Karl Goldmark was born in Keszthely, Hungary, on May 18, 1830, the son
of a cantor. Demonstrating unusual talent on the violin, he was sent to
Vienna in 1844. There he studied with Leopold Jansa, then attended the
Vienna Conservatory. His musical education was brought to an abrupt halt
by the revolution of 1848. For many years after that, Goldmark earned
his living by teaching music, playing in theater orchestras, and writing
criticisms. He first came to the fore as a composer with a concert of
his works in Vienna on March 20, 1857. Success followed eight years
later with the première of his concert overture, _Sakuntala_. From then
on, Goldmark occupied an esteemed position in Viennese music by virtue
of many distinguished works that included the opera _The Queen of
Sheba_, the _Rustic Wedding Symphony_, and various shorter works for
orchestra, as well as numerous compositions for chorus, the piano, and
chamber-music groups. He died in Vienna on January 2, 1915.
Throughout his life he remained true to the Germanic-Romantic tradition
on which he was nurtured. His writing was always vital with emotion, at
times to the point of being sensual; it overflowed with luxurious melody
and harmony. Most of the works by which he is remembered, while of the
serious concert-hall variety, are light classics because of their charm
and grace and pleasing melodic content.
The _Bacchanale_ for orchestra is in Goldmark’s identifiable sensual
style. This is an episode from his most famous opera, _The Queen of
Sheba_ (_Die Koenigin von Saba_), libretto by Solomon Herman Mosenthal
based on the Old Testament story of the love of the Queen of Sheba for
Assad. The opera was successfully introduced in Vienna on March 10,
1875. The _Bacchanale_ takes place at the beginning of Act 3 in which a
sumptuous reception honors the Queen of Sheba. This dynamic piece of
music is especially interesting for its Oriental melodies and lush
orchestral colors.
_In Spring_ (_Im Fruehling_), op. 36 (1889), is a concert overture for
orchestra echoing the composer’s emotional reaction to the vernal
season. The first main theme, in first violins accompanied by other
strings, is given without any preliminaries. The second theme in violins
is more bucolic, the woodwind suggesting bird calls in the background.
Both themes are discussed and stormy episodes ensue. After the return of
the two main themes the overture ends with a brilliant coda.
The _Rustic Wedding Symphony_ (_Laendliche Hochzeit_), op. 26 (1876) is
a programmatic composition for orchestra in five movements. The first is
a “Wedding March” in which the main melody (given in fragments in the
lower strings) is subjected to thirteen variations. The second movement
is a “Bridal Song,” a lovely tune mainly for oboe in which the
first-movement march subject occasionally intrudes in the background in
the basses. This is followed by the third-movement “Serenade,” its main
subject being a spacious melody mainly for the violins. The fourth
movement, “In the Garden,” depicts the walk of two lovers in a garden as
they exchange tender sentiments. The symphony ends with a vital “Dance,”
in which the main theme receives fugal treatment.
The concert overture for orchestra, _Sakuntala_, op. 13 (1865)—with
which the composer achieved his first major success and which is still
one of his most popular works—was based on the celebrated story of
Kalidasa. Sakuntala is the daughter of a water nymph who is raised by a
priest as his own daughter. The King falls in love with her and marries
her, giving her a ring which will always identify her as his wife. A
powerful priest, seeking revenge against Sakuntala, effects a loss of
memory in the king, who now no longer recognizes her as his wife. To
complicate matters further, Sakuntala has lost her ring while washing
clothes in a sacred river. After being repudiated by the king as a
fraud, Sakuntala returns to her water-nymph mother. The king’s memory is
restored when the ring is found, and he is overwhelmed with grief at his
loss of Sakuntala.
A somber introduction is highlighted by a rippling subject in lower
strings and bassoons suggesting the water which was Sakuntala’s original
abode and to which she finally returns. After a change of tempo,
clarinets and cellos in unison offer a beautiful love melody. This is
followed by a hunting theme in first violins and oboes while the second
violins and violas present a fragment of the love song as a
countersubject. After this material has been amplified into a loud and
dramatic climax there comes still a third idea, in oboes and English
horn against chords in harp and arpeggios in strings. In a free fantasia
section some of this material is reviewed after which the coda offers
the hunting theme, and after that the love melody. A climax is realized
with the hunting theme bringing the overture to a dramatic ending.