Franz Waxman was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre.
22 Facts About Franz Waxman
2.
Franz Waxman received twelve Academy Award nominations, and won two Oscars in consecutive years.
3.
Franz Waxman received a Golden Globe Award for the former film.
4.
Franz Waxman composed concert works, including the oratorio Joshua, and The Song of Terezin, a work for orchestra, chorus, and children's chorus based upon poetry written by children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II.
5.
At the age of three Franz Waxman suffered a serious eye injury involving boiling water tipped from a stove, which left his vision permanently impaired.
6.
In 1923, at age 16, Franz Waxman enrolled in the Dresden Music Academy and studied composition and conducting.
7.
Franz Waxman lived from the money he made playing popular music and managed to put himself through school.
8.
Franz Waxman worked as an orchestrator for the German film industry, including on Hollander's score for The Blue Angel.
9.
That year Franz Waxman suffered a severe beating by Nazi sympathizers in Berlin that led him to leave Germany and move with his wife first to Paris, and soon after to Hollywood.
10.
In Hollywood, Franz Waxman met James Whale, who had been highly impressed by Franz Waxman's score for Liliom.
11.
Franz Waxman was more interested in composition than musical direction for film, and in 1936 he left Universal to become a composer at MGM.
12.
Franz Waxman scored a number of pictures during the next few years, but the score for Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca made his name.
13.
Franz Waxman was frequently called to work on scores of horror or suspense films, and Rebecca was the culmination of the genre for Franz Waxman.
14.
In 1947, Franz Waxman formed the Los Angeles Music Festival, for which he served as music director and conductor for the rest of his life.
15.
Franz Waxman scored the film Sorry, Wrong Number, which climaxes with the use of a passacaglia, highlighting Franz Waxman's highly inventive use of unusual musical forms in film.
16.
Franz Waxman received a second consecutive Oscar for A Place in the Sun.
17.
However, while awards for film music highlighted the beginning of the 1950s, Franz Waxman now began to write serious works for the concert hall.
18.
Franz Waxman worked on several television shows, including Gunsmoke, in 1966.
19.
Franz Waxman had a son, John Waxman; John had two children, Josh and Alyce Waxman; and Josh had three children, Andrew, Christopher, and Grace Waxman.
20.
Franz Waxman died from cancer in February 1967, two months after his sixtieth birthday.
21.
Franz Waxman's legacy contains over 150 film scores and an abundant collection of concert works.
22.
Some of Franz Waxman's music has been featured on commercial recordings, both on LP and CD.