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A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann (Paperback) - Common
No 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Smith explores the interrelationships between Herrmann's music and his turbulent personal life, using much previously unpublished information to illustrate Herrmann's often outrageous behavior, his working methods, and why his music has had such lasting impact.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 of 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 Smith separates myth from fact and draws upon heretofore unpublished material to illuminate Herrmann's life and influence.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.
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 of 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.
429 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 1991
16 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Steven C. Smith
25 books24 followersIndie Author, hailing from the not so sunny United Kingdom.
I have always considered myself a creative zany person, expressing my idea's through writing and art. This led me on a journey to release my first ever self-published book late September 2016. The Dragon's Reclaim series is set to be an 8-part Fantasy saga, and as I edge closer to the series end, I know that new chapters will open out for me to create a diverse range of e-books and paperbacks in the years to come.
I find myself fascinated by dragons and all thing's fantasy fiction, so, was only a matter of time before I wrote my own idea's down.
As time passed by my ideas were combined, thus creating a whole world for my character's to live in, and soon I had an entire saga spinning round in my head.
I continue to tell my fairy tale adventure, and each and every day I become more and more inspired as the adventure grows.
More recently I have delved into publishing a Crime Novel, and a double-header Fantasy set of books, which are ten times more brutal and hard-hitting than any of my previous works. (18+)
Future works will include sequels to the above, and of course the conclusion of Dragon's Reclaim. Not to mention some other fantasy genre's including Vampires, Werewolves & Zombies. Stay tuned.
I have always considered myself a creative zany person, expressing my idea's through writing and art. This led me on a journey to release my first ever self-published book late September 2016. The Dragon's Reclaim series is set to be an 8-part Fantasy saga, and as I edge closer to the series end, I know that new chapters will open out for me to create a diverse range of e-books and paperbacks in the years to come.
I find myself fascinated by dragons and all thing's fantasy fiction, so, was only a matter of time before I wrote my own idea's down.
As time passed by my ideas were combined, thus creating a whole world for my character's to live in, and soon I had an entire saga spinning round in my head.
I continue to tell my fairy tale adventure, and each and every day I become more and more inspired as the adventure grows.
More recently I have delved into publishing a Crime Novel, and a double-header Fantasy set of books, which are ten times more brutal and hard-hitting than any of my previous works. (18+)
Future works will include sequels to the above, and of course the conclusion of Dragon's Reclaim. Not to mention some other fantasy genre's including Vampires, Werewolves & Zombies. Stay tuned.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 22, 2023
A great (and I mean GREAT!) film composer gets a deservedly first-rate biography. Benny was a mighty cranky individual who kicked up a storm with just about everyone, but his music was sublime.
A scholarly but very readable in-depth study of the man - his life, relationships and distinguished career in all formats of music creativity.
With 27 pages of rare photos.
The author expertly traces the genius of Herrmann from his days as conductor of the CBS Radio Symphony, as composer for Orson Welles's 'Mercury Theatre of the Air' (incl. 'The War of the Worlds') and his continuation with Welles in Hollywood with his scores for 'Citizen Kane' and 'The Magnificent Ambersons' and his Oscar winning 'All That Money Can Buy' (aka 'The Devil and Daniel Webster') to his phenomenal career with Alfred Hitchcock, all his radio and television work, concert works, operas and recordings.
But the genius of Bernard Herrmann is his film music. As a budding film fanatic, no composer entranced me more than Mr. H. I collected all his LP recordings and couldn't wait for a new release. Fortunately, with the creation of CDs and boutique labels which have specialized in combing through studio vaults and releasing 'the real thing' we are now blessed by having all his film scores now available in complete form.
Many great scores to revel in but the following are my favorites which bring absolute joy to my ears and emotions, with or without the film:
'Vertigo'
'The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'
'Psycho'
'North by Northwest'
'Marnie'
'Cape Fear'
'Jason and the Argonauts'
'The Day the Earth Stood Still'
'The Wrong Man'
'Obsession'
'Taxi Driver'
'Journey to the Center of the Earth'
'Mysterious Island'
But to be frank I love every Herrmann score!
"Musically I count myself an individualist. I believe that only music which springs out of genuine personal emotion is alive and important. I hate all cults, fads, and circles. I feel that a composer should be true to his own innate instincts and tastes, and develop these to the best of his ability, no matter what the present vogue may be .... I am not interested in music, or any work of art, that fails to stimulate appreciation of life and, more importantly, pride in life." .... Bernard Herrmann.
A scholarly but very readable in-depth study of the man - his life, relationships and distinguished career in all formats of music creativity.
With 27 pages of rare photos.
The author expertly traces the genius of Herrmann from his days as conductor of the CBS Radio Symphony, as composer for Orson Welles's 'Mercury Theatre of the Air' (incl. 'The War of the Worlds') and his continuation with Welles in Hollywood with his scores for 'Citizen Kane' and 'The Magnificent Ambersons' and his Oscar winning 'All That Money Can Buy' (aka 'The Devil and Daniel Webster') to his phenomenal career with Alfred Hitchcock, all his radio and television work, concert works, operas and recordings.
But the genius of Bernard Herrmann is his film music. As a budding film fanatic, no composer entranced me more than Mr. H. I collected all his LP recordings and couldn't wait for a new release. Fortunately, with the creation of CDs and boutique labels which have specialized in combing through studio vaults and releasing 'the real thing' we are now blessed by having all his film scores now available in complete form.
Many great scores to revel in but the following are my favorites which bring absolute joy to my ears and emotions, with or without the film:
'Vertigo'
'The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'
'Psycho'
'North by Northwest'
'Marnie'
'Cape Fear'
'Jason and the Argonauts'
'The Day the Earth Stood Still'
'The Wrong Man'
'Obsession'
'Taxi Driver'
'Journey to the Center of the Earth'
'Mysterious Island'
But to be frank I love every Herrmann score!
"Musically I count myself an individualist. I believe that only music which springs out of genuine personal emotion is alive and important. I hate all cults, fads, and circles. I feel that a composer should be true to his own innate instincts and tastes, and develop these to the best of his ability, no matter what the present vogue may be .... I am not interested in music, or any work of art, that fails to stimulate appreciation of life and, more importantly, pride in life." .... Bernard Herrmann.
March 26, 2021
Probably the least understood art in film making is the film score, with probably the biggest misconception being that the composer simply writes music to accompany the action on screen – loud and fast for action, quiet for sadness, high strings for tension etc. There are some who do resort to such banalities. But the real film composer isn’t simply scoring the visual happenings on screen, but scoring the emotions within. [There’s a great example of this by John Barry on YouTube ‘Indecent Proposal – Run to the Heli-Pad Scene.’ For this scene, Barry chose not to score the physical action of Woody Harrelson’s character running to prevent his wife taking off in a helicopter (on her way to perform an act which could lead to their ruin), instead, he goes straight for the emotional desperation of Harrelson’s character by using the film’s love theme – accentuating all that is at stake. What could have been a standard bridging action scene is thus lifted to emotional heights that surprised even director Adrian Lynne. Though stylistically different, Barry and Herrmann were both masters of getting beneath the surface – to the rawness and emotions of characters and situation].
There’s a good quote directly from Herrmann on page 122:-
'Music on the screen can seek out and intensify the inner thoughts of the characters. It can invest a scene with terror, grandeur, gaiety, or misery. It can propel narrative swiftly forward, or slow it down. It often lifts mere dialogue into the realms of poetry. Finally, it is the communicating link between the screen and the audience, reaching out and enveloping all into one single experience.'
Bernard Herrmann’s first film score was for Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane, in 1941. There were some great scores before then; but many were unsubtle, and many were written by composers who had moved to America from Europe – pervading the films of modern America with the romantic sounds from the old countries. Bernard Herrmann (along with fellow composer Jerome Moross) were part of a rebellious and argumentative movement who wanted their modern American voices to be heard. With Citizen Kane, Herrmann does just this, but also brings an emotional internality – from the very opening scene we hear the sombre low woodwinds reflecting the dying Kane. Here, Herrmann was also demonstrating his extraordinary gift for distinctive orchestration – being one of the few composers in Hollywood doing so. He stated that the main purpose of film music was not concert performance, so using this rationale he often strayed from the standard symphonic orchestra set-up. ‘Beneath The Twelve Mile Reef’ (1953) would therefore have nine harps creating its undersea world; and the futuristic Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) would use two wailing theremins and other early electronic instruments supporting the small orchestra.
But this book doesn’t only focus on the music. Herrmann was a fascinating character, whose personality didn’t fit into the Hollywood system. A great composer, orchestrator, and instinctive technician, he was also an all-knowing, cantankerous and argumentative pain in the ass! He could be charming and romantically old-school one moment, but explode over nothing the next. Arguably no one in Hollywood made more enemies. So, when jazz and pop scores became the rage in the 1960s, many filmmakers were only too happy to ditch the awkward collaborator. Even Hitchcock, for whom Herrmann wrote some of his greatest film scores (Vertigo, North By Northwest and Psycho amongst them), had had enough. The relationship came to a feuding end at the Torn Curtain (1966) recording sessions, in which Hitchcock (pressurised by the studio) had been pushing for a more modern ‘rhythmic beat’ score. It was something he was never going to get from Herrmann. Bizarrely, Hitchcock never did get such a score in his later films. My favourite director was never going to be one for the swinging 60s! It’s hard to see how such a score would have fitted into his films. Another relationship ended with special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen (and his producer Charles Schneer), for whom Herrmann wrote four colourful scores – including Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad and Jason And The Argonauts. Again, I can understand Herrmann’s frustration, as Schneer demonstrably left too little for the music budget. When asked to do a fifth film (First Men In The Moon in 1964), Herrmann read the script, but on asking what the music budget was, simply tossed the script back on the desk and walked out. One has only to listen to Miklos Rozsa’s score for Golden Voyage Of Sinbad (1974) and the woefully small orchestra he was saddled with to understand Herrmann’s gripes.
This wonderfully written book follows Hermann’s career through radio, TV, classical and film music; as well as his fiery private life. The author clearly spoke to many people, and had access to the written archives. Herrmann was an old-school romantic filled with passion and temper. He was a man full of contradiction (he could be funny, happy, miserable, argumentative, and sob, all in a very short space of time); and despite pride in his originality in composition and orchestration, he wasn’t above pilfering ideas (even exact themes) from his own previous works, and sometimes more general ideas, if it suited, from European classical composers. Herrmann was very much an anglophile. He loved English literature (writing an opera, Wuthering Heights) and from the late 60s was spending more and more time in England, eventually moving there and marrying his third wife. The great sadness for me is that in England in the 1970s Herrmann was in increasing demand, but his health was fading. He took huge delight in being the go-to composer for many of the ‘new kids,’ such as Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese, Larry Cohen etc. Obsession and Taxi Driver were his final two scores. On top of this, he had a contract with Decca/London Records that allowed him to re-record many of his own compositions, as well as the works of others – including his old friend Charles Ives. His diary for 1976 was full, and included the scoring for Carrie. However, on the night he completed work on Taxi Driver, Christmas Eve 1975, he died of heart failure.
I love books, films, music and paintings – and the impassioned creativity and focus that goes into a work’s formation is something I always find fascinating. I have a strange obsession with biographies, often jumping to the end to see what a person was working on when they died. What was to come? What have we lost? Sometimes I wander, and wonder in god-like cogitation, who, amongst all the people whose work I admire, I would grant another five years of creative productivity to? For me, it’s Bernard Herrmann every time. His star was on the rise again and he was still hugely enthusiastic. There was so much more to come. Though his character certainly wasn’t without fault, I’d have liked him to have had a little more satisfaction time regaining his success and sticking the finger up to some of the old farts who were calling him an old fashioned fart ten years earlier.
His favourite quote, which he often repeated, was from Tolstoy, ‘Eagles fly alone and sparrows fly in flocks.’ Which says all that you need to know about where Herrmann placed himself within his art.
[Note. I enjoyed the non-Herrmann story on page 118, about actor George Sanders – an old school gent, you may think. While working on his last film under his 20th Century Fox contract, he clearly couldn’t give a toss - refusing to say his lines - insisting that they were ‘terrible crap.’ Everyone thought he was joking and that he would relent, but he didn’t, refusing each time to utter the words when it was his turn. The producer eventually turned up to sort the issue out and ended up yelling at Sanders - calling him a son of a bitch. To which the gentleman actor, not even bothering to rise from his seat, socked him on the chin. That was the end of filming that night! Company boss, Darryl F.Zanuck, had to sort the issue out the following day by agreeing to a re-write. Sanders eventually said the lines, albeit only slightly different, and off he departed with a smile into the night...]
There’s a good quote directly from Herrmann on page 122:-
'Music on the screen can seek out and intensify the inner thoughts of the characters. It can invest a scene with terror, grandeur, gaiety, or misery. It can propel narrative swiftly forward, or slow it down. It often lifts mere dialogue into the realms of poetry. Finally, it is the communicating link between the screen and the audience, reaching out and enveloping all into one single experience.'
Bernard Herrmann’s first film score was for Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane, in 1941. There were some great scores before then; but many were unsubtle, and many were written by composers who had moved to America from Europe – pervading the films of modern America with the romantic sounds from the old countries. Bernard Herrmann (along with fellow composer Jerome Moross) were part of a rebellious and argumentative movement who wanted their modern American voices to be heard. With Citizen Kane, Herrmann does just this, but also brings an emotional internality – from the very opening scene we hear the sombre low woodwinds reflecting the dying Kane. Here, Herrmann was also demonstrating his extraordinary gift for distinctive orchestration – being one of the few composers in Hollywood doing so. He stated that the main purpose of film music was not concert performance, so using this rationale he often strayed from the standard symphonic orchestra set-up. ‘Beneath The Twelve Mile Reef’ (1953) would therefore have nine harps creating its undersea world; and the futuristic Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) would use two wailing theremins and other early electronic instruments supporting the small orchestra.
But this book doesn’t only focus on the music. Herrmann was a fascinating character, whose personality didn’t fit into the Hollywood system. A great composer, orchestrator, and instinctive technician, he was also an all-knowing, cantankerous and argumentative pain in the ass! He could be charming and romantically old-school one moment, but explode over nothing the next. Arguably no one in Hollywood made more enemies. So, when jazz and pop scores became the rage in the 1960s, many filmmakers were only too happy to ditch the awkward collaborator. Even Hitchcock, for whom Herrmann wrote some of his greatest film scores (Vertigo, North By Northwest and Psycho amongst them), had had enough. The relationship came to a feuding end at the Torn Curtain (1966) recording sessions, in which Hitchcock (pressurised by the studio) had been pushing for a more modern ‘rhythmic beat’ score. It was something he was never going to get from Herrmann. Bizarrely, Hitchcock never did get such a score in his later films. My favourite director was never going to be one for the swinging 60s! It’s hard to see how such a score would have fitted into his films. Another relationship ended with special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen (and his producer Charles Schneer), for whom Herrmann wrote four colourful scores – including Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad and Jason And The Argonauts. Again, I can understand Herrmann’s frustration, as Schneer demonstrably left too little for the music budget. When asked to do a fifth film (First Men In The Moon in 1964), Herrmann read the script, but on asking what the music budget was, simply tossed the script back on the desk and walked out. One has only to listen to Miklos Rozsa’s score for Golden Voyage Of Sinbad (1974) and the woefully small orchestra he was saddled with to understand Herrmann’s gripes.
This wonderfully written book follows Hermann’s career through radio, TV, classical and film music; as well as his fiery private life. The author clearly spoke to many people, and had access to the written archives. Herrmann was an old-school romantic filled with passion and temper. He was a man full of contradiction (he could be funny, happy, miserable, argumentative, and sob, all in a very short space of time); and despite pride in his originality in composition and orchestration, he wasn’t above pilfering ideas (even exact themes) from his own previous works, and sometimes more general ideas, if it suited, from European classical composers. Herrmann was very much an anglophile. He loved English literature (writing an opera, Wuthering Heights) and from the late 60s was spending more and more time in England, eventually moving there and marrying his third wife. The great sadness for me is that in England in the 1970s Herrmann was in increasing demand, but his health was fading. He took huge delight in being the go-to composer for many of the ‘new kids,’ such as Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese, Larry Cohen etc. Obsession and Taxi Driver were his final two scores. On top of this, he had a contract with Decca/London Records that allowed him to re-record many of his own compositions, as well as the works of others – including his old friend Charles Ives. His diary for 1976 was full, and included the scoring for Carrie. However, on the night he completed work on Taxi Driver, Christmas Eve 1975, he died of heart failure.
I love books, films, music and paintings – and the impassioned creativity and focus that goes into a work’s formation is something I always find fascinating. I have a strange obsession with biographies, often jumping to the end to see what a person was working on when they died. What was to come? What have we lost? Sometimes I wander, and wonder in god-like cogitation, who, amongst all the people whose work I admire, I would grant another five years of creative productivity to? For me, it’s Bernard Herrmann every time. His star was on the rise again and he was still hugely enthusiastic. There was so much more to come. Though his character certainly wasn’t without fault, I’d have liked him to have had a little more satisfaction time regaining his success and sticking the finger up to some of the old farts who were calling him an old fashioned fart ten years earlier.
His favourite quote, which he often repeated, was from Tolstoy, ‘Eagles fly alone and sparrows fly in flocks.’ Which says all that you need to know about where Herrmann placed himself within his art.
[Note. I enjoyed the non-Herrmann story on page 118, about actor George Sanders – an old school gent, you may think. While working on his last film under his 20th Century Fox contract, he clearly couldn’t give a toss - refusing to say his lines - insisting that they were ‘terrible crap.’ Everyone thought he was joking and that he would relent, but he didn’t, refusing each time to utter the words when it was his turn. The producer eventually turned up to sort the issue out and ended up yelling at Sanders - calling him a son of a bitch. To which the gentleman actor, not even bothering to rise from his seat, socked him on the chin. That was the end of filming that night! Company boss, Darryl F.Zanuck, had to sort the issue out the following day by agreeing to a re-write. Sanders eventually said the lines, albeit only slightly different, and off he departed with a smile into the night...]
March 5, 2019
"I've spent my entire career combating ignorance." - Bernard Herrmann
Read the rest of my review here.
Read the rest of my review here.
June 24, 2022
Where do I begin… this book by Steven C. Smith was an utterly fascinating look into Bernard Herrmann. I feel like I practically know him now.
First off I love his music. It’s orchestral, but also uses shorter, fragmented themes instead of long melodies. It’s a perfect blend between old and new Hollywood music, what was popular back then and what’s popular now. He was also extremely experimental, using only certain orchestral instruments for various projects and not the whole orchestra. His instrument choices were directly inspired by what the story required dramatically.
The brooding, nervous nature of his music is what drew me into his work in the first place. Hitchcock and Herrmann worked so well together because they were coming from a very similar place of how they saw the world. And while I’m a very positive person, I really resonate with the dramatic, thematic and anxious sensibilities that he had in his work.
The way Herrmann saw the world and dealt with it in his own unique way is something I laugh at at times (he had such a sharp wit), but I also truly admire it. He was a real artist, really standing by what he thought. He also had a real sense of code and morality. Clearly bitter at various points in his life, he took a lot of personal offense to many things that people said to him. But in a lot of ways, I think that he’s just a more obvious projection of the things that normally bother people - it’s just that he would go to the trouble of making a big fuss over it when others would know to let it go. He didn’t suffer idiots and really just believed in film music and music in general. His berating moments are usually just because he really heavily believed in something - he didn’t want you to take it personally, and I don’t think he meant it like that. Sometimes he would, but again it was because he really believed in what he was doing. If I could have stood the times that he got mad, I would’ve loved to have met him.
It’s a wonder to me that a biopic hasn’t been done on him. His first film composer credit was for Citizen Kane. I mean come on! Thankfully a documentary is being made called Lives of Bernard Herrmann, but wow would I love to see a narrative film about this fascinating and fantastic composer.
Check this book out if you’re at all into older movies or classic cinema! There’s some great stuff in here.
First off I love his music. It’s orchestral, but also uses shorter, fragmented themes instead of long melodies. It’s a perfect blend between old and new Hollywood music, what was popular back then and what’s popular now. He was also extremely experimental, using only certain orchestral instruments for various projects and not the whole orchestra. His instrument choices were directly inspired by what the story required dramatically.
The brooding, nervous nature of his music is what drew me into his work in the first place. Hitchcock and Herrmann worked so well together because they were coming from a very similar place of how they saw the world. And while I’m a very positive person, I really resonate with the dramatic, thematic and anxious sensibilities that he had in his work.
The way Herrmann saw the world and dealt with it in his own unique way is something I laugh at at times (he had such a sharp wit), but I also truly admire it. He was a real artist, really standing by what he thought. He also had a real sense of code and morality. Clearly bitter at various points in his life, he took a lot of personal offense to many things that people said to him. But in a lot of ways, I think that he’s just a more obvious projection of the things that normally bother people - it’s just that he would go to the trouble of making a big fuss over it when others would know to let it go. He didn’t suffer idiots and really just believed in film music and music in general. His berating moments are usually just because he really heavily believed in something - he didn’t want you to take it personally, and I don’t think he meant it like that. Sometimes he would, but again it was because he really believed in what he was doing. If I could have stood the times that he got mad, I would’ve loved to have met him.
It’s a wonder to me that a biopic hasn’t been done on him. His first film composer credit was for Citizen Kane. I mean come on! Thankfully a documentary is being made called Lives of Bernard Herrmann, but wow would I love to see a narrative film about this fascinating and fantastic composer.
Check this book out if you’re at all into older movies or classic cinema! There’s some great stuff in here.
July 21, 2022
A hugely detailed and researched book, and full of fascinating information about Herrmann's composing techniques, his often quirky orchestration (especially for radio and films), and his slightly oblique approach to conducting: he could bring out the best in an orchestra that trusted him even though his conducting skills weren't of the best; but when facing an orchestra that didn't care for his style he could be treated with contempt.
The book doesn't make for pleasant reading overall. Like many hugely creative people, Herrmann seemed to think that arrogance and pride and treating people like dirt was the approach to take. He could certainly make good friends; whether they would stay his friends over the long span was another matter. The book is littered with the names of those who managed to offend him, or with whom he fell out, often over the most trivial thing. Only a few years before his death he was becoming more and more reviled, and it was only a late burst of successful film scoring that saved him. He would treat people who'd done or said nothing with anger; people who had done something, either intentionally or inadvertently, received the full measure of his wrath. Not a person you'd really want to be bothered to know, you'd think.
In the end it was this unnecessary anger and the constant outbursts against other people's opinions that hastened his death, it seems. That there were still people who loved him and apparently understood what was behind his anger, is something of a surprise.
This makes the third book I've read this year about some famous creative person (Salman Rushdie, William Golding were the other two) who treats so many people with anger and displeasure. Is it a necessary part of being creative? I don't think so. Is it because of creative frustrations (Herrmann had periods of thinking he was no good, as did Golding)? That might account for it in part, but considering that each of these people was highly successful, it doesn't seem to be a necessary element.
The book doesn't make for pleasant reading overall. Like many hugely creative people, Herrmann seemed to think that arrogance and pride and treating people like dirt was the approach to take. He could certainly make good friends; whether they would stay his friends over the long span was another matter. The book is littered with the names of those who managed to offend him, or with whom he fell out, often over the most trivial thing. Only a few years before his death he was becoming more and more reviled, and it was only a late burst of successful film scoring that saved him. He would treat people who'd done or said nothing with anger; people who had done something, either intentionally or inadvertently, received the full measure of his wrath. Not a person you'd really want to be bothered to know, you'd think.
In the end it was this unnecessary anger and the constant outbursts against other people's opinions that hastened his death, it seems. That there were still people who loved him and apparently understood what was behind his anger, is something of a surprise.
This makes the third book I've read this year about some famous creative person (Salman Rushdie, William Golding were the other two) who treats so many people with anger and displeasure. Is it a necessary part of being creative? I don't think so. Is it because of creative frustrations (Herrmann had periods of thinking he was no good, as did Golding)? That might account for it in part, but considering that each of these people was highly successful, it doesn't seem to be a necessary element.
August 27, 2024
Everything you could want to know about this great composer. His talent for composition was matched by his tragic talent for ruining his friendships and professional associations with his abrasive and confrontational personality. After reading this biography, I watched a documentary about Ennio Morricone called Ennio. It was fascinating to compare and contrast his approach to film scoring with Herrmann's. I used Smith's book, along with Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner's A Very Dangerous Citizen, as background for a short story I wrote about the early friendship between Bernard Hermann and Abe Polansky and its later tragic dissolution.
August 1, 2020
A fascinating bio of a troubled genius. Herrmann was his own worst enemy.
March 11, 2017
Greatest film composer ever. Period.
For a long time I've had the pleasure of enjoying many of the films which Bernard Herrmann elevated with his signature musical style. The complete story of his life was no less interesting. He shared many characteristics of artists who I feel a similar affinity with, like Scriabin and Hitchcock, while remaining a unique personality. This biography, the only one I'm familiar with was well-written and thorough, allowing a multifaceted perspective on his life and work. It also provided some insights which I'm keen to use for my Music History paper this semester. For one, I feel like he best summed up music's role in sound film, as one aspect of a collaborative art. After the main body of the book, there is a complete transcript of remarks on film music that he made at a university film class. One is also provided with a complete filmography and recording discography for further watching and listening. If you in any way enjoy movies and/or music, this book is for you. Highly recommended.
For a long time I've had the pleasure of enjoying many of the films which Bernard Herrmann elevated with his signature musical style. The complete story of his life was no less interesting. He shared many characteristics of artists who I feel a similar affinity with, like Scriabin and Hitchcock, while remaining a unique personality. This biography, the only one I'm familiar with was well-written and thorough, allowing a multifaceted perspective on his life and work. It also provided some insights which I'm keen to use for my Music History paper this semester. For one, I feel like he best summed up music's role in sound film, as one aspect of a collaborative art. After the main body of the book, there is a complete transcript of remarks on film music that he made at a university film class. One is also provided with a complete filmography and recording discography for further watching and listening. If you in any way enjoy movies and/or music, this book is for you. Highly recommended.
October 24, 2012
Bernard Herrmann was the first film composer I came to know by name, simply because the moody power of his music demanded attention even as it served the needs of the movie it supported. Some of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest films -- North By Northwest, Vertigo, Psycho, The Wrong Man -- would be only half as good without Herrmann's music. His dreamlike score provides a powerful emotional undercurrent for for Francois Truffaut's bungled adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, and his soundtracks for Jason and the Argonauts, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and the original Twilight Zone series are fantasy classics.
Steven C. Smith's biography does full and complete justice to a magnificent subject. Herrmann was a bit of a lost soul, a romantic alienated by the mid-20th century life and the ways of Hollywood. The beauty of his music was belied by his irritable, cranky nature and readiness to harbor petty grievances. Though he was the toast of Hollywood, Herrmann craved recognition for his gifts as a classical composer and conductor, and his frustration spilled over into his personal dealings. Smith is equally shrewd in his analysis of the man's work and his character, and when blame is to be assigned -- e.g., Hitchcock's disgraceful treatment of Herrmann when the composer refused idiotic demands that he write a pop song for Torn Curtain -- he is unsparing and unanswerable. Anyone with an interest in Herrmann's music -- or, for that matter, classic 20th century films -- will be grateful for this book.
Steven C. Smith's biography does full and complete justice to a magnificent subject. Herrmann was a bit of a lost soul, a romantic alienated by the mid-20th century life and the ways of Hollywood. The beauty of his music was belied by his irritable, cranky nature and readiness to harbor petty grievances. Though he was the toast of Hollywood, Herrmann craved recognition for his gifts as a classical composer and conductor, and his frustration spilled over into his personal dealings. Smith is equally shrewd in his analysis of the man's work and his character, and when blame is to be assigned -- e.g., Hitchcock's disgraceful treatment of Herrmann when the composer refused idiotic demands that he write a pop song for Torn Curtain -- he is unsparing and unanswerable. Anyone with an interest in Herrmann's music -- or, for that matter, classic 20th century films -- will be grateful for this book.
September 30, 2008
A successful biography should leave you feeling as if you know the subject personally and Steven C. Smith's portrait of the great film composer Bernard Herrmann does just this.
A complex and often frustrating man, Herrmann was both volatile and sensitive, a troubled Romantic living in the 20th century who often felt his craft was overlooked. One of the most innovative composers of the 20th century, Herrmann contributed highly original scores to radio, television and film, as well as championed composers such as Charles Ives before it was fashionable to do so.
In his biography, Smith gives an extensively researched account of Herrmann's life and music, giving details of his collaborative process and also of the music itself.
A Heart at Fire's Center is a fascinating (and often amusing) biography in its own right but a real must for film and film music buffs.
A complex and often frustrating man, Herrmann was both volatile and sensitive, a troubled Romantic living in the 20th century who often felt his craft was overlooked. One of the most innovative composers of the 20th century, Herrmann contributed highly original scores to radio, television and film, as well as championed composers such as Charles Ives before it was fashionable to do so.
In his biography, Smith gives an extensively researched account of Herrmann's life and music, giving details of his collaborative process and also of the music itself.
A Heart at Fire's Center is a fascinating (and often amusing) biography in its own right but a real must for film and film music buffs.
August 2, 2007
Bernard Herrmann was a cranky SOB who was simultaneously hated and admired by his fellow film composers. This insightful bio shows just how much more a pivotal figure Herrmann was in the 20th century music scene than is popular recognized.
A must read
A must read
March 17, 2008
He's an asshole to everyone and yet has this amazing sensitivity for music to the effect that he writes one of the most memorable scenes of movie-music ever.
May 17, 2012
The book that made me want to score films.
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