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Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was a Viennese composer born in Moravia (then in Austria-Hungary) and naturalized in United States in 1943.〔Obituary ''Variety'', December 4, 1957, page 79.〕 While his late Romantic compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a re-evaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest.〔 Along with Max Steiner and Alfred Newman, he is considered one of the founders of film music. His 1938 Academy Award for his score to ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' marked the first time an Oscar was awarded to the composer rather than the head of the studio music department (as had occurred, for example, with Korngold's award-winning score to ''Anthony Adverse'' in 1936. ==Biography== He was born to a Jewish family in Brünn, Austria-Hungary (present-day Brno, Czech Republic), the second son of eminent music critic Julius Korngold. A child prodigy, Erich played his cantata ''Gold'' to Gustav Mahler in 1909; Mahler called him a "musical genius" and recommended study with composer Alexander von Zemlinsky. Richard Strauss also spoke very highly of the youth. At the age of 11 he composed his ballet ''Der Schneemann'' (''The Snowman''), which became a sensation when performed at the Vienna Court Opera in 1910, including a command performance for Emperor Franz Josef. This work was followed first with a piano trio, then his Piano Sonata No. 2 in E major, which Artur Schnabel played throughout Europe.〔Carroll, ''New Grove (2001)'', 13:823.〕 During his early years Korngold also made live-recording player piano music rolls for the Hupfeld DEA and Phonola system and also the Aeolian Duo-Art system, which survive today and can be heard. Korngold wrote his first orchestral score, the ''Schauspiel Ouverture'' when he was 14. His ''Sinfonietta'' appeared the following year, and his first two operas, ''Der Ring des Polykrates'' and ''Violanta'', in 1914. He completed his opera ''Die tote Stadt'', which became an international success, in 1920 at the age of 23. At this point Korngold had reached the zenith of his fame as a composer of opera and concert music. Composers such as Richard Strauss and Giacomo Puccini heaped praise on him, and many famous conductors, soloists and singers added his works to their repertoires. He completed a Concerto for Piano Left Hand for pianist Paul Wittgenstein in 1923 and his fourth opera, ''Das Wunder der Heliane'' four years later. He also started arranging and conducting operettas by Johann Strauss II and others while teaching opera and composition at the Vienna Staatsakademie. Korngold was awarded the title professor ''honoris causa'' by the president of Austria.〔 Max Reinhardt, with whom Korngold had collaborated on the operettas ''Die Fledermaus'' and ''La belle Helene'', asked the composer to come to Hollywood in 1934 to adapt Felix Mendelssohn's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' incidental music for his film version of the play. Over the next four years, he became a pioneer in composing film scores that have been recognized ever since as classics of their kind. In 1938, Korngold was conducting opera in Austria when he was asked by Warner Brothers to return to Hollywood and compose a score for ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), starring Errol Flynn. He agreed and returned by ship. When, shortly after he arrived in California, the Anschluss took place, the condition of Jews in Austria became very perilous, and Korngold stayed in America. Korngold later stated, "We thought of ourselves as Viennese; Hitler made us Jewish."〔Bernardi, Daniel. ''Hollywood's Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema'', Wayne State Univ. Press (2013) p. 48〕 Korngold later would say the film score of ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' saved his life. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for the film, and he was later nominated for ''The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' (1939) and ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940). Brendan G. Carroll, a Korngold authority, wrote: In 1943, Korngold became a naturalized citizen of the United States. The year 1945 became an important turning point in his life. His father, who had never been entirely comfortable in Los Angeles, and who had never approved of Erich's decision to focus exclusively on film composition, died after a lengthy illness. Around the same time, the war in Europe drew to an end. Korngold himself had grown increasingly disillusioned with Hollywood and with the kinds of pictures he was being given, and he was eager to return to writing music for the concert hall and the stage.〔 Korngold stopped writing original film scores after 1946. His final score at Warner Bros. was for ''Deception'' starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains. However, he was asked by Republic Pictures to adapt the music of Richard Wagner for ''Magic Fire'' (1955), a film biography of the composer; the film was released in Trucolor and directed by William Dieterle from a script by Ewald André Dupont. Korngold also wrote some original music for the film and had an unbilled cameo as the conductor Hans Richter. After World War II, Korngold continued to write concert music in a rich, chromatic late Romantic style, with the Violin Concerto among his notable later works. He died in North Hollywood on November 29, 1957, and was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Erich Wolfgang Korngold」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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