Origins & Early Life

Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911 – December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest film composers of all time. Alex Ross writes that "Over four decades, he revolutionized movie scoring by abandoning the illustrative musical techniques that dominated Hollywood in the 1930s and imposing his own peculiar harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary." As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. As a young man, Herrmann was the chief conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra, which led him to become the composer for Orson Welles's radio series The Mercury Theatre on the Air.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

This led him to write his first film score, for Welles's directorial debut Citizen Kane (1941). That year, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Devil and Daniel Webster. He worked with Welles on The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) and Jane Eyre (1943). He worked with Alfred Hitchcock on nine films, including The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956, where he makes a cameo appearance at the Royal Albert Hall), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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• Alan Arkin — Shared historical date (06-29 · Died) (2023): Esteemed American actor, filmmaker, and musician with a seven-decade career.
• Anton Raphael Mengs — Shared historical date (06-29 · Died) (1779): Pioneering Czech-Born German Neoclassical painter of Danish descent.
• Adam Mickiewicz — Shared historical date (12-24 · Born) (1798): National Poet of Poland, Romantic master, and leading voice of Slavic literature.
• Alban Berg — Shared historical date (12-24 · Died) (1935): Key figure of the Second Viennese School, blending Romanticism with twelve-tone technique.
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• June 29 (06-29) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on June 29
• 1975 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1975
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