A Concert Celebration of Korngold and Zeisl

The Vienna-based violinist Johannes Fleischmann is about to release a recording of the Violin Sonata by the last "child prodigy" Erich Wolfgang Korngold, combined with the Brandeis Sonata by Korngold's close friend Erich Zeisl. As part of a US tour, a performance by Fleischmann and the Swedish pianist Oscar Micaelsson will be presented. Prior to the concert, we will show a 15-minute documentary featuring testimonies by prominent family members including Barbara Zeisl-Schoenberg, Erich Zeisl’s daughter. The rise of National Socialism forced both Korngold and Zeisl to flee Austria because of their Jewish faith; both settled in California. Their paths after that, however, were quite different. Korngold celebrated his classical works and his revolutionary successes in American film music. He also received two Academy Awards for his compositions "Anthony Advers" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood." In comparison, it was a more difficult road for Zeisl. Thanks to the intervention of Hans Eisler and Hans Kafka, he landed various jobs as a composer in Hollywood, but he never reached the level of success that Korngold did. This concert is sponsored in part by the Austrian Consulate General.