Korngold: Violin Concerto, Much Ado About Nothing, Suite Op. 23

The opening concert of the 2004 Salzburg Festival was a sensation. Accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa, Benjamin Schmid played Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto op. 35. He owed nothing to this work, which was launched in 1947 by violin legend Jascha Heifetz – in the tradition of the great romantic-virtuoso violin school, he made the colorful music shine and electrified the audience with sovereign mastery of the extreme technical requirements. “We welcome him as an expert in the league of the leading violinists of his generation” wrote Peter Cossé in STANDARD.

Further recordings of Korngold performances at the 2004 Salzburg Festival complete the album, namely Benjamin Schmid’s chamber music with the Suite op. 23 and the Four Pieces op. 11 as well as the Gesang der Heliane op. 20, played by violinist David Frühwirt and pianist Henri Sigfridson. (OehmsClassics)