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Korngold: Violin Music Erich Wolfgang Korngold, son of the distinguished music critic Julius Korngold, was born in Brünn, Moravia, now known as Brno in the Czech Republic, on 29 May 1897. It is more than possible that some of the accolades the young Korngold received were calculated to win favour with his extremely influential father, but there can be absolutely no doubt regarding the boy’s phenomenal talent. Until the revival of interest in his concert music beginning in the last decades of the 20th century, Korngold was chiefly known as one of the greatest composers of Hollywood film scores. However, it was not until October 1934 that Max Reinhardt invited him to adapt Mendelssohn’s music for his film of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which began what proved to be a highly successful Hollywood career. Long before this new venture, Korngold had astonished everyone as a child prodigy. At the age of nine he wrote a cantata, Gold, which prompted Mahler to describe him as a genius. Aged ten he began counterpoint lessons with Robert Fuchs, and two years later, on Mahler’s recommendation, he studied piano and composition with Zemlinsky. By the age of 14 he was already an astoundingly fluent composer with a sophisticated harmonic style, glorious melodic gift and precocious mastery of form. By the time he was 20 his oeuvre included operas (the highly successful Die tote Stadt dates from three years later), a ballet, a sinfonietta, sonatas and other major chamber compositions. Korngold’s move to Hollywood marked the end of his reputation as a composer for the concert hall for about 40 years. This is not to say that he stopped composing ‘art music’ – his Symphonic Serenade for Strings was completed in 1948, his Symphony Op.40 in 1952 – but to the concert-going public he was a discredited figure who had sold his soul to the film studios. In addition, his lateRomantic style had an equally negative effect on his reputation during a period of burgeoning modernism. Korngold pioneered a symphonic approach to film scores – giving each character a personal leitmotif – and this influence was reciprocated when he borrowed material from his film scores for his concert works. Korngold adopted US citizenship in 1943. He died in Hollywood on 29 November 1957, having graced the golden age of film with many of the finest scores in that genre. Korngold’s Violin Concerto marked his return to concert music. Though originally intended for Bronisław Huberman, the work was actually premiered by Jascha Heifetz in February 1947, with the St Louis Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Golschmann. Its reception was said to be the
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most ecstatic in St Louis’s history. Korngold composed two other concertos – for piano left hand and for cello – but the Violin Concerto is the most admired and widely performed. The composer wrote the work in the summer of 1945, orchestrated it in October that year and dedicated it to Alma Mahler-Werfel. It is wholly characteristic of the mature Korngold: expansive, opulent and memorably melodic. The soloist introduces the first theme without preamble – a widely spaced melody of yearning quality, its fifth note (G sharp) creating a gentle tension that is in no hurry to resolve. Korngold adapted this haunting idea from his music for the now-forgotten film Another Dawn (1937, with Erroll Flynn and Kay Francis). The second theme is also introduced by the soloist and is characterised by some even wider intervals. This melody features in Korngold’s score for Juarez (1939, cast led by Paul Muni), though it is uncertain which was the original setting. Generally the more virtuosic violin writing is found in the transitional passages, as well as in the cadenza, development and coda. Korngold wrote in the original programme: ‘[the work] … was contemplated rather for a Caruso of the violin than for a Paganini … how delighted I am to have my concerto performed by Caruso and Paganini in one person: Jascha Heifetz’. The abundantly colourful and sensitive orchestration includes vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone, tubular bells, celesta and harp. In the central Romance the harp, celesta and vibraphone delicately enhance the suave atmosphere, the brief combination of violin and vibraphone very near the end being particularly striking. This intensely expressive movement is based on a melody from the Oscarwinning score for Anthony Adverse (1936, starring Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland). In the rhapsodic middle section, marked misterioso, the muted solo violin has lively figuration of a rather coquettish character. In the extrovert Finale, Korngold resourcefully exploits the possibilities of a single theme borrowed from his own score for The Prince and the Pauper (1937, based on Mark Twain and starring Erroll Flynn), though the overall structure resembles sonata form. Here violin virtuosity is a more dominant feature. The initial jig-like theme in 6/8, distantly related to the opening theme of the concerto, is later transformed into longer notes in 2/4 to serve as the second subject, then again into semiquavers and finally an augmented orchestral version. A faster, even more dazzling variant is reserved for the coda, in which the soloist has to negotiate a profusion of double-stopping. Korngold’s Violin Sonata, completed when he was 16, predates his Violin Concerto by about 30 years. Artur Schnabel had been amazed by Korngold’s Piano Sonata No.2, completed two years
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earlier, and it is believed that he encouraged him to write the Violin Sonata. The first movement begins with a theme incorporating many wide intervals, the initial major sixth and minor sixth especially bearing a family resemblance to the widely spaced opening of the Violin Concerto. The material of the exposition, including a sweetly lyrical second subject, continually develops, with the rich and elaborate keyboard part often suggesting an orchestral texture. However, the frequent use of the violin’s highest register alleviates the problem of balance. Korngold generates an intensely animated lead-back from the development section to the recapitulation (fortissimo), but the very ending, with a series of violin harmonics spanning three octaves, is reflective. A fiery 3/8 Scherzo of swaggering joie de vivre follows, including a second theme of delightful buoyancy, a grotesque episode with bitonality, and a contrasting trio section (3/4, Moderato cantabile) in which the melody is adapted from the second of Vier kleine fröhliche Walzer (Four Little Cheerful Waltzes) that Korngold composed for piano in 1911. Distinct family likenesses shared by several themes in the first, third and fourth movements show the composer’s precocious craftsmanship extending to the creation of organic unity. Thus Korngold’s penchant for wide intervals – here an ascending major sixth, major third – is again evident at the opening of the Adagio (marked ‘with profound emotion’), an intensely rhapsodic movement of great harmonic subtlety. Apart from some turbulent moments in the middle section, this is a fine example of Korngold’s rapturous, sustained lyricism, with the opening melodic shape maintaining its fascination until the very end. The Finale is a set of variations on Korngold’s Schneeglöckchen, completed in 1911 as the first of Sechs Einfache Lieder (Six Simple Songs) Op.9. The imaginative variations include a fugue (Allegro giocoso) with a trillobsession – a feature continued by the piano when the recall of the theme itself slips back into the original 3/4. In a coda (Molto tranquillo) both spacious and rich in fantasy, the major-sixth/minorsixth melodic shape from the very beginning eventually returns to enhance the satisfying close of a deeply rewarding sonata. Korngold dedicated the work to Carl Flesch and Artur Schnabel, who gave the premiere in Berlin on 21 October 1913 in addition to many further performances. Philip Borg-Wheeler
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Kristóf Baráti Kristóf Baráti was born in Budapest in 1979 into a family of musicians (his mother is a violinist, his father a cellist). He spent a large part of his childhood in Venezuela; he began studying the violin with his mother and Emil Friedman in Caracas. At the age of eight he gave a concert with the Maracaibo Symphony Orchestra. He later studied with Miklós Szenthelyi and Vilmos Tátrai at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. Professor Eduard Wulfson, director of the Stradivarius Society, discovered Baráti at the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition in 1996, thereafter becoming his musical advisor and mentor. Wulfson is an heir to the great tradition of Russian violin playing and has passed on to Baráti what he has learnt from his own teachers, Yehudi Menuhin, Nathan Milstein and Henryk Szeryng. Baráti regularly performs in Hungary as well as worldwide with major orchestras such as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra (Hannover), the Russian National Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, in addition to various Hungarian orchestras and chamber orchestras. He also collaborates with outstanding conductors including Kurt Masur, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Spivakov, Gilbert Varga, Jirˇ í Beˇlohlávek, Vasily Petrenko, Zoltán Kocsis, Pinchas Steinberg, Iván Fischer, Marek Janowski and Eiji Oue. He has participated in masterclasses, as guest professor, alongside Ida Haendel, Vadim Repin and Natalia Gutman. Baráti’s recording of the first two Paganini concertos, featuring the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Eiji Oue, was released in 2009 – a CD which brought him critical
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accolades of the highest calibre. In 2012 he recorded the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Klára Würtz for Brilliant Classics (94310); other recordings on this label include Brahms’s Violin Sonatas with Klára Würtz (94824), Paganini’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (94803), J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (94667), and Ysaÿe’s Sonatas for solo violin (94678). Baráti has the privilege of playing a 1703 Stradivari violin, the ‘Lady Harmsworth’, kindly loaned by the Stradivari Society.
philharmonie zuidnederland The philharmonie zuidnederland (South Netherlands Philharmonic) was formed in April 2013 out of the merger between the Brabant Philharmonic Orchestra and the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. With 113 musicians, the new ensemble has become not only the largest regional orchestra but also one of the largest orchestras in the entire country. That they can easily manage the spectacularly orchestrated masterpieces of Strauss, Mahler, Wagner and Stravinsky was immediately apparent from their first season. A score such as Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps – new territory for both former orchestras – was greeted at once by enthusiastic reactions: ‘Terrifying intensity’ and ‘aweinspiring wind solos,’ wrote Dagblad de Limburger. When necessary, the orchestra can be split into diverse ensembles to perform repertoire of smaller instrumentation and for educational purposes. That the orchestra hereby contributes something unique to the Dutch orchestral community has been evident time and again in its first season. Favourable reviews have appeared from the very beginning in both the regional and national press; following the first concert, De Telegraaf spoke of the orchestra’s ‘grown-up look’ and Trouw declared that ‘the result is an obvious success’. Many of the orchestra’s concerts are directly linked to important local festivities; they include the Liberation Concert Margraten, Musica Sacra, the International Vocalists’ Competition, the New Year’s Concert, various carnival concerts, Opera op de Parade, and the performance of J.S. Bach’s mighty St Matthew Passion at Easter time. The banner of music education is highly regarded by the philharmonie zuidnederland; presenting symphonic music to young people, from pre-school to university students, is not merely a task but a mission.
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The philharmonie zuidnederland has something remarkable to offer: an orchestra that really can play everything, from the most intimate classical music to huge late-Romantic and 20thcentury works, from carnival evergreens to street music and churchly splendour. The philharmonie zuidnederland puts the whole wondrous history of orchestral music within an arm’s reach.
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Otto Tausk As Musical Director of the Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre of St Gallen, Otto Tausk has energised his musicians and singers to impressive levels, earning him enthusiastic critical acclaim; his knowledge is imbued with the utterly infectious energy and charisma with which he conveys the music amongst his musicians. Tausk is also a hugely respected musical personality in his native country of The Netherlands, where he has worked with all the major orchestras. This includes a highly successful debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in December 2012, which resulted in an immediate re-invitation. In 2011 Otto Tausk was presented with the De Olifant prize by the city of Haarlem. He received this prestigious award for his contribution to the arts in The Netherlands, in particular his extensive work with the Holland Symfonia of which he was Musical Director from 2007 to 2012. The jury, unanimous in its decision, praised the orchestra’s innovative and ‘borderless’ programming, as well as its commitment to attracting new audiences. Tausk has recorded several CDs of music by Dutch composers, including Michel van der Aa, Martijn Padding, Jeff Hamburg, Tristan Keuris, Willem Jeths and Jacob ter Veldhuis. The 2011 release of Hans Pfitzner’s Orchesterlieder with Tausk conducting the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie garnered international praise. www.ottotausk.nl
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Gábor Farkas Born in 1981, Gábor Farkas began his musical studies at the age of five, and holds both a PhD and Masters degree in piano performance and teaching from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. His extraordinary talent has seen him garner prizes at many international competitions: in 2009 he won the 63rd International Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar, in addition to receiving the audience prize and the award for Best Performance of a Haydn Sonata; in 2003 he was awarded first prize in the Hungarian National Radio Piano Competition; and in 2000 he won the Béla Bartók Piano Competition in Baden bei Wien, Austria. In March 2008 he received the special state prize for Best Young Artist of the Year, in November 2008 the Prima Junior Prize for outstanding talent, and in 2009 the Gundel Art Prize. His uplifting performances have enchanted audiences throughout Europe and the world. He has performed in the concert halls of Hungary, Vienna, Baden bei Wien, Berlin, Stuttgart, Strasbourg, Florence, Paris, London, Helsinki, Calgary, Sakata, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Weimar and Bayreuth. He has also been invited to prestigious international festivals, such as the Budapest Spring Festival, the International Piano Forum in Berlin, and the Liszt Ferenc Festival in the Royal Palace of Gödöllo˝ , Hungary. In January 2011 Farkas was the soloist in the official opening concert of the Liszt anniversary year, with Zoltán Kocsis conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra at the Palace of Arts, Budapest. He has also worked with world-renowned conductors Ádám Fischer and Tamás Vásáry. Farkas has attended masterclasses given by György Nádor, László Simon, Ferenc Rados, Peter Frankl, Rolf-Dieter Arens, Jan Wijn, Brigitte Engerer and William Grant Naboré, and has received
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scholarships from, amongst others, the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and the European Cultural Foundation in Strasbourg. Farkas’s debut recording, entitled An evening with Liszt, was released by the Warner Classics label in 2008 and was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix in 2009 as the International Franz Liszt Society’s recording of the year. He has also made a live recording of the official opening concert of the Liszt anniversary year for Warner.
Recording: 24 January 2014 (live), Muziekgebouw Frits Philips, Eindhoven, The Netherlands (1–3); 15–16 March 2014, Budapest Music Center, Budapest, Hungary (4–7) Producer & engineer: Peter Arts (1–3); Péter Erdélyi (4–7) Artist photos: Marco Borggreve (Tausk); Simon van Boxtel (philharmonie zuidnederland) & 2015 Brilliant Classics
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More Baráti on Brilliant Classics
J.S. Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin 94667 2CD
Paganini: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 94803
Brahms: Violin Sonatas 94824
Ysaÿe: Sonatas for Solo Violin 94678
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