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

"Bernard Herrmann was born in 1911 to immigrant parents. As a child, he showed a profound interest in music and sought to become a classical composer. However, his lackluster performance in school, coupled with his impatience to satisfy his ambition, led him to work in radio. His associations with other up-and-coming musicians/artists made it possible for him to gain employment at CBS wherein he served as head conductor for the CBS Orchestra. Because of the work he composed during his tenure there, Hollywood beckoned and Herrmann did his first score for Orson Welles's "Citizen Kane."

Following the success of the music for the classic film, the composer was sought for other film work, having to jockey between his CBS responsibilities, his desire to craft an original opera based on Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," and his marriage. Also, his volatile temper did not help in his relationships with peers, as well as his marital situation.

During the late 1940's to the early 60's, Herrmann had his greatest output of movie scores, composing some of that time period's most memorable and innovative scores, starting with his work at 20th-Century Fox ("The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," "Anna and the King of Siam," and "The Snows of Kilamanjaro") to works for Hitchcock ("The Trouble with Harry," "The Man Who Knew Too Much," "Psycho," "North by Northwest," and "Marnie"), fantasy creator Ray Harryhausen ("The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad," "The Three World's of Gulliver," "Mysterious Island," and "Jason and the Argonauts"), and French director Francois Truffaut (Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451"). Although Herrmann never won an Oscar, he was nominated several times, receiving a posthumous nod for Martin Scorcese's "Taxi Driver" in 1976."
Reginald D. Garrard, Resident Scholar

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

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
job/profession: - musician
Job/profession/poverty story Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1950+

Subject of Biography
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - musician
Age: - 60's-90's
Biography of famous person? Yes
Ethnicity - Jew
Nationality - Eastern European
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other people

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast - California
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Book makes you feel? - in awe
Unusual Style: - a lot of stream of consciousness
Writer's slant towards subject: - very favorable
Story of entire life, or part? - story of nearly entire life
Pictures/Illustrations? - A ton 16-20 B&W
How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog
A LOT of info about personal vices? Yes
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 76%-100% of book

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Steven C. Smith Resident Scholar Profiles

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Reginald D. Garrard

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A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann Steven C. Smith Book Review

A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann
Steven C. Smith Book Review