This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” on Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s birthday, enjoy highlights from the world premiere recording of his complete incidental music for the 1920 Max Reinhardt production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”
Formerly one of Vienna’s most astounding prodigies, Korngold went on to achieve international celebrity as a composer for Warner Bros. in the 1930s and ’40s. His introduction to Hollywood was by way of Reinhardt’s 1935 film of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
For this recording, a 2013 Toccata Classics release, the music for “Much Ado” was performed for the first time in its entirety since 1933. Musicians of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts are conducted John Mauceri.
To quote the Bard, “Is it not strange that sheep’s guts could hail souls out of men’s bodies?” Strike up, pipers! It’s “Much Ado About Korngold,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
