Film Composers
Jerry Goldsmith (1929 – 2004)
He was born in Los Angeles, California.
He learned to play the piano at the age of six.
At the age of fourteen, he studied composition, theory and counterpoint with teachers Jacob Gimpel and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He attended the University of Southern California and studied with the famous composer Miklós Rózsa. Rózsa inspired him to become a movie composer.
In 1950, Goldsmith found work at CBS as a clerk in the network's music department.
Goldsmith provided tailor-made scores for many different genres; including war films (The Blue Max), film noir (L.A. Confidential), action movies (Rambo: First Blood), erotic thrillers (Basic Instinct), sports pictures (Rudy), westerns (Breakheart Pass), comic book adaptations (Supergirl), and science fiction (Total Recall and five Star Trek films). His ability to write terrifying music won him his only Academy Award for his violent choral/orchestral score for The Omen. He also was awarded with Emmys for television scores like the Holocaust drama QB VII, and the epic Masada, as well as the theme from Star Trek: Voyager.
Due to his wide grasp of different musical techniques, Goldsmith's scores were never as quickly identifiable as those of composers with different abilities. While his work could be as light-hearted as the main title of Dennis the Menace, it also included QB VII's "Kaddish for the Six Million", a choral work honoring the victims of the Holocaust.
He enjoyed using strange instruments, ethnic instruments, and ethnic music.
He wrote: film, radio, and television music
The Omen
The Secret of N.I.M.H
Poltergeist
Gremlins
Hoosiers
Alien
First Knight
Small Soldiers
The 13th Warrior
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Jerry Goldsmith (1929 – 2004)
He was born in Los Angeles, California.
He learned to play the piano at the age of six.
At the age of fourteen, he studied composition, theory and counterpoint with teachers Jacob Gimpel and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He attended the University of Southern California and studied with the famous composer Miklós Rózsa. Rózsa inspired him to become a movie composer.
In 1950, Goldsmith found work at CBS as a clerk in the network's music department.
Goldsmith provided tailor-made scores for many different genres; including war films (The Blue Max), film noir (L.A. Confidential), action movies (Rambo: First Blood), erotic thrillers (Basic Instinct), sports pictures (Rudy), westerns (Breakheart Pass), comic book adaptations (Supergirl), and science fiction (Total Recall and five Star Trek films). His ability to write terrifying music won him his only Academy Award for his violent choral/orchestral score for The Omen. He also was awarded with Emmys for television scores like the Holocaust drama QB VII, and the epic Masada, as well as the theme from Star Trek: Voyager.
Due to his wide grasp of different musical techniques, Goldsmith's scores were never as quickly identifiable as those of composers with different abilities. While his work could be as light-hearted as the main title of Dennis the Menace, it also included QB VII's "Kaddish for the Six Million", a choral work honoring the victims of the Holocaust.
He enjoyed using strange instruments, ethnic instruments, and ethnic music.
He wrote: film, radio, and television music
The Omen
The Secret of N.I.M.H
Poltergeist
Gremlins
Hoosiers
Alien
First Knight
Small Soldiers
The 13th Warrior
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Comments