Max Steiner
1888-1971
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Born in Vienna, middle class, father owned a theatre
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Formally trained in the tradition of European classical music.
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Child prodigy - conducting in theatre by 12 - touring as a conductor by 16
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Wrote operattas, first by age 17
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Also worked as composer and conductor of music for stage in England. He was in england when the war broke out.
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Facing deportation because of WWI comes to the US in 1914 because of powerful friends.
- Worked on Broadway for 15 years.
- Becomes one of the best Broadway conductor/director.
- Invited to Hollywood in 1929, Rio Rita.
- Hollywood would need scripts and actors.
- Problems with actors’ voice - Hollywood turns to Broadway.
- 1929 production of musicals and theatrical reviews.
- Rio Rita / Broadway Melody
- Worked on Broadway for 15 years.
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Gets a chance to write music for Cimarron (1931) Score by Max Steiner
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Supported the narrative by adding music
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David Selznick noticed it, at RKO recognized that more music might be effective, despite the risk of confusing the audience. Asks him to write music for: Symphony of 6 Million (1932) and Bird of Paradise
King Kong (1933)
- Worried that it would be a flop with the first screening.
- Steiner was asked to compose a score at the last minute in 2 weeks for 70% of the film
- Music only starts when the ship enters the Fog (a scene).
- mysterious music when tonal is no longer it and in a sort of middle ground between tonal and atonal.
- no clear distinction between score and source music. lack of distinction between diegetic and non-diegetic music with the beach view scene.
Max Steiner established a convention in film music: starts when you cross out of the real world into the supernatural world.
Max Steiner loves putting quotes from other film/music. (as in The Informer (1935)) Used a clipped of it. Doing Thematic Transformation
- Other Notable Films: Gone With The Wind (1939), Casablanca (1942), A Summer Place (1959)
- Most of his career - head of music at Warner Bros (1937-1953)
- Most of his important work is during the 1930s and the early 1950s
- Workaholic - contributed to over 300 films scores during his career (Died in 1971)