Search - Korngold, Schonherr Austrian Rso :: Korngold in Vienna

For Korngold aficionados, a fascinating window into the past

Ross Amico | Philadelphia, PA United States | 03/31/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Obviously, the "historic" status of these recordings bothered Mr. Kersten (below) more than they did me. Then again, I purchased the disc back when it came out, in '91, when very little of Korngold's concert music was available on CD. The generally fine four-disc survey by Werner Andreas Albert, on CPO, was just becoming available, and I can still recollect the burst of adrenaline when confronted with such an embarrassment of riches!I should mention that I purchased the disc under review in a brick-and-mortar shop, so I must have gone to the checkout with a more realistic expectation as to the sound quality. The date 1949 appears twice on the outside of the packaging, in reasonably large print -- at least as large as the performers' names -- so if Mr. Kersten's beef is anyone, it should be with whomever entered the information online. (There is also a disclaimer on back, alerting the consumer to the analog source material.)As for Cambria's motives, here Mr. Kersten is being just a little unfair. The album was co-produced by the composer's grandson, Leslie -- and actually dedicated to the memory of his father George (i.e, the composer's son), who himself did so much to promote Korngold's music -- and the liner notes are by none other than film music historian Tony Thomas. These are people who obviously care very much about the Korngold legacy, and I personally am enormously grateful to be able to enjoy these performances, "historic" or otherwise.The prospective buyer should be aware that, although the conductor may be Max Schoenherr, all but one of the performances were supervised by Korngold himself. Also, many of the musicans in the Austrian orchestra would surely have remembered the days when Korngold's operas were still the hottest thing, classically speaking, to come out of Vienna. A wonderful piece of history, presumably very idiomatic, and a valuable document for any admirer of Korngold's art. Anyway, since so many of us came to love Korngold from his film scores of the '30s and '40s, I'm surprised antiquated sound would even be an issue! There have certainly been plenty of fine digital recordings released over the course of the last decade. (The great man, it seems, is finally getting his due.) Perhaps one of these would be more to your liking. I may be deliberately overrating the disc in terms of "star" value, but I feel I must do what I can to offset Mr. Kersten's obvious prejudice in the opposite direction. This should bring the overall assessment up to a very fair "three stars." Between the two of us, the prospective consumer may draw his or her own conclusions.Highly recommended to hardcore Korngold aficionados. Audiophiles proceed with caution.Also for the converted: a companion disc of Korngold opera arias ("From the Operas of Erich Wolfgang Korngold," Cambria 1032) -- equally historic, mind you, and equally fascinating."

Beautiful music, but.... aggravating the problem noted below

Haywood S. Osborne | Northern VA, in southern Boswash | 07/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you aren't put off by historical recordings, this is a keeper.



As noted in an earlier review, the packaging makes clear that the (1949) contents are monaural... but the Amazon writeup does not. The cover of my copy of the CD differs from that shown; but, more importantly, Amazon's listing of contents is for another Korngold recording! However, the actual arias and their names are given correctly in the playable samples.



The confusion is unfortunate because the album is wonderful. The performances are heartfelt and the arias show what Korngold did best, before the Nazis chased him away. This one really is a document, of a lost Vienna as well as nearly lost music. We can only wish that he'd written more operas than film scores....



I'm giving five stars for two reasons:

1)to raise the average towards the album's actual worth, as did the immediately preceding reviewer, and

2) I feel that this really is a five-star disc."