestra - 1974 - RCA Victor
• King's Row - Charles Gerhardt and National Philharmonic Orchestra - 1979 - Chalfont
• The Adventures of Robin Hood - Varujan Kojian and Utah Symphony Orchestra - 1983 - Varese Sarabande
• The Sea Hawk - Varujan Kojian and Utah Symphony Orchestra - 1987 - Varese Sarabande
• Anthony Adverse - John Scott and Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra - 1990 - Varese Sarabande
• The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex' - Carl Davis and Munich Symphony Orchestra - 1992 - Bay Cities
• Captain Blood - Richard Kaufman and Brandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra - 1994 - Marco Polo
• Another Dawn - William Stromberg and Moscow Symphony Orchestra - 1995 - Marco Polo
• Devotion - William Stromberg and Moscow Symphony Orchestra - 1997 - Marco Polo
• Tribute to Erich Wolfgang Korngold - James Sedares and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra - 2000 - KOCH
• Previn Conducts Korngold - Andre Previn and London Symphony Orchestra - 2002 - Deutsche Grammophon
• The Adventures of Robin Hood - William Stromberg and Moscow Symphony Orchestra - 2003 - Marco Polo
• The Sea Wolf - Rumon Gamba and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra - 2005 - Chandos
• The Sea Hawk - William Stromberg and Moscow Symphony Orchestra - 2007 - Naxos
• The Sea Hawk - Rumon Gamba and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra - 2007 - Chandos

 

 

Weblinks

musicweb.uk.net