Against All Odds
The Decline and Resurgence of the Symphonic Film Score in Hollywood
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jfm.v2i2-4.175Keywords:
Hollywood, symphonic film scoreAbstract
With the birth of sound film, the symphonic film score would begin a journey which would firmly entrench the symphonic score in Hollywood practice and parlance. On route, the symphonic film score would experience many highs and lows, reflecting changes within the film and music industries and also within society at large; changes compounded by the impact of new technologies. This article draws together a number of sources and presents an overview of the main factors involved in the decline and subsequent resurgence of the symphonic film score in Hollywood.
References
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Antheil, George. 1936. On the Hollywood front. Modern Music 14: 46-49.
Balio, Tino, ed. 1976. The American film industry. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
———. 1990. Hollywood in the age of television. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
Behlmer, Rudy. 1989. A conversation with Jesse Kaye, the producer of MGM soundtrack records from 1946 to 1973. The Cue Sheet 6: 100-114.
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Denisoff, Serge R., and William D. Romanowski. 1991. Risky business: Rock in film. New Brunswick & London: Transaction Publishers.
Donnelly, Kevin J, ed. 2001. Film music: Critical approaches. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.
———. 2001. Pop music in British cinema. London: British Film Institute Publishing.
———. 2005. The spectre of sound: Music in film and television. London: BFI Publishing.
Faulkner, Robert R. 1971. Hollywood studio musicians: Their work and careers in the recording industry. Chicago: Aldine.Atherton, Inc.
———. 1983. Music on demand: Composers and careers in the Hollywood film industry. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Frith, Simon. 1983. Sound effects: Youth, leisure, and the politics of rock’n’roll. London: Constable.
Gorbman, Claudia. 1987. Unheard melodies: Narrative film music. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hayward, Philip, ed. 2004. Off the planet music: Sound and science fiction cinema. Eastleigh, UK: John Libbey Publishing
Hubbert, Julie. 2003. “Whatever happened to great movie music?”: Cinéma vérité and Hollywood film music of the early 1970s. American Music 21 (2): 180-213.
Inglis, Ian, ed. 2003. Popular music and film. London: Wallflower Press.
Kalinak, Kathryn. 1992. Settling the score: Music and the classical Hollywood film. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press
Karlin, Fred. 1994. Listening to movies: The film lover’s guide to film music. New York: Schirmer.
Kennedy, Harlan. 1991. The harmonious background. American Film (February 16): 38-41.
Kloppenburg, Josef. 1983. Musikkulturelle vielfalt: Eindeutigkeit des ausdrucks. Der “unstil” der filmmusik. Musikpädagogische Forschung, Band 4: 207-16.
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Lustig, Milton. 1980. Music editing for motion pictures. New York: Hastings House Publishers.
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Manning, Peter. 1993. Electronic & computer music. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Marmorstein, Gary. 1997. Hollywood rhapsody: Movie music and its makers, 1900 to 1975. New York: Schirmer Books.
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———. ed. 1989. Film music 1. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.
Morgan, David. 2000. Knowing the score: Film composers talk about the art, craft, blood, sweat, and tears of writing for cinema. New York: HarperCollins.
Mundy, John. 1999. Popular music on screen: From Hollywood musical to music video. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Palmer, Christopher. 1990. The composer in Hollywood. London: Marion Boyers Publishers.
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Prendergast, Roy M. 1992. Film music: A neglected art. 2nd ed. London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Rosar, William H. 1983. “Music for the monsters: Universal Pictures’ horror film scores of the thirties.” The Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress 40: 391-421.
———. 2002. Film music: What’s in a name? The Journal of Film Music 1: 1-18.
Rumsey, Francis. 2001. Spatial audio. Oxford: Focal Press.
Sabaneev, Leonid. 1935. Music for the films: A handbook for composers and conductors. London: Pitman.
Schwartz, Elliot, Barney Childs, and Jim Fox, eds. 1998. Contemporary composers on contemporary music. New York: Da Capo Press.
Skiles, Marlin. 1976. Music scoring for TV & motion pictures. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books.
Smith, Jeff. 1998. The sounds of commerce: Marketing popular film music. New York: Columbia University Press.
Smith, Steven C. 1991. A heart at fire’s center: The life and music of Bernard Herrmann. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Stilwell, Robynn, J. 2002. Music in films: A critical review of literature, 1980-1996. The Journal of Film Music 1: 19-61.
Tonks, Paul. 2001. Film music. Harpenden: Pocket Essentials.
Thomas, Tony. 1997. Music for the movies. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press.
Thompson, Denys, ed. 1964. Discrimination and popular culture. London: Penguin.
Weis, Elisabeth, and John Belton, eds. 1985. Film sound: Theory and practice. New York: Columbia University Press.
Whitcomb, Ian. 1986. After the ball: A chronicle of pop music from ragtime to rock. London: Limelight.
Wojcik, Pamela Robertson, and Arthur Knight, eds. 2001. Soundtrack available: Essays on film and popular music. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Antheil, George. 1936. On the Hollywood front. Modern Music 14: 46-49.
Balio, Tino, ed. 1976. The American film industry. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
———. 1990. Hollywood in the age of television. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
Behlmer, Rudy. 1989. A conversation with Jesse Kaye, the producer of MGM soundtrack records from 1946 to 1973. The Cue Sheet 6: 100-114.
Bordwell, David, Janet Staiger and Kirstin Thompson, eds. 1985. The classical Hollywood cinema: Film style and mode of production to 1960. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Brown, Royal S. 1994. Overtones and undertones: Reading film music. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Burlingame, Jon. 2000. 60 Years of motion picture sound and vision: An authoritative history and reference guide to movie music, composers and song compilations. New York: Billboard Books.
Caldwell, John T. 2005. Welcome to the viral future of cinema (television). Cinema Journal 45: 90-97.
Carr, Roy. 1997. A century of jazz: A hundred years of the greatest music ever made. London: Hamlyn.
Craggs, Stewart R. 1998. Soundtracks: An international dictionary of composers for film. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
Davis, Richard. 1999. Complete guide to film scoring: The art and business of writing music for movies and TV. Boston: Berklee Press.
Denisoff, Serge R., and William D. Romanowski. 1991. Risky business: Rock in film. New Brunswick & London: Transaction Publishers.
Donnelly, Kevin J, ed. 2001. Film music: Critical approaches. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.
———. 2001. Pop music in British cinema. London: British Film Institute Publishing.
———. 2005. The spectre of sound: Music in film and television. London: BFI Publishing.
Faulkner, Robert R. 1971. Hollywood studio musicians: Their work and careers in the recording industry. Chicago: Aldine.Atherton, Inc.
———. 1983. Music on demand: Composers and careers in the Hollywood film industry. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Frith, Simon. 1983. Sound effects: Youth, leisure, and the politics of rock’n’roll. London: Constable.
Gorbman, Claudia. 1987. Unheard melodies: Narrative film music. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hayward, Philip, ed. 2004. Off the planet music: Sound and science fiction cinema. Eastleigh, UK: John Libbey Publishing
Hubbert, Julie. 2003. “Whatever happened to great movie music?”: Cinéma vérité and Hollywood film music of the early 1970s. American Music 21 (2): 180-213.
Inglis, Ian, ed. 2003. Popular music and film. London: Wallflower Press.
Kalinak, Kathryn. 1992. Settling the score: Music and the classical Hollywood film. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press
Karlin, Fred. 1994. Listening to movies: The film lover’s guide to film music. New York: Schirmer.
Kennedy, Harlan. 1991. The harmonious background. American Film (February 16): 38-41.
Kloppenburg, Josef. 1983. Musikkulturelle vielfalt: Eindeutigkeit des ausdrucks. Der “unstil” der filmmusik. Musikpädagogische Forschung, Band 4: 207-16.
Lack, Russell. 1997. Twenty-four frames under. London: Quartet Books.
Levant, Oscar. 1942. A smattering of ignorance. New York: Garden City Publishing.
Lhassa Anne and Jean. 1989. Ennio Morricone: Biographie. Lausanne, Switzerland: Favre.
Lustig, Milton. 1980. Music editing for motion pictures. New York: Hastings House Publishers.
MacDonald, Laurence E. 1998. The invisible art of film music: A comprehensive history. New York: Ardsley House Publishers.
Manning, Peter. 1993. Electronic & computer music. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Marks, Martin M. 1997. Music and the silent film: Contexts and case studies, 1895-1924. New York: Oxford University Press.
Marmorstein, Gary. 1997. Hollywood rhapsody: Movie music and its makers, 1900 to 1975. New York: Schirmer Books.
McCarty, Clifford. 1953. Film composers in America: A checklist of their work. New York: Da Capo Press.
———. ed. 1989. Film music 1. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.
Morgan, David. 2000. Knowing the score: Film composers talk about the art, craft, blood, sweat, and tears of writing for cinema. New York: HarperCollins.
Mundy, John. 1999. Popular music on screen: From Hollywood musical to music video. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Palmer, Christopher. 1990. The composer in Hollywood. London: Marion Boyers Publishers.
Pautz, Michelle. 2002. The decline in average weekly cinema attendance: 1930-2000. Issues in Political Economy. 11: 1-18. http://org.elon.edu/ipe/pautz2.pdf (accessed June 2006).
Powrie, Phil and Robynn Stilwell, eds. 2006. Changing tunes: The use of pre-existing music in film. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing Co.
Prendergast, Roy M. 1992. Film music: A neglected art. 2nd ed. London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Rosar, William H. 1983. “Music for the monsters: Universal Pictures’ horror film scores of the thirties.” The Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress 40: 391-421.
———. 2002. Film music: What’s in a name? The Journal of Film Music 1: 1-18.
Rumsey, Francis. 2001. Spatial audio. Oxford: Focal Press.
Sabaneev, Leonid. 1935. Music for the films: A handbook for composers and conductors. London: Pitman.
Schwartz, Elliot, Barney Childs, and Jim Fox, eds. 1998. Contemporary composers on contemporary music. New York: Da Capo Press.
Skiles, Marlin. 1976. Music scoring for TV & motion pictures. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books.
Smith, Jeff. 1998. The sounds of commerce: Marketing popular film music. New York: Columbia University Press.
Smith, Steven C. 1991. A heart at fire’s center: The life and music of Bernard Herrmann. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Stilwell, Robynn, J. 2002. Music in films: A critical review of literature, 1980-1996. The Journal of Film Music 1: 19-61.
Tonks, Paul. 2001. Film music. Harpenden: Pocket Essentials.
Thomas, Tony. 1997. Music for the movies. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press.
Thompson, Denys, ed. 1964. Discrimination and popular culture. London: Penguin.
Weis, Elisabeth, and John Belton, eds. 1985. Film sound: Theory and practice. New York: Columbia University Press.
Whitcomb, Ian. 1986. After the ball: A chronicle of pop music from ragtime to rock. London: Limelight.
Wojcik, Pamela Robertson, and Arthur Knight, eds. 2001. Soundtrack available: Essays on film and popular music. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Published
2010-03-15
Issue
Section
Review Essay
How to Cite
Mitchell, H. (2010). Against All Odds: The Decline and Resurgence of the Symphonic Film Score in Hollywood. Journal of Film Music, 2(2-4), 175-200. https://doi.org/10.1558/jfm.v2i2-4.175
