Korngold: Viel Lärmen um Nichts, Op. 11

Featuring

Ullo von Peinen
Hans Jörg Mammel
Klaus Simon
Holst-Sinfonietta
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

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Recording & Production

This recording includes a new narrated text in German for Korngold's incidental music, written by Cornelius Bauer and Klaus Simon, the conductor.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Korngold's two early sets of incidental music, including Much Ado About Nothing, can be seen as a prequel to his later film commissions, which influenced Hollywood style.

Composition History

Korngold wrote the incidental music for a production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at the Palace of Schönbrunn in Vienna, which premiered on May 20, 1920.

Critical Reception

The production of Much Ado About Nothing was exceptionally well received and a great success for the young Korngold, though it was soon overshadowed by his opera Die tote Stadt.

Compositional Technique

Korngold's incidental music for Much Ado About Nothing sometimes accompanies dialogue as a melodrama or interjection, anticipating his film score technique of drama and music coinciding.

Composition History

Due to cramped conditions at the Schönbrunn production, Korngold had a limited number of musicians, resulting in a small chamber orchestra despite his preference for a full orchestra.

Performer Biography

Ullo von Peinen, the narrator on this album, is a German actor who has worked extensively in theatre, radio, and television, and is involved with the Freiburg music scene.