Born in Dresden, Herzfeld was Kapellmeister in Aachen, Dresden and Freiburg im Breisgau and was especially known as conductor of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
From 1939 to 1942 he was editor-in-chief of the Allgemeine deutsche Musikzeitung and from 1940 to 1943 chief press officer of the Berliner Philharmoniker.
His most famous work is the "Ullstein-Lexikon der Musik", which first appeared in 1957 as the "Lexikon der Musik" and has since been published under various titles in several new editions and revisions.
The dancer and choreographer Konstanze Vernon was Herzfeld's daughter.
[3] The historian Hans Herzfeld [de] was his cousin.