So, an ear of Corn, a karat of Gold and a concerto violin met in a bar...what happened next is probably after the fact when considering the context of this post. I was trying to be very punny...I think I failed.

Anyway, there's a rather interesting story to go with this latest post.

A couple of years ago I was flying somewhere on Air Canada and I listened to their in flight classical music radio program. On the program was the second movement of Barber's Violin Concerto (beautiful!) performed by James Ehnes (a Canadian!) and the Vancouver Symphony.

I loved it and listened to the program again and again just to hear that one piece. About a year ago I stumbled upon the same recording on Amazon.ca and immediately ordered it. I don't think I've ever heard a violinist with such an amazing, cantabile tone before. He is still my favorite Concert violinist, so far. I almost got a chance to see him live last Summer but couldn't find the transportation.

In addition to the Barber Concerto, the CD featured two other gems as well. One of them was Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op.35.


first movement

The concerto was composed in 1945 in response to some persuasion from violionist and fellow émigré of Korngold, Bronislaw Huberman. Korngold used the Concerto to honor a fellow mentor from his childhood, Gustav Mahler, by dedicating it to his widow Alma. It was premiered on February 15, 1947 by Jascha Heifetz, with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and conductor Vladimir Golschmann.

It was Heifetz's performance that elevated the Concerto into the standard of today's standard repertoire and the recording and performance of which gained the Concerto it's most wide acclaim. The Concerto is distinct with that of the film music Korngold was vastly associated at the time of composition. Many references to film scores of Korngold are embedded within the Concerto.


second movement

The concerto contains a very lyrical, lush and colorful construct and is seen in its elaborate instrumentation. In addition to the solo violin, Korngold added a piccolo, two flutes, two obeoes, cor anglais, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabasson, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, harp, strings, as well as a colorful percussion section including timpani, symbals, gong, bells, chime, vibraphone, xylophone, and celesta.

The sophisticated musical language of Korngold's classical training is forefront in the composition of the solo violin, whereas the accompaniment and the more lyrical moments of the solo part draw from the "soundscape" you would witness in "at the time" Film music. While Korngold was equally inspired by his own musical abilities, the concerto as noted earlier borrows thematic material from his own movie scores in each of the three movements:


finale

I. Moderato nobile: the magnificent soaring violin solo which opens the concerto is a theme from Another Dawn (1937). Juarez (1939) provided the second theme, and then is expanded and relied upon by the orchestra.

II. Romanze: A solo clarinet introduces the envious principal theme of the movement quoted from Anthony Adverse (1936) and revisited after a contrasting middle section. This section is original and seems to have been composed uniquely for the concerto alone. It is where the concerto discovers its most dramatic moment.

III. Finale: Allegro assai vivace: The finale is the most demanding movement for the soloist and is seen in the very beginning with a staccato jig-like quote. After this we discover the second theme seen in the Prince and the Pauper (1937), of which it was the main motif. The concerto then builds to a virtuoso climax and finishes brilliantly. It mostly employs the form of variation throughout on the principal melody.

One can imagine a sweeping epic or periodical movie with a dazzling love story in between with the great use of orchestra color and unanticipated emotions as film music provides. Naturally the hero/protagonist triumphs by the sheer scope of the third movement and the climactic ending. Maybe he gets the girl? or saves the world? it's often too cloudy to tell, the music could tell so many stories.

About the video:
Hilary Hahn with Kent Nagano; conductor. It's a Californian Orchestra I believe.