Concerto by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
composed his
Violin Concerto in D major
,
Op.
35, in
1945
.
Instrumentation
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The work is scored for solo
violin
, two
flutes
(one doubling
piccolo
), two
oboes
(one doubling
cor anglais
), two
clarinets
,
bass clarinet
, two
bassoons
(one doubling
contrabassoon
), four
horns
, two
trumpets
,
trombone
,
harp
,
strings
, and a colorful
percussion
section of
timpani
,
bass drum
,
cymbals
,
gong
,
tubular bell
,
glockenspiel
,
vibraphone
,
xylophone
, and
celesta
.
Movements
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- Moderato
nobile
: The violin solo which opens the concerto is a theme from
Another Dawn
(1937), running over two
octaves
in five
notes
.
Juarez
(1939) provided the second theme (the Maximilian & Carlotta theme), more expansive and reliant upon the
orchestra
.
- Romance
: The solo violin introduces the principal theme of the slow movement, quoted from
Anthony Adverse
(1936) and revisited after a contrasting middle section that seems to have been uniquely composed for the concerto.
- Allegro
assai
vivace
: The most demanding movement for the soloist begins with a
staccato
jig
, which leads to a second theme based like the first on the main
motif
from
The Prince and the Pauper
(1937) and builds up to a
virtuoso
climax.
A typical performance lasts about 25 minutes.
Overview
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Bronislaw Huberman, who persuaded Korngold to write his Violin Concerto.
Korngold had vowed to give up composing anything other than
film music
, with which he supported himself and his family, until
Hitler
had been defeated. With the end of
World War II
, he retired from films to concentrate on music for the concert hall. The Violin Concerto was the first such work that Korngold penned, following some initial persuasion from the
violinist
and fellow
emigre
Bronisław Huberman
. Korngold had been hurt by the assumption that a successful film composer was one who had sold his integrity to
Hollywood
, just as earlier he had been hurt by many critics' assumptions that his works were performed only because he was the son of music critic
Julius Korngold
. He was thus determined to prove himself with a work that combined vitality and superb craftsmanship.
[1]
The concerto was dedicated to
Alma Mahler
, the widow of Korngold's childhood mentor
Gustav Mahler
. It was premiered on 15 February 1947 by
Jascha Heifetz
and the
St. Louis Symphony
under
conductor
Vladimir Golschmann
. It received the most enthusiastic ovation in St. Louis concert history.
[2]
On 30 March 1947, Heifetz played the concerto in
Carnegie Hall
with the
New York Philharmonic
conducted by
Efrem Kurtz
; the broadcast performance was recorded on transcription discs. The composer wrote about Heifetz's playing of the work:
In spite of the demand for
virtuosity
in the finale, the work with its many melodic and lyric episodes was contemplated more for a
Caruso
than for a
Paganini
. It is needless to say how delighted I am to have my concerto performed by Caruso and Paganini in one person: Jascha Heifetz.
[a]
Heifetz's performance launched the work into the standard repertoire, and it quickly became Korngold's most popular piece. However, the fame of the violin concerto, combined with Korngold's eminent association with Hollywood film music, has helped obscure the rest of his legacy as a composer of concert-hall works written before and after his arrival in the
United States
.
[3]
Although Korngold was credited with introducing the sophisticated musical language of his classical training to the soundscapes of Hollywood films, a kind of reverse inspiration also occurred. Like many of Korngold's "serious" works in traditional genres, the violin concerto borrows
thematic
material from his movie scores in each of its three
movements
.
[4]
Notable recordings
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References
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- Notes
- ^
As Quoted in Steinberg, 218
- Bibliography
External links
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]
- interview, feature article
- Audio and video
- Nicola Benedetti, James Gaffigan, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest
(2012)
- William Hagen, Christoph Eschenbach, Frankfurt Radio Symphony
(2017)
- Guro Kleven Hagen, Roderick Cox, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra
- Guro Kleven Hagen, Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic
(2021)
- James Ehnes, Alexander Shelley, National Arts Centre Orchestra
(2022)
- Radio New Zealand - Music Alive (July 8, 2021)
Benjamin Morrison, Giordano Bellincampi, Auckland Philharmonia
- WQXR Carnegie Hall Live (February 12, 2024)
James Ehnes, Gianandrea Noseda, National Symphony Orchestra (4m30s interview1, 29m Korngold, 57m encore1, 1h6m encore2, 1h10m interview2)
carnegiehall.org
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