Film scores

Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) and Alfred Newman (b. 1900) are iconic pioneers being involved with Hollywood film music, doubling as major figures in this business.

Franz Waxman (1906-1960's), Bernard Herrmann (d. 1975), Miklos Rozsa (1900's-1990's) and Dimitri Tiomkin (b. 1890's) are also Hollywood film music pioneers, but also major figures in this industry.

Hugo Friedhofer (1901-1981) and Alex North (d. 1990's) are also Hollywood film music innovators.

The melodramatic work being made by Max Steiner changed the way film scores are made, and he is highly-regarded as as a role model for many composers who followed him.

Furthermore, Max Steiner is credited with popularizing the click track technique, which allowed film score composers to sync music and film more precisely.

Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss are some influences for Max Steiner's film scoring work.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold is the first music composer with an international reputation to create music specially-made for films; in fact, he set a new standard for adventure films.

Many of the swashbuckling film scores that Erich Wolfgang Korngold have composed use strong and powerful brass, romantic melodies and lush strings.

Plus, Erich Wolfgang Korngold was able to adapt to new technical expectations, and achieve mastery similar to his opera work.

Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Igor Stravinsky and Giacomo Puccini are just a few notable influences for Erich Wolfgang Korngold's film scoring work.

Alfred Newman is one of the first composers to make original film music in Hollywood.

Some notable influences for Alfred Newman's film scoring work are Richard Wagner, Igor Stravinsky, Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and others.

Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Alfred Newman transformed film music into full-bodied orchestral works and established cinematic Hollywood film music as a vital art form.

In addition to his concert work, Aaron Copland is also an innovative film score composer, bringing his distinctive Americana music style to Hollywood.

Jerry Leiber (1933-2010's) and Mike Stoller (b. 1933) are also notable innovators in pop music.

With both Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, rhythm & blues, formerly limited to black clubs, increased its audience share in areas formerly reserved for high-culture and/or conservative music tastes.

Quincy Jones (1933-2020's) and Max Martin are likewise notable innovators in pop music.

Phil Spector (1930's-2021) and Joe Meek (1929-1960's) are also notable pop music innovators.

Ahmet Ertegun (b. 1920's), Jerry Wexler (1917-2008) and Tom Dowd (1925-2002) are also pop music innovators.

Herb Abramson (d. 1990's) and Arif Mardin (b. 1930's) are likewise pop music innovators.

Walter Yetnikoff (1933-2021) and Tommy Mottola (b. 1948) are some influential music executives.

Ennio Morricone (1920's-2020) and John Barry (1933-2010's) are likewise film music innovators.

Both Ennio Morricone and John Barry incorporate pop music into their film scores.

Hugo Winterhalter (1909-1973) is a musician incorporating symphonic elements into pop music, like a large string session, a full horn session, a woodwind choir and timpani.

During his RCA Victor work, Hugo Winterhalter has enhanced pop music with his symphonic feel.

John Williams (b. 1930's) and Jerry Goldsmith (b. 1929) are also film music innovators.

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1890's-1960's) is a film music figure, but also a teacher to musicians who shape and influence modern film scores, like John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith.

Born in Italy, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco deflected to the United States in the late-1930's or after 1938 after his home nation introduced anti-Semitic laws.

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop (1950's-1998) is one of the BBC's sound effects units.

Having a huge influence on pop music, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop had been regarded as British electronica's unsung heroes.

Kraftwerk is one of the most progressive, innovative and influential electronic bands ever.

Florian Schneider (d. 2020), Ralf Hutter, Wolfgang Flur and Karl Bartos (b. 1950's) are the primary members of the Kraftwerk band, having made up their core lineup from 1975 to 1990.

Tangerine Dream (formed 1960's) is, like Kraftwerk, one of the most influential electronic bands.

Edgar Froese (d. 2010's), Christopher Franke (b. 1953) and Peter Baumann (b. 1953) are known as the most successful Tangerine Dream members. 

Vangelis (d. 2022) is also an electronic music pioneer.

The music style for Vangelis is called "symphonic electronica," through his usage of synthesizers in an orchestral fashion.

Mike Oldfield (b. 1953), Isao Tomita (1930's-2010's), Giorgio Moroder and Larry Fast (b. 1950's) are also synth music masters.

William Loose (d. 1990's), John Seely (b. 1920's) and Jack Tillar (1930-2021) are likewise American film and television composers.

During WWII, William Loose was an arranger for the US Army Air Forces Orchestra in New York.

Harry Bluestone (1900's-1990's), Emil Cadkin (1920-2020), Philip Green (d. 1980's) and Harry Lubin (1906-1977) are also film and television composers.

Juan Garcia Esquivel (1918-2002) and Stanley Wilson (b. 1917) are also American film and television composers.

Mike Post, Pete Carpenter (d. 1980's) and John Debney (b. 1950's) are also film and television music composers.

Dave Grusin (b. 1930's), Elmer Bernstein (b. 1920's), Henry Mancini (1924-1990's) and Oliver Nelson (1930's-1975) are also film and television music composers.

Nelson Riddle (1921-1980's), Neal Hefti (1920's-2008) and Billy May are likewise film and television composers.

John Sponsler (b. 1960's) and Tom Gire (b. 1960's) are film and television music figures.

Gabriel Yared (b. 1949), Michel Legrand (1930's-2010's) and Michel Colombier (b. 1930's) are French film music composers as well.

Edda Dell'Orso (b. 1930's) is an innovator in bringing wordless vocals to film scores, particularly in her collaborations with Ennio Morricone.

Having collaborated with Ennio Morricone, Edda Dell'Orso's work paved the way for future film music composers who incorporate wordless vocals into film scores.

Before Max Steiner's breakthrough work on King Kong, film music was pure and simple.

During its early era, silent films in Hollywood were often accompanied by music being played live in theatres by musicians, either a pianist or a small ensemble.

With talkies, film music became integrated more smoothly, but also introduced new issues.

However, Max Steiner's breakthrough work on King Kong transformed the film music business.

King Kong is one of the first major Hollywood productions to use a fully thematic score through Max Steiner, employing leitmotifs associated with characters and events inspired by Richard Wagner.

In fact, Max Steiner's score for King Kong turned film music into large-scale orchestral works.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score for The Adventures of Robin Hood likewise changed the film music business, similar to what Max Steiner did for his King Kong work.

Using Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler as influences, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score for The Adventures of Robin Hood took film music to a new level of sophisication.

While at 20th Century-Fox, Alfred Newman worked with Marilyn Monroe on some films.

Lionel Newman was the music director for all Marilyn Monroe films at 20th Century-Fox.

In fact, Alfred Newman led the 20th Century-Fox music department, collaborating with his younger brother Lionel Newman, both of whom worked with Marilyn Monroe.

Alfred Newman's first complete film score for Street Scene has its main theme, which is inspired by George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

Plus, Alfred Newman's Street Scene piece is in Marilyn Monroe's How to Marry a Millionaire.

During the overture sequence of Marilyn Monroe's How to Marry a Millionaire film, Alfred Newman conducted the orchestra on-screen for his Street Scene piece for a CinemaScope demonstration.

Besides, Alfred Newman's work with the 20th Century-Fox orchestra introduced the string sound.

From the 1930's to the 1950's, Muir Mathieson worked with the London Symphony Orchestra.

In the late-1960's or before 1969, four-time Academy Award winner André Previn came to the London Symphony Orchestra as its principal conductor.

Both Muir Mathieson and André Previn put the London Symphony Orchestra on the film music map.

By deviating from the other film scores at the time which relied on the influence of the late-Romantic period, the film scores by Aaron Copland largely reflected his own approach.

Many composers doing Western films used Aaron Copland's music sound, while some also used Max Steiner's late-Romantic film score style.

Aaron Copland's film scoring work evokes a sense of Americana and the wide-open spaces, while Max Steiner's focuses on the emotional drama and narrative aspects of the films.

Some film score composers combine the styles created by both Max Steiner and Aaron Copland, while others lean more heavily toward one or the other.

With his reputation as a film score composer, Aaron Copland's sound is unequivocally American; this tradition continues in modern and contemporary Hollywood film scores.

In fact, Aaron Copland's film work introduced modern music styles to Hollywood.

Unlike many Hollywood composers, Aaron Copland orchestrated his own film scores, which gave him greater control over the final sound.

Franz Waxman's influences for his film music work include Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, plus jazz and English music.

Some of the influences for Bernard Herrmann's film music work include Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Charles Ives and Percy Grainger.

Miklos Rozsa is the last survivor of a group of ten Hollywood composers shaping film music.

Some influences for Miklos Rozsa's film scoring work include Bela Bartok and Hungarian music.

European and American music, Alexander Glazunov and others influence Dimitri Tiomkin.

Dimitri Tiomkin is the first film music composer to make both the title theme and the score.

Hugo Friedhofer was honoured to work with Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and others.

Alex North's influences include Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, along with French and Russian composers, jazz and vinyl records.

Jerry Goldsmith is one of the first composers to use modernist techniques in film music.

Besides both Miklos Rozsa and Bela Bartok, other influences for Jerry Goldsmith's film scoring work include Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, Alban Berg and Bernard Herrmann.

Plus, John Williams revived the symphonic film score tradition.

Gustav Holst, Igor Stravinsky, Richard Wagner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold are some of the major influences for John Williams.

Furthermore, Max Steiner and Bernard Herrmann are the other influences for John Williams.

Some Ennio Morricone influences include John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez and La Monte Young, among others.

John Williams. Jerry Goldsmith, Henry Mancini, André Previn and Marty Paich are some film music figures who studied composition and counterpoint under Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

The London Symphony Orchestra performed the music score for the first two trilogies of the Star Wars film series from 1977 to 2005 overall.

What began the London Symphony Orchestra's relationship with Star Wars is the earlier's then-primary director André Previn, who, in 1977, asked his friend and colleague John Williams for help.

Recorded at Anvil Studio in Denham under the performance of the London Symphony Orchestra, John Williams' score for the first Star Wars film (1977) was recorded by Eric Tomlinson.

Besides John Williams and others, Herbert W. Spencer, Alexander Courage, Arthur Morton and Angela Morley did the orchestration for John Williams' score for the first Star Wars film (1977).

John Williams' score for the first Star Wars film (1977) revived the symphonic film music tradition.

Meco's disco version of the Star Wars theme, composed by John Williams, is also a successful tune.

Elmer Bernstein's work for The Magnificent Seven incorporates Americana elements, notably drawing inspiration from Aaron Copland's works.

John Barry arranges the theme song for The Magnificent Seven by Elmer Bernstein for his band called The John Barry Seven for its British release.

007, a cue from the 1960's James Bond film From Russia With Love by John Barry, sounds similar to Elmer Bernstein's The Magnificent Seven, arranged in its UK release by The John Barry Seven.

Plus, 007 Takes the Lektor is a variation of the 007 cue, both by John Barry.

The Tar Sequence, a cue from the late-1960's movie Cool Hand Luke by Lalo Schifrin, incorporates Americana elements à la Aaron Copland, like The Magnificent Seven.

Sam Spence (1920's-2010's) is the main music composer for NFL Films from 1966 to 1990.

Phillip Spieller (b. 1937) is the music director for NFL Films from the late-1960's to 1984.

Munich, Germany is the adopted base for Sam Spence and his music work with NFL Films.

Just before NFL Films, marching band music was often featured in many sports films, but under Sam Spence's influence, NFL Films uses cinematic Hollywood-like orchestral music in them.

In his NFL Films music work, Sam Spence's influence derives from many world-famous Hollywood music composers, like Miklos Rozsa and Dimitri Tiomkin.

Having been the music director for NFL Films from the late-1960's to 1984, Phillip Spieller selected music for (and mixed) many sports films during his career.

Phillip Spieller made up a process in which he blended music cues composed by NFL Films' in-house composers, like Sam Spence, with prerecorded tracks from stock music labels.

This process by Phillip Spieller gave NFL Films its cinematic Hollywood-like orchestral sound.