Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Tuesday, 27 November 2007 – Jüdisches Museum Wien, Dorotheergasse 11.
Beginning in 2004, the Jewish Museum in Vienna has showcased exhibitions of various Jewish composers as part of a larger “Music in Transition” series. The series of exhibits in general carries the following introduction: (from the Museum’s publications):
“The Nazi persecution of Vienna’s Jewish musicians was an act of incalculable inhuman, but also cultural barbarism. Our exhibition series Music in Transition recalls a generation of composers whose work grew out of Vienna’s musical primacy. Most who survived the Holocaust refused to return to the city that had criminally destroyed their lives and denounced their contributions. In exile, they became a testimony to Vienna’s past: valued abroad but only distantly remembered at home. Music in Transition is a small step towards the repatriation of their legacy.”
Previously exhibited were the composers Hans Gál, Egon Wellesz, Franz Schreker and Eric Zeisl. Timed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death, the Korngold exhibit began on the evening of 27 November 2007 with a special ceremony and private viewing of the exhibit by the “great and good” of Vienna’s musical and artistic establishment. There had also been a well-attended Press Conference earlier in the day.
The exhibition, which is arranged across eight of the largest rooms of the Museum, has been in development and planning for almost three years and required highly complex and co-ordinated liaison with archives, libraries and private collections across Europe and the United States, bringing together a unique display of material, much of it never seen in public before.
In the course of preparation, numerous objects and photographs were discovered for the first time and in one instance, a previously unknown radio interview given by Korngold in 1955 was found by chance in the Austrian Radio archives. By June 2007, it became apparent to the exhibition team that there was enough extant material for a dozen exhibitions on Korngold, such was the richness of original sources available. The hardest decisions therefore were on what had to be left out. This was in marked contrast to previous exhibitions at the Museum, where the curators often struggled to find suitable artifacts to illustrate the story.
Acting as a consultant for the Exhibition was Brendan Carroll, Korngold’s biographer, and as well as loaning many rare items from his own collection, Mr. Carroll identified where other materials were to be found and advised on the thematic structure of the project. Comprehensive support was given by the Korngold family, in particular Mrs. Helen Korngold, the widow of Korngold’s eldest son Ernst, who generously agreed to loan some of the most precious items, including the manuscript of his Passacaglia composed at the age of 11, his tuxedo which he always wore to conduct concerts and theatre performances and, above all, his Oscar statuette for the film “Anthony Adverse”!
The opening event was extremely well covered in the Austrian media, and there were few in Vienna that were unaware of what was happening for this composer who has still not been properly rehabilitated in his home land.
Presenting opening-night speeches were Dr. Karl Weinberger, Director of the Museum; Michael Haas, music curator for the Museum who created the concept of the exhibition and in particular, the focus on the relationship between Korngold and his father; Ioan Holender, Intendant of the Wiener Staatsoper; and a special presentation by Kathrin Korngold Hubbard. In the audience for this special event were all three Korngold grandchildren, their spouses, and several of the great-grandchildren. The Schoenberg family, which is one of the Museum’s sponsors for this exhibition series, was also present. Interspersed with a few auditory cues of Korngold and his father speaking, and Korngold playing the piano, the speeches commented on the importance of the exhibits in general, and of the Korngold exhibit specifically, as well as on Korngold, his world, and his importance.

On display until mid-May 2008, the exhibit showcases different phases of the life and career of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, including a room devoted to his critic-father, Dr. Julius Korngold, who so influenced his son’s life and work. The exhibit is of special significance to Korngold fans and enthusiasts, as the Korngold family has made available portions of the estate that have never been shown before, either in the US or Vienna, including manuscripts and printed music, original correspondence, photos, programs, and other memorabilia. The exhibit also has listening stations in each room, where the visitor may enjoy auditory exhibits of not only current interpretations of Korngold’s compositions, but also historic recordings, and previously unheard recordings by the composer himself. There are also video monitors throughout, showing rare archive footage, home movies and clips from many of the famous films scored by Korngold.
Finally there is a lavishly produced catalogue of over two hundred pages with dozens of rare photographs, that also includes special articles commissioned by the Museum from leading experts and which complements the exhibition story. These articles include surveys on his film and operetta scores, the role played by Julius Korngold in his son’s life and an overview of music criticism in Vienna before 1938. The catalogue also includes a unique CD of rare archival recordings, many unpublished and all making their first appearance on CD, drawn from the Korngold Estate and also the private collection of Brendan Carroll and the archives of Austrian Radio.
These rare recordings of such major interpreters of Korngold’s music as Jan Kiepura, Jascha Horenstein, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Julius Patzak, Lotte Lehmann and Richard Tauber have been fully restored. The CD also presents Korngold himself as pianist and conductor of his own works, and even includes an acetate of him reciting his own humorous poem for his mother’s 80th birthday!
In short, the Museum provides the visitor with a complete immersion into the life of Erich Wolfgang Korngold both as a public figure and a private individual, with a unique glimpse into his own world and that of his family.
Based on previous exhibitions, it is anticipated that over 100,000 people will visit the Korngold Exhibition before it closes on 22 May 2008. A series of concerts and lectures will take place throughout this time, and in the closing weeks the Wiener Staatsoper will present performances of Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt.
Anyone planning to visit Vienna should allow at least three hours to visit this important exhibit. Details and prices for the exhibition can be found at: www.jmw.at/en/the_korngolds.html
Additional information on the museum itself can be found at: www.jmw.at
If you cannot make the trip to Vienna but would like to purchase a copy of the special catalogue and CD (which is an instant collectors’ item) you may do so by contacting the Museum via its website.
Originally posted December 2007 — reformatted January 2011