Korngold was born in Brno, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic), the son of the music critic Julius Korngold, and studied music under Alexander von Zemlinsky. Gustav Mahler, upon meeting the young Erich, called him a "musical genius." He had success in Europe with his opera Die tote Stadt (1920) among other pieces before moving to the United States where he wrote a number of highly regarded film scores. He continued to write concert music in a rich, Romantic style, with a concerto for violin among his notable later works. He died in Hollywood.
Korngold was born in Brno, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic), the son of the music critic Julius Korngold, and studied music under Alexander von Zemlinsky and Robert Fuchs.
In 1943, Korngold became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
The elder Korngold was a controversial figure--Jewish, a conservative figure (who abhored atonalism and the whole Second Viennese School), and possessor of an acid-tipped pen in a city rife with intellectual and political ferment and rivalries and an undercurrent of anti-Semitism, Dr. Korngold made his share of enemies with his influence.
Korngold's music added a richness to the adventure epic's sweeping tale of heroism and triumph over injustice that startled viewers with its inventiveness-- the music's presence lent an extra dimension to the drama, excitement, and beauty of the movie, almost as surely as if it had been shot in Technicolor.
Korngold was in Hollywood for a total of 14 years, during which he scored 17 films, 16 of them for Warner Bros. During that 14 years, the Third Reich came and went, and the world changed, and Hollywood with it.
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