Sunday, 25 November 2007 – Haus der Musik, Vienna.
The Welcoming Concert for the Korngold grandchildren to Vienna was a true experience in “bi-tonality” – in this case “German major” and “English minor” (including a brief sidebar about “English” and “American English”!) as the performers and round table panelists attempted to accommodate members of the audience who speak only one language or the other, but not both. In some fashion we all managed to understand the gist of everything spoken. Luckily, the language of music is understood fluently by all.
Moderated by Wilhelm Sinkovicz, music critic for Die Presse, today’s program of works spanned Korngold’s oeuvre from 1909 to 1946, from his early piano music to his film song “Love for Love”. The performers included pianist Alexander Frey, and a handful of students from the North Carolina School of Arts (in the United States), where conductor John Mauceri is the current chancellor.
Of special note were the performances of “Hey, Robin”, Op. 29/4, and “Love for Love” from the film “Escape Me Never”. The duet between Nick Dothee and Rachel Wallace added a wonderful dimension to these songs, especially “Hey, Robin” which is usually heard performed by only one singer. Both vocalists did an outstanding job, even managing to clearly manifest that consequential “tension” a song like “Love for Love” was designed to create. The Isaac Stern Quartet, four students from the North Carolina School of Arts, also performed a splendid rendition of the effervescent second movement from Korngold’s sunny String Quartet #2, Op. 26. And pianist Alexander Frey as always performed up to expectations.
The roundtable discussion immediately following the interval included questions and answers by Korngold biographer Brendan G. Carroll, Korngold specialists Alexander Frey and John Mauceri, and Jewish Museum curator Michael Haas, with Gerold Gruber and Wilhelm Sinkovicz as moderators/translators. The discussion ranged from considerations about Korngold’s music, to general trends in music and music history during his lifetime, and seemingly everything in between. Following the recital, the panelists, as well as the Korngold grandchildren were interviewed for the start of series of TV, radio, and newspaper features. Truly a wonderful way to kick off a week of memorial events and observances in honor of Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
