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Mar 14, 2021 · Max Steiner. With 20 Oscar nominations logged from 1935 to 1956, three-time winner Max Steiner scored some of the most famous movies in cinematic history. Steiner wrote music for Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and many more. RELATED: Casablanca & 9 Other Great Hollywood Movies From The 1940s.
- Jake Dee
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks. 1. Bernard Herrmann. The man behind the low woodwinds that open Citizen Kane (1941), the shrieking violins of Psycho (1960), and the plaintive saxophone of Taxi Driver (1976) was one of the most original and distinctive composers ever to work in film.
- John Williams. Possibly one of the most prolific film composers of all time, John Williams has written music for over one hundred films. He’s particularly known for his huge orchestral pieces, tailored perfectly to the score of a piece — he oftens watches the entire movie without a soundtrack to decide what to write for it.
- Hans Zimmer. Our next composer, Hans Zimmer, might not be as much of a household name as John Williams, but he is equally as prodigious in the film world.
- Max Steiner. Born in Austria in 1888, Max Steiner was a child prodigy and began composing professionally by the age of fifteen. He was one of the earliest film composers, having moved to California when talking pictures first became popular.
- Ennio Morricone. Most famous for his series of “Spaghetti Western” films in the 1970s and 1980s, Ennio Morricone was an incredibly prolific Italian composer who wrote the music for almost 500 movies during his lifetime.
- Jeremy Urquhart
- Feature Writer/Senior List Writer
- John Williams. 47 nominations. Standing above the competition with close to 50 nominations for Best Original Score, John Williams is undeniably a towering figure in the world of film composers.
- Alfred Newman. 43 nominations. According to some, there are three godfathers of film music during Hollywood's Golden Age. Two were the aforementioned Dimitri Tiomkin and Max Steiner, and the third was Alfred Newman.
- Max Steiner. 24 nominations. An individual would have to be prolific to earn more than 20 Oscar nominations, but Max Steiner was a prolific composer and then some.
- Jerry Goldsmith. 17 nominations. If you watch a fair few American movies from the second half of the 20th century, you'll inevitably run into a Jerry Goldsmith score surprisingly fast.
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1. John Williams. Music Department. Composer. Actor. Jurassic Park (1993) As one of the best known, awarded, and financially successful composers in US history, John Williams is as easy to recall as John Philip Sousa , Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein, illustrating why he is "America's composer" time and again.
One of the most successful composers and performers of all time, McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism, exploring genres ranging from pre–rock and roll pop to classical, ballads, and electronica.
2. John Williams. As one of the best known, awarded, and financially successful composers in US history, John Williams is as easy to recall as John Philip Sousa, Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein, illustrating why he is "America's composer" time and again. With a massive list of awards that includes over 52 Oscar ...
