Alfred Newman

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Alfred Newman at the age of 13

Alfred Newman (born March 17, 1900 in New Haven , Connecticut , † February 17, 1970 in Hollywood ) was an American composer . He was one of the most influential figures in American film music and worked primarily as a film composer and conductor - as well as an influential music director at 20th Century Fox . Newman won a total of nine Academy Awards for his film compositions.

life and work

Newman showed a talent for piano playing as a child . He came from a poor family and had nine siblings (including Emil and Lionel Newman , also composers, and the physician Irving Newman ), but help from various quarters made it possible for his talent to be continuously nurtured. In a Broadway cinema he was presented as a child prodigy at the piano. He learned most of it from the Polish composer and pianist Sigismond Stojowski . Through his teaching, he won a music competition twice in a row.

He began his professional career as a musical conductor. In 1930 he went to Hollywood from New York City to direct the music for a film and stayed at the persuasion of producer Samuel Goldwyn . For twenty years he worked at 20th Century Fox as the head of the music department and, thanks to his great influence, shaped the music-aesthetic design of the films in this studio. Several great composers such as Bernard Herrmann , Hugo Friedhofer , Alex North and David Raksin owed him time and again new commissions. Newman also experimented with new recording techniques as early as the forties and recorded several records for the Mercury label, which at the time were considered sound technical references.

Newman's activities as a manager and conductor always ran parallel to his work as a composer. From 1960 until his death in 1970 he worked as a freelancer. In over 40 years, Newman has added music to more than 250 films. Out of 45 nominations, he has won nine Oscars , only one of them for his own compositions and eight for compiled and edited soundtracks.

Newman's best-known composition is the 20th Century Fox Fanfare , which is played at the beginning of every film in the studio to this day. His most important film scores are Sturmhöhe , The Song of Bernadette , The Robe , That Was the Wild West , The Greatest Story of All Time and Airport .

In 1939 he stood for the film They Shall Have Music ( They Shall Have Music ), whose music Newman in 1940 for the Oscar nomination, even before the camera. He plays a kind-hearted music school director and conductor who is slightly unworldly and who has dedicated himself to the musical education of poorer children. At the end of the day, his economically hopeless situation was secured by a concert with the violinist Jascha Heifetz and his financial support.

Alfred's sons Thomas Newman and David Newman have become very sought-after film music composers themselves. His nephew Randy Newman has been working as a singer / songwriter and composer for film and television productions for decades.

The comic figure Alfred E. Neumann from the MAD magazine is said to have been named after Alfred Newman (see web links).

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Musical director (selection)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christopher Palmer and Fred Steiner:  Newman, Alfred. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  2. ↑ Music for life. Internet Movie Database , accessed June 8, 2015 .

literature

  • Alfred Newman in William Darby and Jack Du Bois: American Film Music. Major Composers, Techniques, Trends, 1915-1990. McFarland, Jefferson 1990, ISBN 0-7864-0753-0 , pp. 74–115 (English, informative text on life and work, illustrated with photos (b / w) and numerous music samples, the detailed filmography includes Newman's films as the main composer , as co- or sub-composer as well as musical director)
  • Alfred Newman in Christopher Palmer: The Composer In Hollywood. Marion Boyars, London, New York 1993, ISBN 0-7145-2950-8 (paperback), pp. 68–93 (English, knowledgeable text about Newman's life and work in Hollywood)
  • Alfred Newman in Tony Thomas : Film Score. The Art & Craft of Movie Music , Riverwood Press, Burbank 1991, ISBN 1-880756-01-3 , pp. 219-237, (English, the volume is also available in German from Heyne under the title Filmmusik. their art and their technique )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Newman, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 17, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH New Haven , Connecticut , USA
DATE OF DEATH 17th February 1970
Place of death Hollywood