CONCERT | ERICH W. KORNGOLD & ERICH ZEISL – A FRIENDSHIP IN SONATAS

The Vienna-based violinist Johannes Fleischmann is about to release a recording of the Violin Sonata by the last “child-prodigy” Erich Wolfgang Korngold, combined with the Brandeis Sonata by his close friend Erich Zeisl. As part of a US-tour, the performance by Fleischmann and the Swedish pianist Oscar Micaelsson will be presented at the ACFNY. Prior to the concert, we will show a 15-minute documentary featuring testimonies by prominent family members including Barbara Zeisl-Schoenberg, Erich Zeisl’s daughter.

THE IDEA BEHIND
A film about Korngold & Zeisl and the idea behind recording their works

Erich W. Korngold
„Margit“ from „Four little cheerful waltzes”

Erich Zeisl
Brandeis Sonata

Erich W. Korngold
Violinsonata, op. 6

BACKGROUND
The rise of National Socialism forced both Korngold and Brandeis to flee from Austria because of their Jewish faith and to settle in California. Their paths, however, were quite different. Korngold celebrated his classical works and his revolutionary successes in American film music. He also received two Academy Awards (Oscars) for his compositions “Anthony Advers” and “The Adventures of Robin Hood”. In comparison, it was a more difficult road for Erich Zeisl. Thanks to the intervention of Hanns Eisler and Hans Kafka, he was able to land various jobs as a composer in Hollywood, but he never had the kind of success like Korngold.

ABOUT
Born into a musical family in Vienna, the violinist Johannes Fleischmann received his first instrumental foundations at the age of 5. After graduating at the Viennese Musikgymnasium he founded the „o(h)!-ton Ensemble, Wien“ in 2003. The same year, he began his studies at the University of Music and the Performing Arts Vienna, in the classes of Klaus Maetzl and Christian Altenburger and graduated in 2011 with distinction. Johannes received scholarships of the „Angelika-Prokopp- Foundation of the „Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra“ and the „Tokyo Foundation“. Johannes Fleischmann continued his studies with Johannes Meissl and Hatto Beyerle specializing in chamber music. Furthermore, he has attended multiple masterclasses by Erich Höbarth, Rainer Honeck, András Keller, Peter Nagy, Ruggiero Ricci, András Schiff and Dora Schwarzberg. In May 2009, Johannes Fleischmann made his solo debut of the Brahms Violin Concerto at the Wiener Konzerthaus. www.johannesfleischmann.at

Born in Gothenburg in 1990 in Sweden, Oscar Micaelsson first studied piano with Kerstin Jansson in Sweden. Afterward, he studied under Niklas Sivelöv and Søren Rastogi at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and under his present mentor Deborah Wood at the Royal Theater of Copenhagen. In 2014 he was awarded the Léonie Sonning grant for young upcoming artists in Denmark, which enabled him to do post-gradual studies under Jay Gottlieb in Paris between 2012-2015. Around the same time, he was awarded Artist of the Year, an Artist in Residence in the region of Southern Sweden that allowed him to pursue further private studies in improvisation in New York. He has participated in important masterclasses under Prof. Ferenc Rados, Prof. Boris Berman, Prof. Andrzej Jasinski and Prof. Luiz de Moura Castro during his studies. Besides his classical career, he enjoys jazz and improvisation and has been invited to perform improvised recitals in classical, contemporary and jazz styles in the US and Europe. He is also a composer and writer, currently working on a book about improvisation and jazz for classically trained musicians and he has also received several dedications of piano works. He has performed in many major concert halls in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and other countries. www.oscarmicaelsson.com