Erich Wolfgang Korngold's The Adventures of Robin Hood

Among the many fine examples of film scores by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), the score for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) stands out the most. Winner of the Academy Award™ for best dramatic score in 1938, it is seen by many as the archetypal accompaniment to a Warner Brothers swashbuckler, and it established Korngold as one of the leading exponents of film score composition at a formative point in its history. In Erich Wolfgang Korngold's The Adventures of Robin Hood: A Film Score Guide, author Ben Winters uses manuscript and archival research to challenge preconceived notions about the score's composer and its authorship. In the first two chapters, Winters examines Korngold's career on its own and in relation to the film, including his background in composing concert music and opera, his film scoring techniques, and his engagement with the Hollywood studio system. Chapter three focuses on the Robin Hood film while placing Korngold's music in a larger framework. It examines the film's treatment of the Robin Hood legend, its historical and critical contexts, and its place within the swashbuckler genre and the studio's anti-fascist agenda. While looking closely at the composer's work on this score, chapter four shows sources Korngold used, the music's production process, and the changes the score had undergone. The book concludes with a thematic analysis and reading of the score, identifying the various musical 'voices' that the listener weaves together as he or she experiences the film. This detailed consideration of Korngold's masterpiece will be continually turned to by film and music scholars alike.

“Winters's book is certainly authoritative, and it is a real treat to use as a guide through a heavily scored film. There is a great deal of enjoyment to be had sitting down with this book as a companion to the DVD.”

...long overdue....quite admirable...this book provides a thorough analysis of this important score and is to be welcomed for it... Film Score Monthly, Vol. 12, No. 7 (July 2007)
Nothing less than a revelation, this book will be a must for soundtrack buffs. 4 Starsssss Film Review
Winters's book is certainly authorative, and it is a real treat to use as a guide through a heavily scored film. There is a great deal of enjoyment to be had sitting down with this book as a companion to the DVD..... Film International
Winters (musicology, City U., London) examines Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score for the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood . He considers Korngold's career in composing concert music, opera, and film scores, his techniques, his involvement in the studio system, and the film's critical and historical contexts. He also addresses the concept of authorship, viewing the Romantic idea of single authorship as inaccurate, instead acknowledging the role of the listener in creating a work's meaning. Reference and Research Book News, May 2007
Nothing less than a revelation, this book will be a must for soundtrack buffs. 4 Stars Film Review
Film International

Ben Winters is University Research Fellow in Musicology at City University, London.

Winner of the Academy Award for best dramatic score in 1938, the score for The Adventures of Robin Hood is seen by many as the archetypal accompaniment to a Warner Brothers swashbuckler, and it established the score's composer, Erich Wolfgang Korngo

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