Korngold’s Only Symphony: A “Deluxe” Edition

Erich Wolfgang Korngold at the piano on the cover of the new recording of his only symphony (from the Amazon.com Web page)

According to my records, today is the day when Amazon.com announced the release of The Korngold Symphony. Erich Wolfgang Korngold composed only one symphony, his Opus 40, written in the key of F-sharp major. Korngold was born in Moravia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) in 1897. At the request of motion picture director Max Reinhardt, he moved to Hollywood, where he composed scores for sixteen films, many of which were swashbucklers. However, his symphony, which he completed in 1952, was dedicated to the memory of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This was particularly the case for the Adagio: Lento movement; and the author of the symphony’s Wikipedia page cites that movement as “in the tradition of Anton Bruckner.” None of the other movements follow up on that tradition; and Korngold appropriated the military song “Over There” for the Finale!

My primary experience with Korngold has been through his opera Die tote Stadt, which was first performed in Germany in December of 1920. I had the good fortune to attend the performance by the San Francisco Opera in September of 2008. While the instrumentation for this opera was rich in its sonorities, the symphony gave Korngold the opportunity to explore an even wider scope of instrumental sounds. One can appreciate that palette of those sonorities in the performance by the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by John Mauceri.

However, that performance accounts for only one of the two CDs in the release. The other consists of excerpts from the symphony performed at the piano by Korngold himself. This is one of the many recordings maintained by the Korngold Family Archives. One even encounters the voice of Korngold himself announcing each of the excerpts. As one might guess, the restoration of the piano performance reveals far more than the composer’s commentary!

To be fair, I am just beginning to get my head around the orchestral qualities of this symphony. It would be fair to say that I would be even better informed had I the opportunity to listen to music in performance. In the absence of such an occasion, I can at least acknowledge that the accompanying booklet is a wealth of information, not only in its text but also in its collection of archival photographs.

I owned a CD recording of Die tote Stadt decades before I had the opportunity to see a fully-staged production. Nevertheless, I was well-prepared to see that opera performed, having become acquainted with the music. I plan to make just as much an acquaintance with Opus 40, building up a familiarity in the hope that I shall eventually encounter a concert performance!