Description
From his first film (Citizen Kane) to his last (Taxi Driver), Herrmann was once a master of evoking psychological nuance and dramatic tension through music, frequently the usage of unheard-of instrumental combinations to suit the dramatic needs of a film. His scores are a few of the most distinguished ever written, ranging from the incredible (Fahrenheit 451, The Day the Earth Stood Still) to the romantic (Obsession, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) to the terrifying (Psycho).
Film was once not the only medium in which Herrmann made a powerful mark. His radio broadcasts included Orson Welles’s Mercury Theatre at the Air and The War of the Worlds. His concert music was once commissioned and performed by the New York Philharmonic, and he was once 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 Smith separates myth from fact and draws upon heretofore unpublished material to light up Herrmann’s life and influence.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