Arthur Schwartz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arthur Schwartz, photo from 1933 by Carl Van Vechten

Arthur Schwartz (born November 25, 1900 in Brooklyn , New York , † September 3, 1984 in Kintnersville , Pennsylvania ) was an American light music composer . He worked with Howard Dietz and composed with him jazz standards such as Dancing in the Dark , Alone Together and You and the Night and the Music .

Life

Even before Arthur Schwartz gave up his career as a lawyer , he published songs. 1926/27 ran his first two Broadway shows (including The New Yorkers , not to be confused with the Cole Porter Show from 1930). In addition, acquaintances like Lorenz Hart and George Gershwin encouraged him to switch to entertainment.

At the end of the 1920s, Schwartz began working with lyricist Howard Dietz , which ultimately resulted in the most successful works by both songwriters. Her most famous musical The Band Wagon was performed in 1931; from this comes one of their most popular songs, Dancing in the Dark . During the Great Depression , in the early 1930s, Schwarz began composing for film and radio like many other songwriters. However, together with Dietz, and later also with Dorothy Fields , he continued to produce stage musicals for Broadway.

In 1940 Schwartz went to Hollywood. There he worked z. B. with Frank Loesser for the musical film Thank Your Lucky Stars . As a film producer he was involved in the films The Goddess Dances (1944) and Day and Night I Think of You (1946). In 1946 he returned to New York to work with Ira Gershwin , where he stayed until the early 1960s. Inside USA (1948) together with Dietz and By the Beautiful Sea (1954) with Dorothy Fields became Broadway hits again.

In 1944 he and Frank Loesser were nominated for an Oscar for the song They're Either Too Young or Too Old from the film Thank Your Lucky Stars . In 1948 a second Oscar nomination followed for the song A Gal in Calico .

For the film version of The Band Wagon , the Schwartz / Dietz couple wrote the additional number That's Entertainment - which became their most famous hit. The duo worked together until 1963 ( Jennie ); then Parkinson's disease forced Howard Dietz to quit; Dietz died in 1983, Schwartz a year later in London.

Works

Musicals

Arthur Schwartz with Dorothy Fields working on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1951)
  • 1929: The Little Show with Howard Dietz
  • 1930: Three's a Crowd with Howard Dietz
  • 1931: The Band Wagon with Howard Dietz - film adaptation 1953
  • 1932: Flying Colors with Howard Dietz
  • 1934: Revenge With Music with Howard Dietz
  • 1935: At Home Abroad with Howard Dietz
  • 1937: Virginia with Albert Stillman
  • 1937: Between the Devil with Howard Dietz
  • 1939: Stars in your Eyes with Dorothy Fields
  • 1946: Park Avenue with Ira Gershwin
  • 1948: Inside USA with Howard Dietz
  • 1951: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn with Dorothy Fields
  • 1954: By the Beautiful Sea with Dorothy Fields
  • 1961: The Gay Life with Howard Dietz
  • 1963: Jennie with Howard Dietz

Musical films

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schwartz, Arthur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH November 25, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH 3rd September 1984
Place of death Kintnersville , Pennsylvania , United States