Press Release from BSX:
Citadel Records, a division of BSX Records, presents ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S TORN CURTAIN – THE LOST SCORE composed by the legendary Bernard Herrmann (PSYCHO, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST), conducted on this release by the great Elmer Bernstein (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD).
Released in 1966, TORN CURTAIN was to be the ninth in a momentous series of collaborations between director Alfred Hitchcock and composer Bernard Herrmann. Written by Brian Moore, Willis Hall and Keith Waterhouse, starring Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova and Wolfgang Kieling, the film follows Michael Armstrong (Newman), an American scientist who publicly defects to East Germany as part of a secret mission to steal a formula before planning his escape back to the West.
In all of their previous collaborations, Herrmann had been given a free hand to compose his music without any concern for the commercial exploitation of the music for financial gain. But the market for soundtrack albums had started to change and one of these changes included accounting for the inclusion of a theme or a hit song on the album designed to boost sales and would not necessarily serve the film in a practical way. Herrmann resisted these inclinations as long as he could but it would be TORN CURTAIN that would end their creative collaboration. After Herrmann had gone through the process of creating his score in the usual manner and began to record it, he was interrupted by the director on the recording stage, who expressed his misgivings about what he was hearing and that was the end of their relationship...
Bernard Herrmann is one of the greatest composers of motion picture music in the twentieth century. He is considered the man behind some of the most original and distinctive film scores. He was a master at evoking psychological and dramatic tension in his music to suit the dramatic needs of a film. He won his only Oscar in 1947 for writing the score for THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER. Herrmann made a powerful mark in radio and in 1934 he began a 25-year career as a conductor and composer in radio, working for the CBS Symphony Orchestra. In 1938, he scored the notorious infamous presentation of Orson Welles’ Halloween production of H. G. Wells’ THE WAR OF THE WORLDS broadcast. He is best remembered for his collaborations with some of Hollywood’s most celebrated film directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese and Brian DePalma. Described as a perfectionist, he believed that most directors didn't have a clue about music so he would blithely ignore their instructions. His filmography includes CITIZEN KANE, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, VERTIGO, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, CAPE FEAR, FAHRENHEIT 451, OBSESSION, TAXI DRIVER and many hours of episodic television including THE TWILIGHT ZONE and HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL, among others.
From 1974 to 1979, composer Elmer Bernstein, a great believer in preserving the film music of the past, indulged an expensive whim: Re-recording excerpts from memorable scores by esteemed colleagues ranging from Alfred Newman and Miklos Rozsa to Alex North and Bernard Herrmann. This collection would span fourteen LPs and include many previously unreleased film scores, including the first recording of Herrmann’s lost score to TORN CURTAIN. Later, these historic recordings were released on compact disc by Film Score Monthly in 2006 in a limited edition box set that has continued to become scarce over the years.
Citadel Records, a division of BSX Records, is proud to bring these recordings back into the marketplace, under license from the composer’s estate with the music newly remastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and retaining the original liner notes written by Christopher Palmer. ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S TORN CURTAIN – THE LOST SCORE features Bernard Herrmann’s music conducted by Elmer Bernstein, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
