Bernard Herrmann

The death of Bernard Herrmann on Christmas Eve, at the early age of 64, has come as a great shock to his many friends and admirers. Herrmann made equally enviable reputations both as conductor and composer. It is probably as a composer for the movies that he is chiefly known, but that is far from the whole story.

My own introduction to Herrmann came with his BBC broadcast of Edmund Rubbra's Third Symphony in March 1961, and his championship of that particular work points to an interesting facet of his career as far as British readers are concerned. He was very keen on British music of the first half of this century, and both during the war and after he presented many unusual programmes with the CBS Symphony Orchestra which included music by Cecil Gray, Rubbra, Vaughan Williams, Bax, Havergal Brian (the only performance in the USA of Dr Mertyheart) and Cyril Scott. His recording of Scott's First Piano Concerto (with John Ogdon, Lyrita SRCS81, 9/75) was well received, and Scott's Second Piano Concerto and Early One Morning are still awaiting issue.

Herrmann's independence of view may have had something to do with the fact that Percy Grainger was one of his teachers, and that early on in his career he befriended Charles Ives, a composer who was far from being taken seriously in the thirties, and he presented Ives's music. Owners of Richard Warren's Charles Ives discography (Yale University Library, 1972) will know that at Yale are preserved fifteen off-the-air recordings of Ives conducted by Herrmann, the earliest of which is dated May 11th, 1937. He presented the first BBC broadcast performance of Ives's Second Symphony in 1956, and finally recorded it seventeen years later with the LSO (Decca Phase 4 PFS4251, 1/73). Of course, Ives was not the only American composer to be promoted by Herrmann, and the range of music he presented with the CBS Symphony Orchestra resulted in his receiving the Henry Hadley Citation in 1947.

Another side of Herrmann's activities, and a side that is occasionally reflected in his own music, is an interest in the more obscure nineteenth century romantics. In his Columbia days he broadcast Raff's Third and Fifth Symphonies, and it was the latter, the Lenore Symphony that he recorded a few years ago to try to convince today's audience of Raff's charms (Unicorn UNS209, 1/71).

His score for the film Citizen Kane established a cinema reputation that brought him more than 50 commissions for the screen, including a notable collaboration with Hitchcock, for whom he did six films (the complete Psycho score is just released on Unicorn RHS336, reviewed on page 1382). As an orchestrator Herrmann was brilliantly inventive, sometimes using strings alone (as in Psycho) but never afraid to demand what ever he felt appropriate to the film in question. Thus Jason and the Argonauts eschews strings altogether, while Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef (recorded on RCA ARL1 0707, 2/75) uses nine harps.

During the last few years he had devoted a lot of energy to recording his own concert music, the most recent of which to appear has been the Symphony (Unicorn RHS331, reviewed on page 1345). Possibly this music is too eclectic in style to make a lasting impression on the repertoire now that its composer has passed from us. Certainly it is his film scores that have established him in the history books, and his recordings will remain to remind us of his art and personality. As well as the Cyril Scott mentioned above there are a number of recordings still awaiting issue notably his own For the Fallen and Fantasticks with works by Delius and Warlock (due shortly from Unicorn), and a record of British film music (referred to in January, page 1286).

Since he came to live in London he had become a familiar figure on the musical scene. He will be much missed. LEWIS FOREMAN.

Noble Sissle of the Sizzling Syncopaters has died, and as we close for press the death was announced of the popular singer Irving Kaufman whose recording career began in 1912 with Thomas Edison—it is reported that Kaufman made over 6000 recordings during his life; also of the distinguished British baritone George Baker at the age of 91. Baker's recording career stretched back to the early years of this century and he continued to record very prolifically until 1962. A tribute to George Baker will appear in a future issue.

ROGER WIMBUSH.