The Filmus-L archive is now available from the Bernard Herrmann Society.
The archives start in 1993 and end in 2010. If you were into film music in the nineties it was the most important place to be.
Also includes “Filmus-L: A Brief History” by H. Stephen Wright.
Varese Sarabande has released a 14 CD boxed set containing all his 20th Century Fox scores to celebrate the centenary:
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/events/2011-bernard-herrmann-at-20th-century-fox/
To celebrate Twilight Time’s Blu Ray of Mysterious Island is show at the Egyptian Theatre in LA on 13th November:
http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/mysterious-island-0
The British comedian talks about scary film soundtracks:
http://www.list.co.uk/article/38273-bill-baileys-guide-to-scary-film-soundtracks/
Bernard Herrmann’s longtime collaborator and friend the radio pioneer Norman Corwin has died at the age of 101.
Obituaries:
The recent Moby Dick recording by Chandos was reviewed by the Guardian:
Bernard Herrmann, a film composer born 100 years ago, is the star of the film music Prom says Ivan Hewett:
BBC Proms 2011: The man who made Psycho even scarier
Their Herrmann season starts 21 Oct 2011 and lasts for two weeks:
The Big Apple celebrates Herrmann’s 100th birthday with an intimate evening by Jim Lochner:
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/fsmonline/story.cfm?maID=3196&issueID=77
(Subscribers only)
A piece on Herrmann’s concert music in the Gramophone’s blog:
My Weekend With Bernie – Getting beyond Herrmann’s famed film scores by Albert Imperato:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/blog/new-york-insider/my-weekend-with-bernie
Britain’s Oldest Classical Music Magazine Musical Opinion features in the current issue an article by Edward Johnson:
Bernard Herrmann – A Centenary Survey
CBSnews.com’s Bernard Herrmann: A master of movie music
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7371717n
Conductor John Wilson on Bernard Herrmann:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/74cad662-0eb6-4044-908e-04680457957a#p00hwd2w
The Watershed events in Bristol, UK:
Video interviews and talks with Norma Herrmann, Laurie Johnson, Neil Brand and Adrian Utley:
http://www.watershed.co.uk/herrmann/
Rarely seen, silent Alfred Hitchcock films are to have new orchestral scores composed for them as part of screenings for the London 2012 Festival:
BBC: Composers to create Alfred Hitchcock silent film scores
Today is the Centenary Anniversary of Bernard Herrmann’s birth — 29 June 1911 – 2011.
We have given the web site a face lift + some new content:
“A Biographical Sketch” by Edward Johnson, with foreword by Miklos Rozsa
“A Celebration of His Life and Music” radio documentary by Bruce Crawford and Bob Coate
More to come.
To mark the 100th anniversary of Herrmann’s birth George Kaplan (UK) has been doing a marathon blog, working his way through Herrmann’s film scores one by one:
Several articles have appeared over the weekend mentioning the Herrmann Centenary.
www.cbsnews.com/2300-207_162-10008202.html
articles.boston.com/2011-06-26/ae/29706440_1_film-composers-history-of-movie-music-film-music
2MBS-FM, Australia is devoting a special 2 hour program to Herrmann on 26 June called “Bernard Herrmann Centenary”.
The program will go to air at 2-4PM (Sydney time) and can be heard online via their website at www.2mbs.com.
Herrmann’s longtime friend Fred Steiner died on 23rd June 2011 aged 88.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-fred-steiner-20110625,0,7265403.story
filmmusicreporter.com/2011/06/24/fred-steiner-passes-away-at-88
www.thestate.com/2011/06/25/1874012/fred-steiner-composer-who-created.html
www.variety.com/article/VR1118039133?refCatId=14
A musical analysis of the seminal sci-fi score by Ross Care
is published by FSM Online magazine (subscribers only):
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/fsmonline/story.cfm?maID=3154&issueID=76
Article by Benjamin Ivry.
Steven Smith be signing copies of A HEART AT FIRE’S CENTER: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF BERNARD HERRMANN
at the bookstore Every Picture Tells a Story in Santa Monica, CA on Friday, 24th June at 6:30,
This will be followed by a showing of CITIZEN KANE/THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS across the street at the Aero Theater on Friday, 24th June at 7:30.
He will also be introducing VERTIGO at the Aero on Sunday, 26th June at 7:30.
Join WQXR’s Movies on the Radio for a celebration of this illustrious composer best-known for his thrilling and chilling film scores for Hitchcock. Guests include Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conductor John Mauceri, Bernard Herrmann’s daughter and writer Dorothy Herrmann, composer Rob Schwimmer, and Josh Waletzky, director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann. Special appearance by Academy Award-winning film composer Michael Giacchino (Super 8, UP, The Incredibles). Hosted by WQXR’s David Garland and Elliott Forrest
UPDATE:
The WQXR events have been put online:
http://www.wqxr.org/programs/movies/2011/jun/04/
http://www.wqxr.org/programs/movies/2011/jun/11/
http://www.wqxr.org/programs/movies/2011/jun/18/
http://www.wqxr.org/programs/movies/2011/jun/25/
The German radio station WDR is devoting a special program to Herrmann on June 26 titled:
“Let’s not talk about Movies”
http://www.wdr.de/programmvorschau/object4Broadcast.jsp?broadcastId=3692209
Watershed’s On Dangerous Ground is an extensive overview of his finest work: from his first film to his last. There’s also performances, workshops, interviews and events:
Film composer David Arnold talks about Psycho:
The Art of Time Ensemble presents The War of the Worlds, a celebration of the music Bernard Herrmann to mark the centenary of his birth. Also on the program is the world premiere of an instrumental suite ‘Herrmannthology’ newly composed by Dan Parr based on 20 of Herrmann’s film scores.
http://www.artoftimeensemble.com/performances_2010WarWorlds.html
Beginning Friday, April 1, Minnesota Opera and Take-Up Productions will present a thrilling five-week festival of films featuring scores by Bernard Herrmann. Swap your Wuthering Heights opera ticket stub for a free small popcorn at any screening in the Herrmann series!
Marking the centenary of Bernard Herrmann’s birth the Watershed in Bristol, UK screens a film season in June and July 2011:
Full details: http://www.watershed.co.uk
Herrmann’s main title music to Vertigo are featured in Lady Gaga’s video “Born This Way” (the 7 min version):
http://www.popeater.com/2011/02/28/lady-gaga-born-this-way-video/
There are several Herrmann related concert programmes from 1943 onward available on the NY Phil website.
http://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/search?search-type=singleFilter&search-text=Herrmann
The editors of Film Music Review listed their favouritve Herrmann scores:
http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/BernardHerrmannCentennial.htm
The Minnesota production of Wuthering Heights will be filmed in HD to be shown in theaters all over the world.
http://www.mnopera.org/season?module=performances&showid=1949
http://www.knightarts.org/community/top-8-for-2011
A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 from the Herrmann Society!
This year is Herrmann’s centenary and great things are on their way!
We hear rumours of new recordings, box sets, special editions and documentaries!!!
Watch this space…
Waiting for 29 June 2011 !!!
Quote:
To coincide with Herrmann’s centenary in 2011, this three-day conference seeks to explore the relationship between Herrmann and Hitchcock and aims to bring together practitioners and academics working on a range of theoretical, analytical and historical perspectives.
http://w3.yorksj.ac.uk/arts/faculty-of-arts/hitchcock-conference.aspx
The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announced the formation of the IFMCA Legends archive and launches it with a Herrmann Tribute:
http://filmmusiccritics.org/2010/11/ifmca-launches-ifmca-legends-with-herrmann-tribute/
http://filmmusiccritics.org/ifmca-legends/bernard-herrmann/
The Film Score Rundowns site has been updated with an analysis of the Herrmann scored war movie The Naked & the Dead:
The 2nd Annual TCM Film Festival in April 2011 will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Herrmann’s birth.
http://www.tcm.com/festival/uploads/pdfs/102110_TCMClassicFilmFestival_OpeningNightRelease.pdf
site update:
Transformation of “The Psycho Theme”: in Bernard Herrmann’s Music for Psycho
by Stephen Husarik
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/articles/misc/transformation_of_the_psycho_theme/
Norma Herrmann, the widow of Bernard Herrmann will introduce the special showing of Psycho on 17th October at the Empire Leicester Square!
The screening and the next day concert are about to raise money for CARE International…
http://www.concertforcare.com/screening/
It will be followed by a Q and A with David Arnold and many other composers attending the Concert for Care on the 18th.
Tribute Film Classics are going to record the vomplete “Battle of Neretva” and a suite from “Naked and the Dead” next month in Moscow!
Herrmann’s Cantata to be performed in Sonoma County in 2011:
As part of the Minnesota Opera’s performances of wuthering Height, noted film expert Bruce Crawford will discuss Bernard Herrmann’s life and career, from CBS Radio to Carnegie Hall to Hollywood, and his lasting impact on our culture.
Monday, April 4, 2011 07:00 pm
Minnesota Opera Center
A special showing of Psycho at the Empire, Leicester Square
An additional event to this years Concert for Care:
The Montpelier performance is available for listening at:
http://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/em/concert-soir/emission.php?e_id=80000056&d_id=410001322
Bernard Herrmann was born on 29th June 1911 in New York.
One year to the centenary!!!
On 16th June 1960 Herrmann’s most famous film Psycho had its premiere in New York.
Herrmann’s Cantata to be performed in Copenhagen in 2011
New production of Wuthering Heights to conclude Minnesota Opera’s 2010–2011 season:
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/event-438
http://www.mnopera.org/news?module=news&showitem=70
http://www.mnopera.org/season?module=performances&showid=1949
Morag Beaton, soprano died in Sydney on 1st April 2010 aged 83.
Morag Beaton was chosen by Bernard Herrmann to sing the leading role of Cathy in the complete recording of his opera Wuthering Heights in London in 1966.
Sounds of the Future
Essays on Music in Science Fiction Film
Edited by Mathew J. Bartkowiak
published by McFarland has a chapter on Herrmann written by Stephen Husarik
‘Suspended Motion in the Title Scene from The Day the Earth Stood Still’
The British Film Institute is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hithcock’s masterpiece in April.
It includes 36 (!) showings of the film, plus several films it influenced or was influenced by:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/film_programme/april_seasons/psycho_a_classic_in_context
During Radio France Montpellier Festival we are treated to a rare performance of Wuthering Heights on 14th July:
Psycho complete with film in November:
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/event-426
WWFM The Classical Network will set the stage for Oscar night with a weekend filled with music from the big screen March 5 through March 7.
‘Lights, Camera Music!’ will kick off Friday, March 5, with a daylong, on-air tribute to the music of John Williams (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones), Bernard Herrmann (Psycho, North by Northwest) and other composers behind the soundtracks of movie blockbusters. The celebration will continue through Sunday as a ‘Theme Stream’ an online-only program available via the station’s Internet streaming.
The weekend’s programming will include original music from film scores, such as Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia and The Godfather, as well as classical music masterpieces that have been immortalized in movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Fantasia. The Theme Stream will also feature concert works by composers most often associated with film scores, such as Erich Wolfgang Korngold (The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk) and Miklos Rozsa (Spellbound, Ben-Hur).
Dates and venues to be confirmed…
finally coming from Chandos in February.
Herrmann’s complete score performed live to the film:
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/event-411
KUSC presents “On Dangerous Ground: A Tribute to Bernard Herrmann.” This two-hour sound portrait of one of cinema’s greatest composers will be hosted by Jon Burlingame
http://www.kusc.org/classical/Programming/on_dangerous_ground.php
There are quite a few all Herrmann concerts coming by the end of this year!
Gold Rush: The Bastard Child of Puccini
The story behind Bernard Herrmann’s only opera.
by Jim Lochner
For subscribers only:
https://www.screenarchives.com/fsmonline/story.cfm?maid=2172
Universal Music Australia will release Herrmann’s 1970 recording of Holst’s The Planets on CD next year. It will be out on the Decca Eloquence label.
The Seattle Symphony under Adam Stern performs Bernard Herrmann’s complete score with Alfred Hitchcock’s original film:
Bernard Herrmann is the Composer of the Week on BBC Radio 3
7th to 11th September 2009
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mj39f
Bill Wrobel’s site has been updated with a rundown of Herrmann’s Twilight Zone Episode Ninety Years Without Slumbering
A new article is online. Well actually Herrmann wrote it in 1946…
and a few things have changed in the British musical landscape since then but still a nice journey back in time:
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/articles/archive/musicalengland/
Every Tuesday in September Turner Classic Movies (US Version) will show several Herrmann scored films.
The spotlight will be hosted by Robert Osborne.
The Herrmann consultant is Bruce Crawford.
The schedule:
1. Sept:
Hangover Square
Devil and Daniel Webster
Citizen Kane
The Magnificent Ambersons
On Dangerous Ground
8. Sept:
Five Fingers
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
The Naked and the Dead
3 Worlds of Gulliver
15. Sept:
The Trouble With Harry
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Vertigo
The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad
Mysterious Island
22. Sept:
North By Northwest
Psycho
Marnie
Joy In The Morning
29. Sept:
The Bride Wore Black
The Road Builder (aka The Night Digger)
Obsession
Taxi Driver
Alexandre Desplat will lead the Traffic Quintet at the 2009 Ghent Film Festival in a concert which will feature work from Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith, Georges Delerue and Gabriel Yared.
Bernard Herrmann was born on 29th June 1911 in New York.
Only two years to go to the centenary!
Herrmann’s Vertigo and Psycho at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival!
On 29 September 2009 TCM will show The Bride Wore Black, The Road Builder, Obsession and Taxi Driver
This is a very rare US outing for THE ROAD BUILDER AKA THE NIGHT DIGGER
The Baltimore Synphony Orchestra under Constantine Kitsopoulos performs Bernard Herrmann’s complete score with Alfred Hitchcock’s original film:
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/event-362
Richard Anthony Sayer Arnell (b. 15.09.1917), Tony to his friends, passed away suddenly, but peacefully, on the afternoon of Friday 10th April, 2009.
Bernard Herrmann was one of the first major champions of Arnell’s music. Other prominent conductors who championed him were Stokowski and Barbirolli. He was one of the few living composers to be championed by Beecham and currently Dutton released a complete cycle of Arnell’s Symphonies.
He became a life-long friend of Herrmann and was one of the sponsors to get him into the Savile Club (the other being Malcolm Arnold).
Our condolences to friends and family.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/24/obituary-richard-arnell-composer
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/5252799/Richard-Arnell.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/richard-arnell-unjustly-neglected-composer-who-has-found-a-new-audience-through-recent-recordings-1681850.html
From the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock to the marvels of Ray Harryhausen, Bernard Herrmann spent years as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after film composers. His lush and sometimes experimental scores have made movie fans scream with delight over the shower scene in Psycho (1960), sit on the edge of their seats while Sinbad fights a sword-wielding skeleton in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958), relish in the cinematic artistry of Citizen Kane (1941) or dance to the demonic jig in The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941).
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1463695.php
Tribute Film Classics Launches New Website:
Bonhams Auctioneers are putting up for auction some scores, manuscripts, letters and books on behalf of Norma Herrmann
This includes the manuscript to the Psycho suite.
The auction takes on 24th March at Bonhams, New Bond Street, London
Viewings are held on the 22nd and 23rd.
Martin Silver (b 1934), former Music Librarian at UC Santa Barbara, passed away 17th February 2009. Martin established the Music Library at UC Santa Barbara and was its head until his retirement. He was a relative of Bernard Herrmann and created the Bernard Herrmann Archive at the UCSB.
The Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin show an excursus about Hitchcock’s relationship to Berlin, the exhibition devotes itself to the various fields of work involved in film production. Special focus is on his collaborations with his technical staff and the films TORN CURTAIN and THE BIRDS and Herrmann’s role in them.
29th January to 10th May 2009
To mark the 10th Anniversary of Bill Wrobels “Film Score Rundowns” there is a detailed rundown of Herrmann’s cutting edge score for the CIMARRON STRIP episode “Knife in the Darkness”
For the first time on CD (the LP and EP versions)
The North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra tours with the Psycho Suite and some Beethoven in late November / early December
Bill Wrobel added a partial rundown of Bernard Herrmann’s score to THE KENTUCKIAN
plus a review of the Tribute Film Classics’ recording.
A review on Tribute Film Classics’ rerecording of THE KENTUCKIAN by Roger Hall:
Thomas Kiefner reviewed the latest Night Digger re-release:
http://sdtom.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/night-diggerherrmann/
Tribute Film Classics’ KENTUCKIAN recording is now out:
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/event-276
TFC’s own William Stromberg will conduct excerpts from Mysterious Island and On Dangerous Ground in San Pedro:
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/event-312
The “Rencontres cinema de Marcigny” festival in France hosts a hommage to Bernard Herrmann on the 1st November 2008.
There will be showings of PSYCHO and VERTIGO plus live performances of “Echoes” and “Souvenirs de voyage” by the Quatuor Prima Vista.
The quartet’s artistic director, Baudime Jam, will also hold a lecture about the scoring of PSYCHO.
http://www.marcynema.org/page_programme.html
http://www.bernardherrmann.org/event-317
During a multimedia presention in LA, Beatles producer George Martin commented on his own influence on the group incorperating “… string arrangements and other traditionally non-rock instrumentation into its music.
Part of the accompanying DVD projection showed how similar Martin “Eleanor Rigby” score was to Bernard Herrmann’s famed music for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” with Martin playfully jumping back and forth from playbacks of each …”
The full piece by Brian Cohen can be read here:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003827411
Bernard Herrmann was born on 29th June 1911
A new article has been added:
The Nature of Bernard Herrmann’s Music by Bill Wrobel
plus
The Herrmann Papers phototour has been updated
Tribute Film Classics have released Max Steiner’s SHE
http://www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm?ID=10006
The release of their recording of Herrmann’s KENTUCKIAN has sadly been delayed.
The Brick Theater starts a production on 1st June of the Magnificent Ambersons as a live theatrical reconstruction of Welles’ original cut of the film. They are also using Bernard Herrmann’s entire original score.
Daniel Schweiger’s review of the Tribute recordings:
Norma Herrmann’s second husband Roger Dice passed away suddenly and peacefully on the 23rd April.
Our condolences to the friends and family.