Of many Korngold CDs (according to information received from the Korngold Society in Hamburg, there are now over 40), this is the most exciting to have yet come my way. Based on Austrian Radio recordings, all but one under the supervision of the composer, when he returned to Vienna in 1949, it includes his first and last works. Der Schneemann, a 'ballet-pantomime', was composed when Korngold was only 11, and performed in Vienna in 1908. It sounds amazingly assured—the two extracts here are the Prelude, itself a surprise since the sound is so good as to make one jump, then the Serenade, with one of those typical Korngold solo violin melodies.
Violanta is less of a rarity, since it has been recorded complete (CBS, 9/89), but the suite of incidental music for the 1919 production of Much ado at the Vienna Burgtheater is delightful. The accompanying essay does not say who directed this production, nor who played the main roles. Since Korngold later supplied the Mendelssohn adaptation for Max Reinhardt's film of A Midsummer Night's Dream, it would be interesting to know what the surrounding details are for this earlier Shakespearian venture. The merry Overture, a minuet ''Maiden in the bridal chamber'' scene, and the expected harp-accompanied violin for the romantic garden Intermezzo all anticipate Korngold's Hollywood manner.
Tomorrow, a miniature tone-poem, is part of the action of the 1943 film of Margaret Kennedy's The Constant Nymph. If you have ever wondered what Dodd, the hero of the novel, did with his music, now you know. This is a purely orchestral version—there was another for contralto soloist, and the repeated four-note theme, distinctly Straussian (''Tomorrow''—''Morgen'', I detect a musical pun here) seems to demand a text.
Korngold's final work, the Theme and Variations, was written for school performances. The pupils would need to be pretty advanced. This disc is highly recommended for Korngold devotees, or those who want to sample.'