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Franz Waxman

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57-578: Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann ; December 24, 1906 – February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include Bride of Frankenstein , Rebecca , Sunset Boulevard , A Place in the Sun , Stalag 17 , Rear Window , Peyton Place , The Nun's Story , and Taras Bulba . He received twelve Academy Award nominations, and won two Oscars in consecutive years (for Sunset Boulevard and A Place in

114-634: A "soundboard for the subconscious." In 1943, Waxman left MGM and moved to Warner Bros. , where he worked alongside such great film composers as Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold . A period of extended composition followed, including such films as Mr. Skeffington (1944) and Objective, Burma! (1945). A climactic scene in Objective, Burma! was scored fugally, and this would become one of Waxman's trademarks, returning in The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and Taras Bulba (1962). In 1947, Waxman formed

171-464: A colleague of Waxman, as well as another pioneer of the "Hollywood sound". The music for Taras Bulba has been recorded by the [City of Prague Philharmonic/Nic Raine, on 2 cd Tadlow013-2] The American Film Institute ranked Waxman's score for Sunset Boulevard No. 16 on their list of the greatest film scores . His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list: Film music Too Many Requests If you report this error to

228-713: A collection of little-known Strauss pieces that they arranged, Waltzes From Vienna . It was retitled The Great Waltz and became the basis for a 1934 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and a film by the same name in the US, starring Luise Rainer . Korngold conducted staged versions in Los Angeles in 1949 and 1953. He completed a Concerto for Piano Left Hand for pianist Paul Wittgenstein in 1923 and his fourth opera, Das Wunder der Heliane , four years later. He started arranging and conducting operettas by Johann Strauss II and others while teaching opera and composition at

285-453: A couple of engaging cues were written by Korngold orchestrator Milan Roder. In the end, Korngold insisted he be credited only with musical adaptations, even though he scored nearly the entire film with original music. Captain Blood became an immediate hit, with an Oscar nomination for the score. As Korngold's first fully symphonic film score, it marked a milestone in his career, as he became

342-520: A fantasia on one note." His work on Sunset Boulevard (1950) led to an Academy Award . The score is fast-paced and powerful, utilizing various techniques to highlight the insanity of Norma Desmond, including low pulsing notes (first heard in The Bride of Frankenstein ) and frequent trills. According to Mervyn Cooke, Richard Strauss 's opera Salome was the inspiration for the wild trills heard during Desmond's insane final performance. Waxman received

399-411: A film biography of the composer Richard Wagner . He was asked to adapt the music of Wagner for most of the film, but Korngold also wrote some original music for it. He is seen during the final scenes in an unbilled cameo as the conductor Hans Richter . At the time of his death at age 60, he was working on his sixth opera. His strong points are lyrical melody, rich textures and virtuoso orchestration;

456-440: A freelance film composer, taking only the jobs he wanted rather than being appointed by the studio. Waxman scored the film Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), which climaxes with the use of a passacaglia, highlighting Waxman's highly inventive use of unusual musical forms in film. Waxman had used classical forms before: the climactic "Creation" cue from The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), as Christopher Palmer expresses it, "is in effect

513-552: A generally romantic manner. Korngold's original and distinctive style was influenced by the Wagnerian leitmotif , the orchestral virtuosity of Richard Strauss, the delicacy and broad melodic sweep of Puccini , and the long-line development of Gustav Mahler. Before Korngold began composing the score, Austria was invaded by Germany and annexed by the Nazis . His home in Vienna was confiscated by

570-546: A musician. A child prodigy living in Vienna , Erich could play four-hand piano arrangements alongside his father at age five. He was also able to reproduce any melody he heard on the piano, along with playing complete and elaborate chords. By age seven, he was writing original music. Korngold played his cantata Gold for Gustav Mahler in 1909; Mahler called him a "musical genius" and recommended he study with composer Alexander von Zemlinsky . Richard Strauss also spoke highly of

627-708: A passion for the music of Johann Strauss II and managed to exhume a number of lost scores. He orchestrated and staged them using new concepts. Both A Night in Venice and Cagliostro in Vienna are Korngold re-creations; these were the works that first drew the attention of Max Reinhardt to Korngold. By this point Korngold had reached the zenith of his fame as a composer of opera and concert music. Composers such as Richard Strauss and Giacomo Puccini heaped praise upon him, and many famous conductors, soloists and singers added his works to their repertoires. He began collaborating with Reinhardt on many productions, including

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684-604: A piano trio. His Piano Sonata No. 2 in E major, which followed, was played throughout Europe by Artur Schnabel . During these early years he also made live-recording player piano music rolls for the Hupfeld DEA and Phonola system and also the Aeolian Duo-Art system, which survive today and can be heard. Korngold wrote his first orchestral score, the Schauspiel-Ouvertüre , when he was 14. His Sinfonietta appeared

741-433: A second consecutive Oscar for A Place in the Sun (1951). However, while awards for film music highlighted the beginning of the 1950s, Waxman now began to write serious works for the concert hall. The Sinfonietta for Strings and Timpani came in 1955 and 1959 saw the completion of Waxman's oratorio Joshua . Composed to commemorate the death of Waxman's wife, Joshua with its strong Hebrew influences and extensive use of form

798-467: A son, John Waxman; John had two children, Josh and Alyce Waxman; and Josh had three children, Andrew, Christopher, and Grace Waxman. Waxman died from cancer in February 1967, two months after his sixtieth birthday. His legacy contains over 150 film scores and an abundant collection of concert works. Some of Waxman's music has been featured on commercial recordings, both on LP and CD. Charles Gerhardt and

855-534: A stove, which left his vision permanently impaired. In 1923, at age 16, Waxman enrolled in the Dresden Music Academy and studied composition and conducting. Waxman lived from the money he made playing popular music and managed to put himself through school. While working as a pianist with the Weintraub Syncopators, a dance band, Waxman met Frederick Hollander , who eventually introduced Waxman to

912-434: A tormented and brutal captain of a sealing schooner, which gets crippled by a rival ship. To support the complex atmosphere, with its scenes of the fog-shrouded voyage, Korngold created a score that was understated, which was very different from his swashbucklers. He often used sharp brass chords with swirling configurations, along with a love theme voiced by a harmonica. Music historian Thomas S. Hischak notes some aspects of

969-505: Is a powerful example of Waxman's compositional powers by the end of the 1950s. Waxman's later life saw continuing growth of his reputation as a composer. Christopher Palmer writes that at the time of his death in 1967, "Waxman was at the zenith of his powers." Waxman's output in the 1960s was perhaps more subdued than that which came before it, however he did write Taras Bulba in 1962. Waxman worked on several television shows, including Gunsmoke , in 1966. The Song of Terezín (1964–65)

1026-656: Is one of the founders of film music . Although his late-Romantic style of classical composition was no longer as popular when he died in 1957, his music underwent a resurgence of interest in the 1970s beginning with the release of the RCA Red Seal album The Sea Hawk: The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1972). This album, produced by his son George Korngold , was hugely popular and ignited interest in his other film music (and that of other classic film composers), as well as in his concert music, which often incorporates popular themes from his film scores (an example being

1083-529: Is set in mid-18th century Italy, the Alps, and France, received an expensive treatment from Warners, which pleased him greatly. Korngold was awarded his first Academy Award for the Anthony Adverse score. In this film, the first half hour contains continuous scoring and proved to be a major step forward in the art of film scoring. Korngold conceived his film scores as "operas without singing." In 1938, Korngold

1140-426: Is varied throughout the film, depending on the how each scene develops. MacDonald states that the main theme is a "majestic and noble melody that immediately grabs the viewer's attention" when the film begins. By using this motif, the theme connects the entire score, which often left a strong impact on viewers. British composer Harold Truscott , for example, who saw the film when he was 28, wrote to Korngold admiring

1197-662: The National Philharmonic Orchestra played highlights from various Waxman scores for an RCA Victor recording in the early 1970s that utilized Dolby surround sound. Twenty years later, Australian composer and conductor Richard Mills (b. 1949) recorded an anthology of film suites with the Queensland Symphony for the record label Varèse-Sarabande (VSD5242/5257/5480/5713) which were (as the Gerhardt above) produced by George Korngold, son of Erich Wolfgang Korngold ,

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1254-568: The Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies similarly included original symphonic scores. Composer John Williams has cited Korngold as his inspiration in scoring the Star Wars series. Korngold was interested in writing a score for Juarez , as it involved historical figures from Mexico and Austria. It dealt with the Mexican politician Benito Juarez but also involved the story of Archduke Maximilian von Habsburg and his wife, Carlotta . Korngold

1311-555: The Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35 , which incorporates themes from four of his motion picture scores and has become part of the standard repertoire). Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born to a Jewish family in Brünn, Austria-Hungary (present-day Brno , Czech Republic ). Erich was the second son of eminent music critic (Leopold) Julius Korngold (1860–1945); his older brother, Hans Robert Korngold  [ de ] (1892–1965), also became

1368-608: The Los Angeles Music Festival in 1947 with which he conducted a number of West Coast premieres by fellow film composers, and concert composers alike. Waxman was born Franz Wachsmann ( German: [ˈvaksman] ) in Königshütte to Jewish parents in the German Empire 's Prussian Province of Silesia (now Chorzów, Poland). At the age of three Waxman suffered a serious eye injury involving boiling water tipped from

1425-575: The Los Angeles Music Festival, for which he served as music director and conductor for the rest of his life. Waxman's goal with the LA Music Festival was to bring the thriving town to "European cultural standards", according to Tony Thomas. In addition to performing the work of great masters such as Stravinsky , he also collaborated with his colleagues, such as Miklós Rózsa , conducting his Violin Concerto. By 1947, Waxman had left Warner Bros., to become

1482-658: The Nazis. And because it meant that all Jews in Austria were now at risk, Korngold stayed in America until the end of World War II . He later said, "We thought of ourselves as Viennese; Hitler made us Jewish." Korngold noted that the opportunity to compose the score for Robin Hood saved his life. It also gave him his second Academy Award for Best Original Score and established the symphonic style that would later be used in action films during Hollywood's Golden Age. Modern day epics such as

1539-620: The Polish-born tenor Jan Kiepura , who had starred in several Korngold operas in Europe. In 1935 Warners asked Korngold if he was interested in writing an original dramatic score for Captain Blood . He at first declined, feeling that a story about pirates was outside his range of interest. However, after watching the filming, with a dynamic new star, Errol Flynn, in a heroic role alongside Olivia de Havilland , who had her debut in A Midsummer Night's Dream , he changed his mind. Korngold not only had

1596-502: The Sun ). He also received a Golden Globe Award for the former film. Bernard Herrmann said that the score for Taras Bulba was "the score of a lifetime." He also composed concert works, including the oratorio Joshua (1959), and The Song of Terezín (1964–65), a work for orchestra, chorus, and children's chorus based upon poetry written by children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. Waxman also founded

1653-458: The US after retiring from film composing in 1947. He spent the last ten years of his life composing concert pieces, including a Violin Concerto , a Symphonic Serenade for strings, a Cello Concerto and a Symphony . The Violin Concerto has become particularly successful, with many recordings and performances following Jascha Heifetz 's initial version. He returned to film scoring one more time, shortly before his death, for Magic Fire (1955),

1710-476: The Vienna Staatsakademie. Korngold was awarded the title professor honoris causa by the president of Austria . After Max Reinhardt's success in producing Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for the stage, using incidental music by Felix Mendelssohn , he invited Korngold to Hollywood in 1934 to adapt Mendelssohn's score for his planned film version. Korngold would also enlarge and conduct

1767-519: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 70241460 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 06:54:58 GMT Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold ( German: [ˈeːʁɪç ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ˈkɔʁnɡɔlt] ; May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was an Austrian composer and conductor, who fled Europe in

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1824-493: The background but also had the gift of melody, an innate sense of theater, and the skills to manipulate sentiment, emotion, humor, and excitement. In short, if Jack L. Warner had been praying for such a composer, then his prayers had been answered. film historian Tony Thomas After he accepted, however, he learned that he needed to compose over an hour of symphonic music in only three weeks. The short time frame forced him to use bits of symphonic poems by Franz Liszt , and

1881-400: The characters portray a wide range of psychological emotions, from loves and hates, bitterness, tenderness and torment. Combined with Korngold's score, which some claim is among his finest, the film drew an unusually high level of public interest and acclaim. Its costar, future President Ronald Reagan , considered his performance the best of his career. The score contains a main theme which

1938-689: The eminent conductor Bruno Walter . Waxman worked as an orchestrator for the German film industry, including on Hollander's score for The Blue Angel (1930). One of his first dramatic scores was for the film Liliom (1934). That year Waxman suffered a severe beating by Nazi sympathizers in Berlin that led him to leave Germany and move with his wife first to Paris, and soon after to Hollywood. In Hollywood, Waxman met James Whale , who had been highly impressed by Waxman's score for Liliom . The success of his score for Whale's Bride of Frankenstein (1935) led to

1995-663: The favor of the rulers, abandoned their native style and copied that of [Johann] Strauss . Erich Korngold After the United States demanded that France divest itself of its interests in Mexico, the Austrian aristocrat was left to his fate, and he was executed by the Juarez government. The dramatic accent of the film leaned in favor of Maximilian and Carlotta, however, aided greatly by Korngold's poignant themes for them. Korngold researched

2052-620: The film a success, including its cast, its Technicolor photography and fast-paced direction by Michael Curtiz , but "most of all, there is Korngold's glorious music." And film historian Rudy Behlmer describes Korngold's contribution to this and his other films: Korngold's score was a splendid added dimension. His style for the Flynn swashbucklers resembled that of the creators of late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century German symphonic tone poems. It incorporated chromatic harmonies, lush instrumental effects, passionate climaxes—all performed in

2109-493: The film for the benefit of actors, whom he then had act to the rhythm and tempo of the music. As a result of the score's elaborate tailoring, the film and Korngold's music left a strong impression on the film industry. Korngold returned to Austria to finish Die Kathrin . He came back to Hollywood to score the film Give Us This Night , with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II , a film which introduced mezzo-soprano Gladys Swarthout and

2166-719: The first composer of international stature to sign a contract with a film studio. It also launched the career of Flynn and gave a major boost to that of de Havilland, who did another seven movies with Flynn. Korngold scored six more films starring Flynn. In addition, Captain Blood opened the way for other costumed romantic adventures, which hadn't been seen since the silent era. After scoring Anthony Adverse , another Warners picture, this one starring Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland, Korngold's career in Hollywood developed quickly. He finally became convinced that dramatic scoring went well with certain types of films. The film, which

2223-425: The following year, and his first two operas, Der Ring des Polykrates and Violanta , in 1914. In 1916, he wrote songs, chamber works, and incidental music, including to Much Ado About Nothing , which ran for some 80 performances in Vienna. Korngold was active in the theatre throughout Europe while in his 20s. After the success of his opera Die tote Stadt , which he conducted in many opera houses, he developed

2280-518: The mid-1930s and later adopted US nationality. A child prodigy , he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history . He was a noted pianist and composer of classical music, along with music for Hollywood films , and the first composer of international stature to write Hollywood scores. When he was 11, his ballet Der Schneemann (The Snowman) became a sensation in Vienna; his Second Piano Sonata, which he wrote at age 13,

2337-445: The most exciting swordfights in cinema history", while Behlmer describes the duel scene as a " tour de force of rhythmic energy and exactitude." In scoring The Sea Wolf , based on a novel by Jack London , Korngold's film career went in a different direction. In this film, the score reflects an evil atmosphere, dark images, and the tense emotions of its crew during an unfortunate voyage. Edward G. Robinson , as Wolf Larsen, plays

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2394-432: The music popular in Mexico at the time and realized it was not Mexican but "unmistakenly Viennese ." He composed 3,000 bars of music for the score, at times emulating the rhythms of Frédéric Chopin and Franz Schubert , and the second theme of the first movement of his Violin Concerto was drawn from his work for the film. Maximilian and Carlotta loved the Mexican song " La Paloma ," and Korngold used it effectively during

2451-576: The score. Korngold was again nominated for his score of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex . The score is essentially operatic, with lush background music throughout, a rousing march theme for Essex (Errol Flynn), and one of his "most noble and heroic melodies" for the theme "Elizabeth, The Queen", Elizabeth (Bette Davis) An hour of the hour and half long film is supported by the score, composed of rich dramatic and romantic themes. He chose not to use any period music or to approximate 16th-century musical sounds, explaining: The loves and hates of

2508-449: The score. The film , which was released in 1935, was a first for Warner Brothers studio in producing a film based on a 400-year-old work of literary art. The studio assigned almost every star or character actor under contract to take part in the film, with the filming taking over six months. The studio also allowed Korngold to devote more attention to the score than it had to any of its previous films; he could prerecord certain parts of

2565-675: The score. He also saw the film more than thirty times just to hear the score, sometimes with his eyes completely closed. Like Gone with the Wind , Kings Row concludes with the main theme hymned operatically by an unseen chorus. Kings Row was followed by seven film scores in four years – The Constant Nymph (1943), Between Two Worlds (1944), Devotion (1946), Of Human Bondage (1946), Deception (1946), Escape Me Never (1947), and Adventures of Don Juan (1948) (unused score). World War II prevented Korngold from returning to Europe. He became an American citizen in 1943 and remained in

2622-568: The score: Korngold's score for The Sea Wolf is not only quieter but actually somber and, at times, dissonant. The opening theme captures the chaos of the wilderness in the North but soon the score seems to be enveloped in a fog (as are the characters) and everything becomes morose and haunting. The score for Kings Row (1942) has been compared to those of films like Gone with the Wind and Anthony Adverse , which also had powerful theme motifs. Those stories were based on recent best-selling novels, as

2679-578: The two main characters, the ideas expressed by the playwright generally, while taken from history, are symbolic. It is a play of eternally true principles and motives of love and ambition, as recurrent today as three hundred years ago. The score concentrates on the regal Main Title, the triumphal entry march of Essex into London, the Queen's theme, and the recapitulation of that theme in the End Titles. The Sea Hawk

2736-443: The young composer's appointment as Head of Music at Universal Studios . Waxman, however, was more interested in composition than musical direction for film, and in 1936 he left Universal to become a composer at MGM . Waxman scored a number of pictures during the next few years, but the score for Alfred Hitchcock 's Rebecca (1940) made his name. Waxman was frequently called to work on scores of horror or suspense films, and Rebecca

2793-557: The youth, and along with Mahler told Korngold's father there was no benefit in having his son enroll in a music conservatory since his abilities were already years ahead of what he could learn there. At age 11, he composed his ballet Der Schneemann ( The Snowman ), which became a sensation when performed at the Vienna Court Opera in 1910, including a command performance for Emperor Franz Josef . He continued composing with great success throughout his teens. At age 12, he composed

2850-414: Was Kings Row . In this score, Korngold moved even further away from his previous romantic and swashbuckler styles. This was Korngold's most Gothic film score, and a film which film historian Tony Thomas has called a "true American classic." He adds that the score "might well have been the basis for an opera or a grandly scaled symphonic poem." The story is set in a Midwestern US town (Kings Row), where

2907-526: Was Korngold's last score for swashbuckler films, all of which had starred Errol Flynn. It is widely regarded as one of Korngold's best. The film ran two hours and six minutes and was one of the longest films he ever worked on. It includes symphonic score in all but twenty minutes. It was also his tenth original score in less than six years. Of the final duel between Thorpe ( Errol Flynn ) and Wolfingham ( Henry Daniell ), MacDonald states that "Korngold's breathlessly fast-paced music helps to make this one of

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2964-813: Was a professor of music at the Vienna State Academy . At the request of motion picture director Max Reinhardt , and due to the rise of the Nazi regime , Korngold moved to Hollywood in 1934 to write music for films. His first was Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). He subsequently wrote scores for such films as Captain Blood (1935), which helped boost the career of its starring newcomer, Errol Flynn . His score for Anthony Adverse (1936) won an Oscar; two years later he won another Oscar for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Korngold scored 16 Hollywood films in all, and received two more nominations for Oscars. Along with Max Steiner and Alfred Newman , he

3021-509: Was based upon poetry by children trapped in the Nazi's Theresienstadt concentration camp . Perhaps Waxman's deep spiritual connection to the subject came from his own encounters with Nazism on a Berlin street in 1934, but whatever the reason for Waxman's deep commitment to the subject, The Song of Terezín stands as the exemplary work of the composer's life. The work is composed for mixed chorus, children's chorus, soprano soloist, and orchestra. He had

3078-485: Was conducting opera in Austria when he was asked by Warner Brothers to return to Hollywood and compose a score for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film, based on a largely fictional English legend, is considered the finest of its kind, with a continuous series of romantic and adventurous sequences propelled by Korngold's dynamic score. Music historian Laurence E. MacDonald notes that there were many factors which made

3135-416: Was moved by the true-life story of how Louis Napoleon , seeing America engulfed by Civil War , took advantage of that fact and attempted, in 1864, to control Mexico. He appointed Maximilian as its emperor. All of the music written at that time was strictly Viennese. The European influence was so strong in Mexico during that time that native composers, either consciously or in an unconscious effort to court

3192-583: Was played throughout Europe by Artur Schnabel . His one-act operas Violanta and Der Ring des Polykrates were premiered in Munich in 1916, conducted by Bruno Walter . At 23, his opera Die tote Stadt (The Dead City) premiered in Hamburg and Cologne. In 1921 he conducted the Hamburg Opera. During the 1920s he re-orchestrated, re-arranged and nearly re-composed several operettas by Johann Strauss II . By 1931 he

3249-412: Was the culmination of the genre for Waxman. Rebecca was Hitchcock's first Hollywood film as part of his contract with David O. Selznick , and thus it was the first time he was allowed a full symphonic score. Selznick financed the film at the same time as he was making Gone With the Wind . Waxman's score for Rebecca is eerie and ethereal, often setting the mood and as Jack Sullivan put it, becoming

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