Korngold: Sonett Fur Wien, Songs / Sarah Connolly, William Dazeley, Iain Burnside

A beautiful recital that could turn even the hardest hearts towards Korngold

Iain Burnside views Korngold as a somewhat sad figure who never quite achieved what he felt he should have done. And a sense of poignancy permeates this recital. There is pain aplenty in William Dazeley’s open-heartedness, as in Sarah Connolly’s dreaminess. Yet the pace is well varied in a programme which traverses Korngold’s various musical identities.

-- Gramophone [7/2009]

There have been several discs of Korngold's Lieder, notably those by Dietrich Henschel, Stephen Kimbrough and Anne Sofie von Otter. Those for whom his music is an acquired taste Read more may not feel the need for another CD, but this new collection is exceptionally well performed and recorded. The mixture of songs in German and English works very well, and having two voices sharing the songs in some groups means that any sense of monotony is avoided.

As in his operas and film scores, one can hear Korngold drawing on different influences -- there are a couple of songs that seem like affectionate parodies of Mahler, others in which he is moving away from his Viennese roots and assimilating American and English styles. The Four Shakespeare Songs, Op. 31, are particularly engaging, William Dazeley really letting go in "When birds do sing," and Sarah Conolly bringing all her artistry to bear on Desdemona's Willow song. Both singers are sometimes stretched to the limits of their resources, especially in Korngold's songs composed after the disappointing reception accorded to his "gargantuan" opera Das Wunder der Heliane. The first of the Drei Lieder, Op. 18, is a setting of a poem by Hans Kaltneker (author of Heliane), "In meine innige Nacht," which Dazeley sings with great intensity. Korngold's last song, "Sonnet für Wien" (which gives the disc its title) is another, posthumously published, poem by Kaltneker. In this song, one feels that Korngold was bidding farewell not only to Vienna, the city of his youthful success, but to music and life itself. Iain Burnside plays Korngold's often fiercely difficult accompaniments with obvious affection and relish. This is a very beautiful disc which I would recommend even to those who think they don't care for Korngold's style.

-- Patrick O'Connor, Gramophone [7/2009]
Read less

1. Sonett für Wien, Op. 41 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1952; USA

2. Abschiedslieder, Op. 14: no 1, Sterbelied by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1909; Austria

3. Abschiedslieder, Op. 14: no 2, Dies eine kann mein Sehnen by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1909; Austria

4. Abschiedslieder, Op. 14: no 3, Mond, so gehst du wieder auf by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1909; Austria

5. Abschiedslieder, Op. 14: no 4, Gefasster Abschied by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1909; Austria

6. Gesänge (3), Op. 18: no 1, In meine innige Nacht by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1924; Austria

7. Gesänge (3), Op. 18: no 2, Tu ab den Schmerz by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1924; Austria

8. Gesänge (3), Op. 18: no 3, Versuchung by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1924; Austria

9. Lieder (3), Op. 22 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1928-1929

10. Shakespeare Songs (4), Op. 31 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1937/1941

11. Unvergänglichkeit, Op. 27 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1933; Austria

12. Songs of the Clown, Op. 29 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Performer: Iain Burnside (Piano), Sarah Connolly (Mezzo Soprano), William Dazeley (Baritone)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1939; USA

13. Lieder (5), Op. 38: no 1, Glückwunsch by Erich Wolfgang Korngold