You’re sitting in a darkened movie theatre, and the latest, highly anticipated blockbuster is about to play. The ads are over, the trailers are all done, and the lights dim. What’s this? Why, it’s Art of the Score Episode 34, as we investigate a fascinating and often-overlooked area of film music history – studio fanfares. From 20th Century Fox to MGM’s Leo the Lion roar and many more, over the next two episodes we’ll be revealing the secrets behind the musical moments that open the movies and set the musical agenda, and telling the stories behind the studios and the composers who made them.

Show notes:

6:02 – The origins of the fanfare
8:51 – The studio system and the sound of the Big Five
12:15 – MGM: Lions, Stars, and Celebrities, oh my!
15:31 – RKO: Morse code, crime, and Howard Hughes
20:20 – Paramount Pictures on Parade (allegedly)
21:28 – 20th Century Fox – Alfred Newman (1933)
27:22 – Warner Brothers – Max Steiner (1937)
33:05 – The Little Three (that’s Andrew, Nick, and Dan)
33:33 – Universal Studios, Tchaikovsky, and Superman – Jimmy McHugh (1936)
40:30 – United Artists (so united they didn’t have a fanfare)
41:40 – Columbia – Mischa Bakaleinikoff (1934)
43:21 – Beyond the Big Five and the Little Three
44:33 – Selznick International – Alfred Newman (1936)
47:30 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Thaddeus Buc (1935)
49:54 – Into the 1950s: lawsuits, widescreens, and the birth of television
52:07 – VistaVision – Nathan van Cleeve (1952)
56:11 – CinemaScope – 20th Century Fox – Alfred Newman expands his fanfare (1954)
1:01:39 – MGM – Leo the Lion (1957)
1:02:34 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Jerry Buc (1960)
1:04:38 – The emergence of television and the NBC chime
1:07:44 – Desilu – Wilber Hatch (1966)
1:10:52 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Teddy Buc (1970)
1:15:48 – Paramount’s Parade – Lalo Schifrin (1970), Jerry Goldsmith (1976 and 1977)
1:22:24 – Columbia – Suzanne Ciani (1976)
1:24:48 – Walt Disney Productions - When You Wish Upon a Star (1972)
1:32:04 – PBS – Paul Alan Levi (1971)
1:33:18 – Associated Film Distribution (1978)

Links mentioned:

Yorgason and Lyon’s journal article on Max Steiner’s Warner Bros. fanfare - https://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.20.26.2/mto.20.26.2.yorgason_lyon.html
Kirk Hamilton’s Strong Song’s episode on David Bowie – https://strongsongspodcast.com/episode/space-oddity-and-starman-by-david-bowie

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