Monday Musicale with the Maestro – September 28, 2020 – More Gold Than Corn: The Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold and John Williams

More Gold Than Corn: The Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold and John Williams

It was 1975, and THE movie of that summer was Spielberg’s Jaws. It filled movie theaters and emptied beaches. At that time it should have been as illegal to shout “SHARK!” at a crowded beach as it was to scream “ FIRE!” in a crowded theater!

My first experience of Jaws was memorable, but not quite what I expected. I went to a matinée and settled into my seat, prepared to be scared senseless. But during the first scene at the beach—as people were laughing and enjoying themselves, not knowing what would soon be dining on them—I noticed the accompanying music.  Wonderful music—music so compelling that I almost resented its quality, which was taking my attention from the screen and the anticipated terrors to come!  I made a mental note to find out who the composer was, and of course it was John Williams (of whom I had never heard before).

An Important Predecessor: Erich Korngold, The Father of Great Film Music

In the Golden Age of Hollywood, the big film score “influencer” was Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957). He was born on the Austrian border in what is now the Czech Republic and was a musical prodigy–one of the most highly regarded child composers in history. When Erich was eleven, Gustav Mahler proclaimed him to be a genius. At that same age, Erich gained fame with the premiere of his ballet The Snowman at the Vienna Court Opera. At age fifteen, he composed his Sinfonietta, the most impressive orchestral work ever written by a teenage composer, outdoing the child prodigies Mozart and Mendelssohn.

Over the next twenty years, he wrote a number of works that are still performed today, including an opera,  Die tote Stadt (1920).  In the 1930’s, however, he realized that as a Jew, he could not have a career in central Europe. He moved to America and soon established himself as a film composer in Hollywood, finding that his hyper-romantic, extravagant music fit perfectly with the equally romantic and extravagant pictures of the time—films such as Captain Blood (1935), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and The Sea Hawk (1940).

It was Korngold who, through his expressive music, underlined the swashbuckling skills of Errol Flynn and the melodramatic melancholia of Bette Davis.

Success breeds imitation—especially in Hollywood (the land of high art, low art, and GIANT commerce).  Soon Korngold had ushered in a new era where a sweeping soundtrack, courtesy of a 100-piece orchestra, was a “must” for epic pictures. Examples include (among others) Max Steiner’s score for Gone With the Wind (1939) and Miklós Rózsa’s Ben-Hur (1959). But with the advent of Rock-and-Roll—especially The Beatles—the trend gave way to soundtracks inspired by pop music, all of which HAD to include a song in the opening or closing credits.  Sometimes the song was even included arbitrarily in a film in hopes it would become a “hit” and boost box- office appeal. The title song from Born Free (1966) is one of many examples.  By this time the hyper-expressive sound of a symphonic soundtrack seemed dated to many ears and was disavowed as “your grandparents’ music”!  One music critic even went so far as to describe Korngold’s music as being “more corn than gold.”

But when Stanley Kubrick made brilliant use of several classic works in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), he generated a renewed interest in an opulent orchestral style. And in 1972, after interest in the music of Korngold had been dormant for twenty years, the RCA recording of Korngold’s most appealing film scores, brilliantly conducted by Charles Gerhardt, pushed the renaissance worldwide.  I was eighteen when the album came out—The Sea Hawk: Classic Film scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold—and like thousands of other music-lovers, I was enthralled by this discovery. The time was ripe for a sea-change in Hollywood soundtracks.

Korngold’s Musical “Son”

In the early 1970s, John Williams was still “Johnny Williams,” a journeyman composer paying his dues. You may not realize that the themes to many popular shows such as Lost in Space (1965-68), The Time Tunnel (1966-67), and Land of the Giants (1968-70) were penned by the film composer John Williams!

Lost in Space–2 Opening Themes by Johnny Williams

The Time Tunnel-Opening & Closing Themes

 Land of the Giants Opening Theme

These themes show flashes of what was to come.  After John Williams’ enormous success with the movie Jaws, millions became intrigued by this new manifestation of the “old” sound. And yes, he was strongly influenced by the music of Korngold. It is almost impossible to hear the Main Title of King’s Row (1942) without hearing echoes of it in Williams’ Main Title for the original Star Wars–now titled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope. But Williams greatly expands the scope and complexity of vision in Star Wars, for the first time deploying not only grand and romantic melodies, but recognizable leitmotivs.  Reviewers spoke of “space opera” and audiences returned to the symphony in droves to hear film scores performed. With the premiere of Star Wars on May 25, 1977, the genie was out of the bottle, so to speak.

My best friend then was Alan Paterson, a brilliant French Horn player.  He had seen the movie before me (and I was, of course, very envious.)  When I asked his impression, he smiled and said only, “You will LOVE the music.”  Those of my generation will always remember the tingle of excitement they felt when that first loud B-flat major chord heralds the appearance of the words STAR WARS, arriving with all the force and suddenness of a jump to hyperspace.  It was  a “Let there be light!” moment.  Unforgettable. I was twenty-two then and a perfect age to see what will always seem to me a “young man’s movie”—or more broadly, perhaps, a coming-of-age story. The character of Luke Skywalker perfectly exemplified to me the confidence and vulnerability of a person in their early 20’s who sees only very dimly the path to their Destiny.

I was the Associate Conductor of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in my early 20’s. I could not WAIT to conduct the music from Star Wars, which I did in 1977.  And that began my forty-three-years-and-counting love affair with the music of John Williams.

In the 1980’s I was the Associate Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and for one glorious week, I had the opportunity to actually work with him. He was in town to conduct the orchestra in the very first reading of his latest film score. The idea of this session was to weed out wrong notes in the orchestral parts prior to recording the soundtrack.  Time in a recording studio is very expensive, and there must be no time wasted in ferreting out mistakes. These Indianapolis sessions were highly secretive, and attending them was almost like being involved in a spy or espionage story. The music had no titles on it, so none of us knew what movie it was intended for! I never did find out. I simply recall that the sumptuous orchestrations were overwhelming beyond words, and I could hardly believe my good fortune to be at the birth of a musical masterpiece.

Talking with Williams in his dressing room, I found him to be exactly who you would want him to be: modest, congenial—like your favorite uncle.  I must have raved on and on about my deep admiration for his work.  But unlike some celebrities, he seemed genuinely pleased and not bored with having to be “ nice” to an eager fan. However, I DID ask him the one question you should NEVER ask a composer: “ Which one of your pieces is your favorite?”  That’s like asking a parent which child is their favorite.  When I asked Aaron Copland this Forbidden Question, he glared at me through his spectacles and said, “Which one of your fingers is your favorite?”  (Ooops.)  But John indulged me and indeed surprised me with his answer: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). This was still early in his legendary 40-year film career. Up to that point he had had already provided the scores for such blockbusters as The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Towering Inferno (1974). But in the years to come he would delight the world with the music for an incredible variety of films, including (but not limited to) eight more Star Wars films,  Superman (1978), E.T. (1982), Empire of the Sun (1987), Schindler’s List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and the many Harry Potter and Indiana Jones films.

Midway through our first conversation, we were interrupted by a young man who had begged me to meet the composer. I’m not saying this young man was eccentric.  Well, he was VERY eccentric—but to me at least, endearingly so. He stayed only a few minutes for an autograph and some oohing and ahhing over meeting his idol. After the young man left the room, John closed the door, winked at me and said, “That WAS a close encounter of the third kind!”

In 1999 I conducted the North Carolina premiere of John Williams’ magnificent saxophone concerto Escapades, which is based on his music for the Leonardo Di Caprio film Catch Me If You Can (2002). The soloist was local musical treasure Greg Gelb, and playing the solo vibraphone part was the NC Symphony’s remarkable principal percussionist, Rick Motylinski. A few years later, I conducted the piece with internationally acclaimed saxophonist  Branford Marsalis (who lives now in Durham.) Our performance  led to the very first recording of the piece (BIS Records).

The DSO, Durham Public School Students, and John Williams’ Superman

Our audio selection today is from DSO’s Music from the Movies Concert on April 19^th, 2015, at Riverside High School, Durham. We were joined for the occasion by gifted student musicians from Durham’s public schools who were selected by their teachers to perform side-by-side with us. These types of experiences were valuable and exciting for many of our DSO musicians as they were growing up, and these types of events are among our favorites every year. Corrie Franklin, DSO violist and music educator, writes,

Since any salute to the movies MUST include a piece or two (or three or more!) by John Williams, our program that day closed with this performance of John’s stirring march and Main Title theme from the 1978 film Superman. This selection is a typical example of John’s wonderful populist style. Like the music of Korngold, his is youthfully exuberant and unashamedly romantic, but completely avoids the banality of most film music. In my lifetime, there has been no greater melodist than John Williams, yet his writing is sophisticated in construction and the parts are both thrilling and challenging for professional musicians to play. Keep that in mind as you hear these young high school honor students join in with us!

I believe that John Williams’ superb craftsmanship, his gift for melody, his sense of fantasy—and yes, his genius—have worked together to secure him a permanent place in the pantheon of great composers, not only great film composers.  And out of all living composers, I think, he is one of those most likely to be long remembered.   

Enjoy!

William Henry Curry
Music Director
Durham Symphony Orchestra

  

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This project was supported by the Durham Arts Council’s Annual Arts Fund and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.