Erich Wolfgang Korngold wrote his Violin Concerto in 1945, straight after the end of World War II. Widely performed today, it is by far his best known concert-hall composition. Violinist Andrew Haveron’s recording is made with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and conductor John Wilson. It is paired with a composition that highlights what a prodigiously talented teenager Korngold was: he wrote his String Sextet at the age of just 17.
Gramophone Editor's Choice
Featuring
Andrew Haveron
John Wilson
Magnus Johnston
James Boyd
Joel Hunter
Jonathan Aasgaard
Pierre Doumenge
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
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Critical Reception
Korngold's Violin Concerto, once dismissed by critics as old-fashioned, has become standard repertoire and is now his most performed concert work.
Composition History
Korngold's Violin Concerto was initially sketched almost a decade before its commonly stated composition date of 1945, with much of the work outlined by 1937.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Korngold was a "relentless self-borrower," repurposing thematic material from his film scores for concert works and vice versa, such as using parts of his 1919 symphonic poem "Sursum Corda" in his Oscar-winning score for "The Adventures of Robin Hood."
Composition History
Korngold put aside the Violin Concerto sketches after a hesitant sight-reading performance by family friend and violinist Robert Pollak (1880-1962), only resuming work in 1945 at the request of violinist Bronisław Huberman.
Composition History
The rhapsodic main theme from Korngold's film score for "Another Dawn" (1937) was suggested by his father, Dr. Julius Korngold (an eminent critic), as the basis for the Violin Concerto.
Notable Performances
The world premiere of Korngold's Violin Concerto was given by Jascha Heifetz (a renowned violinist) on February 15, 1947, in St. Louis.
Composer Biography
Korngold began composing his String Sextet, Op. 10, at the age of seventeen in 1914, and was considered the greatest composer-prodigy since Mozart.
