Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Brno, 1897-1957, Los Angeles) was active in the first half of the 20th century both as an opera composer in Vienna and as a film music composer in Hollywood. He was unable to return to Vienna after the “Anschluss” in 1938. It is undisputed that his works have been performed more frequently in recent years and that scholarly interest in him has increased significantly. Despite this development, the sources on Korngold’s life and works remain insufficiently accessible. It is one of the missions of the Exilarte Center of the mdw to establish Vienna as a research center on his life and works.
The Exilarte Center therefore initiated the Erich Wolfgang Korngold Briefausgabe (EWK-BA) project with the aim of creating a digital online database of Korngold’s correspondence. This is in cooperation with the critical edition of his works (Erich Wolfgang Korngold Werkausgabe, EWK-WA), which is supported by the Academies of Sciences in Mainz and Berlin-Brandenburg. By collecting, transcribing, digitizing and critically evaluating the correspondence, the EWK-BA aims not only to serve academic research, but also to facilitate access for a broader public.
The online database, which is under construction, is currently only accessible to employees of the EWK-BA and EWK-WA, but will also be made available to the public in the future.
