Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (; May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was an Austrian composer and conductor, who left Europe in the mid-1930s and later adopted US nationality. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. During the 1920s he re-orchestrated, re-arranged and nearly re-composed several operettas by Johann Strauss II. By 1931 he was a professor of music at the Vienna State Academy.

At the request of motion picture director Max Reinhardt, and due to the rise of the Nazi regime, Korngold moved to Hollywood in 1934 to write music for films. His first was Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). He subsequently wrote scores for such films as Captain Blood (1935), which helped boost the career of its starring newcomer, Errol Flynn. His score for Anthony Adverse (1936) won an Oscar; two years later he won another Oscar for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).

Korngold scored 16 Hollywood films in all, and received two more nominations for Oscars. Along with Max Steiner and Alfred Newman, he is one of the founders of American film music. Although his late-Romantic style of classical composition was no longer as popular when he died in 1957, his music underwent a resurgence of interest in the 1970s beginning with the release of the RCA Red Seal album The Sea Hawk: The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1972). This album, produced by his son George Korngold, was hugely popular and ignited interest in his other film music (and that of other classic film composers), as well as in his concert music, which often incorporates popular themes from his film scores (an example being the Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35, which incorporates themes from four of his motion picture scores and has become part of the standard repertoire).

Early years as prodigy

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born to a Jewish family in Brünn, Austria-Hungary (present-day Brno, Czech Republic). Erich was the second son of eminent music critic (Leopold) Julius Korngold (1860–1945); his older brother, (1892–1965), also became a musician. A child prodigy living in Vienna, Erich could play four-hand piano arrangements alongside his father at age five. He was also able to reproduce any melody he heard on the piano, along with playing complete and elaborate chords. By age seven, he was writing original music. At age 12, he composed a piano trio. His Piano Sonata No. 2 in E major, which followed, was played throughout Europe by Artur Schnabel. During these early years he also made live-recording player piano music rolls for the Hupfeld DEA and Phonola system and also the Aeolian Duo-Art system, which survive today and can be heard.

Korngold wrote his first orchestral score, the Schauspiel-Ouvertüre, when he was 14. His Sinfonietta appeared the following year, and his first two operas, Der Ring des Polykrates and Violanta, in 1914. In 1916, he wrote songs, chamber works, and incidental music, including to Much Ado About Nothing, which ran for some 80 performances in Vienna. Korngold would also enlarge and conduct the score.

The film, which was released in 1935, was a first for Warner Brothers studio in producing a film based on a 400-year-old work of literary art. The studio assigned almost every star or character actor under contract to take part in the film, with the filming taking over six months. As Korngold's first fully symphonic film score, it marked a milestone in his career, as he became the first composer of international stature to sign a contract with a film studio. It also launched the career of Flynn and gave a major boost to that of de Havilland, who did another seven movies with Flynn. Korngold scored six more films starring Flynn.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

In 1938, Korngold was conducting opera in Austria when he was asked by Warner Brothers to return to Hollywood and compose a score for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film, based on a largely fictional English legend, is considered the finest of its kind, with a continuous series of romantic and adventurous sequences propelled by Korngold's dynamic score. And film historian Rudy Behlmer describes Korngold's contribution to this and his other films:

Before Korngold began composing the score, Austria was invaded by Germany and annexed by the Nazis. His home in Vienna was confiscated by the Nazis.

Korngold noted that the opportunity to compose the score for Robin Hood saved his life. It also gave him his second Academy Award for Best Original Score and established the symphonic style that would later be used in action films during Hollywood's Golden Age.

After the United States demanded that France divest itself of its interests in Mexico, the Austrian aristocrat was left to his fate, and he was executed by the Juarez government. The dramatic accent of the film leaned in favor of Maximilian and Carlotta, however, aided greatly by Korngold's poignant themes for them. Maximilian and Carlotta loved the Mexican song "La Paloma," and Korngold used it effectively during the score. He often used sharp brass chords with swirling configurations, along with a love theme voiced by a harmonica. Music historian Thomas S. Hischak notes some aspects of the score:

Kings Row (1942)

The score for Kings Row (1942) has been compared to those of films like Gone with the Wind and Anthony Adverse, which also had powerful theme motifs. Those stories were based on recent best-selling novels, as was Kings Row. In this score, Korngold moved even further away from his previous romantic and swashbuckler styles. This was Korngold's most Gothic film score, and a film which film historian Tony Thomas has called a "true American classic."

The score contains a main theme which is varied throughout the film, depending on the how each scene develops. MacDonald states that the main theme is a "majestic and noble melody that immediately grabs the viewer's attention" when the film begins. A typical performance lasts about seven and a half minutes.

He returned to film scoring one more time, shortly before his death, for Magic Fire (1955), a film biography of the composer Richard Wagner. He was asked to adapt the music of Wagner for most of the film, but Korngold also wrote some original music for it. He is seen during the final scenes in an unbilled cameo as the conductor Hans Richter.

At the time of his death at age 60, he was working on his sixth opera. He felt that by having "musical identifications for characters, places, and even abstract ideas in a film," it would help keep characters straight in the minds of the audience.

Korngold composed in the evenings while at the piano, as he watched scenes from the film that an assigned projectionist would run for him. He would run scenes repeatedly as he improvised the music. He would collect his ideas and concepts and later commit them to paper. In 1946 he composed an opera, Die stumme Serenade, which he recorded privately hoping to attract interest in making a full production.

Personal life

In 1924, Korngold married Luzi von Sonnenthal (1900–1962), granddaughter of actor Adolf von Sonnenthal, an actress, writer, singer and pianist, with whom he had fallen in love at age 19. They had two children, Ern[e]st Werner and [[George Korngold|Georg[e] Wolfgang]]. Luzi's biography of her husband was published in 1967.

In 1943, Korngold became a naturalized citizen of the United States. The year 1945 became an important turning point in his life. His father, who had never been entirely comfortable in Los Angeles, and who had never approved of Erich's decision to work exclusively on film composition, died after a lengthy illness.

Around the same time, World War II in Europe drew to an end. At this stage in his career Korngold had grown increasingly disillusioned with Hollywood and with the kinds of pictures he was being given, and he was eager to return to writing music for the concert hall and the stage. In October 1956 he suffered a severe stroke and although he partially recovered, he "endured many physical and emotional difficulties" before his death at the age of 60, on November 29 the following year. He was survived by his wife, Luzi (Luise), two sons, George Korngold and Ernst Korngold; his mother, Josephine Korngold; a brother, Hans Robert Korngold, and three grandchildren. He was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Despite his achievements, Korngold for years attracted little positive critical attention. In 1972, RCA Victor released an LP titled The Sea Hawk: The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, featuring excerpts performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. This was followed by recordings of Korngold's operas and concert works, which led to performances of his Symphony in F-sharp major and concertos, as well as other compositions. Following the success of the Korngold album, the Classic Film Scores series was extended through thirteen additional discs, including a second Korngold collection. These records have been credited with inspiring the revival of symphonic music in films, most prominently in the Star Wars series, which features prominent allusions to Korngold's style.

Productions of Die tote Stadt were mounted at the Vienna Volksoper in 1967 and the New York City Opera in 1975.

The American Film Institute ranked Korngold's score for The Adventures of Robin Hood as number 11 on their list of the greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list:

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
Kings Row (1942)
Deception (1946)

Further recognition came in the 1990s; two full-scale biographies of him appeared almost simultaneously. One is Jessica Duchen's Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The other is Brendan G. Carroll's Erich Korngold: The Last Prodigy. Carroll is President of the International Korngold Society. Carroll released excerpts of acetates with Korngold conducting the Warner Bros. studio orchestra in music from his film scores, some possibly taken from KFWB radio broadcasts.

In 2019 the Bard Music Festival (at Bard College, New York) celebrated Korngold with an extensive series of performances and lectures and the publication of Korngold and His World, edited by Daniel Goldmark and Kevin C. Karnes. In addition, Bard sponsored the first US production of Das Wunder der Heliane — more than ninety years after its premiere.

In 2008 Gary Noland wrote a string trio Korngoldaroonie in tribute to Korngold.

Selected recordings

In 1973, Warner Brothers released special LPs featuring excerpts from the original soundtracks of films scored by Korngold, as well as a rare recording of Korngold playing the main theme from Kings Row on the piano.
"Korngold: The Sea Hawk / The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex / Captain Blood / The Prince and the Pauper", conductor André Previn, Deutsche Grammophon
KFWB radio broadcast from 1938 with Korngold conducting the studio orchestra in excerpts from The Adventures of Robin Hood, narrated by actor Basil Rathbone, was released on LP.
The National Symphony Orchestra released a recording of the score of King's Row [when].

There have also been a number of new digital recordings of Korngold's film scores, as well as some of his concert works:

Violin concerto and his symphony in 2013, which
RCA Victor was the first to record a complete Korngold opera (in stereo), in 1975: Die tote Stadt, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf in Germany.
In 1980, CBS Masterworks recorded the opera Violanta under the baton of Marek Janowski; this recording has been re-released by Sony Classical in 2009.
In 1993, Decca released a recording of Das Wunder der Heliane.
Korngold's two remaining operas, Der Ring des Polykrates and Die Kathrin have both been recorded (in 1996 and 1998 respectively) by the German record label CPO.
American conductor-pianist Alexander Frey has recorded Korngold's complete original piano works.
In 2001, ArtHaus Musik released on DVD (UPC 807280036398) a documentary titled Erich Wolfgang Korngold – The Adventures of a Wunderkind (also Between Two Worlds), directed by Barrie Gavin, in the Composers of Our Time series.
The Korngold Violin Concerto was recorded in 2006 by Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, with James Ehnes as violinist, on a Grammy Award-winning album that included Concertos by Walton and Barber.
Double bass soloist Joel Quarrington recorded a transcription of the "Garden Scene" from Korngold's incidental music to Much Ado About Nothing, Op. 11 on his 2008 CD, also entitled "Garden Scene". Quarrington won a Juno Award for the album.
In 2009, Korngold's Violin Concerto was released on the Naxos Records label, along with Overture to a Drama, Op. 4, and the concert suite from Much Ado About Nothing, performed by the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria and violinist Philippe Quint.
In 2013, the Adamas Quartett recorded String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26 (Gramola 2013), awarded among others Diapason découverte" and "".
In 2022, Naxos released Korngold's complete incidental music, which consists of music written for a 1920 Vienna production of Much Ado About Nothing, and for Hans Müller-Einigen's play Der Vampyr, oder Die Gejagten (The Vampire, or the Hunted).

Selected list of works

Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor with concluding passacaglia (composed 1908; first performed 1908/09)
Piano Trio in D major, Op. 1 (composed and first performed 1910)
Piano Sonata No. 2 in E major, Op. 2, in four movements (composed 1910; first performed 1911)
Schauspiel-Ouvertüre (Overture to a Play), Op. 4 (Composed and first performed 1911)
Sinfonietta, Op. 5 (Composed 1912, orchestrated and first performed 1913)
Violin Sonata in G major, Op. 6 (composed 1912; first performed 1916)
Der Ring des Polykrates, Op. 7 (opera) (1916)
Violanta, Op. 8 (opera) (1916)
Einfache Lieder, Op. 9 (1911–16)
String Sextet in D major, Op. 10 (1914–16; first performed 1917)
Much Ado About Nothing, Op. 11 (Incidental music to the play by Shakespeare, composed 1918–1919, first performed 1920)
Die tote Stadt, Op. 12 (opera) (1920)
Sursum Corda, Op. 13 (symphonic overture) (Composed 1919, first performed 1920)
Quintet for two violins, viola, cello 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)
Piano Concerto in C for the left hand alone, Op. 17, (Composed 1923, first performed 1924)
Das Wunder der Heliane, Op. 20 (opera) (1927)
Suite for 2 violins, cello and piano left hand, Op. 23, composed 1930; first performed 1930
Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 25 (composed 1931; first performed 1932)
String Quartet No. 2 in E major, Op. 26 (composed 1933; first performed 1934)
Die Kathrin, Op. 28 (opera) (1939)
Tomorrow, Op. 33, tone poem for mezzo-soprano, women's choir and orchestra, for the movie The Constant Nymph. (First performed in concert 1944)
String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 34 (composed 1945; first performed 1949)
Violin Concerto, Op. 35 (Composed 1945, first performed 1947)
Die stumme Serenade, Op. 36 (musical comedy) (1954)
Cello Concerto in C major, Op. 37 (Composed 1950, expanded from a work written for the 1946 film Deception)
Symphonic Serenade in B major for string orchestra, Op. 39 (Composed 1947–48, first performed 1950)
Symphony in F major, Op. 40 (Composed 1947–52, first performed 1954)
Theme and Variations, Op. 42 (composed and first performed 1953)

References

Bibliography

The Last Prodigy: A Biography of Erich Wolfgang Korngold by Brendan G. Carroll; (Hardcover, October 1997)
Das Letzte Wunderkind by Brendan G Carroll. Boehlau-Verlag, Vienna; (Hardcover, June 2008); revised edition of 1997 biography in German translation
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (20th-Century Composers) by Jessica Duchen. Phaidon Publication; (Paperback, July 1996)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold by Luzi Korngold (wife). Verlag Elisabeth Lafite, Vienna, 1967
"Erich Wolfgang Korngold: early life and works". Doctoral thesis by David Ian Kram. Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Caspar Wintermans: Een jongen van brutale zwier: Erich Wolfgang Korngold in Nederland 1910–1958. The Hague, Kallipygos Press, 2016.

External links

Official Korngold Society
Detailed Biography of Korngold
Japanese Premieres of A Great Composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (), sound files
Korngold: Maestro for the Movies