Classical Music | Violin Music

Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Suite from "Much Ado About Nothing"  Play

Jessica Mathaes Violin
Daniel Paul Horn Piano

Recorded on 11/21/2013, uploaded on 04/26/2013

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

This incidental music for Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing dates from the heady period in the young composer’s life when Puccini himself characterized Korngold as the “greatest hope for German music.” Written in 1918 for performances at Schönbrunn Castle and Vienna's Burgtheater, World War I precluded its interpretation by a symphony orchestra. Korngold arranged the whole work in a version for violin and piano. Two years later, he chose four pieces from the score and joined them together to form a suite. The first movement, “The Maiden in the Bridal Chamber”, describes the emotions of a young woman whose wedding day approaches, while the second movement’s march presents two slightly tipsy night watchmen. The “Garden Scene” depicts a girl in love, while the concluding “Masquerade” is a musical portrait of a group of happy-go-lucky musicians who strike up music for a hornpipe dance.      Jessica Mathaes

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