Exploring the work of Jewish composer Ernest Gold

Famous for his “Exodus” film score

By Arlene Stolnitz

As I have stated before, Jewish composers were generally considered marginal figures in music history, and it was not until the period just prior to WWII that Jewish immigrants had an enormous effect in music, particularly in the motion picture industry.

In this article, I will explore the work of Ernest Gold who is famous for his film score for “Exodus.” I dare say the theme song is probably known by everyone.

As a newcomer to the United States, Ernest Gold was not insulted when his musical compositions were called “movie music.” In fact, the comment inspired him to move to Hollywood to pursue a career in film music!

Ernest Gold (born Ernest Sigmund Goldner) was born in Vienna on July 13, 1921. He grew up in a secular Jewish family surrounded by musically progressive ideas. His parents, musicians themselves, encouraged his creativity in music.

As a child, opera fascinated him. He dreamed of becoming a composer of operas and wrote his first opera before the age of 10. About this time, just as music was entering film in a serious way in the U.S., Gold, still a young boy, expressed his desire to become a film composer. As a teenager, he frequently attended movies just to hear the scores being played.

A talented student of piano and violin, Gold attended the State Academy of Music in Vienna until 1938, when he, his widowed father and sister fled Europe to the U.S. By the time he arrived in the U.S., his style of music fell “out of favor” with the critics who called his compositions “movie music.” It was then that, abandoning his career as a concert pianist, he moved to Hollywood to fulfill his “real” dream as a composer of film music.

Gold’s idol during this period was Viennese-Jewish composer, Max Steiner, who had emigrated to the U.S. in 1929. Steiner had become an important figure in Hollywood film music and, with Steiner as his mentor, Gold later became one of the most successful composers in the film industry. Gold became one of the busiest composers for television during the ’70s and ’80s. As it turned out, Gold was one of the last of the European romantic music figures to make a name for himself in film music.

Gold is most noted for his score for Oscar Preminger’s “Exodus” (1960), based on Leon Uris’ book of the same name, which tells the story of the founding of the state of Israel. Gold received an Oscar for “Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture” as well as a Grammy award the following year (1961) for “Best Musical Score.”

Gold spent much of his time in Israel during the filming researching the Israeli way of life, which was highly unusual for most film composers.

Although the movie is only loosely based on historical fact, it became important because, for the fi rst time, many became aware of the story of the founding of the modern state of Israel.

Despite Gold’s secular upbringing, many of Gold’s strongest scores relate to Jewish themes or antisemitism. However, Gold was never completely satisfied with his theme song from “Exodus” and even once omitted it from a special program presentation.

Still, I found a commentary by his son, Andrew, particularly poignant. “When he was doing the music for “Exodus,” I think he really felt a surge of pride and anguish that had been hidden when he came to Hollywood. He connected with the joy and pain of being Jewish, the horror of the Holocaust, and the pride in setting up Israel as a state.” (Goldman, “The Book of Exodus.”)

“… so take my hand and walk this land with me…”

Arlene Stolnitz, a retired educator, has been a regular contributor to Federation papers in Southwest Florida. Her interest in all kinds of Judaic music has led to this series of articles.