Strauss, Korngold, Schrecker: Metamorphosen

Featuring

John Wilson
Sinfonia of London
Richard Strauss
Franz Schreker
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

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Historical Context

Richard Strauss, the composer of Metamorphosen, was deeply affected by the destruction of German cultural sites during World War II, including the Wiener Staatsoper.

Composer Biography

Erich Wolfgang Korngold, composer of the Symphonic Serenade, spent fifteen years in Hollywood creating benchmark soundworlds for films before returning to Europe.

Composition History

Franz Schreker's Intermezzo for strings, completed in 1900, won first prize in a competition sponsored by the Neue musikalische Presse.

Composition History

Richard Strauss's Metamorphosen began composition on March 13, 1945, the day after the Wiener Staatsoper was destroyed in Allied bombing.

Performer Biography

Sinfonia of London, relaunched in 2018 by conductor John Wilson, was originally famous in the 1950s as a leading recording orchestra for over 300 films, including Hitchcock's Vertigo.

Compositional Technique

Richard Strauss's Metamorphosen concludes with a direct quotation of the funeral march from Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony in its original key of C minor.

Compositional Technique

Korngold's Symphonic Serenade features an opulent string lineup, including sixteen first violins, sixteen second violins, twelve violas, twelve cellos, and eight double-basses.