Born in Brno, Korngold
proved to be exceptionally talented from an early age.
On Mahler’s recommendation he was
sent to Vienna where he studied with Fuchs and Zemlinsky.
In 1934 he moved with Max Reinhardt to Hollywood and turned his
attention to film scores; two of his scores, including Robin Hood, won Oscars.
Most of his music is traditional in form and belongs to the European
period of his work, including much of his piano and chamber music, some written for the
pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm in the war of 1914-18.
