Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)of the music and life of composer Alex North. Long considered a genius by those in the know but yet he is still underappreciated by film music fans, at least not appreciated as much as others like Williams, Goldsmith or even Rozsa and Waxman. There are those who are put off by his modernistic approach to music---many are even put off by
his SPARTACUS score, a genuine masterpiece. But perhaps in time he will truly be embraced for his genius.
Miss Henderson sure as hell did her research because I learned many things about this great composer that I other-
wise would never have known. The first half of her book is a biography on North and a very well written and extremely
interesting dissertation on how his musical style evolved as well as many interesting facts about his personal life.
His talent was so great that it was reported that North was one of the few American composers of film music that
Bernard Herrmann genuinely admired. Herrmann was not one to heap praise undeservedly so this fact speaks volumes of
the high regard he had from his peers.
I'm no musician but even for me the highlight of this book was Miss Henderson's acute analyses of such North scores
as A Streetcar Named Desire, Spartacus, The Misfits, Under the Volcano and Prizzi's Honor. I am currently working on
a book myself about Jerry Goldsmith and I can truly appreciate the time and effort Henderson put into this essential
and necessary dissertation on one of our greatest musicians. She is to be thanked and congratulated indeed for such a fine and detailed book.
It also has the bonus of having a Foreword authored by none other than John Williams himself who was a personal friend of the late composer and his insights are illuminating and thoughtful. Like Williams said, North was and still is a hero to those who score films.
The price tag may be a bit hefty but its worth every penny.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Alex North, Film Composer: A Biography, with Musical Analyses of a Streetcar Named Desire, Spartacus, the Misfits, Under the Volcano, and Prizzi'
Alex North (1910–1991) was one of America's most renowned film composers. He developed his career in Hollywood over a 40 year period, from the early fifties to his death, and enhanced and enriched over 60 major motion pictures, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Cleopatra and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf to name just a few. He accumulated 15 Oscar nominations, and received the Lifetime Achievement Oscar for his work.Alex North's life and work are the focus of this book. The first part deals with his early life growing up in Chester, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia, his studies at Juilliard in New York and in Russia and Mexico, his early experiences in modern dance, documentaries, and theater, and his major work in film.The second part contains detailed analyses of the musical scores that North composed for A Streetcar Named Desire, Spartacus, The Misfits, Under the Volcano, and Prizzi's Honor. Included in the appendices are a bibliography of materials about North, a filmography, a listing of other compositions by North, a discography, and a listing of awards North received.
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