Composers: Korngold
Compositions: Symphony, Theme and Variations, Straussiana
Performers: Sinfonia of London/John Wilson
Catalogue Number: Sinfonia of London/John Wilson

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) was as remarkable a child prodigy as Mozart and Mendelssohn. He wrote his Sinfonietta (a full-scale symphony in size and scope) at the age of 15. His highly successful grand opera Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City) premiered when he was 23. He moved to Hollywood to work with the director Max Reinhardt on a 1935 film of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (featuring a teenage Mickey Rooney as Puck), enjoyed the lifestyle, and stayed there throughout the war....