Berthold Goldschmidt was a successful and award-winning composer
in the 1920s, who was described as “one of the great hopes of
German music.” But, being a Jewish composer, the Nazi regime
subsequently banned his music, and he was forced to flee Nazi
Germany in 1935. He emigrated to London, where he worked for the
BBC and also as a conductor, whilst continuing to compose such
works as his opera Beatrice Cenci. However, he suffered so much
neglect by the establishment amidst the prevailing avant-garde
climate, that after his Mediterranean Songs of 1958 he utterly
abandoned composition. After a break of almost 25 years, he
began to compose again in 1982 and produced an astounding body
of late work, writing his final work, Deux nocturnes, at the age
of 93. During this time, the music world rediscovered the
'Entartete Musik' composers, and he was finally able to enjoy a
period of concert performances, opera productions and
recordings. His music is tonal, and combines lyricism, rigorous
contrapuntal or formal techn