Elmer Bernstein

Musician and composer

• Born: April 4, 1922
• Birthplace: New York, New York
• Died: August 18, 2004
• Place of death: Ojai, California

Bernstein revolutionized the role and importance of film scores. He created the score to fit the film in tone and interpretation, making it an essential component of the film.

Early Life

Elmer Bernstein (EHL-muhr BURN-stin) was born in were chosen on April 4, 1922. He was the only child of Edward and Selma Bernstein, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father was an English teacher, and both of his parents were interested in the arts and invited artists, writers, and musicians to their home. Elmer Bernstein also was introduced to films at an early age. By the time he was seven years old, his grandmother was taking him to see silent films with her. For Bernstein, as for many of his generation, going to the motion-picture theater on Friday night was a regular part of life. As a child, Bernstein took lessons in dancing, painting, acting, and piano. During the time he was taking acting classes at the King Coit Drama School for Children, he appeared in a Broadway production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1611). By the time he was twelve years old, he had decided that he preferred piano to the other arts, and he wanted a career as a concert pianist. He received a scholarship to study with Henrietta Michelson, who taught at the Juilliard School of Music. Bernstein was a good student and appeared in a concert at Steinway Hall in New York City just three years later.

However, Michelson believed that Bernstein possessed the talent necessary to compose music as well as to play it. She arranged an audition with composer Aaron Copland, who also saw potential in him. As a result, Bernstein began studying composition with Israel Citkowitz, a student of Copland. In 1936, Bernstein received scholarships to study piano and composition at the Chatham Square Music School. He also pursued his training with Roger Sessions, Ivan Langstroth, and Stefan Wolpe. While studying piano and composition, Bernstein completed his secondary education and graduated from Walden School in 1939. On the advice of his parents, he enrolled at New York University, where he took courses in music education. In 1942, his career was interrupted when he was drafted into the United States Army. However, he had the fortune to be assigned to the special services of the Army Air Corps. This assignment gave him the opportunity to continue composing as an arranger for the Army Air Corps Radio and to work with Glenn Miller doing arrangements for the Army Air Force Band.

Life’s Work

When he came back from his military service, Bernstein intended to pursue his career as a composer, but he was unable to find employment. He returned to the stage as a concert pianist until 1949. That year he was hired to compose the music for a United Nations radio show. This work led to his being hired by Columbia Pictures to compose the music for the film Saturday’s Hero (1951), and in 1950, he moved to Hollywood. Bernstein spent two years composing film scores. Saturday’s Hero was released in 1951 and Boots Malone was released in 1952. Then, his career suffered another setback. The anti-Communist campaign led by Senator Joseph McCarthy was having its effect in Hollywood. Not only avowed members of the Communist Party but also those with liberal political views were suspected of subversion and prevented from working in the film industry. Although he was not a Communist, Bernstein’s political views were liberal enough to cause him to be blacklisted; his situation was referred to as “graylisted.” Thus, for a time, he was able to obtain work composing only for low-budget films.

Then, his career prospects improved. When Cecil B. DeMille was making The Ten Commandments (1956), his film-score composer became ill and was unable to continue. DeMille met with Bernstein and, convinced that Bernstein was not politically dangerous, hired him to do the film’s score. This was the real beginning of Bernstein’s career as a film-score composer. Soon, Bernstein did the music for The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), a score in which he used jazz innovatively to reflect the film’s story. This attempt to fit the music to the character and the story of the film was the foundation of Bernstein’s great success as a composer of film scores. He also exhibited a versatility that enabled him to write scores for different kinds of films. The music he composed for The Magnificent Seven (1960) revolutionized the Western film score. Instead of using the traditional “commercial” Western music, Bernstein created a score that used folk music as its base. For To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Bernstein abandoned the full orchestra to use only piano and flute in order to reflect the fact that the film’s story is seen simply through a child’s eyes. Bernstein made another innovation in film music when he composed a score appropriate for a drama to accompany the comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978). Bernstein continued to compose film scores, still innovating and adding to his craft, into his seventies. During his career, he received many awards and nominations, including fourteen Academy Award nominations, an Academy Award for Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), two Golden Globe Awards, and several lifetime achievement awards. Bernstein died of cancer in his sleep on August 18, 2004, in Ojai, California.

Significance

Bernstein made a significant contribution to the entertainment industry with his innovations in the composition of film scores. He viewed the music as an integral part of the film. For him, the score needed to reflect what themes and moods the film was presenting. The film score played a part equal to the dialogue, the action, and the setting in revealing the tone, the characterization, and the import of the film. He opened the score to all genres of music, and he shifted away from generalized types of music, especially for Western films, to a score marked individually for the film. Bernstein’s sense of the film’s story line and its musical interpretation made him an important influence in raising film scores to the level of art.

Bibliography

Burt, George. The Art of Film Music. Boston, Mass.: Northeastern University Press, 1995. In-depth study of the craft of composing film music. Addresses philosophical, aesthetic, and technical aspects of writing film scores. Discusses Bernstein’s work on The Man with the Golden Arm and Torn Curtain (1966).

Cooke, Melvyn. A History of Film Music. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Excellent comprehensive discussion of film music both in the United States and abroad. Good coverage of the contributions of Bernstein.

Morgan, David. Knowing the Score: Film Composers Talk About the Art, Craft, Blood, Sweat, and Tears of Writing for Cinema. New York: HarperCollins, 2000. Interviews with film score composers that provide excellent understanding of what is involved in creating music for films. Two interviews with Bernstein, one on The Grifters (1990), one on Cape Fear (1991).

Pendergast, Roy M. Film Music: A Neglected Art. 2d ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1992. Comprehensive treatment of the composition of film music. History, technique, technology, and aesthetics. Includes sections on Bernstein and a good bibliography.