Caspar Richter / Bruckner Orchester Linz - Sursum Corda / Baby Serenade / Tote Stadt +
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
1. Die tote Stadt, Op.12 (1920): Prelude to Act II
2. ‘Sursum Corda - symphonic overture, Op.13 (1920)’
3. ‘Baby Serenade, Op.24 - 1. Baby tritt in die Welt’
4. ‘Baby Serenade, Op.24 - 2. Lied: Es ist ein braves Baby’
5. ‘Baby Serenade, Op.24 - 3. Scherzino: Es hat auch die schonsten Spielsachen’
6. ‘Baby Serenade, Op.24 - 4. Jazz: Baby erzahlt eine Geschichte’
7. ‘Baby Serenade, Op.24 - 5’
8. ‘Der Schneemann (1908): 1. Prelude’
9. ‘Der Schneemann (1908): 2. Serenade’
10. ‘Das Wunder der Heliane, Op.20 (1927): Interlude’

ASV's Korngold series continues with a unique concert of rarely-heard but glorious orchestral music, marking the ASV debut of Caspar Richter and the Bruckner Orchester Linz. Here is Korngold at his most imposing, in scores from 1908 (!) to 1928. The earliest music is an enchanting Prelude and Serenade from Korngold's ballet Der Schneemann (The Snowman), written when the composer was an astonishing 11-year-old prodigy - already a master of the orchestra. That he soon became one of this century's finest can be heard in his early symphonic overture Sursum Corda. The large-scale, concentrated structure is majestic, yet its heroic themes had to wait 18 years for greater popularity in his Academy Award-winning film-score for The Adventures of Robin Hood. Korngold wrote the delightful Baby Serenade for his second son, depicting a day in the baby's life - involving jazz trumpet, saxophones and banjo!
Reviews:
"...Sumptuous, first-rate performances....this disc is an absolute must on my recommendation list...Excellent sound: a disc not to be missed" (Gramophone)
"A well played addition to the Korngold discography" (BBC Music Magazine ****)
"Addicts need not hesitate" (Classic CD)
"..we must welcome this new ASV disc.." (International Record Review)
Released 2002.