Ernesto De Curtis (1875-1937) was an Italian composer, best remembered for popular Neapolitan songs. In catalogue tags his name may appear simply as Curtis, but the best-known form is De Curtis.

His most famous song is Torna a Surriento, known in English as Come Back to Sorrento, written with words by his brother Giambattista De Curtis. It became one of the classic songs of the Neapolitan repertory and travelled internationally through singers and arrangements.

De Curtis’s music is lyrical, direct and grateful to the voice, with the melodic ease associated with Italian popular song. Its emotional world is immediate: nostalgia, warmth, sunlight and longing in a few memorable phrases.

He belongs to the porous borderland between popular song and classical vocal culture. In historic recordings that border is less a fence than a sunny open window.