In brief
Ernest Gold (July 13, 1921 – March 17, 1999) was an Austrian-born American composer renowned for his orchestral film scores, particularly the Academy Award-winning music for the 1960 epic Exodus.
Born Ernst Siegmund Goldner in Vienna to a secular Jewish family immersed in progressive musical circles, Gold displayed prodigious talent from childhood, mastering piano and violin by age six, composing his first song at eight, and completing a full-length opera by thirteen. Fleeing Nazi persecution, his family emigrated to the United States in 1938, settling in New York where he anglicized his name and pursued formal studies at the State Academy of Music before transitioning to composition for American media.
Ernest Gold, born Ernst Sigmund Goldner on July 13, 1921, in Vienna, Austria, grew up in a secular Jewish family with strong musical inclinations. His father, Gustav Goldner, played the violin, while his mother, Elisabeth (née Stransky), sang, fostering an environment where Gold learned to read music before he could read words. This early immersion in music led him to begin composing simple tunes by age five and to study piano and violin starting at six.
Photographs
Hero photograph: Unknown, via Wikimedia Commons (Fair use)
