Korngold and His World (The Bard Music Festival Book 45)

A brand-new look at the life and music of renowned composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) was the last compositional prodigy to emerge from the Austro-German tradition of Mozart and Mendelssohn. He was lauded in his youth by everyone from Mahler to Puccini and his auspicious career in the early 1900s spanned chamber music, opera, and musical theater. Today, he is best known for his Hollywood film scores, composed between 1935 and 1947. From his prewar operas in Vienna to his pathbreaking contributions to American film, Korngold and His World provides a substantial reassessment of Korngold's life and accomplishments. Korngold struggled to reconcile the musical language of his Viennese upbringing with American popular song and cinema, and was forced to adapt to a new life after wartime emigration to Hollywood. This collection examines Korngold's operas and film scores, the critical reception of his music, and his place in the milieus of both the Old and New Worlds. The volume also features numerous historical documents--many previously unpublished and in first-ever English translations--including essays by the composer as well as memoirs by his wife, Luzi Korngold, and his father, the renowned music critic Julius Korngold. The contributors are Leon Botstein, David Brodbeck, Bryan Gilliam, Daniel Goldmark, Lily Hirsch, Kevin Karnes, Sherry Lee, Neil Lerner, Sadie Menicanin, Ben Winters, Amy Wlodarski, and Charles Youmans. Bard Music Festival 2019 Korngold and His World Bard College August 9-11 and 16-18, 2019 A brand-new look at the life and music of renowned composer Erich Wolfgang KorngoldErich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) was the last compositional prodigy to emerge from the Austro-German tradition of Mozart and Mendelssohn. Lauded in his youth by everyone from Mahler to Puccini, Korngold's auspicious career in the early 1900s spanned chamber music, opera, and musical theater. Today, he is best known for his Hollywood film scores, composed between 1935 and 1947. From his prewar operas in Vienna to his pathbreaking contributions to American film scoring, Korngold and His World provides a substantial reassessment of Korngold's life and accomplishments.Korngold struggled to reconcile the musical language of his Viennese upbringing with American popular song and cinema, and was forced to adapt to a new life after wartime emigration to Hollywood. This collection examines Korngold's operas and film scores, the critical reception of his music, and his place in the milieus of both the Old and New Worlds. The volume also features numerous historical documents--many previously unpublished and in first-ever English translations--including essays by the composer as well as memoirs by his wife, Luzi Korngold, and his father, the renowned music critic Julius Korngold.The contributors are Leon Botstein, David Brodbeck, Bryan Gilliam, Daniel Goldmark, Lily Hirsch, Kevin Karnes, Sherry Lee, Neil Lerner, Sadie Menicanin, Ben Winters, Amy Wlodarski, and Charles Youmans.Bard Music Festival 2019Korngold and His WorldBard CollegeAugust 9-11 and 16-18, 2019 Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) was the last compositional prodigy to emerge from the Austro-German tradition of Mozart and Mendelssohn. While his auspicious career in the early 1900s spanned chamber music, opera, and musical theater, his decision to score Warner Bros.' cinematic adaptation of A midsummer night's dream in 1935 - what must have seemed like a lark at the time - turned out to be a career-defining moment, as the hostilities that led to World War II prompted Korngold's move to Hollywood, where he remained until the end of his life. Lauded in his youth by everyone from Mahler to Puccini, Korngold is best known today for the Hollywood films he scored between 1935 and 1956, despite his attempts to reconnect with Europe's concert scene after the war. In his story, we see a struggle to reconcile the musical language of his Viennese upbringing with American popular song and cinema, and his efforts to adapt to a new life after wartime emigration. Korngold and his world provides a substantial reassessment of Korngold's life and accomplishments, including chapters on his operas and film scores, the critical reception of his music, and his place in the milieus of both the Old and the New Worlds. It includes numerous historical documents, some of which are previously unpublished - including essays by the composer as well as memoirs by his father, the renowned music critic Julius Korngold, and by his wife, Luzi Korngold, most of which are presented here for the first time in English translation Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Preface and Acknowledgments 10 Permissions and Credits 16 ESSAYS 20 Korngold Father and Son in Vienna’s Prewar Public Eye 22 “You must return to life”: Notes on the Reception of Das Wunder der Heliane and Jonny spielt auf 56 Acoustic Space, Modern Interiority, and Korngold’s Cities 86 Korngold and Jewish Identity in Concert 108 New Opportunities in Film: Korngold and Warner Bros. 130 “The caverns of the human mind are full of strange shadows”: Disability Representation, Henry Bellamann, and Korngold’s Musical Subtexts in the Score for Kings Row 150 American and Austrian Ruins in Korngold’s Symphony in F-sharp 186 Recollections of Zemlinsky from My Years of Study 212 Notes for an Interview 220 A Farewell to Vienna 226 Composing for the Pictures: An Interview 242 “Give up your plans of coming home”: Letters of a Viennese Father to His Son 252 Some Experiences in Film Music 266 Faith in Music! 274 CODA 280 Before and After Auschwitz: Korngold and the Art and Politics of the Twentieth Century 282 Index 334 Notes on Contributors 346