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Max Steiner

Maximilian Raoul Steiner (May 10, 1888 – December 28, 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and went on to become one of Hollywood's greatest musical composers.

Steiner was a child prodigy who conducted his first operetta when he was twelve and became a full-time professional, proficient at composing, arranging, and conducting, by the time he was fifteen. Threatened with internment in England during World War I, he fled to Broadway; and in 1929 he moved to Hollywood, where he became one of the first composers to write music scores for films. He is often referred to as "the father of film music", as Steiner played a major part in creating the tradition of writing music for films, along with composers Dimitri Tiomkin, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Franz Waxman, Alfred Newman, Bernard Herrmann, and Miklós Rózsa.

Steiner composed over 300 film scores with RKO Pictures and Warner Bros., and was nominated for 24 Academy Awards, winning three: The Informer (1935); Now, Voyager (1942); and Since You Went Away (1944). Besides his Oscar-winning scores, some of Steiner's popular works include King Kong (1933), Little Women (1933), Jezebel (1938), and Casablanca (1942), though he did not compose its love theme, "As Time Goes By". In addition, Steiner scored The Searchers (1956), A Summer Place (1959), and Gone with the Wind (1939), which ranked second on the AFI's list of best American film scores, and is the film score for which he is best known.

He was also the first recipient of the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, which he won for his score for Life with Father. Steiner was a frequent collaborator with some of the best known film directors in history, including Michael Curtiz, John Ford, and William Wyler, and scored many of the films with Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, and Fred Astaire. Many of his film scores are available as separate soundtrack recordings.

Birth and Death Data: Born May 10, 1888 (Vienna), Died December 28, 1971 (Beverly Hills)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1933 - 1947

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, conductor

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-78397 10-in. 11/8/1933 Buy a kiss Hotel Pierre Orchestra ; Henry King Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-78955 10-in. 1/10/1934 Carioca RKO Studio Orchestra ; Max Steiner Dubbed recording from film : Jazz/dance band conductor  
Victor 80007 10-in. 8/26/1935 A canção da fonte Francisco Alves Male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-010172 10-in. 5/14/1937 A star is born Buddy Clark ; Eddy Duchin Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-010507 10-in. 6/3/1937 A star is born Shep Fields ; Bobby Goday ; Rippling Rhythm Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-041558 10-in. 8/15/1939 Dust be my destiny Johnny Messner ; Music Box Band Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor PBS-061665 10-in. 9/17/1941 Symphonie moderne Jack Fina ; Freddy Martin Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with piano solo composer  
Victor D3AB-0077 10-in. 5/26/1943 It can't be wrong Four Vagabonds Male vocal quartet composer  
Victor D5VB-0762 10-in. 5/19/1945 While you're away Betty Jane Bonney ; Russ Case Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor D5VB-1120 10-in. 9/5/1945 As long as I live Russ Case Orchestra ; Dinah Shore Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor D6VB-2012 10-in. 2/6/1946 Tomorrow is forever Martha Stewart Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor D7VB-0589 10-in. 7/1/1947 Deep Valley Tommy Dorsey ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Male vocal solo, with vocal ensemble and jazz/dance band composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Steiner, Max," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104726.

Steiner, Max. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104726.

"Steiner, Max." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104726

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