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Max SteinerAmerican film score composer
Date of Birth: 10.05.1888
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Max Steiner: American Film Composer and Father of Film Music
- Career Beginnings
- Hollywood
- Academy Awards and Recognition
- 'Gone with the Wind' and Beyond
- Legacy and Influence
- Interesting Facts
- - In 2003, Max Steiner was featured on a U.S. postage stamp.
Max Steiner: American Film Composer and Father of Film Music
Early Life and EducationMax Steiner was born into a musical family in Vienna on May 10, 1888. His grandfather was the director of the Theater an der Wien, and his father was an impresario. Richard Strauss became his godfather. Steiner exhibited musical talent from a young age, and he graduated from the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts at the age of 16, having completed a four-year course in two years.
Career Beginnings
Between 1904 and 1914, Steiner worked as a conductor and arranger in England. With the outbreak of World War I, he became an enemy alien. Through the friendship of the Duke of Westminster, he escaped to New York City with only $32. In New York, he began his career as a conductor, musical director, and arranger for Broadway operettas and musicals, collaborating with composers such as Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern, Vincent Youmans, and George Gershwin.
In 1916, Steiner began composing for the motion picture industry. Around this time, he Americanized his name from Steiner to Steiner.
Hollywood
In 1929, Hollywood beckoned, and Steiner was hired to orchestrate the film version of Florenz Ziegfeld's Broadway show "Rio Rita" for RKO Pictures. Several more films followed. Steiner's debut as a film composer came with "Cimarron" in 1931. His breakthrough came in 1933 with "King Kong," for which he co-composed the score with Bernhard Kaun. They innovatively synchronized dialogue to the music, enhancing the film's dramatic impact, and created one of the first film music scripts.
Academy Awards and Recognition
In 1935, Steiner received two Oscar nominations for John Ford's "The Last Patrol" and Mark Sandrich's "The Gay Divorcee." The following year, Steiner won his first Oscar for his score for Ford's "The Informer" (1935). However, this award was given to him as head of the music department at RKO Pictures, as composers were not nominated for Oscars until 1939.
Steiner continued to compose for several musical films starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, such as "Top Hat" (1935) and "Roberta" (1935). In 1936, Steiner left RKO Pictures to become head of the music department at David O. Selznick's Selznick International Pictures.
In 1937, two more of his works were nominated for Oscars: "The Garden of Allah" (1936) and "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1936). In April 1937, he signed a long-term contract with Warner Bros. and that same year composed the iconic fanfare for "Tovarich." His score for "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937) received another Oscar nomination in 1938. In 1939, his work on "Jezebel" was nominated for an Oscar.
'Gone with the Wind' and Beyond
In 1939, Selznick "borrowed" Steiner from Warner Bros. to compose the score for "Gone with the Wind," giving him only three months to write the entire work. Simultaneously, he worked on scores for three other Warner Bros. films: "We Are Not Alone," "Dark Victory," and "Four Wives." Steiner received Oscar nominations in 1940 for both "Gone with the Wind" and "Dark Victory," but lost to Herbert Stothart's "The Wizard of Oz." Nevertheless, "Gone with the Wind" was ranked second on the American Film Institute's "Top 100 Film Scores."
Steiner received his next Oscar nomination in 1941 for "The Letter," the first of several collaborations with legendary American director William Wyler. He was nominated again the following year for "Sergeant York."
In 1943, Steiner received his second Oscar for "Now, Voyager," and in 1944 was nominated for "Casablanca," considered one of his finest works. Steiner was awarded his third and final Oscar in 1945 for "Since You Went Away," along with another nomination for "The Adventures of Mark Twain."
A string of nominations followed: 1946's "Rhapsody in Blue," 1947's "Night and Day," 1948's "Life with Father" and "My Wild Irish Rose," 1949's "Johnny Belinda," 1950's "Beyond the Forest," 1951's "The Flame and the Arrow," 1953's "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima" and "The Jazz Singer," 1955's "Rebel Without a Cause," and 1956's "Battle Cry."
In 1953, Steiner opened his own music publishing company. In 1956, he concluded his collaboration with William Wyler with "The Searchers," widely regarded as one of the greatest Westerns of all time.
In 1958, Steiner returned to Warner Bros., despite having ended his contract in 1953, and continued to compose for several more years. His last major composition was for the 1965 film "Two on a Guillotine."
Legacy and Influence
In 1963, Steiner began working on his autobiography, which was never published. Max Steiner passed away at the age of 83 on December 28, 1971, in Beverly Hills.
Max Steiner is widely regarded as one of Hollywood's most prolific and successful composers. He was nominated for an Academy Award 18 times, a record surpassed only by composers Alfred Newman and John Williams. Additionally, he received three Oscar nominations before composers were eligible. He composed scores for over 300 films, many of which are considered classic works, and over 1200 works in total. Steiner composed for all genres of film, including Westerns, melodramas, dramas, comedies, musicals, crime films, and television series such as "Maverick" (1957) and others.
Steiner was a pioneer in film music composition, earning him the title "Father of Film Music." Along with composers such as Franz Waxman, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, and Miklós Rózsa, Steiner played a pivotal role in establishing the tradition of film music.
In the list of 25 Best Film Scores of All Time, his scores for "King Kong" (1933) and "Gone with the Wind" rank 13th and 2nd, respectively. Other than Steiner, only Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein, and Jerry Goldsmith have two entries on the list. Only John Williams has surpassed this record with three entries.
Interesting Facts
- Steiner was Bette Davis' favorite composer.- The Max Steiner Society, established by him, awards honorary membership for distinguished musical interpretations of his works.
