Miklos Rozsa

What do you do when you’re at the peak of your career as a film composer? Do like Miklos Rozsa and renegotiate your contract so you get three months a year to work on your concert music!

Miklos Rozsa (1907-1995)

The Hungarian-born Rozsa was schooled in the Germanic musical tradition during his studies at the Liepzig Conservatory, and achieved some notoriety with early chamber and short symphonic works. After moving to Paris in the 1930s, Swiss composer Arthur Honegger introduced him to the creative (and financial) possibilities of film scoring. A move to London in 1937 yielded his first film scores for movies produced by fellow countryman Alexander Korda, and with the advent of World War II he made the move to Hollywood.

“...Rozsa never abandoned his desire to create music for the concert stage.”

Despite his growing success as a film composer, Rozsa never abandoned his desire to create music for the concert stage. During his career he produced many well-regarded pieces, including Theme, Variations, and Finale, Op. 13 (1934), violin and cello concertos, and the Spellbound Concerto, based on themes from his score to the film.

On this week’s edition of The Silver Screen Soundtrack Hour, we’ll hear music from many of Rozsa’s best film scores, some familiar, some less so. Tune in to Charlottesvilleclassical.org for this rewarding retrospective.

Produced and hosted by Ken Nail, The Silver Screen Soundtrack Hour airs on Charlottesvilleclassical.org every Thursday at 9 AM and 6 PM, plus Saturdays at Noon. Visit our Facebook page, or contact Ken on Twitter at @ken_classical.