Korngold began sketching the work in the spring of 1912 (about a year after his childhood mentor,
Gustav Mahler, died), just before his 15th birthday and finished the sketches in August 1912. The orchestration of it dragged on for another year, until September 1913, by which time Korngold had composed his
Violin Sonata, Op. 6, and had begun his first opera
Der Ring des Polykrates, Op. 7. The
Sinfonietta was premiered in
Vienna on 30 November 1913 under the direction of
Felix Weingartner (to whom the work is dedicated, in thanks for his support of Korngold), and was a sensational success, resulting in further performances all over Europe and America. ==Structure==