Miklós Rózsa
Encyclopedia
Miklós Rózsa (ˈmikloːʃ ˈroːʒɒ) (18 April 190727 July 1995) was a Hungarian
-born composer
trained in Germany (19251931), and active in France (19311935), England (19351940), and the United States (19401995), with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953. Famous for his nearly one hundred film scores, he nevertheless maintained a steadfast allegiance to absolute concert music throughout what he called his "double life."
Rózsa achieved early success in Europe with his orchestral Theme, Variations, and Finale (Op. 13) of 1933 and became prominent in the film industry from such early scores as The Four Feathers
(1939) and The Thief of Bagdad
(1940). The latter project brought him to America when production was transferred from wartime Britain, and Rózsa remained in the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1946. His notable Hollywood career earned him considerable fame, including Academy Awards for Spellbound
(1945), A Double Life
(1947), and Ben-Hur
(1959), while his concert works were championed by such major artists as Jascha Heifetz
, Gregor Piatigorsky
, and János Starker
.
and was introduced to classical and folk music by his mother, Regina Berkovits, a pianist
who had studied with pupils of Franz Liszt
, and his father, Gyula, a well-to-do industrialist and landowner who loved Hungarian folk music
. Rózsa's maternal uncle Lajos Berkovits, violinist with the Budapest Opera, presented young Miklós with his first instrument at the age of five. He later took up the viola
and piano
. By age 8 he was performing in public and composing. He also collected folksongs from the area where his family had a country estate north of Budapest in an area inhabited by the Palóc
Hungarians.
Rózsa found Budapest culture constraining and sought to study music in Germany. He enrolled at the University of Leipzig
in 1925, ostensibly to study chemistry at the behest of his father. Determined to become a composer, he transferred to the Leipzig Conservatory the following year. There he studied composition with Hermann Grabner
, a former student of Max Reger
. He also studied choral music with (and later assisted) Karl Straube
at the Thomaskirche, where Johann Sebastian Bach
had once been the organist. Rózsa emerged from these years with a deep respect for the German musical tradition, which would always temper the Hungarian nationalism of his musical style.
Rózsa's first two published works, the String Trio, Op. 1, and the Piano Quintet, Op. 2, were published in Leipzig. In 1929 he received his diplomas cum laude. For a time he remained in Leipzig as Grabner's assistant, but at the suggestion of the French organist
and composer Marcel Dupré
, he moved to Paris in 1932.
In Paris, Rózsa composed classical music, including his Hungarian Serenade for small orchestra, Op. 10 (later revised and renumbered as Op. 25) and the Theme, Variations, and Finale, Op. 13, which was especially well received and was performed by conductors such as Charles Munch, Karl Böhm
, Georg Solti
, Eugene Ormandy
, and Leonard Bernstein
.
. Following a concert which featured their respective compositions, Honegger mentioned that he supplemented his income as a composer of film scores, including Les Misérables
. Rózsa went to see it and was greatly impressed by the opportunities the motion picture medium offered.
However, it was not until Rózsa moved to London
that he was hired to compose his first film score, that for the film Knight Without Armour
, produced by his fellow Hungarian Alexander Korda
. After his next score, for Thunder in the City
, he joined the staff of Korda's London Films
.
In 1939 Rózsa travelled with Korda to Hollywood to complete the work on The Thief of Bagdad
. The film earned him his first Academy Award nomination. A further two followed in 1940 for his scores to Lydia
and Sundown
. In 1943 he received his fourth nomination for Korda's Jungle Book
.
In 1944, Rózsa scored Double Indemnity, the first of several collaborations with acclaimed director Billy Wilder
. This score, and that for Woman of the Town, earned him Academy Award nominations in the same year. The Oscar, however, was won by Max Steiner
for Since You Went Away
.
In 1945 Rózsa was hired to compose the score for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound
, after Bernard Herrmann
became unavailable due to other commitments. The score, notable for pioneering the use of the theremin
, was immensely successful and earned him his first Oscar. However, Hitchcock disliked the score, saying it "got in the way of his direction". Two of his other scores, The Lost Weekend
and A Song to Remember
, were also nominated that year. Rózsa, who also reportedly hated the interruptions and interference by producer David O Selznick, never worked for either Hitchcock or Selznick again.
Rózsa earned another Oscar nomination for scoring The Killers (1946). He received his second Oscar the following year for A Double Life
. In 1947 he and Eugene Zador orchestrated music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
for the film Song of Scheherazade
, about a fictional episode in the composer's life. Rózsa also wrote original music for the film.
Madame Bovary (1949) was Rózsa's first important score for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, which produced most of the future films that he scored. Other popular scores that he composed for MGM pictures include Quo Vadis
(1951), Ivanhoe
(1952), Ben-Hur
, King of Kings and The V.I.P.s
. For Ben-Hur he received his third and final Oscar. His final two nominations (one each for Best Original Score and Best Original Song) were for the Samuel Bronston
film El Cid
.
In 1968 Rózsa was asked to score The Green Berets
, after Elmer Bernstein
turned it down due to his political beliefs. Rózsa initially declined the offer, saying, "I don't do westerns." However, he agreed to compose the score after being informed, "It's not a Western, it's an 'Eastern'." He produced a strong and varied score, which included a night club vocal by a Vietnamese singer Bạch Yến. However, one cue which incorporated stanzas of "Onward Christian Soldiers" was deleted from the final edit of the film.
Rózsa's last film score was for Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(1982). The film is also notable for being the final project of famed costume designer Edith Head
. Although Rózsa's career as a composer for films ended following a stroke he suffered while on holiday in Italy later that year, he continued to compose various concert pieces thereafter. He returned to California at the behest of his son, and remained sequestered at his home for the remainder of his life.
Rozsa died on 27 July 1995 and is buried at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills.
, Karl Böhm
, Bruno Walter
, Hans Swarowsky
, and other leading conductors. It was first played in the United States by the Chicago Symphony under Frederick Stock
and achieved wide exposure through a 1943 New York Philharmonic concert broadcast when Leonard Bernstein
made his famous conducting debut.
Rózsa's Violin Concerto, Op. 24, was composed in 1953-54 for the violin
ist Jascha Heifetz
, who collaborated with the composer in fine-tuning it. The work evokes the passion of native Hungarian music. Rózsa later adapted portions of this work for the score of Billy Wilder
's 1970 film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
, the plot of which, Wilder has said, was inspired by Rózsa's concerto.
Rózsa's Cello Concerto, Op. 32 was written much later (1967–68) at the request of the cellist János Starker
, who premiered the work in Berlin in 1969.
Between his violin and cello concertos, Rózsa composed his Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 29, for violin, cello, and orchestra. The commissioning artists, Heifetz and his frequent collaborator Gregor Piatigorsky
, never performed the finished work, although they did record a reduced version of the slow movement, called Tema con Variazoni, Op. 29a.
Rózsa also received recognition for his choral works. His collaboration with conductor Maurice Skones and The Choir of the West at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, resulted in a commercial recording of his sacred choral works — To Everything There is a Season, Op. 20; The Vanities of Life, Op. 30; and The Twenty-Third Psalm, Op. 34 — produced by John Steven Lasher and recorded by Allen Giles for the Entr'acte Recording Society
in 1978.
The following works for orchestra, solo instruments with orchestra, and concert versions of film scores are as listed by
the Miklós Rózsa Society website:
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-born composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
trained in Germany (19251931), and active in France (19311935), England (19351940), and the United States (19401995), with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953. Famous for his nearly one hundred film scores, he nevertheless maintained a steadfast allegiance to absolute concert music throughout what he called his "double life."
Rózsa achieved early success in Europe with his orchestral Theme, Variations, and Finale (Op. 13) of 1933 and became prominent in the film industry from such early scores as The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A.E.W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title.-Plot summary:...
(1939) and The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad may refer to:A novel and its film adaptations:* The Thief of Bagdad , a 1924 novel by Achmed Abdullah, derived from elements of One Thousand and One Nights fables...
(1940). The latter project brought him to America when production was transferred from wartime Britain, and Rózsa remained in the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1946. His notable Hollywood career earned him considerable fame, including Academy Awards for Spellbound
Spellbound (1945 film)
Spellbound is a psychological mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1945. It tells the story of the new head of a mental asylum who turns out not to be what he claims. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov and Leo G. Carroll. It is an adaptation by Angus...
(1945), A Double Life
A Double Life
A Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso...
(1947), and Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
(1959), while his concert works were championed by such major artists as Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
, Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
, and János Starker
János Starker
János Starker |Kingdom of Hungary]]) is a Hungarian-American cellist. Since 1958 he has taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he holds the title of Distinguished Professor.- Child prodigy :...
.
Early life
Miklós Rózsa was born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and was introduced to classical and folk music by his mother, Regina Berkovits, a pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
who had studied with pupils of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, and his father, Gyula, a well-to-do industrialist and landowner who loved Hungarian folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. Rózsa's maternal uncle Lajos Berkovits, violinist with the Budapest Opera, presented young Miklós with his first instrument at the age of five. He later took up the viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. By age 8 he was performing in public and composing. He also collected folksongs from the area where his family had a country estate north of Budapest in an area inhabited by the Palóc
Palóc
The Palóc are a subgroup of the Magyars in Northern Hungary. While Palócs have retained distinctive traditions, including a very apparent dialect of Hungarian, Palócs are also ethnic Hungarians by general consensus....
Hungarians.
Rózsa found Budapest culture constraining and sought to study music in Germany. He enrolled at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
in 1925, ostensibly to study chemistry at the behest of his father. Determined to become a composer, he transferred to the Leipzig Conservatory the following year. There he studied composition with Hermann Grabner
Hermann Grabner
Hermann Grabner was an Austrian composer and music teacher.Grabner was born in Graz in 1886. He studied law at the University of Graz graduating in 1909. In parallel he studied music with Leopold Suchsland until 1910. He also played temporarily the viola for the Grazer Theatherorchester...
, a former student of Max Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
. He also studied choral music with (and later assisted) Karl Straube
Karl Straube
Montgomery Rufus Karl/Carl Siegfried Straube was a German church musician , organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. He studied organ under Heinrich Reimann in Berlin from 1894 to 1897 and became a widely respected concert organist...
at the Thomaskirche, where Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
had once been the organist. Rózsa emerged from these years with a deep respect for the German musical tradition, which would always temper the Hungarian nationalism of his musical style.
Rózsa's first two published works, the String Trio, Op. 1, and the Piano Quintet, Op. 2, were published in Leipzig. In 1929 he received his diplomas cum laude. For a time he remained in Leipzig as Grabner's assistant, but at the suggestion of the French organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
and composer Marcel Dupré
Marcel Dupré
Marcel Dupré , was a French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue.-Biography:Marcel Dupré was born in Rouen . Born into a musical family, he was a child prodigy. His father Albert Dupré was organist in Rouen and a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who built an organ in the family house when...
, he moved to Paris in 1932.
In Paris, Rózsa composed classical music, including his Hungarian Serenade for small orchestra, Op. 10 (later revised and renumbered as Op. 25) and the Theme, Variations, and Finale, Op. 13, which was especially well received and was performed by conductors such as Charles Munch, Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
, Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
, Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
, and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
.
Film scoring career
Rózsa was introduced to film music in 1934 by his friend, the Swiss-born composer Arthur HoneggerArthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
. Following a concert which featured their respective compositions, Honegger mentioned that he supplemented his income as a composer of film scores, including Les Misérables
Les Misérables (1934 film)
Les Misérables is a 1934 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel of the same name. It was written and directed by Raymond Bernard and stars Harry Baur as Jean Valjean and Charles Vanel as Javert...
. Rózsa went to see it and was greatly impressed by the opportunities the motion picture medium offered.
However, it was not until Rózsa moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
that he was hired to compose his first film score, that for the film Knight Without Armour
Knight Without Armour
Knight Without Armour is a 1937 British historical drama film made by London Films and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Jacques Feyder and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Lajos Biró adapted by Frances Marion from the novel by James Hilton. The music score was by...
, produced by his fellow Hungarian Alexander Korda
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
. After his next score, for Thunder in the City
Thunder in the City
Thunder in the City is a 1937 British drama film directed by Marion Gering and starring Edward G. Robinson, Luli Deste, Nigel Bruce and Ralph Richardson.- Plot summary :...
, he joined the staff of Korda's London Films
London Films
London Films is a British film production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda originally based at London Film Studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. The company's productions included The Private Life of Henry VIII , Things to Come , Rembrandt , The Four Feathers , The Thief of Bagdad ...
.
In 1939 Rózsa travelled with Korda to Hollywood to complete the work on The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British fantasy film produced by Alexander Korda, and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, and Tim Whelan, with contributions by Korda's brothers Vincent and Zoltán, and William Cameron Menzies...
. The film earned him his first Academy Award nomination. A further two followed in 1940 for his scores to Lydia
Lydia (film)
Lydia is a 1941 drama film, directed by Julien Duvivier. It stars Merle Oberon as Lydia MacMillan, a woman whose life is seen from her spoiled, immature youth through bitter and resentful middle years, until at last she is old and accepting...
and Sundown
Sundown (film)
Sundown is a 1941 war film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Bruce Cabot and Gene Tierney. The film's adventure story, set against a war backdrop was well received by critics, earning three Academy Award nominations and was a box office success....
. In 1943 he received his fourth nomination for Korda's Jungle Book
Jungle Book (1942 film)
Jungle Book is a 1942 American color action-adventure film based on the Rudyard Kipling book, The Jungle Book. The film was directed by Zoltán Korda based on a screenplay adaptation by Laurence Stallings. The cinematography was by Lee Garmes and W. Howard Greene and music by Miklós Rózsa...
.
In 1944, Rózsa scored Double Indemnity, the first of several collaborations with acclaimed director Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
. This score, and that for Woman of the Town, earned him Academy Award nominations in the same year. The Oscar, however, was won by Max Steiner
Max Steiner
Max Steiner was an Austrian composer of music for theatre productions and films. He later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Trained by the great classical music composers Brahms and Mahler, he was one of the first composers who primarily wrote music for motion pictures, and as...
for Since You Went Away
Since You Went Away
Since You Went Away is a 1944 film distributed by United Artists, a big-budget epic about the American home front during World War II. It was directed by John Cromwell and adapted and produced by David O. Selznick from the novel Since You Went Away: Letters to a Soldier from His Wife by Margaret...
.
In 1945 Rózsa was hired to compose the score for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound
Spellbound (1945 film)
Spellbound is a psychological mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1945. It tells the story of the new head of a mental asylum who turns out not to be what he claims. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov and Leo G. Carroll. It is an adaptation by Angus...
, after Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
became unavailable due to other commitments. The score, notable for pioneering the use of the theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
, was immensely successful and earned him his first Oscar. However, Hitchcock disliked the score, saying it "got in the way of his direction". Two of his other scores, The Lost Weekend
The Lost Weekend
The Lost Weekend is a 1945 American drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. The film was based on a novel of the same title by Charles R...
and A Song to Remember
A Song to Remember
A Song to Remember is a 1945 Columbia Pictures biographical film which tells a fictionalised life story of Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin...
, were also nominated that year. Rózsa, who also reportedly hated the interruptions and interference by producer David O Selznick, never worked for either Hitchcock or Selznick again.
Rózsa earned another Oscar nomination for scoring The Killers (1946). He received his second Oscar the following year for A Double Life
A Double Life
A Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso...
. In 1947 he and Eugene Zador orchestrated music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
for the film Song of Scheherazade
Song of Scheherazade
Song of Scheherazade is a 1947 musical film directed by Walter Reisch. It tells the story of an imaginary episode in the life of the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov , in 1865, when he was a young naval officer on shore leave in Morocco...
, about a fictional episode in the composer's life. Rózsa also wrote original music for the film.
Madame Bovary (1949) was Rózsa's first important score for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, which produced most of the future films that he scored. Other popular scores that he composed for MGM pictures include Quo Vadis
Quo Vadis (1951 film)
Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography...
(1951), Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe (1952 film)
Ivanhoe is a 1952 historical film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The cast featured Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Finlay Currie and Felix Aylmer...
(1952), Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
, King of Kings and The V.I.P.s
The V.I.P.s
The V.I.P.s, also known as Hotel International, is a 1963 British drama film. It was directed by Anthony Asquith, produced by Anatole de Grunwald and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
. For Ben-Hur he received his third and final Oscar. His final two nominations (one each for Best Original Score and Best Original Song) were for the Samuel Bronston
Samuel Bronston
Samuel Bronston was a Bessarabian-born American film producer, film director, and a nephew of socialist revolutionary figure, Leon Trotsky. He was also the petitioner in a U.S...
film El Cid
El Cid (film)
El Cid is a historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid" who in the 11th century fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain.Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in...
.
In 1968 Rózsa was asked to score The Green Berets
The Green Berets (film)
The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
, after Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
turned it down due to his political beliefs. Rózsa initially declined the offer, saying, "I don't do westerns." However, he agreed to compose the score after being informed, "It's not a Western, it's an 'Eastern'." He produced a strong and varied score, which included a night club vocal by a Vietnamese singer Bạch Yến. However, one cue which incorporated stanzas of "Onward Christian Soldiers" was deleted from the final edit of the film.
Rózsa's last film score was for Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a 1982 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Rachel Ward. It is both a parody of, and an homage to, film noir and the pulp detective movies of the 1940s....
(1982). The film is also notable for being the final project of famed costume designer Edith Head
Edith Head
Edith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...
. Although Rózsa's career as a composer for films ended following a stroke he suffered while on holiday in Italy later that year, he continued to compose various concert pieces thereafter. He returned to California at the behest of his son, and remained sequestered at his home for the remainder of his life.
Rozsa died on 27 July 1995 and is buried at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills.
Notable film scores
- Knight Without ArmourKnight Without ArmourKnight Without Armour is a 1937 British historical drama film made by London Films and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Jacques Feyder and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Lajos Biró adapted by Frances Marion from the novel by James Hilton. The music score was by...
(1937) - Rózsa's first film - The Four FeathersThe Four Feathers (1939 film)The Four Feathers is a 1939 adventure film directed by Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez, C. Aubrey Smith. Set in the 1890s during the reign of Queen Victoria, it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice. It is one of a number of adaptations of the 1902 novel...
(1939) - The Thief of BagdadThe Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British fantasy film produced by Alexander Korda, and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, and Tim Whelan, with contributions by Korda's brothers Vincent and Zoltán, and William Cameron Menzies...
(1940) - That Hamilton WomanThat Hamilton WomanThat Hamilton Woman, originally titled Lady Hamilton, is a 1941 black-and-white British historical film drama which takes place during the Napoleonic wars, produced and directed by Alexander Korda for Alexander Korda Films.-Production:...
(1941) - JacaréJacare (film)Jacaré was a film made in 1942 of James Dannaldson’s expedition to the Amazon.Clyde E. Elliott, Charles E. Ford and James Dannaldson led the film crew, which shot some 260,000 feet of film on the lower reaches of the Amazon River in Spring 1942...
(1942) - Jungle BookJungle Book (1942 film)Jungle Book is a 1942 American color action-adventure film based on the Rudyard Kipling book, The Jungle Book. The film was directed by Zoltán Korda based on a screenplay adaptation by Laurence Stallings. The cinematography was by Lee Garmes and W. Howard Greene and music by Miklós Rózsa...
(1942) - SaharaSahara (1943 film)Sahara is a 1943 war film directed by Zoltán Korda. Humphrey Bogart stars as a U.S. tank commander in Libya during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The movie earned three Academy Award nominations: Best Sound , Best Cinematography and Best Supporting Actor by J...
(1943) - Double Indemnity (1944)
- The Man in Half Moon StreetThe Man in Half Moon StreetThe Man in Half Moon Street is a fantasy film dealing with a man who retains his youth and cannot die, living throughout the ages. It bears some comparison to Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray, except that there are more logical explanations for the eternal youth of the main character...
(1945) - SpellboundSpellbound (1945 film)Spellbound is a psychological mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1945. It tells the story of the new head of a mental asylum who turns out not to be what he claims. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov and Leo G. Carroll. It is an adaptation by Angus...
(1945) - The Lost Weekend (1945)
- Blood on the SunBlood on the SunBlood on the Sun is a film starring James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney. The film is based on the history behind the Tanaka Memorial document....
(1945) - The KillersThe Killers (1946 film)The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based in part on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film features Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene...
(1946) - A Double LifeA Double LifeA Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso...
(1947) - Brute ForceBrute Force (1947 film)Brute Force is a brooding, brutal film noir, starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn and Charles Bickford. It was directed by Jules Dassin, with a screenplay by Richard Brooks and the cinematography by William H. Daniels....
(1947) - The Red House (1947)
- Kiss the Blood off My HandsKiss the Blood Off My HandsKiss the Blood Off My Hands is a 1948 film noir, directed by Norman Foster. It stars Burt Lancaster, Joan Fontaine and Robert Newton.-Plot:...
(1948) - Madame BovaryMadame Bovary (1949 film)Madame Bovary is a 1949 film adaptation of the classic novel of the same name by Gustave Flaubert. It stars Jennifer Jones, James Mason, Van Heflin, Louis Jourdan, Alf Kjellin , Gene Lockhart, Frank Allenby and Gladys Cooper....
(1949) - The Asphalt JungleThe Asphalt JungleThe Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 film noir directed by John Huston. The caper film is based on the novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett and stars an ensemble cast including Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore, and, in a minor but key role, Marilyn Monroe, an unknown...
(1950) - Quo Vadis?Quo Vadis (1951 film)Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography...
(1951) - IvanhoeIvanhoe (1952 film)Ivanhoe is a 1952 historical film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The cast featured Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Finlay Currie and Felix Aylmer...
(1952) - Julius CaesarJulius Caesar (1953 film)Julius Caesar is an 1953 MGM film adaptation of the play by Shakespeare, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the uncredited screenplay, and produced by John Houseman. The original music score is by Miklós Rózsa...
(1953) - Knights of the Round TableKnights of the Round Table (film)Knights of the Round Table is a 1953 Technicolor Cinemascope historical film made by MGM. Directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman, it was the first film in Cinemascope made by that studio...
(1953) - Young BessYoung BessYoung Bess is a 1953 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of England...
(1953) - Lust for LifeLust for Life (film)Lust for Life is a MGM biographical film about the life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, based on the 1934 novel by Irving Stone and adapted by Norman Corwin.It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman...
(1956) - Ben-HurBen-Hur (1959 film)Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
(1959) - King of Kings (1961)
- El CidEl Cid (film)El Cid is a historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid" who in the 11th century fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain.Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in...
(1961) - Sodom and Gomorrah (1963)
- The PowerThe Power (film)The Power is a 1968 film based on the science fiction novel The Power by Frank M. Robinson. It stars George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette.-Plot:...
(1968) - The Green BeretsThe Green Berets (film)The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
(1968) - The Private Life of Sherlock HolmesThe Private Life of Sherlock HolmesThe Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a 1970 film directed and produced by Billy Wilder; he also shared writing credit with his longtime collaborator I. A. L. Diamond. It starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes and Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson...
(1970) - The Golden Voyage of SinbadThe Golden Voyage of SinbadThe Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a fantasy film released in 1974 and starring John Phillip Law as Sinbad. It includes a score by composer Miklós Rózsa and is known mostly for the stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen...
(1974) - ProvidenceProvidence (1977 film)Providence is a French/Swiss 1977 film directed by Alain Resnais and starring Dirk Bogarde, David Warner, Ellen Burstyn, Elaine Stritch, and John Gielgud. The film won the 1978 César Award for Best Film.-Plot summary:...
(1977) - Last EmbraceLast EmbraceLast Embrace is a 1979 thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme. Based on the novel The 13th Man by Murray Teigh Bloom, it stars Roy Scheider, Janet Margolin and Christopher Walken.-Plot summary:...
(1979) - Time After TimeTime After Time (1979 film)Time After Time is a 1979 American fantasy film written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. His screenplay is based largely on a novel by Karl Alexander and a story by Steve Hayes. It concerns British author H. G...
(1979) - Eye of the NeedleEye of the Needle (film)Eye of the Needle is a 1981 film directed by Richard Marquand, based on the novel of the same title by Ken Follett, and starring Donald Sutherland...
(1981) - Dead Men Don't Wear PlaidDead Men Don't Wear PlaidDead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a 1982 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Rachel Ward. It is both a parody of, and an homage to, film noir and the pulp detective movies of the 1940s....
(1982) - Rózsa's last film
Concert works
Rózsa's first major success, and for years his best-known concert work, was the orchestral Theme, Variations, and Finale, Op. 13, introduced in Duisberg, Germany, in 1934 and soon taken up by Charles MunchCharles Munch
Charles Munch may refer to:*Charles Munch , American artist*Charles Munch , orchestral conductorSee also:*Charles Munch discography, recordings of Munch, the conductor...
, Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
, Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
, Hans Swarowsky
Hans Swarowsky
Hans Swarowsky was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth and Jewish descent.Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss...
, and other leading conductors. It was first played in the United States by the Chicago Symphony under Frederick Stock
Frederick Stock
Frederick Stock was a German conductor and composer.-Biography:...
and achieved wide exposure through a 1943 New York Philharmonic concert broadcast when Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
made his famous conducting debut.
Rózsa's Violin Concerto, Op. 24, was composed in 1953-54 for the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
, who collaborated with the composer in fine-tuning it. The work evokes the passion of native Hungarian music. Rózsa later adapted portions of this work for the score of Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
's 1970 film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a 1970 film directed and produced by Billy Wilder; he also shared writing credit with his longtime collaborator I. A. L. Diamond. It starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes and Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson...
, the plot of which, Wilder has said, was inspired by Rózsa's concerto.
Rózsa's Cello Concerto, Op. 32 was written much later (1967–68) at the request of the cellist János Starker
János Starker
János Starker |Kingdom of Hungary]]) is a Hungarian-American cellist. Since 1958 he has taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he holds the title of Distinguished Professor.- Child prodigy :...
, who premiered the work in Berlin in 1969.
Between his violin and cello concertos, Rózsa composed his Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 29, for violin, cello, and orchestra. The commissioning artists, Heifetz and his frequent collaborator Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
, never performed the finished work, although they did record a reduced version of the slow movement, called Tema con Variazoni, Op. 29a.
Rózsa also received recognition for his choral works. His collaboration with conductor Maurice Skones and The Choir of the West at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, resulted in a commercial recording of his sacred choral works — To Everything There is a Season, Op. 20; The Vanities of Life, Op. 30; and The Twenty-Third Psalm, Op. 34 — produced by John Steven Lasher and recorded by Allen Giles for the Entr'acte Recording Society
Entr'acte Recording Society
Entr'acte Recording Society is an independent record label. The music term entr'acte is derived from the French, which translates as 'between acts'...
in 1978.
The following works for orchestra, solo instruments with orchestra, and concert versions of film scores are as listed by
the Miklós Rózsa Society website:
Works for orchestra
- Symphony in 3 Movements, Op. 6a (1930/1993)
- Theme, Variations and Finale, Op. 13 (1933)
- Theme, Variations and Finale, Op. 13a (Revised version) (1966)
- Three Hungarian Sketches, Op. 14 (1938)
- Three Hungarian Sketches, Op. 14a (Revised version) (1958)
- Concerto for String Orchestra, Op. 17 (1943)
- Kaleidoscope, 6 short pieces for Small Orchestra, Op. 19a. (1946)
- Andante for String Orchestra, Op. 22a
- The Vintner's Daughter, 12 Variations on a French folksong, Op. 23a (1952)
- Hungarian Serenade, Op. 25 (1945)
- Overture to a Symphony Concert, Op. 26a (1963)
- Notturno Ungherese, Op. 28 (1964)
- Tripartita per Orchestra, Op. 33 (1972)
- Festive Flourish (1975)
Works for solo instrument with orchestra
- Rhapsody for cello and orchestra, op. 3 (1929)
- Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song, Op. 4 (1929) for Violin and Orchestra
- North Hungarian Peasant Songs and Dances, Op. 5 (1929) for Violin and Orchestra
- Violin Concerto, Op. 24 (1953–54)
- Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 29 (1966) for Violin and Cello and Orchestra
- Tema con Variazoni, Op. 29a (1966) for Violin, Cello and Orchestra
- Piano Concerto, Op. 31 (1967)
- Cello Concerto, Op. 32 (1971)
- Viola Concerto, Op. 37 (1982)
Concert versions of film scores
- The Thief of Bagdad Suite (1940)
- Lady Hamilton Love Theme (1941)
- Lydia: Love Theme and Waltz (1941)
- Jungle Book Suite for narrator and orchestra (1942)
- Lullaby (from The Jungle Book Suite) (1942) for four-part mixed chorus, a cappella
- Spellbound Concerto for piano and orchestra (1946)
- Spellbound Concerto (orchestral version) (1946)
- The Red House Suite (1947)
- Mark Hellinger Suite (1948)
- The Madame Bovary Waltz (1949)
- Quo Vadis Suite (1951)
- Lust for Life Suite (1956)
- Ben-Hur Suite (1959)
- El Cid Suite (1963)
- New England Concerto for two pianos and orchestra (1984) (Themes from Lydia and Time Out of Mind)
Works for solo instruments
- Sonata for two Violins, Op. 15a (1930)
- Sonatina for Clarinet Solo, Op. 27 (1957)
- Toccata capricciosa for Cello Solo, Op. 36 (1977, dedicated to the memory of Gregor PiatigorskyGregor PiatigorskyGregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
and premiered by Jeffrey SolowJeffrey SolowJeffrey Solow is an American cello virtuoso and the immediate past president of the American String Teachers Association and president of the Violoncello Society, Inc. of New York.-Biography:...
) - Sonata for Flute Solo, Op. 39 (1983)
- Sonata for Violin Solo, Op. 40 (1985)
- Sonata for Clarinet Solo, Op. 41 (1986, premiered 1987 by Gervase de PeyerGervase de PeyerGervase Alan de Peyer is an English clarinetist and conductor.-Professional career:Gervase de Peyer was born in London and attended Bedales School. He was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he studied clarinet with Frederick Thurston and piano with Arthur Alexander...
) - Sonata for Guitar, Op. 42 (1986)
- Introduction and Allegro for viola solo, Op. 44 (1988)
Literature
- Miklós Rózsa: "Quo Vadis?" Film Music Notes, Vol. 11, No. 2 (1951)
- Miklós Rózsa: Double Life: The Autobiography of Miklós Rózsa, Composer in the Golden Years of Hollywood, Seven Hills Books (1989) - ISBN 0859362094
- Miklós Rózsa: Double Life: The Autobiography of Miklós Rózsa, Composer in the Golden Years of Hollywood, The Baton Press (1984) - ISBN 0-85936-141-1 (Softcover edition)
- Miklós Rózsa: Életem történeteiből (Discussions with János SebestyénJános SebestyénJános Sebestyén is a Hungarian organist, harpsichordist and pianist.-Biography:János Sebestyén attended the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music where his professors included organists János Hammerschlag and Ferenc Gergely, pianist István Antal, and composers Ervin Major and Ferenc Szabó...
, edited by György Lehotay-Horváth). Zeneműkiadó, Budapest (1980) - ISBN 963 330 354 0 - Christopher Palmer: Miklós Rózsa. A Sketch Of His Life And Work. With a foreword by Eugene OrmandyEugene OrmandyEugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
. Breitkopf & Härtel, London, Wiesbaden (1975) - Miklós Rózsa and Miklós Rózsa on Film Music in Tony ThomasTony ThomasCharles Anthony "Tony" Thomas is an American television and film producer, who has produced such TV series as Nurses, Herman's Head, Blossom, Empty Nest, Benson, Beauty and the Beast, The Golden Girls, It's a Living, as well as Dead Poets Society.Thomas is the son of Danny Thomas, and the younger...
: Film Score. The Art & Craft of Movie Music, Riverwood Press (1991) - ISBN 1-880756-01-3, p. 18-32 - Miklós Rózsa in William Darby und Jack Du Bois: American Film Music. Major Composers, Techniques, Trends, 1915 - 1990. McFarland (1990) - ISBN 0-7864-0753-0 - p. 307-344
- Miklós Rózsa in Christopher Palmer: The Composer In Hollywood. Marion Boyars (1993) - ISBN 0-7145-2950-8 - p. 186-233
- From 1950 to the Present in Roy M. Prendergast: Film Music. A Neglected Art. A Critical Study of Music in Films. Second Edition. Norton (1992) - ISBN 0-393-30874-x - p. 98-179 (in this chapter, the author analyzes Rózsa's score from Quo Vadis (1951 film)Quo Vadis (1951 film)Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography...
(p. 126-130), on a few pages more, he also discusses Julius Caesar (1953 film)Julius Caesar (1953 film)Julius Caesar is an 1953 MGM film adaptation of the play by Shakespeare, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the uncredited screenplay, and produced by John Houseman. The original music score is by Miklós Rózsa...
and King of Kings), a couple of other film works by Miklós Rózsa are merely mentioned) - Jeffrey Dane: "A Composer's Notes: Remembering Miklós Rózsa", iUniverse (2006) - ISBN 0595414338
External links
- The Miklós Rózsa Society website
- David Raksin Remembers His Colleagues: Miklós Rózsa
- Miklós Rózsa's Filmo/Discography at SoundtrackCollector.com
- Miklós Rózsa at Soundtrackguide.net
- Centennial Tribute to Miklos Rózsa
- Italian Website at Tribute Site
- Vertlieb's Views: Miklos Rosza
- Guide to The Miklós Rózsa Papers at Syracuse University
- Article in french about Miklos Rosza