QUATUOR HERMÈS 23 Korngold also evokes the end of an epoch in his second quartet, composed just before his exile to the United States of America. How would you characterise his musical language? One of the most fascinating aspects of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s music is its power to conjure up images; a descriptive force he exploited from a very young age in the world of opera, much like Mozart to whom he was often compared because of his precocious gifts. He would later put this art to use in the cinema, where he went on to enjoy a brilliant career in Hollywood. Our encounter with this composer first took place through his Piano Quintet, whose Adagio is a deeply moving song of farewell, in which he creates an extraordinary sense of sonic depth. We found those same sensations in the slow movement of his Second Quartet. This is due both to the intervals he employs and to the distinctive textures he draws upon. His combination of harmonics and deep basses, for instance, gives remarkable breadth to the opening of the Larghetto. We are also swept away by the narrative power of this work, which in its first movement seems to summon the protagonists of an epic tale. Korngold handles his palette of colours with consummate skill, creating atmospheres and giving his music an already cinematic dimension. The American continuation of his career therefore comes as no surprise.
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