Erich Wolfgang Korngold

[7/4]

December 26, 2007

'Hollywood Sound' Composer Gets His Due

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 4:31 p.m. ET

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart ... Korngold?

Countless millions have at least heard of the classical masters associated with Vienna. Not only the titanic trio of Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johannes Brahms viewed the city at some point as their musical home.

So did Anton Bruckner, Joseph Haydn, Gustav Mahler and Franz Schubert.

But a half century after his death, mention of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, another great musical son of Vienna, often draws blank stares here and elsewhere -- despite his legacy as the founder of the ''Hollywood Sound.''

But in a small way, this year has been Korngold's moment in a Vienna that is still recovering from the marathon musical and marketing excesses of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth in 2006.

The city's Jewish Museum is devoting a major exhibition to the man whose classical career fell victim to a triple whammy -- a domineering music critic father, the advent of atonal music, and finally, the rise of Hitler that perpetuated his self-exile to the U.S.

A sampling of his famed film scores was performed for the first time last month in one of the Austrian capital's prestigious concert halls. And a film retrospective was dedicated to the Vienna's musical ''Wunderkind'' of the early 20th century who, neglected at home, morphed into the creator of the Hollywood soundtracks that continue to set the standard.

It's a tribute that may be 50 years late: Only a handful of his classical works remain popular.

But Korngold has established a huge musical niche -- and won two Oscars -- through nine works for film. They include genre-creating swashbucklers for Warner Brothers like ''Captain Blood'' (1935) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), in the lush operatic style that initially made his name.

Korngold himself saw no difference between his classical and screen writing, declaring: ''Even if I wanted to, I could not write music below my own standards.'' He called his screen music ''operas without singing,'' and experts consider his film compositions on par with much the world of ''serious music'' has to offer.

''Like Mozart, he wrote,'' says composer and arranger John Mauceri. ''It didn't matter whether he wrote a concert, an opera, or light entertainment, he wrote the highest quality music.''

His symphonic creations for the screen -- and those of successors following in his footsteps -- have been enjoyed by millions more attuned to melodies from ''Lord of the Rings' than Ludwig van's ''Fifth.'' And some of Hollywood's greatest screenwriters freely acknowledge the debt their industry owes the man who, while lionized by the movie moguls, suffered from the perception that his music was not taken seriously in Vienna.

''Anyone who works with music and film feels part of this historical line -- the golden years of what became known as the 'Hollywood Sound,''' said Howard Shore, whose credits include scoring Tolkien's ''Ring.'' Even now, ''the compositional ideas'' of writing music for film derive from Korngold and his contemporaries, the Oscar and Grammy winner told The Associated Press.

Mauceri, founder of Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts, calls Korngold's musical legacy ''so important they tend to dominate our conversation'' about the history of music in cinema.

''Millions of people ... heard his music through the medium of film,'' said Mauceri, who conducted the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna in a Nov. 29 death-day retrospective of Korngold works and contemporary film music at the city's art deco Konzerthaus.

''When you hear 'Harry Potter,' and 'Star Wars' -- that's something Vienna can be proud of,'' he said.

And yet Korngold viewed his legacy as a tragic mistake -- the result of a promising ''classical'' career gone awry.

Recognized by age 10 as a musical prodigy, Korngold logged his share of early operatic and symphonic successes.

As one of the last proponents of sweeping German romanticism, he was at one point the most performed German-speaking composer of his era. By the time he was in his 30s, his works were played by some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, and his most popular opera, ''Die Tote Stadt,'' was staged by dozens of major houses, including the Met in New York.

But with the rise of Arnold Schoenberg and other masters of atonality, detractors increasingly found his lush and sweeping melodies out of date.

Adding to his woes were the victims of his father, Julius, one of Europe's most influential music critics of the day. Soloists and conductors savaged by Julius took their revenge on Erich, refusing to perform his works.

Sensitive and withdrawn, the younger Korngold retreated into the world of operetta, focusing on arrangements and adaptations that would soon be reflected in his Hollywood era. His first trip to Hollywood was in 1934, to work with Max Reinhardt on the film classic ''A Midsummer Night's Dream.''

Hitler annexed Austria four years later while Korngold was visiting the U.S. As a Jew, Korngold was unable to return home. But the composer steeped in Old World traditions never stopped yearning for his musical and emotional roots -- and for the city and continent that rejected him well past the Hitler era.

Still, Mauceri feels Vienna has made amends.

''There is a willingness (there) to accept that he is part of Vienna's culture,'' he said. ''What is significant is that 50 years after his death, Vienna is ready to reconsider his assessment of him.''

[Rooster_Ties]

I count Korngold's lone symphony among my all-time favorite neo-romantic works.

His violin concerto is quite nice too, as is a bunch of his chamber music. Worth a spin for those so inclined.

[T.D.]

His opera Die Tote Stadt is pretty good. There's a decent recording, probably long oop. I think New York City Opera staged it in the early '90s.

[Daniel A]

I'm looking for recommendations for recordings of Korngold's orchestral works. I heard the piano concerto on radio the other day and I'm interested in seeking out recordings of that, as well as his other works; I don't own any. There's seemingly not a wealth of different recordings to choose from and some works seem not to have been recorded all that often.

There is a four-CD release featuring what seem to be all of Korngold's orchestral works with Werner Andreas Albert conducting Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. I can't say that I'm too familiar with either the conductor or the orchestra and I'm a bit hesitant to order it without recommendation, even if it's not very expensive (around $20 used on Amazon marketplace).

[A Lark Ascending]

No idea where they fit in the pecking order but the Chandos series has kept me well entertained over the last 15 years or so, the Symphony in particular:

These two from the Decca Entartete Musik series are very good too:

Might be hard to find on disc now but available as downloads.

The Violin Concerto is lovely, though very Hollywood. Doesn't bother me but bothers some.

Edited December 16, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[soulpope]

His opera Die Tote Stadt is pretty good. There's a decent recording, probably long oop. I think New York City Opera staged it in the early '90s.

available+definitely worth a listen.....

http://www.amazon.de/Die-Tote-Stadt-Sony-Opera-House/dp/B001UJSW7S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355736945&sr=8-1

[Larry Kart]

As has been said many times, posting entire copyrighted articles (rather than a brief indication of what they're about, plus a link to the article) is a violation of forum rule #9.

[Bigshot]

I think that film music eclipsed classical music in the late 30s. The recreations of scores by Waxman, Korngold, Steiner, etc that have been released on CD are amazing.

[Daniel A]

As has been said many times, posting entire copyrighted articles (rather than a brief indication of what they're about, plus a link to the article) is a violation of forum rule #9.

The initial post is from 2007, when it still hadn't been said that many times. The article is available here: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/2007-12-26-1036564388_x.htm

[Larry Kart]

As has been said many times, posting entire copyrighted articles (rather than a brief indication of what they're about, plus a link to the article) is a violation of forum rule #9.

The initial post is from 2007, when it still hadn't been said that many times. The article is available here: http://usatoday30.us...036564388_x.htm

OK

[J.A.W.]

I also posted a comment before I realized the thread was started in 2007. However, as far as I know the rule was already there 5 years ago.

Anyway, I deleted my comment.

Edited December 17, 2012 by J.A.W.

[sgcim]

I used to lump Korngold in with the "cornier" sounding film composers of the 20s and 30s, but he wrote some great things.

It's such a pleasure to listen to film music back when it was written by real composers who happened to write film music (Herrmann, Raksin), than the current over-produced crap by people who were trained to just write film music.

Sure, the new guys do what the director wants them to do, but that's about it...

[A Lark Ascending]

I just love the transition from Mahler through the likes of Korngold to the Hollywood soundtracks up to about the 60s. I'm pretty sure that the big Mahler boom that took off from the 60s is partly connected to the fact that we were used to hearing that style of music (generally simplified with more firmly shaped melodies) in films.

[Daniel A]

Belated thanks to Bev for the suggestions. I will probably go for the complete CPO set as it has some things not available in any version on Spotify and then look for different recordings for select works.

[A Lark Ascending]

Belated thanks to Bev for the suggestions. I will probably go for the complete CPO set as it has some things not available in any version on Spotify and then look for different recordings for select works.

Probably a good move.

I've only recently come to notice CPO. Been enjoying their Panufnik series of late.

They do a sterling job in the out of the way 20thC repertoire (amongst other things). I have their Pfitzner box heading my way and have my eye on the Wellesz, another composer from an era I really enjoy of whom I know nothing.