Erich Korngold may be best known as a composer of Hollywood film scores from the 1930s, but his Violin Concerto has grown into a cult favorite for its unabashed lyricism. Korngold, who left Austria for California before the Second World War, earned a reputation as a musical swashbuckler, and rightly so: He pioneered the symphonic approach and use of leitmotivs in movies, inspiring generations that followed, including John Williams.
But Korngold needed to prove he was more than a practitioner of soundtracks. He yearned to be respected in the concert hall, and while the Violin Concerto borrows themes from four films, it remains his most performed piece of so-called abstract music.
Violinist Stefan Jackiw has played it all over the world and never tires of its emotional thrust.
“It’s a real masterpiece and I’m glad to see it programmed more and more frequently,’’ he said. “I now play it almost every season, and it’s always a pleasure.’’
The Boston-born Jackiw − who turns 40 in May − is aware of the critical salvos the composer endured after the concerto’s premiere in 1957. Some writers disparaged him for recycling tunes from earlier scores (although Bach did the same thing in his own time) with one New York critic calling it “more corn than gold.”
“Yes, it contains bits of Korngold’s earlier film music, but its playful and at times hyper-expressive, yet that doesn’t necessarily make it corny,’’ Jackiw said. “I think the key to bringing this piece off successfully is to avoid wallowing in sentimentality. This music is utterly sincere, and heart-on-your-sleeve Romanticism.’’
Cast in the same key as the concertos of Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky, the music is heady and expressive, its aching melodies pouring in every direction. The opening Moderato nobile theme is based on music from the 1937 film Another Dawn, starring Errol Flynn, but listeners might notice it appearing in the 1960s television series Star Trek. The second movement, a Romance in G major, quotes from the film Anthony Adverse and the contrasting middle section serves as the heart of the concerto. The finale, marked Allegro assai vivace, begins with a virtuosic jig and uses material from the Prince and the Pauper that leads to a spirited close.
Cinematic or not, none of this is easy to play, Jackiw adds.
“It’s extremely challenging from a technical standpoint,’’ he said. “Lots of finger-twisting passages, lots of huge leaps across the fingerboard, lots of tricky technical passages for the bow. Also, the orchestration is very dense, so it’s easy to get overpowered. One needs a sensitive conductor to balance the sound effectively.”
That conductor is TFO Music Director Michael Francis, who’s excited to present the work in the latest Hough Family Foundation Masterworks program, which also includes HHindemith’s Mathis der Maler Symphony and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
“This is one of the great American concertos,’’ he said of the Korngold. “It has that pure Hollywood feel. Even though he came from Europe, he’s effectively an American composer because of how much he absorbed and influenced the American style.’’
Kurt Loft is a journalist and arts writer who has covered classical music in Florida for more than 40 years. A member of the Music Critics Association of North America, he lives in St. Petersburg.
Pictures at an Exhibition
Featuring Korngold’s Violin Concerto
April 26 & 27
For tickets, click here
