E.W.Korngold Web site

About three years ago the Korngold Foundation's experimental web site announced a series of new releases. This included the Autumn, 2002, issue on Cambria of a 3 CD set of rare and archival recordings featuring Korngold as pianist and conductor compiled from studio acetates, home recordings, shellac 78's, and nitrate-film negatives. Also announced was the 2002/03 release of a double CD of the OST of "Anthony Adverse." What happened to those projects? Will they ever be issued?
Greetings from San Francisco!
Dennis

Nobody regrets more than I that these recordings have still not been issued. I wish I could tell you when they might appear but as Cambria has all but ceased to communicate with me, I cannot provide even a glimmer of hope. As soon as I know, I will ensure a news release is issued to the Editor here.

As for ADVERSE, this is still in "the works" I understand, but some portions of the optical soundtrack have deteriorated and other sources are being sought at present.

Brendan Carroll --
I spoke with the late Dr. Marcel Prawy shortly after the 2002 Korngold event in Brno that you attended. (He telephoned me directly -- which is the reason I never got back to you when you offered to act as an intermediary between Dr. Prawy and myself -- regarding certain details of Korngold's life that had come into my possession that had not been previously known). He told me that Cambria had bootlegged on CD the "Korngold by Korngold"album that he had produced and that was previously released by International Masterworks. He told me he intended on pursuing litigation against them for copyright infringement. I don't know if the bootlegged CD is still available these days, but I checked back in 2002 and, at that time, it was still listed as being available in U.S. record stores.
Is this the recording that Dennis Miller is referring to above?

Cambria had two Korngold recordings in their CD catalogue a few years ago. Only one of those CDs remains in print today.

Please take a look a this link for the opera "Violanta." It will give you pictures of both of the Cambria discs. The one dated 1949 is no longer available and may very well be the one that contained materials for which Dr. Prawy held the copyrights.

http://www.geocities.com/~bs-magazine/k ... k_op8.html

Dennis Miller
San Francisco

Following the link, anybody can see two covers from CD's of the label Cambria which both are still available at www.amazon.com!

"Guest" seems to have taken offense to my post stating that "Korngold In Vienna" is no longer available. I will supplement my earlier post by adding that the CD is not extinct and can still be purchased on-line. None of our major CD e-tailers, however, have it in their catalogues.

Amazon.com, by the way, is not actually selling the disc. It is available through two of their "Z" shops who work as independent vendors under the amazon umbrella.

Here is a link to amazon.com (that the reader can actually use) to view "Korngold in Vienna".....

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... =classical

....and another for "From the Operas of Erich Wolfgang Korngold" which is apparently still in print.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... =classical

The failure of the "Korngold in Vienna" disc to be sold by amazon.com or towerrecords.com implies that this CD is out-of-print, or, as I put it, no longer available, because it probably cannot be ordered from Cambria or a distributor. In fact, one of the "Z" shops that is selling it new through amazon.com, ArkivMusic, does not even maintain "Korngold in Vienna" on its retail website arkivmusic.com. So then, please draw your own conclusions.

Since the Cambria on-line catalogue is a couple of years old, I hope someone cheerful can step in and provide some clarity on this small matter. It would also be interesting to find out whether or not this was the disc for which Dr. Prawy held the copyrights. If so, the recording dates stated on the CD are probably incorrect.

There is an irony in the fact that one of the recordings on "Korngold in Vienna" is titled "Much Ado About Nothing."

Kind greetings from San Francisco,
Dennis Miller

Hello Dennis Miller --

I have one of EWK's own copies of "Korngold by Korngold" and I'll take a look at the album jacket for the copyright date and get back to the website with something definitive about when it was copyrighted. In the meantime, though, if memory serves me correctly, my rough guess is that the album is copyrighted 1951 .

Dear oh dear, what a fractious bunch you all are!

To summarise:

1. The "Korngold by Korngold" LP was produced in 1951 and barely sold. It is one of the rarest early LPs and was discontinued within 12 mnths of release.

2. The original LP was subsequently reissued by Varese Sarabande (produced by George Korngold) in the early 80s, following discovery of the original quarter inch tapes. This too disappeared after about a year.

3. The two CAMBRIA cds referred to in this strand are NOT of the LP tracks from 1951 but are of rare ORF radio tapes owned by Korngold (and subsequently his son George). These are in the Korngold Estate now owned by George's son Leslie, who authorised their release. They are, to the best of my knowledge, still available.

4. The long-awaited CAMBRIA anthology, prematurely "announced" on the short-lived website put up by Mr William Flanigan, is a 3 CD set of other rare material which includes the tracks from the 1951 LP, now digitally restored.

5. Dr Prawy never started litigation against CAMBRIA and indeed, I am sure if he had tried, he would have been told that he had no case. He was merely the producer of the original LP. The company which made it has long since ceased to exist. The tapes were owned by the Korngold Estate who authorised Cambria.

On a brighter note, I am just now advised by Leslie Korngold that the project is very much alive and that the 3rd CD is in the process of completion. Watch this space!

I hope this clarifies the position. Mr Neola, Dr Prawy called you at my request. I would appreciate knowing what you had to divulge, as he is now dead and whatever information you have, really ought to be shared, don't you agree?

Certainly, he never discussed it with me. I hope you will get in touch with me.

Now let's all think positive thoughts and look forward to the CAMBRIA release!

Dennis Miller wrote:About three years ago the Korngold Foundation's experimental web site announced a series of new releases. This included the Autumn, 2002, issue on Cambria of a 3 CD set of rare and archival recordings featuring Korngold as pianist and conductor compiled from studio acetates, home recordings, shellac 78's, and nitrate-film negatives. Also announced was the 2002/03 release of a double CD of the OST of "Anthony Adverse." What happened to those projects? Will they ever be issued?
Greetings from San Francisco!
Dennis

*******

Dear Mr. Carroll,

Are there any updates?

Many thanks,
Dennis Miller

Dear Mr Miller

As it happens, I met up with Leslie Korngold in Vienna last week during all the festivities, and he assures me these will be issued in 2008...so watch this space!

Dear Mr Carroll,

Any possibility the Cambria set will ever be issued? It has been almost seven years since the first announcement.

Best regards,

Dennis Miller

bump

Finally I am able to give you an update on this long saga.

It appears that Leslie Korngold has now donated all of his rare sound recordings to the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. The CAMBRIA release is therefore unlikely to happen at all.

Whether MPAAS will ever issue a CD of this priceless archive is anyone's guess.

Perhaps if enough Korngold admirers here write to the Academy, they may consider it?