Korngold is one of the most brilliant child prodigies to ever compose music. Yet, the vast majority of his work goes unknown and unappreciated. This man composed his first orchestral score at 14 and three operas by 23; Puccini and Strauss both knew he was something special.. How sad world.
I swear to God- I was just watching a clip from The Sea Hawk and marveled at the majesty, the adventure that is so inherent in this soundtrack. Absolutely fantastic. I hate to sound like an old man, but today's Hollywood is a bad joke.
I grew up watching and listening to these Flynn flicks with great Korngold music. we should be able to savor this art without disparaging the work of others to follow. Hopefully the great masters will not be forgotten.
About two years ago, I was lucky enough to hear the "Sea Hawk Suite" played live at a film music concert. As great as it sounds here, believe me: You ain't heard it right until you've hear it live! It's incredible!
Now you see exactly where Williams and Goldsmith got their ideas. Korngold and other composers fleeing Europe were struggling to keep their muse- making a living in the US. This is one of the un-intended benefits we got from the war in Europe.
I very much like the Pirates of the Caribbean music. But as I keep telling my kids, there's nothing like Korngold. He totally owns this kind of movie music. Indeed, you can make a good case that he invented it.
+Hugh Jones "He (Korngold) has so much talent that he could easily give us half - and still have enough left for himself!" (Giacomo Puccini) Korngold was a wunderkind and a genius.
I concur 100%! This exquisite composition is what gave the likes of John Williams (and other composers of film scores) a lot of inspiration. This noble and rousing music shouts "adventure"! This film and music arrived at a time when Britain needed inspiration and hope. My grandmother lived in London during the Blitz. She loved this music and she played it for me when I was kid. I've enjoyed this music (and other great film scores) ever since. Peace to all.
Friday night (Aug 9, 2019) I heard this LIVE at part of a festival devoted totally to Korngold at Bard College (in NY), I have this LP and have heard it many times, but you cannot IMAGINE the sonic power that hits you when you hear it with the FULL LARGE orchestra (lots of extra brass).. it is almost too powerful to believe.
You can hear the heavy influence of Korngold in Williams' Star Wars score, but you can also hear a bit of Gustav Holst. I don't think any composer really escapes the influence of the past. Many of Danny Elfman's scores remind me of Leroy Anderson, who used instruments and time signatures in the same quirky way. If you listen to Wagner's Flying Dutchman overture, I believe you can hear shades of the influence he may have had on Korngold.
7:34 HELL YES! My Favourite track in the entire film, it plays twice if I remember correctly, a little bit during Captain Thorpe's short duel with Captain Lopez and again but fully when Lord Wolfingham tried to kill Thorpe.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, like many of Hollywood's Golden Era composers, came to the U.S. to escape the deadly shroud of Fascism spreading over Europe. He began as a composer of "serious" classical music (which is not meant in any way to demean the music of the cinema). This outstanding recording is one in a legendary series Charles Gerhardt made for RCA. Gerhardt began as a record clerk in New York City in the 1950s, then became an audio engineer for RCA Victor,
Greats like Korngold and Tiomkin; It's almost as though they extracted all of the musical beauty that they could hold until there was no more left to give, then died as if there was no other reason left for them to exist.
This is the best recording. It was Charles Gerhardt in the 1960's who led the way to bringing the golden age of Hollywood music to light. Thanks. R.I.P. Miss you.
+Frank Collins I may have to agree. The emphasis with certain instruments is not as dominant on some other recordings. The pace is frantic! The duel starting about 7:30 is so difficult. I have the 1987 Utah Symphony's version and it is pretty hard to beat.
+Frank Collins lots of memories, when i was a kid i saved my money and bought most of gerhardts collection . his interpretations of the scores were exquisite.
I'm 53 and I remember watching this movie when I was 10 years old I would think it was a tribute to Flynns 10 anniversary of his death. Put the music to Flynns personna and the plot of t6he film (IE Great Britains predicament not in 1588 but 1940) and you have a great film that I personally can watch time and time again.
Erich Korngold was a wunderkind! He composed his first opera as a child and was a very serious classical composer but the main classical critics panned him because of his work in films. I love everything he wrote. His film work is sublime and will last forever, but check out his operas and violin concertos, songs, etc. Nice video. Thanks for uploading this.
I remember when I was a kid sitting on my dads' knee watching this on the movie theatre screen with the smell of popcorn in the air getting a chuckle out of the romantic scenes as a kid of 5 and my brother and I swinging off the back porch pretending to be pirates using sticks for swords. Do kids still do this?
Robert Boyle It would be difficult enough to cast the film today, let alone do the film appropriately. And I don't personally think that John Williams would have the stamina to write a similar music score anymore.
+Robert Boyle In 1995, there was a film called "Cutthroat Island." Total flop. By now, the swashbuckling adventure genre only works if you turn it into something else ("Star Wars," the Indiana Jones films) or make it over-the-top thrilling and stupid ala those Johnny Depp Disney contraptions. When you approach a genre sincerely, people don't get it. It's the difference between Basil Rathbone doing Sherlock Holmes and the Robert Downey Jr. versions. Times change . . .
+Numinous20111 According to Korngold's son, George, his father was given 7 weeks to write this score. A luxury given he had only 3 weeks to do Captain Blood!
Flynn, a king amongst men. Korngold, a god amongst composers. Combined: Their greatest works rolled into one swashbuckling extravaganza! Curtiz at the helm doesn't hurt either (only the greatest film director of all time :)
Hollywood in the 30's gave us another great leading man at Warner Bros. He came from a small town in Illinois, a Lifeguard ,then a sportscaster and then an actor. His colleagues elected him President of the Screen Actors Guild. Later the people of California elected him their Governor,twice. In 1980 we elected him President of the United States in a landslide... Ronald Reagan.
One of the best all great films, I hope one day, they release it in color. Film was made in 1939 and color films were about, so its a shame it was not in color then.
I also agree with all the positive posts here. Korngold was often given stick by other so-called "classical composers" but his work is a shining example of brilliance in melody and tone and the romantic style. John Williams, it is said, admires Korngold's work greatly as did Alex North, Elmer Bernstein and Jerry Goldsmith. As to the quality of this "program music", well...imho, it is truly brilliant and stands up well on its own without any images.
Jilal Jahangir Korngold and Strauss styles are very different; Erich suffered Austrians' support to Strauss music.. But Erich has always been a step above Richard; just listen to their very early composition: Strauss' string quartet (composed at 16) and Korngold's string sextet (composed at 17)
There was a whole series of movie music put out on the RCA Red Label LPs in the late 1970s. The best was "Captain Blood-movie scores for Errol flynn. A CD version of it pops up once in wahile in Amazaon-it features this, Captain Blood, Robin Hood and many others.
Every time I hear that bit that begins at 3:12 I want to buy a ticket overseas to England and join the Royal Navy. If the RN recruiting offices aren't playing this to passersby then they're definitely missing out on a golden opportunity.
finally taking up conducting at the encouragement of no less than Arturo Toscanini. He died in 1999. As others have observed, John Williams was almost certainly influenced by Korngold - and not just his film music; the Symphony in F echos in many of his scores. Perhaps the finest recorded performance was the first with Rudolf Kempe on Varese-Sarabande, no longer available. However, the recording by Sir Edward Downes on Chandos is a very fine reading indeed - and in even better sound.
Agree entirely on Korngold. I saw die Tote Stadt earlier this year and could almost hear the Sea Hawk score coming up from the pit.- there were melodies everywhere that got into this film score. Pity the performance I saw on stage wasn't blessed with Errol himself - he would have brightened things up!
@DOMuricu In the film recording double tracking was used, to get the effect of larger horn numbers, the modern arrangement is different but still needs a large orchestra..
@Irrenmann Well, George Harrison was sued when he unknowingly used the same chord progression from the song 'He's So Fine' in his song 'My Sweet Lord.'
I hear the Star Wars theme in this piece, I hope there weren't any copyrights being violated, if so someone has to cut a check, but who says you can't learn from history mmmmmm
Yeah, I sort of realized that two seconds after I posted... but the comment wouldn't show up for me to delete it. Sorry about that. Really good recording though.
If anyone will check out the theme song of the 1990 Fox cartoon "Peter Pan and the Pirates", he will see how closely it imitates the opening theme of this film.
Soaring. Heroic. Legendary. An age when Hollywood earned it's accolades. Us old Fudds can make claim on a time when pure magic was commonplace in film. Even the great theaters were a masterpiece of glamour. The classical age of genius and romance in film, minus the smut... shone on the best efforts of the age. Find the like today! Innovation of the mind even came in the special effects. A classic that still holds up...The Shadow fight seen here. czcams.com/video/fFoLmhIgIxM/video.html
Eric Wolfgang Korngold was simply the best movie composer of his era. John Williams was clearly inspired by him, but Mr. Williams doesn't need to steal from anybody, nor does Jerry Goldsmith, Max Steiner, Walter Scharf, Dmitri Tiomkin and I could go on but why bother. Point made.
Does anyone know if it was this movie (or do you know what movie it was in..) I remember as a kid watching a movie with Flynn or Powers or someone...at the end they played "Rule Britannia" and a British sailing warship was sailing ..anybody know? Thanks
Korngold is one of the most brilliant child prodigies to ever compose music. Yet, the vast majority of his work goes unknown and unappreciated. This man composed his first orchestral score at 14 and three operas by 23; Puccini and Strauss both knew he was something special..
How sad world.
I swear to God- I was just watching a clip from The Sea Hawk and marveled at the majesty, the adventure that is so inherent in this soundtrack. Absolutely fantastic. I hate to sound like an old man, but today's Hollywood is a bad joke.
He was the most underrated classical composer of the twentieth century.
I can't get past the 1st minute without backing it up and starting it over again- it's that good.
God, this is beautiful ! You hear where John Williams found part of his inspiration.
My dog loved the music from "The Sea Hawk." She'd lie down and nod her head to the sound.
Sleep well, beloved dog.
I listened to a lot of composers, but Korngold is my absolute favorite!
I grew up watching and listening to these Flynn flicks with great Korngold music. we should be able to savor this art without disparaging the work of others to follow. Hopefully the great masters will not be forgotten.
About two years ago, I was lucky enough to hear the "Sea Hawk Suite" played live at a film music concert. As great as it sounds here, believe me: You ain't heard it right until you've hear it live! It's incredible!
Now you see exactly where Williams and Goldsmith got their ideas. Korngold and other composers fleeing Europe were struggling to keep their muse- making a living in the US.
This is one of the un-intended benefits we got from the war in Europe.
i grew up on Errol Flynn movies, and to this day, nothing beats a comfy chair, an Errol Flynn swashbuckling epic, and a fat joint! 5/5
This may be Korngold's best score for a film. I have played it in concert it is so Hollywood.John Williams is clever but Korngold is genius.
This film along with The adventures of Robin Hood and Don Juan are the best swashbucklers of all time. Flynn was just magic.
I very much like the Pirates of the Caribbean music. But as I keep telling my kids, there's nothing like Korngold. He totally owns this kind of movie music. Indeed, you can make a good case that he invented it.
Loved this movie since I was a kid! The best Errol Flynn film...THE best film of its kind!!
TCM just played the movie on Monday. What a Classic. UNCUT version too. The score really makes the movie!
It simply doesn't get any better than this. And Miklos Rozsa also gets my vote.
Thanks for keeping Korngold's music alive!
+errolfan YES! Very wonderful!
A marvelously beautiful, thrilling score. No other composer can touch Korngold.
how is this not more well known. this is absolutely genius.
+Conner K Ward Not a genius. Just highly skilled.
+Hugh Jones
"He (Korngold) has so much talent that he could easily give us half - and still have enough left for himself!" (Giacomo Puccini)
Korngold was a wunderkind and a genius.
+Hugh Jones He was a famous child prodigy who wrote a great opera, Die Tote Stadt, at age 23. (Much more than highly skilled.)
Korngold was undoubtly one of the last genius of classical music. Unfortunately, film music like this one wasn´t made anymore.
I concur 100%! This exquisite composition is what gave the likes of John Williams (and other composers of film scores) a lot of inspiration. This noble and rousing music shouts "adventure"! This film and music arrived at a time when Britain needed inspiration and hope. My grandmother lived in London during the Blitz. She loved this music and she played it for me when I was kid. I've enjoyed this music (and other great film scores) ever since. Peace to all.
This fanfare and royal processional (starting at 3:16) is the greatest piece of its kind in music. Who but Korngold could have cobbled this together?
Friday night (Aug 9, 2019) I heard this LIVE at part of a festival devoted totally to Korngold at Bard College (in NY), I have this LP and have heard it many times, but you cannot IMAGINE the sonic power that hits you when you hear it with the FULL LARGE orchestra (lots of extra brass).. it is almost too powerful to believe.
You can hear the heavy influence of Korngold in Williams' Star Wars score, but you can also hear a bit of Gustav Holst. I don't think any composer really escapes the influence of the past.
Many of Danny Elfman's scores remind me of Leroy Anderson, who used instruments and time signatures in the same quirky way.
If you listen to Wagner's Flying Dutchman overture, I believe you can hear shades of the influence he may have had on Korngold.
The intro is so fu**ing savage!
7:34 HELL YES! My Favourite track in the entire film, it plays twice if I remember correctly, a little bit during Captain Thorpe's short duel with Captain Lopez and again but fully when Lord Wolfingham tried to kill Thorpe.
The very beginning of the song sounds like Fox's Peter pan and the pirates intro!
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, like many of Hollywood's Golden Era composers, came to the U.S. to escape the deadly shroud of Fascism spreading over Europe. He began as a composer of "serious" classical music (which is not meant in any way to demean the music of the cinema).
This outstanding recording is one in a legendary series Charles Gerhardt made for RCA. Gerhardt began as a record clerk in New York City in the 1950s, then became an audio engineer for RCA Victor,
one of my all time favourite swashbucklers of all time! this and captain blood
Greats like Korngold and Tiomkin; It's almost as though they extracted all of the musical beauty that they could hold until there was no more left to give, then died as if there was no other reason left for them to exist.
This is the best recording. It was Charles Gerhardt in the 1960's who led the way to bringing the golden age of Hollywood music to light. Thanks. R.I.P. Miss you.
+Frank Collins I may have to agree. The emphasis with certain instruments is not as dominant on some other recordings. The pace is frantic! The duel starting about 7:30 is so difficult. I have the 1987 Utah Symphony's version and it is pretty hard to beat.
+Frank Collins lots of memories, when i was a kid i saved my money and bought most of gerhardts collection . his interpretations of the scores were exquisite.
voluptuous score from the great erich korngold
Korngold était un génie ! Les musiques qu'il a composées étaient magnifiques ....
I heard he wrote this score in the 3 weeks? Absolutely insane!
I'm 53 and I remember watching this movie when I was 10 years old I would think it was a tribute to Flynns 10 anniversary of his death. Put the music to Flynns personna and the plot of t6he film (IE Great Britains predicament not in 1588 but 1940) and you have a great film that I personally can watch time and time again.
For England! ...and Queen! **raises Sword**
Erich Korngold was a wunderkind! He composed his first opera as a child and was a very serious classical composer but the main classical critics panned him because of his work in films. I love everything he wrote. His film work is sublime and will last forever, but check out his operas and violin concertos, songs, etc. Nice video. Thanks for uploading this.
I remember when I was a kid sitting on my dads' knee watching this on the movie theatre screen with the smell of popcorn in the air getting a chuckle out of the romantic scenes as a kid of 5 and my brother and I swinging off the back porch pretending to be pirates using sticks for swords. Do kids still do this?
korngold wrote one of the best moviesoundtracks ever, all others later were copies. thanks for posting this.
If modern day Hollywood tried to remake The Sea Hawk can you imagine what a disaster it would be?
Robert Boyle It would be difficult enough to cast the film today, let alone do the film appropriately. And I don't personally think that John Williams would have the stamina to write a similar music score anymore.
+Robert Boyle In 1995, there was a film called "Cutthroat Island." Total flop. By now, the swashbuckling adventure genre only works if you turn it into something else ("Star Wars," the Indiana Jones films) or make it over-the-top thrilling and stupid ala those Johnny Depp Disney contraptions.
When you approach a genre sincerely, people don't get it. It's the difference between Basil Rathbone doing Sherlock Holmes and the Robert Downey Jr. versions.
Times change . . .
+Numinous20111 According to Korngold's son, George, his father was given 7 weeks to write this score. A luxury given he had only 3 weeks to do Captain Blood!
*****
Thanks for your clarification. I heard that it was about 6 weeks for 'Adventures of Robin Hood'.
+Robert Boyle Different times. Different audience.
Flynn, a king amongst men.
Korngold, a god amongst composers.
Combined: Their greatest works rolled into one swashbuckling extravaganza!
Curtiz at the helm doesn't hurt either (only the greatest film director of all time :)
Few scores are as soaring as Korngold's. He's one of my favorites.
I just saw the Sea Hawk last night on a big screen with 200 others- I may have a Man Crush on Errol Flynn now- and what a score!
There are many highlights in this piece of music, one of my favourites comes at 4.49.
Great majestic symphony of a great Queen.
+Carol Curran Back in the day, they needed burial at sea
Heard this on radio yesterday and loved it
Flora Robson is the best Queen Elizabeth in movie history.
WONDERFUL MASTERPIECE
Though this was composed in the 20th century, I consider it to be in Romantic repertoire.
Superb!
It's a good film (typical of the period) but the soundtrack is outstanding!
Extraordinaire ! Tous les compositeurs symphoniques d'aujourd'hui peuvent se rhabiller. Vive l'âge d'or.
Superb beyond belief !
Hollywood in the 30's gave us another great leading man at Warner Bros. He came from a small town in Illinois, a Lifeguard ,then a sportscaster and then an actor. His colleagues elected him President of the Screen Actors Guild. Later the people of California elected him their Governor,twice. In 1980 we elected him President of the United States in a landslide... Ronald Reagan.
LINDO.. LINDO..BEAUTIFUL, ONE TRIP. Very inspiring, EXCELLENT EVEN...
Heard about Korngold from a fan in a review of the Louis Hayward film, "Anthony Adverse"
The Golden Age of Hollywood!
One of the best all great films, I hope one day, they release it in color. Film was made in 1939 and color films were about, so its a shame it was not in color then.
I also agree with all the positive posts here. Korngold was often given stick by other so-called "classical composers" but his work is a shining example of brilliance in melody and tone and the romantic style. John Williams, it is said, admires Korngold's work greatly as did Alex North, Elmer Bernstein and Jerry Goldsmith. As to the quality of this "program music", well...imho, it is truly brilliant and stands up well on its own without any images.
Unbelievably good score
Sweep the seas for England? On to Red Fish Island and Texas!
John Williams copied to Korngold! It's clear!
Jilal Jahangir Korngold and Strauss styles are very different; Erich suffered Austrians' support to Strauss music.. But Erich has always been a step above Richard; just listen to their very early composition: Strauss' string quartet (composed at 16) and Korngold's string sextet (composed at 17)
+Jilal Jahangir Also by Mahler who declared the young Korngold a genius.
great music from a fine composer.
There was a whole series of movie music put out on the RCA Red Label LPs in the late 1970s. The best was "Captain Blood-movie scores for Errol flynn. A CD version of it pops up once in wahile in Amazaon-it features this, Captain Blood, Robin Hood and many others.
We are trying to play this in marching band for our show this year... it's about impossible to take it that fast
John Williams took "Star Wars" from EK. This is the template for composing adventure/pirate music. This 'cats' were way ahead of us!!!
Best part starts @ 9:50
In Family Guy, I thought Walter Murphy adapted the music into the episode where Peter buys a parrot and gets into a swashbuckling road rage.
the throne room - 3:20 ish - is just incredible. and they play it faster than that in the film!
thanks you posted this!!
everybody who loves "the crimson permanent assurance" knows what i am talking about!!!
Do you?
thanks you
Every time I hear that bit that begins at 3:12 I want to buy a ticket overseas to England and join the Royal Navy. If the RN recruiting offices aren't playing this to passersby then they're definitely missing out on a golden opportunity.
BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!
finally taking up conducting at the encouragement of no less than Arturo Toscanini. He died in 1999.
As others have observed, John Williams was almost certainly influenced by Korngold - and not just his film music; the Symphony in F echos in many of his scores. Perhaps the finest recorded performance was the first with Rudolf Kempe on Varese-Sarabande, no longer available. However, the recording by Sir Edward Downes on Chandos is a very fine reading indeed - and in even better sound.
Agree entirely on Korngold.
I saw die Tote Stadt earlier this year and could almost hear the Sea Hawk score coming up from the pit.- there were melodies everywhere that got into this film score.
Pity the performance I saw on stage wasn't blessed with Errol himself - he would have brightened things up!
Wow, that first part sounds so close to the theme for the early 90s fox kids show Peter Pan and the Pirates!
@DOMuricu In the film recording double tracking was used, to get the effect of larger horn numbers, the modern arrangement is different but still needs a large orchestra..
@Irrenmann Well, George Harrison was sued when he unknowingly used the same chord progression from the song 'He's So Fine' in his song 'My Sweet Lord.'
Zimmer didn't write the music for the first 'Pirates of the Carribean' movie.
@bigman88zz
Yep. Used to love watching the peter pan cartoon. Found out a number of years later how similar the opening is to this classic.
I hear the Star Wars theme in this piece, I hope there weren't any copyrights being violated, if so someone has to cut a check, but who says you can't learn from history mmmmmm
@Max1Chase1 You can't copyright a chord progression.
Esta musica, lo mejo rde esa pelicula
Classic movie ! Go ARMY
Yeah, I sort of realized that two seconds after I posted... but the comment wouldn't show up for me to delete it. Sorry about that. Really good recording though.
If anyone will check out the theme song of the 1990 Fox cartoon "Peter Pan and the Pirates", he will see how closely it imitates the opening theme of this film.
@jrrtknight
I fully agree. You are aware however Goldsmith passed Away in 2004?
The fifth minute is stolen directly from sibelius' violin concerto!
AMEN!
Okay, I had the really stupid thought of chanting "Yo-ho-ho, he took a bite of Gum-Gum!" in tune with this song...
Soaring. Heroic. Legendary. An age when Hollywood earned it's accolades.
Us old Fudds can make claim on a time when pure magic was commonplace in film. Even the great theaters were a masterpiece of glamour. The classical age of genius and romance in film, minus the smut... shone on the best efforts of the age. Find the like today! Innovation of the mind even came in the special effects. A classic that still holds up...The Shadow fight seen here.
czcams.com/video/fFoLmhIgIxM/video.html
... WAT No this sort of film would be hideously expensive today, you do know they BUILT entire brand new ships for these movies back in the day.
Every Brass players dream.
Eric Wolfgang Korngold was simply the best movie composer of his era. John Williams was clearly inspired by him, but Mr. Williams doesn't need to steal from anybody, nor does Jerry Goldsmith, Max Steiner, Walter Scharf, Dmitri Tiomkin and I could go on but why bother. Point made.
Does anyone know if it was this movie (or do you know what movie it was in..) I remember as a kid watching a movie with Flynn or Powers or someone...at the end they played "Rule Britannia" and a British sailing warship was sailing ..anybody know? Thanks
Well if it's not a sailing warship, but just warships, when the ships arrive at the end of Guns of Navarone, Rule Britannia plays.
beautiful. is the Gerhardt or Stromberg version?
9:50 and Wagner with his Flying Dutchman comes in :D ... Steuermann laaaaass die Wacht!
violinthief, do you know which specific orchestra and/or album this recording is from?