Lecture 5: Max Steiner Flashcards
1
Q
Max Steiner - Facts
A
- 1888 - 1971
- born right at the very end of Wagner’s career (Romantic era)
- born in Vienna, middle class, father owned a theatre
- born in the geographic center of the art/music world
- formally trained in the tradition of European classical music
2
Q
Max Steiner - Child prodigy
A
- conducting in theatre by 12, touring as a conductor by 16
- begins equivalent to undergraduate education in music at 13
- finished the 4 year program in 8 months
- one of his teacher’s was Gustav Mahler
- wrote operettas, first by age 17
3
Q
Max Steiner - Early work
A
- worked as a composer and conductor of music for stage in England
- he was in his mid 20s in England was WWI broke out
- facing deportation because of WWI, comes to US in 1914
- worked on Broadway for 15 years
- invited to Hollywood in 1929
4
Q
Hollywood and Broadway
A
- in 1929, Hollywood is in its midst of transition to sound
- problems with actor’s voices, writing scripts
- there were many movie adaptations of Broadway musicals
- reasons = already scripts, songs and music took advantage of the new technological advances, didn’t have to worry about voicing
5
Q
Rio Rita and Broadway Melody
A
- Rio Rita = one of several Broadway musicals turned into a movie, Max Steiner was working on this musical
- Broadway Melody = another popular musical
6
Q
Max Steiner - Hollywood
A
- Max Steiner is impressed with the quality of musicians in Hollywood, and is blown away by how quickly things happen
- he started working with RKO
- there is a lot of work because of the multitude of musical adaptations
- however, Hollywood starts to move back to more narrative films
7
Q
Music in films - 1930
A
- by 1930, little music in dramatic films
- people might wonder, “Where does the music come from?”
- music all but vanished from Hollywood motion pictures
- Max Steiner then has very little work
8
Q
Cimarron
A
- 1931
- conventional narrative film with very little music
- there is a physical band playing in a scene, but Max decided to write the music for the scene
- the music is completely appropriate for the theme, and follows the emotional flow
- David Selznick at RKO recognized that more music might be good
9
Q
Max Steiner - 1932
A
- Symphony of 6 Million, and Birds of Paradise
- wall to wall music
- while neither was a major hit, they were not a flop
- the audiences weren’t confused about where the music was coming from
- opened the door to the idea of putting more music in the narrative film
10
Q
King Kong - Importance of music
A
- 1933
- RKO
- worried that it would be a flop
- Steiner asked to compile a score
- music saved this film
- convinces producer to create original score
- Steiner is reinventing the rules for how to use music in a narrative film
- sometimes, the line between what characters can hear and what the audience can hear is quite blurred
11
Q
King Kong - Story
A
- adventures of a filmmaker (Carl) who makes films about the natural world
- bought a map with an amazing story, shows the way to a lost island
- Carl wants to find the island and shoot film
- on the island is the monstrous ape = King Kong
- King Kong tries to protect the woman that Carl brings with him to the island, gets put down and brought to NYC, and is eventually killed
12
Q
King Kong - Themes
A
- King Kong theme = simple/wild/powerful, only three notes, played in the bass section
- Anne theme = elaborate version of Kong’s theme (because they are intertwined), played in the strings (kind of a love theme)
- these themes will undergo thematic transformation
13
Q
King Kong - Analysis (Scene 1)
A
- Steiner waits until the film enters the world of the supernatural (borrowed from operas)
- a lot of myths, fairy tales use transition zones
- music floats ambiguously (uncertainty), most prominent instrument is the harp
- harp = associated with the world of the supernatural (angels)
- through the fog, music becomes more deliberate, begin to hear the King Kong theme
- drums with orchestra playing along = sense of doubt between what the characters can hear and what only the audience can hear
14
Q
King Kong - Analysis (Scene 2)
A
- the team has gone on the village, and have met the tribe -
- music is synchronized to the drums, dancers are synchronized to the music
- we only see drums yet hear a full Western orchestra
- hitting the action = probably due to part of Steiner’s history in opera and Broadway
15
Q
The Informer - Story
A
- 1935
- Academy Award for Best Original Score
- set in Ireland in the 1920s
- set during the Irish civil war, where Ireland fought for independence from Great Britain
- Jippo = very naive and it taken advantage of by his prostitute girlfriend
- 20 pounds will get them tickets to a new life, but Jippo would have to turn in his friend
- he gets the 20 pounds, but loses everything and is eventually shot dead by his friends
