Customer Reviews

A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann

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The story of Bernard Herrmann does not begin and end with Hitchcock. It actually begins with Charles Ives and ends with Martin Scorcese. Along the way Orson Welles, Francios Trouffet, Brian DePalma, Sinbad, Gulliver, Rod Serling, and the "It's Alive" baby turn up. A biography of Bernard Herrmann tells the history of the use of music in radio, television, and film. It also tells the story of a brilliant, infuriating, and ultimately tragic figure. If you have an interest in film composing - real composing, not gathering 10 pop songs on a CD and calling it a soundtrack - you owe it to yourself to read this biography. And better yet would be to listen to some of his music while reading - the book vividly describes the music but hearing is believing.

This is a splendid book. meticulously researched about one of film music's most charismatic and controversial figures. A raging restless talent who alienated all who cared for him. The spats with those he worked with. The music he composed and the constant disatisfaction he felt with that music. The frustration of not being able to write as he really wanted to. Opera in the grand manner. And to be a great conductor. Film music was always second-best and though he never composed down to the film, some of the movies definitetly were not worthy of his talent. The halcyon days with Welles and Hitchcock. The mediocrity of so many other films all contributed to the downward spiral of a genius. I don't expect you to agree with my views, I do beg you to read a book that is quite un-putdownable. Jonathan

Good book detailing the life and music of the finest of all film composers.
Fine insights to how the composer crafts his scores and how they
enhance the film. Herrmann was the master indeed. The NPR documentary "Bernard Herrmann: A Celebration of his Life and Music" that runs over 2 1/2 hours is a good companion piece to go with this book. Interestingly the book makes no mention of the Radio documentary, which has had much greater exposure than this book or the truncated video documentary.

The true test of a film book is, does it make you want to see the films discussed? The true test of a composer's biography is, does it make you want to listen to the composer's music? Steven C. Smith's A HEART AT FIRE'S CENTER scores on both counts. This is a throroughly detailed and fascinating biography of a composer whose influence continues to be felt in film music (take a listen to the opening theme of M. Night Shyamalan's SIGNS - James Newton Howard has obviously been listening to Herrmann's PSYCHO suite). With wonderful details on Herrmann's collaborations with Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut and Martin Scorcese, this is a must-have book for every student of American film - and film music.

Though a major biography, the 1991 book has problems. There are mis-spellings ("Macken" is actually "Machen"), factual errors ("Riders to the Sea" is a one-act play, not a novel), and typos (e.g., "Herrmann like the film" should've been "Herrmann liked the film"). The prose is occasionally clumsy. There are inconsistencies. At one point we learn that Herrmann didn't drink, and later we find that he is drinking.
It is a challenge to tell when long quotes occur, since their typography is so close to the "normal" text. There is such a great proportion of quotes, there is at times a scrapbook feel. The running title at the top of a page does not indicate what chapter you are in, and each chapter heading should have indicated years of coverage in addition to its number. Most of what I am describing are editing problems, whose blame must be laid on the University of California Press. I hope the 2002 edition is better.
As a person, Bernard Herrmann was obnoxious, bullying, insulting, and disregarded the feelings of others. If this applied only to his music vocation, these qualities would be somewhat understandable, but he was liable to gratuitously lash out at whoever crossed his path, whether taxi drivers or party guests.
Nonetheless, his music is a thing for love, enthusiasm, and admiration.

One of filmdom's most innovative and influential composers was the late Bernard Herrmann. Remembered mostly for the six films that he scored for director Alfred Hitchcock, the composer had successes with other filmmakers, along with a long tenure as lead conductor of the CBS Orchestra on radio. During his time at CBS, he wrote many compositions for the medium, and finished an opera based on Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights".

Author Smith has compiled a fascinating look at Herrmann, exposing the man's genius that went hand-and-hand with his tempetuosity. The book also reveals how Herrmann suited his music for the characters that were to be seen onscreen, crafting each note to the storyline and the director's wishes.

"A Heart at Fire's Center" is a must-read for those that admire the man, as well as for those that have an interest in the nuances and mandates of scoring for the movies.

Steven Smith's study of the life of Bernard Herrmann thoroughly traces the development of Herrmann's career with all of it's frustrations and many of it's achievements. The author takes great care to portray Herrmann's complex personality frequently given to outbursts of anger and frustration to even his closest supports and friends. Herrmann's disappointments in his less than successful conducting career, struggles to achieve acceptance as a composer of serious music, and blow ups with major directors including Hitchcock , with whom some of his greatest film scores were achieved, are well documented by Smith. Herrmann's early work to promote the music of Charles Ives, including recordings of movements of two of Ive's symphonies are described. Quoting the composer's views of music for film and the aesthetics of film, the author has written a throughly documented and enjoyable book for those interested in an important composer of 20th century American film scores.

Steven C. Smith's critical biography of Bernard Herrmann is a superb blend of scholarship and accessibility. Smith's critiques of the individual scores (and the films they support) are shrewd and insightful, and his devotion to Herrmann's commanding talent doesn't blind him to Herrmann's miserable personal behavior and career-damaging temper tantrums. This is likely to remain the last word on Bernard Herrmann for decades to come. An outstanding job.

Bernard Herrmann is undoubtedly a genius, but he was also a tortured man. His ability to churn out scores under pressure for radio and then film is simply astonishing. He also found the time to orchestrate his scores, which was not common at the time.
His films scores added immeasurably to the the films they served - Vertigo, Psycho, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Ghost and Mrs Muir, Taxi Driver, Citizen Kane, North by Northwest, The Magnificant Ambersons to name but a few. But despite this success he craved recognition as a "serious" composer and conductor. This book does him justice and it is hard to manage a better biography of the great man.

I realize this is probably the best (if not only) comprehensive bio on Herrmann, but I found the book a bit clumsy and disjointed. Whenever a particular piece of music or film score is reached, there is a sudden jump into in-depth musical analysis. I would have preferred to have read about his life and career first, and then read a separate book that explores the music itself. I didn't want to take the time to run out and buy a CD or DVD everytime an unfamiliar work or film is detailed, so I found myself skipping over the discussions of instrumentation, thematic material, etc. Perhaps later I will refer back to them for later study. The appendix listing his works for film, radio, television, and concert is a nice addition.

The biographical material is fine, with a point of noting all of the musicians, conductors, actors, etc. that Herrmann either knew, worked with, and more often, hated and criticized. The infamous break with Hitchcock was very well written, and is a fascinating story within itself on the clash of ego and power. The portrait of the composer is one of an incredible talent with superior knowledge of his art, but with a difficult personality that resulted in harm to his own life and career.

The text makes extensive use of long quotations and letters, which are in a slightly smaller font, but otherwise identical to the main text. I found this to be confusing at time, as most books that I have read will print these sections either indented or offset. It was probably the fault of the publisher, as this would have added quite a few more pages to the book.

I recommend this book to anyone that is interested in learning about film music, or just want to read about one of the most talented and amazing musicians of the twentieth century.