Bernard Herrmann Overview

Bernard Herrmann wrote scores for over 40 movies, providing music for films by Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut, and Martin Scorsese. From his first film, "Citizen Kane," to his last, "Taxi Driver," Herrmann heightened psychological nuance and dramatic tension with... [more]

Bernard Herrmann wrote scores for over 40 movies, providing music for films by Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut, and Martin Scorsese. From his first film, "Citizen Kane," to his last, "Taxi Driver," Herrmann heightened psychological nuance and dramatic tension with sound, often using unorthodox instrumental combinations to enhance suspense. Inspired by drama in all its forms, he created music for radio broadcasts, among them Orson Welles' "The War of the Worlds," and for several television shows including "Gunsmoke" and "Police Force." In fact, Herrmann's music has underscored some of the most gripping and memorable moments in our collective cultural consciousness -- the shower scene in "Psycho," to name one. Herrmann's talent revealed itself early: at 13 he won a composition prize, and at 20 he founded and conducted a chamber orchestra. In 1943, he became the chief conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra and gave important premieres to music by composers including Ralph Vaughan Williams and Charles Ives. Herrmann himself wrote for the concert hall as well as the movie theater; his "First Symphony" and his dramatic cantata "Moby-Dick," based on the Melville novel, were performed by the New York Philharmonic. He won an Oscar for "All That Money Can Buy" (1941), and a suite arranged from that movie's score was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1943. He died in his sleep shortly after recording the music for "Taxi Driver," and Scorsese dedicated the film to his memory. [show less]