Customer Reviews

Korngold: Symphony; Much Ado about Nothing Suite

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If this CD isn't in your basic Eric Wolfgang Korngold (EWK) collection, wait no longer! Five stars out of five for composition (Symphony in F Sharp, Op 40), performance, and sound quality. But a curious CD title ("Korngold Symphony"), since EWK wrote several symphonies (including the Sinfonietta in B Major, Op 05). Some specifics from an EWK enthusiast, hardly a critic. Op 40's first movement is startling, gripping, and, well, sharp (I first played it in the car, and drove right past my usual turn off!). The second movement seems a bit long and borderline tedious (maybe my ears were just exhausted). A welcomed breather comes with the beautiful third movement. For film fans, it provides perhaps what the last portion of the score for The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) might have sounded like had EWG done his own orchestration (this film score is also a must for your basic EWK CD library). The final movement is a bit of a roller-coaster ride with recapitulations from earlier movements. All in all, a very emotion-draining composition (also an EWK trademark). The Much Ado Suite (Op 11), isn't, well, much. The pre-teen EWK wrote far better (like Der Schneemann (The Snowman) (1908), another must for your collection). Film fans will enjoy a 19-year "sneak preview" of fragments from what would become the score for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)--yes, another "must." But, stacked up side-by-side with Op 40, Much Ado hasn't a change. Consider it a pretty bonus.

In this performance, the LSO isn't as tight as it could be, and it suffers from some problems with intonation. The recording quality is only a little lumpy, but well balanced. The music itself is beautiful, and I myself have not tired of any of the movements in the F sharp symphony, and find the second (scherzo) perhaps my favorite. The Much Ado suite is as elegant as any of Korngold's earlier works--not at all simplistic or childish, but rather astoundingly sophisticated. The longest of the suite's pieces is just over 3 minutes, so they could only bore one of a particularly short attention span. I recommend this disc highly, but gave it a 4 star rating because of coordination and intonation problems. I would only give 5 stars to something that is flawless or just very musically played. I would characterize this performance as highly competent.