Erich Wolfgang Korngold, an Austrian-born composer, was a well-established opera composer in Vienna before becoming Hollywood's preeminent film composer.
Critical Reception
Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto, premiered by Jascha Heifetz in 1947, was initially dismissed by the New York press as a 'Hollywood concerto' and 'more corn than gold'.
Compositional Technique
John Adams's Violin Concerto, composed in 1993, is described as 'hypermelodic' and is essentially one prolonged, continuously unfolding melody for the solo violin.
Historical Context
Erich Wolfgang Korngold chose to remain in California after Hitler's Anschluss in 1938, vowing to support his family by writing film music until Hitler was defeated.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Both John Adams and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, each in his own time, rejected the mid-20th century dominance of atonality and serial composition.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The two violin concertos on this album, by John Adams and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, are stylistically opposite but share a common emphasis on melody.
Composer Biography
John Adams, a contemporary American composer, has stated it took him 20 years to escape the 'corrosive effects' of his twelve-tone system training at Harvard.
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