San Antonio College Library

Musicologist and composer David Raksin discusses the career of his friend, the eminent film composer Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975). Many film clips illustrate his themes, and Raksin demonstrates some of Herrmann's techniques on the piano. Herrmann stands as one of the geniuses in the art, and was a pioneer and risk taker in many of his approaches. He worked with directors Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, Francois Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock, among others....

"During a seven-decade career that spanned from 19th century Vienna to 1920s Broadway to the golden age of Hollywood, three-time Academy Award winner Max Steiner did more than any other composer to introduce and establish the language of film music. Indeed, revered contemporary film composers like John Williams and Danny Elfman use the same techniques that Steiner himself perfected in his iconic work for such classics as Casablanca, King Kong, Gone...

Since the days of silent films, music has been integral to the cinematic experience. Focusing on how the film/score interaction influences our response to cinematic situations, this text traces the history of film music from its beginnings, covering both European and American cinema.