Bernard Herrmann music for film, television, and radio productions, 1935-1969
Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Herrmann, Bernard, 1911-1975
- Abstract:
- This collection consists primarily of manuscripts and reproductions of scores and parts of radio, television, and film music created by composer Bernard Herrmann. It also contains a small amount of scores for his classical work.
- Extent:
- 6.5 linear ft. (13 boxes)
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Bernard Herrmann Music for Film, Television, and Radio Productions (Collection PASC-M 79). UCLA Library Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection consists of manuscripts and reproductions of scores and parts of radio, television, and film music. It includes arrangements and scripts for the CBS radio show Crime Classics, and music composed for two television specials, A Child is Born and A Christmas Carol. In addition, the collection contains music from the following films: Battle of Neretva, Jason and the Argonauts, The Kentuckian, Psycho, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, and The Trouble with Harry. Herrmann’s classical work is represented by selections from the opera Wuthering Heights, and his Nocturne and Scherzo for Orchestra.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Composer and conductor Bernard Herrmann was born June 29, 1911, in New York City. He attended New York University and the Juilliard School. Herrmann’s early career included involvement in Aaron Copland’s Young Composers Group and the founding of the New Chamber Orchestra of New York. In 1934, he joined CBS Radio as a composer-conductor, writing music for Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater on the Air and other Welles radio projects. He also served as conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra, which was disbanded in 1951. Soon after, Herrmann moved to Los Angeles, where he primarily composed for film productions. He also occasionally wrote music for television programs and returned briefly to radio in 1953 to work on the CBS series Crime Classics.
Herrmann’s first film score was written for Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941). He had a long relationship with director Alfred Hitchcock and worked on several of his films including The Trouble with Harry (1955), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and Marnie (1964). Herrmann also created scores for a number of science-fiction and fantasy films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), and Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Later in his career he composed music for directors Francois Truffaut and Brian De Palma. Herrmann’s final film score was for Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver (1976), completed just before his death.
In addition to composing for film, television and radio, Herrmann created a number of concert works, including Nocturne and Scherzo (1935), Moby Dick: A Cantata for Male Chorus, Soloists, and Orchestra (1938), and an opera based on Wuthering Heights (1951). He served as a guest conductor for the New York Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Herrmann died on December 24, 1975 in Los Angeles.
- Custodial history:
-
Los Angeles Public Library Art and Music Department; gift; 1987
- Arrangement:
-
This collection is arranged into the following series:
- Series 1. Music for the Radio Production Crime Classics
- Series 2. Music for Television Productions
- Series 3. Music for Film Productions
- Series 4. Classical Works.
- Physical location:
- Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Bernard Herrmann Music for Film, Television, and Radio Productions (Collection PASC-M 79). UCLA Library Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988