- Korngold, Erich Wolfgang
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died Nov. 29, 1957, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.U.S. composer of Austro-Hungarian birth.Son of a music critic, he had his childhood compositions praised by Gustav Mahler and Artur Schnabel. He solidified his reputation with his operatic masterpiece, Die tote Stadt (1920). In 1934 he moved to Hollywood, and he became best known for his film scores, his broadly Romantic style proving very suitable to swashbuckling stories such as Anthony Adverse (1936, Academy Award) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, Academy Award), as well as 17 others. His violin concerto (1946) has been frequently recorded.
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▪ American composerborn May 29, 1897, Brünn, Austria-Hungarydied Nov. 29, 1957, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.American composer of Austro-Hungarian birth, best known for his film music and the opera Die tote Stadt (“The Dead City”).A child prodigy, at age 11 Korngold composed the ballet Der Schneemann (“The Snowman”), which caused a sensation at its first performance in Vienna (1910). He was still a teenager when his operas Der Ring des Polykrates and Violanta were produced in Munich (1916). Die tote Stadt (Hamburg, 1920), one of the most successful operas composed in the 20th century, brought him international attention. Korngold went to Hollywood in 1934 to write film music and won Academy awards for the scores of Anthony Adverse (1936) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). In 1975 Die tote Stadt was successfully revived in New York City.Additional ReadingBrendan Carroll, The Last Prodigy: A Biography of Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1997); Jessica Duchen, Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1996).* * *
Universalium. 2010.