Berthold Goldschmidt

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Berthold Goldschmidt (b. Hamburg, January 18, 1903; d. London, October 17, 1996) was a German composer who spent most of his life in England. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany, as well as the disdain with which many Modernist critics elsewhere dismissed his "anachronistic" lyricism, stranded the composer in the wilderness for many years before he was given a revival in his final decade.

Goldschmidt's musical career began in earnest during the heyday of the Weimar Republic in Germany. While studying philosophy at the University of Hamburg, he was encouraged by the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni to write music. In 1922, Goldschmidt entered the Berlin Hochschule and joined Franz Schreker's composition class, where his fellow pupils included Ernst Krenek, Alois Hába, Felix Petryek, and Jascha Horenstein. He also studied conducting, played freelance for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1923, coached the choir for the Berlin premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's Gurrelieder. In 1925, Goldschmidt achieved his first major success with his Passacaglia for Orchestra, Op. 4, which earned him the prestigious Mendelssohn Prize. Hailed as one of the brightest hopes of a generation of young composers, Goldschmidt reached the premature climax of his career with the premiere of his opera Der gewaltige Hahnrei in Mannheim in 1932.

This triumph happened on the eve of the Nazi takeover of Germany, which quickly destroyed Goldschmidt's livelihood. Like many Jewish composers (and other composers considered subversive of the Germanic purity of the Third Reich), Goldschmidt had his work condemned as "degenerate music" by the regime. There was no place in German musical life for Goldschmidt since performances of his work were banned and he was barred from conducting orchestras. Goldschmidt resorted to earning a living by giving piano lessons, before finally emigrating to England in 1935.

During World War II, Goldschmidt worked for the BBC and served as the Music Director of its German Service in 1944-47. While taking jobs in conducting, Goldschmidt also composed works such as the Ciacona Sinfonica, concertos for violin, cello, and clarinet, and the opera Beatrice Cenci. The English attitude towards Goldschmidt's music was generally indifferent. Even though Beatrice Cenci won first prize in the 1951 Festival of Britain opera competition, Covent Garden refused to mount a production. Neglected by the musical establishment, Goldschmidt decided to abandon original composition in 1958. For the next six years, he collaborated with Deryck Cooke on producing a performing edition of Gustav Mahler's Tenth Symphony. On 13 August 1964, at the Proms, Goldschmidt conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere of the Cooke realization.

The last years of Goldschmidt's life witnessed a renewed interest in the composers of "degenerate music." This revival led to performances of Goldschmidt's work in the United States and Germany, a roster of new recordings, and the recovery of lost manuscripts. Champions of his work include the conductors Simon Rattle, Charles Dutoit, and Yakov Kreizberg, the violinist Chantal Juillet, the Mandelring string quartet, and the record companies Largo and Decca. Goldschmidt resumed composing in 1982 and penned his final work, the Deux nocturnes, just before his death.