The Art of Film Music
Burt (music, Rice Univ.), himself a composer and former student of Babbitt, Mil- haud, and Sessions, is well qualified to offer this inside look at a complex art. He covers a lot of ground in just six chapters, making extensive use of dozens of musical excerpts and scene summaries from classic films from the 1930s through the 1980s. The author examines philosophical, aesthetic, and highly technical aspects in the course of discussions with leading film composers Hugo Friedhofer, Alex North, David Rakson, and Leonard Rosenman. Burt's credentials will lure the serious musician/composer, but this book's range of information will appeal also to the avid film enthusiast, though an ability to read music is key to fully appreciating the book. Notes and a glossary are included. For a more encyclopedia-style account and time period expansion, see William Darby and Jack Du Bois's American Film Music: Major Composers, Techniques, Trends (LJ 11/15/90).Cynthia Ann Cordes, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.