Biography
Karl Goldmark was born in 1830 in Keszthely, Hungary, the son of a Jewish cantor, and grew up largely self-taught in Deutschkreutz in what is now Burgenland. He began violin lessons in 1842, briefly attended the Vienna Conservatory from 1847, and then supported himself as a theatre violinist and music teacher. In the 1860s he became friends with Johannes Brahms and gained recognition with chamber works such as the Sakuntala overture (1865), before his opera Die Königin von Saba (premiered 1875 at the Vienna Court Opera) brought him international fame. Further operas, including Merlin (1886), cemented his reputation, and after the deaths of Brahms and Bruckner around the turn of the century he was regarded as Vienna's leading composer. Goldmark died in Vienna in 1915; his music largely disappeared from concert life after 1945 but has seen a cautious rediscovery in recent decades.
On Stagelog
Loading stats...