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Bernard Herrmann music for film, television, and radio productions, 1935-1969
PASC-M 79
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Title: Bernard Herrmann music for film, television, and radio productions
Collection number: PASC-M 79
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
6.5 linear ft.
(13 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1935-1969
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.
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.
Creator:
Herrmann, Bernard, 1911-1975
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.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
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.
[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.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
4233137
Source of Acquisition/Provenance
Los Angeles Public Library Art and Music Department; gift; 1987
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.
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.
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.
Bernard Herrmann Papers , PA Mss 3, Department of Special Collections, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Herrmann, Bernard 1911-1975--Archives.
Composers--United States--Archives.
Crime classics (Radio program)
Motion picture music--Scores and parts.
Music--Manuscripts.
Psycho (Motion picture : 1960)
Radio music--Scores and parts.
Television music--Scores and parts.