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John Mervyn AddisonBritish composer
Date of Birth: 16.03.1920
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Biography of John Mervyn Addison
- War Service and Return to London
- Career as a Film Composer
- Collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock
- Other Works and Legacy
Biography of John Mervyn Addison
Early Life and EducationJohn Mervyn Addison was born on March 16, 1920, in Cobham, Surrey, England. He received his education at Wellington College in Berkshire and later attended the Royal College of Music. At the Royal College, he studied composition with Gordon Jacob, oboe with Léon Goossens, and clarinet with Frederick Thurston. However, his education was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
War Service and Return to London
With the start of the war, Addison was drafted into the British XXX Corps, serving in the 23rd Hussars Regiment as a tank officer. He participated in the Battle of Normandy and was wounded in Caen. After the war, Addison returned to London and began teaching composition and music theory at the Royal College of Music.
Career as a Film Composer
Throughout his career, John Addison gained recognition as a composer for films. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the film "Tom Jones" in 1963. He also received a BAFTA Award for his musical accompaniment to the war drama "A Bridge Too Far" in 1977, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for "Tom Jones." Additionally, he composed music for films such as "A Taste of Honey" (1961), "Torn Curtain" (1966), "Smashing Time" (1967), and "Swashbuckler" (1976). He also composed the music for the television series "Centennial" (1978-1979) and received an Emmy Award for his work on the popular series "Murder, She Wrote."
Collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock
John Addison's name is associated with the falling out between Alfred Hitchcock and American film composer Bernard Herrmann, whose score for "Psycho" is considered a masterpiece. After Herrmann and Hitchcock ended their nearly 10-year collaboration, the director hired Addison as the composer for his film "Torn Curtain."
Other Works and Legacy
In addition to his film and television compositions, Addison wrote music for the theater, including two plays by John Osborne, "The Entertainer" (1957) and "Luther." He also collaborated with John Cranko on the revue "Cranks" in 1956. Addison composed numerous classical works, including a trumpet concerto described by the "Times" as "joyful" and "Gershwin-esque." He also composed a trio for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon and a ballet titled "Carte Blanche" for the Sadler's Wells Ballet. Addison's orchestral suite from the ballet was performed at the BBC Proms. He was also the author of the "Partita for Strings," which was well-received by the public.
John Mervyn Addison passed away on December 7, 1998, in Bennington, Vermont. His collection of correspondence, studio recordings, and orchestral recordings was donated to the Music Archive of Brigham Young University in 1994. He is survived by his wife Pamela, sons Jonathan and Daniel, stepson Rex Birchenough, and stepdaughter Sandra Stapleton. The singer Marlene Dietrich recorded her songs "If He Swing By the String" and "Such Trying Times," using music from the film "Tom Jones."
