A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard HerrmannNo composer contributed more to film than Bernard Herrmann, who in over 40 scores enriched the work of such directors as Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, François Truffaut, and Martin Scorsese. In this first major biography of the composer, Steven C. Smith explores the interrelationships between Herrmann's music and his turbulent personal life, using much previously unpublished information to illustrate Herrmann's often outrageous behavior, his working methods, and why his music has had such lasting impact. From his first film (Citizen Kane) to his last (Taxi Driver), Herrmann was a master of evoking psychological nuance and dramatic tension through music, often using unheard-of instrumental combinations to suit the dramatic needs of a film. His scores are among the most distinguished ever written, ranging from the fantastic (Fahrenheit 451, The Day the Earth Stood Still) to the romantic (Obsession, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) to the terrifying (Psycho). Film was not the only medium in which Herrmann made a powerful mark. His radio broadcasts included Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre on the Air and The War of the Worlds. His concert music was commissioned and performed by the New York Philharmonic, and he was chief conductor of the CBS Symphony. Almost as celebrated as these achievements are the enduring legends of Herrmann's combativeness and volatility. Smith separates myth from fact and draws upon heretofore unpublished material to illuminate Herrmann's life and influence. Herrmann remains as complex as any character in the films he scored—a creative genius, an indefatigable musicologist, an explosive bully, a generous and compassionate man who desperately sought friendship and love. Films scored by Bernard Herrmann: Citizen Kane, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Vertigo, Psycho, Fahrenheit 451, Taxi Driver, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Man Who Knew Too Much, North By Northwest, The Birds, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Cape Fear, Marnie, Torn Curtain, among others |
Contents
Prelude | 1 |
NEW YORK 19111951 | 5 |
One | 7 |
Two | 21 |
Three | 42 |
Four | 59 |
Five | 71 |
Six | 85 |
Twelve | 236 |
Thirteen | 267 |
Fourteen | 292 |
LONDON 19711975 | 309 |
Fifteen | 311 |
Sixteen | 319 |
Seventeen | 336 |
Postlude | 357 |
Other editions - View all
A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann Steven C. Smith Limited preview - 2002 |
A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann Steven C. Smith Limited preview - 1991 |
A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann Steven C. Smith No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
album notes Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Newman American asked Barbirolli bass Benny Benny's Bernard Herrmann brass broadcast cinema Citizen Kane clarinet color composer composer's concert conducting conductor Copland Corwin David Raksin death Decca director dramatic English favorite film music film scores film's finally Hall harp heard Herr Herrmann's music Herrmann's score Hitch Hollywood Houseman Ibid Ives Jane Eyre Joan Greenwood John later letter to BH listening London Louis Herrmann Lucille Fletcher Lucy mann mann's Miklós Rózsa mins Moby Dick Moross movie musicians never Norma Shepherd Norman Corwin opera orchestra Orson performance Philharmonic piano picture piece play players prelude premiere Psycho Quoted radio Raksin Reardon recalled recording Rózsa scene Scorsese screen script Selznick sequence song sound Stokowski strings studio Symphony television theme things told Torn Curtain Truffaut violin wanted woodwinds write wrote Wuthering Heights York young ZADOR