Korngold Film scores

[Gareth Vaughan]

As Ebubu says, both your response and Mr Carroll's were immensely interesting and informative. I read them as complementary, Mr Carroll's merely qualifying and adding to yours, Adriano.

[brendangcarroll]

May I add two things to my earlier posts:

By adding some further information and correcting some slight errors, I did not intend to insult or slight any other member here or discourage them from posting. Far from it.

Secondly, if anyone (especially member ewk) would like to see what the sketches of Korngold's unfinished 2nd symphony actually look like, I reproduced the first page of these sketches on Page 361 of my biography of the composer, entitled "The Last Prodigy" published 1997 (Amadeus Press).

[adriano]

@brendangcarroll
Don't worry, Brendan. My reaction is a typical one for an over-sensitive old guy full of complexes :-)
And thanks to all other members encouraging me (Mark, Alan, Gareth, Ebubu)!

[Alan Howe]

As a matter of interest, does anyone have an opinion of John Williams as a film music composer in comparison to the Hollywood greats (Korngold, Waxman, Rózsa, Steiner, Newman, etc.). I think he's a genius...

[eschiss1]

Well, I think I enjoyed his music more the less I knew the music he was almost-quoting (years ago). (It's one thing to be influenced by other composers, it's another to sometimes sound like a pastiche-cloth of various of their specific works and styles - not always movie (Hollywood or otherwise!) composers, sometimes- as I'm hardly the first to notice - Holst and Mahler eg as well.)

[semloh]

As a matter of interest, does anyone have an opinion of John Williams as a film music composer in comparison to the Hollywood greats...

Well, I utterly detest John Williams' music. It sounds to me as if he has one piece of music in his head and all his scores are variations upon it. When it's played on the radio (which is often) I cannot tell which film it was written for, and after two or three minutes I'm bored witless and screaming out for REAL film music (i.e. one of the Hollywood greats). I am obviously in a minority in this regard, but that's not unusual!

Thank you, everyone, for the fascinating material in this thread. I thought I knew a little about Korngold - but now I realise it was little indeed! 

[Alan Howe]

Right. Back to Korngold, then.

[brendangcarroll]

For those who first got to know the superb film music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold through the Classic Fim Scores series conducted by Charles Gerhardt in the 1970s, it appears that these fabulous recordings are being re-released again, this time on the Dutton label.

See:-

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8659830--captain-blood-classic-film-scores-for-errol-flynn

DUTTON has clearly licensed these recordings from RCA and the first to be issued is CAPTAIN BLOOD, released on August 16.

I am not sure if any digital enhancement has been done.

The performances are outstanding and unrivalled by any subsequent recordings IMO.

[Alan Howe]

For information, the new Dutton re-release contains rather more than Captain Blood - and more than just Korngold!

1. Adventures of Don Juan – Suite (Steiner)
The King – Main Title: Don Juan – The Brocade – Don Juan's Serenade – Parade into London – Don Juan and the Queen – Final Scene

2. The Sea Hawk – Suite (Korngold)
The Albatross – The Throne Room of Elizabeth I: Entrance of the Sea Hawks - The Orchid – Panama March – The Duel – Strike for the Shores of Dover AS

3. Captain Blood (Korngold)
Ship in the Night

4. They Died with Their Boots On – Suite (Steiner) JW IM
Morning – The Farewell Before the Battle – Preparation and March – The 7th Cavalry: Garry Owen – The Sioux – The Battle of Little Big Horn – Custer's Last Stand

5. Dodge City – Suite (Steiner)
Warner Bros. Fanfare and Main Title: The Open Prairie – The Iron Horse – Surrett – The Comrades – The Covered Wagon – Grazioso – Abbie and the Children – Wade and Abbie: The Blarney – Abbie's Theme

6. Objective, Burma! (Waxman)
Parachute Drop

7. The Sun also Rises (Friedhofer)
Prologue (Solennelle) – The Lights of Paris

8. The Adventures of Robin Hood – Suite (Korngold)
The Archery Tournament – Escape from the Gallows – Robin and Lady Marian – Coronation Procession

AS THE AMBROSIAN SINGERS
JW: JOHN WILBRAHAM bugle
IM: IAN MACKINTOSH bugle

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA conducted by CHARLES GERHARDT

[TerraEpon]

They've reissued a number of these (five, according to Dutton's website)....a couple people have said they don't differ much if at all from the previous RCA/Sony issues.
This is the only one with Korngold, who has two discs fully dedicated to him and a bit over 2 hours across the entire series.
FWIW.

[MartinH]

In addition to the John Mauceri edition of The Sea Hawk, there's also a good arrangement, somewhat shorter, for amateur/school orchestras by Jerry Brubaker. If only some other classic scores, not just Korngold's, would be so readily available. Just this past weekend a cable channel, Turner Classic Movies, ran classic Errol Flynn movies all day and naturally a lot of them were Korngold - what a difference it makes when a great composer writes a fabulous score. The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, Elizabeth and Essex...great stuff.

I'll be conducting  a Christmas concert this December and finally have the blessing of the sponsors to do some Korngold - his early pantomime score to The Snowman in Zemlinsky's orchestration. Wish I could find a way to get The Sea Hawk on!

[Alan Howe]

For the ballet/pantomime Der Schneemann, see this new thread: http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,7352.msg77591.html#msg77591

[MartinH]

Regarding Der Schneemann, my concert is a benefit-fund raiser for the https://www.chandlersymphony.com/ in Chandler AZ, USA. Dec. 1st. Will be doing the Introduction and Serenade, and hopefully a waltz. Not the whole score. It will be the orchestra's first time playing anything by Korngold. I'm also conducting a concert with the orchestra in February - as part of a science/tech fair. I'm bored of doing the expected John Williams music - again! - and am trying to convince the sponsors and board that using The Sea Hawk would be ok! It surely influenced Williams.

[brendangcarroll]

Thank you Martin for all that information and good luck with your endeavours. Warner Chapell publish a nice suite from SEA  HAWK (It was done at the BBC Proms in London conducted by John Wilson a few weeks ago and can be viewed online for about a month via the BBC website).

If you need any help just send me a PM.

[MartinH]

Thanks for the support! I'm looking at the Brubaker arrangement for Sea Hawk. Relatively inexpensive and easier then the Wilson.