Search - Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Dietrich Henschel, Helmut Deutsch :: Korngold: Lieder

Erich Wolfgang Korngold is most famous for his Hollywood film scores and his opera Die Tote Stadt. He also composed 40-plus songs, and this CD presents 36 of them. In fact, several of these songs appear in some Warner Bros. films, either in their form here, or as melodies he adapted. Five songs (opus 38) are dedicated to soprano Maria Jeritza and are set to English texts; they are catchy and easygoing enough to be called "popular." (One of them has words by Howard Koch, a contributing writer for the screenplay of Casablanca. On the other hand, we get "Drei Lieder op. 18," which are far more "modern." Indeed, there are moments of Alban Berg in them, although they never stray quite that far from tonality. What one takes away from this 76-minute recital disc is the variety Korngold was capable of and the short time he needs (the longest song is just four minutes) to set a mood and tell a story. Baritone Dietrich Henschel copes with the huge palette Korngold presents; he sings with great expression and can "simplify" his tone as the music demands. He's most comfortable in the middle of his range, but his frequent moves up to G and A flat are exciting as well. Helmut Deutsch is a fine pianist-partner. There's a lot to digest here; these aren't all to be played at once. But section by section, they are lovely and interesting. --Robert Levine