THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD Schoenberg participated in some of the more glamorous aspects of living in Los Angeles, such as living in the affluent Brentwood community across the street from child star Shirley Temple, playing tennis with composer George Gershwin, or laughing with actorcomedian Arthur “Harpo” Marx. Schoenberg took up teaching posts at UCLA and USC, both of which later named buildings after him. Despite his assimilation into the community, Schoenberg never considered himself an American composer and often took comfort in the large European community that had also moved to L.A. Expat Rivals Both Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky found themselves living in Hollywood following the Second World War and rebuilding their lives as composers and professors. One might expect that they were fast friends, however artistic differences led to a mutual dislike instead. They both made it clear to friends and colleagues that each was ignoring the other, and it was only after Schoenberg passed away that Stravinsky decided to experiment and expand upon the twelve-tone method Schoenberg invented. Many composers who lived or relocated to Los Angeles during this time including Gershwin, Stravinsky, and Max Steiner, were finding work composing for film or selling their compositions to be used in film in Hollywood. In 1935, Schoenberg was introduced by his friend Harpo Marx, to MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) producer Irving Thalberg, to explore the possibility of working together. Due to Thalberg’s leadership, MGM was the only production company to make a profit during the Great Depression. In the 1930s, MGM released classic pictures such as The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, and Singin’ in the Rain. All big-budget films, they were also risky endeavors with new technology such as Technicolor. Thalberg commented that he enjoyed Schoenberg’s music, calling it “lovely” (to which Schoenberg promptly responded, “I don’t make lovely music.”) and proposed that Schoenberg score a film for his studio. Schoenberg however, disliked the populist nature of film music,
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MGM logo. 1916. Wikimedia Commons.
and wanted to use the sprechstimme method, like in his melodramatic setting of poems Pierrot Lunaire (1912),an idea that Thalberg ultimately rejected.
Irving Thalberg, MGM Producer, 1929. Wikimedia Commons.
MGM’s success was part of a larger trend in film history. Movies offered escape from the realities of war and economic depression, and the American public was estimated to be attending films at least once a week. Technological advancements, such as sound, color, and animation, as well as the rise of movie stars and the studio system, made Hollywood the home of American movies. Now known as The Golden Age of Hollywood, defined loosely between the 1915 and 1960, this era introduced genres including Westerns, Gangster films, the Movie-Musical, Animated films, and Film Noir, as silent films faded out. Here are some distinct genres that emerged in the first half of the 20th Century: Silent: The genre of film, or moving pictures, began without synchronized sound and dates back to as early as 1891. Often silent films were shown accompanied by live music. The era technically ended with The Jazz Singer (1927), the first major movie with synchronized sound, but actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin created silent films through the '30s. Though termed silent films, these films were often accompanied by a pre-recorded musical score and subtitled. The most famous movies of this era are Birth of a Nation (1915) and City Lights (1931). Genres ranged from epic stories, to romantic, to slapstick comedies. Western: One of the most enduring American genres developed and capitalized upon between the '30s and the '60s is the Western. Westerns normally take place on the American Frontier—the area west of the Rocky Mountain range, with common settings in a rural mountain or desert town featuring scenes in saloons, jails, and small main streets. The format often follows a protagonist sheriff, cowboy or maverick and emphasizes the rugged, dangerous wilderness. Westerns feature a specific soundscape with defining characteristics of a musical score that includes influences from American Folk music and music from Mexican and Native American traditions. Schoenberg was known
The Silver Screen In the early days of film, images were projected on to a smooth screen primed with shiny reflective paint for optimal resolution and contrast. Even as the technology evolved, the term quickly caught and was used to refer to moving pictures in general, referred to as “the pictures,” and today “the movies.”
