It is stunning to consider that Schauspiel Overture, Op. 4 is the work of a 14 year old boy.
Composed in 1911, the first orchestral piece of Erich Wolfgang Korngold unfolds with Romantic melodies and lush, shimmering orchestration. It delivers the fully formed sound world of Korngold’s Hollywood film scores of the 1930s and 40s. The title translates as “Overture to a Drama.” Tense, turbulent, and adventurous, the first theme gives way to a glittering waltz second theme. There are echoes of Mahler, Strauss, and glittering prewar Vienna.
Korngold stands alongside Mozart and Mendelssohn as one of the greatest prodigies in the history of music. In 1906, Mahler declared him to be “A genius! A genius!” After hearing music of the 11-year-old Korngold, Richard Strauss said, “One’s first reaction that these compositions are by a child are those of awe and concern that so precocious a genius should follow its normal development…This assurance of style, this mastery of form, this characteristic expressiveness, this bold harmony, are truly astonishing!” Puccini said, “The boy has so much talent that he could easily give us some and still have enough left for himself.” Korngold’s father, Julius, observed, “This child… changed in a strange manner when carried away by his music. Then his childish features were suddenly transformed by an expression of deep absorption, a strong assertiveness and tense energy. He seemed to be burning with a hidden flame…”
When a Berlin critic contacted him for program notes, it was Julius Korngold who made up the story that the Overture was inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Conductor Arthur Nikisch and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra gave the premiere on December 14, 1911.
Recordings
- Korngold: Schauspiel Overtüre, Op. 4, Matthias Bamert, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Chandos