Philharmonie Zuid Nederland, Otto Tausk, Kristóf Baráti, Gábor Farkas - Korngold: Violin Concerto, Violin Sonata (2015)

Tracklist

01. Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35: I. Moderato nobile
02. Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35: II. Romanze
03. Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35: III. Allegro assai vivace
04. Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 6: I. Ben moderato, ma con passione
05. Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 6: II. Scherzo. Allegro molto (Con fuoco)
06. Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 6: III. Adagio. Mit tiefer Empfindung
07. Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 6: IV. Finale. Allegretto quasi andante (Con grazia)

The son of a distinguished music critic, Erich Wolfgang Korngold is chiefly known as one of the greatest composers of Hollywood film scores; a man whose score for the 1938 Swashbuckler film The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, ‘saved his life’. For his first 40 years, however, he wrote music for the concert hall, and even after he had ‘sold his soul to the film studios’ Korngold continued to write late-Romantic art music, his Violin Concerto marking a significant return to this genre in 1945. The music is wholly characteristic of the composer’s mature style: expansive, opulent and memorably melodic. The orchestration, too, is abundantly colourful and sensitive, with the virtuosity of the violin part coming to the fore particularly in the last movement. In the programme for the work’s premiere, Korngold wrote: “[the work] … was contemplated rather for a Caruso of the violin than for a Paganini … how delighted I am to have my concerto performed by Caruso and Paganini in one person: Jascha Heifetz”.

The Violin Sonata predates the Concerto by about 30 years; completed when Korngold was just 16 years old, it refers to the later work in a number of ways, most notably through the composer’s penchant for wide intervals and the use of several of the themes which reveal Korngold’s precocious craftsmanship and use of organic unity. Its inclusion on this release equates to a deft piece of programming, given that the work is in many ways the perfect companion piece to the Concerto.

Violinist Kristóf Baráti is no stranger to Brilliant Classics, having appeared on no less than five recordings thus far. Following the release of his disc of Ysaÿe’s Sonatas (BC94678), Fanfare acknowledged his “blazing technique” and “brilliant tone”. As one of the most talented violinists of his generation, he has performed with the world’s major orchestras and collaborated alongside many esteemed conductors. He plays a 1703 Stradivari violin, the ‘Lady Harmsworth’, kindly loaned by the Stradivari Society. On this release Baráti is joined by players from the philharmonie zuidnederland under Otto Tausk, with Gábor Farkas at the piano.

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