Korngold Violin

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the world premiere of Elgar’s Violin Concerto which took place on 10 November 1910 and was conducted by the composer himself, celebrated Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider has recorded the concerto on the very same instrument that Kreisler performed the premiere: this is the first account on disc using this very special violin, a 1741 Guarneri del Gesu. Znaider will also tour the work globally throughout 2010 and will perform the Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis on 10 November 2010 at London’s Barbican Concert Hall – the anniversary to the day of the world premiere.

Although Korngold’s ‘complete works for violin and piano’ make up a reasonably full disc, it is only fair to point out that the Violin Sonata is the single work that is not an arrangement from one of his other pieces. Yet this Sonata, written at the age of 15 for Carl Flesch and Artur Schnabel no less, is a fine example of his early style, with its echoes of Zemlinsky and early Schoenberg. The young Dutch violinist Sonja van Beek and German pianist Andreas Frölich negotiate its challenges with ease: as in Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata, the pianist has as tough a role as the melody instrument. Much Ado about Nothing is one of several arrangements of a suite of four movements derived from incidental music to Shakespeare’s play written in 1918, performed here with affection and a silken suavity. The remainder of the repertoire is made up of arrangements of Korngold lollipops, hit numbers from his operas, such as the unforgettable ‘Marietta’s Lied’ from Die tote Stadt, arranged by the composer as salon pieces and popularised by Kreisler and his ilk. Here, the almost vocal qualities of van Beek’s tone come into their own. An essential disc for the Korngold addict.

Nicola Benedetti - The Silver Violin (2012) {Decca B0017609-02}
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© 2012 Decca Music | B0017609-02
Classical / Classical Crossover / Movie Themes / Violin

"Scotland's sweetheart" and onetime BBC Young Musician of the Year Nicola Benedetti follows up her 2011 release Italia with this collection of music from the silver screen and beyond. Centered around Erich Korngold's lush Violin Concerto, the album features film music both old and new, such as John Williams' Schindler's List, Howard Shore's Eastern Promises, and Dario Marianelli's Jane Eyre. It also includes other classical works by Korngold, Mahler, and Shostakovich.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) wrote an undeniably beautiful violin concerto near the end of World War II, despite its conservative language and intemperately debonair veneer. He had left his native Austria in 1934 for the United States and taken up permanent residence in California, where he launched a successful career writing film scores. The concerto is based on themes he used in four such cinematic efforts, themes whose new guise hardly masked the air of a splashy, saccharine Hollywood, with images ……

Robert Cummings @ AllMusic