--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bernard Herrmann used to write all his…" description: "\"Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I dont understand why this happens in the movie indust..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/ennio-morricone-18006_bach_bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-s_83959.jpg" --- # Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself… ![“Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I dont understand why this happens in the movie industry.” quote by Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/ennio-morricone-18006_bach_bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-s_83959.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/ennio-morricone-18006_bach_bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-s_83959.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/ennio-morricone-18006_bach_bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-s_83959.jpg) > “Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I dont understand why this happens in the movie industry.” [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments the loss of composers personally crafting entire scores, noting that historic masters did the same, and questions modern film practices that separate composition from orchestration. **In simple terms:** Loss of personal authorship in film music Key Takeaway Modern film scores often fragment the creative process Themes authorship collaboration historical continuity industry practices creative control Mood reflective critical nostalgic Type observation question When to use this quote - film scoring - classical composition - music education - production meetings - budget constraints Key Concepts composer autonomy division of labor technological impact Practical Applications - advocating for composer-led orchestration - reintroducing holistic scoring approaches Questions to Reflect On - How does collaboration affect artistic integrity? - What benefits might arise from a composer controlling the full score? A Different Perspective While collaboration can enrich a score, many composers still oversee entire projects, using assistants for execution rather than creative input. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Movie industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie-industry/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I don't understand why this happens in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-scores-by-himself-so-did-bach-2/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [What I love more than anything is Jerry Goldsmith's 80's music and Bernard Herrmann's genre music from the 50's and 60's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/what-i-love-more-than-anything-is-jerry-goldsmith-s-80-s-music-and/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [With Hitchcock I had little relationship. I was called to replace Bernard Herrmann, his favorite composer, in Torn Curtain, after the bitter fight between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-jarre/with-hitchcock-i-had-little-relationship-i-was-called-to-replace/) [Maurice Jarre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-jarre/) > [Bernard Herrmann was a genius, a great, great composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-hazanavicius/bernard-herrmann-was-a-genius-a-great-great-composer/) [Michel Hazanavicius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-hazanavicius/) > [Some of my favorite scores include Bernard Herrmann's Hitchcock scores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-goransson/some-of-my-favorite-scores-include-bernard-herrmann-s-hitchcock-scores/) [Ludwig Goransson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-goransson/) > [I was obsessed with 'The Twilight Zone' as a kid, and one of those things I didn't realize until I was in college was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/i-was-obsessed-with-the-twilight-zone-as-a-kid-and-one-of-those/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [I'm not Stravinsky, I never will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/i-m-not-stravinsky-i-never-will-be/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [I had no idea Stravinsky disliked Debussy so much as this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-newman/i-had-no-idea-stravinsky-disliked-debussy-so-much-as-this/) [Ernest Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-newman/) > [Pulse as an active means of expression, Stravinsky and Beethoven are the two masters of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/pulse-as-an-active-means-of-expression-stravinsky-and-beethoven-are/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [The first music I was exposed to was Stravinsky and I loved it but I don't remember it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/the-first-music-i-was-exposed-to-was-stravinsky-and-i-loved-it-but-i/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [In two thousand years all our generals and politicians may be forgotten, but Einstein and Madame Curie and Bernard Shaw and Stravinsky will keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/in-two-thousand-years-all-our-generals-and-politicians-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“The man has accumulated a repertoire of facial tics and blinks that demand nothing less than a complete musical score by Stravinsky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-man-has-accumulated-a-repertoire-of-facial-tics-and-blinks-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The trombone and side-drums in the chamber music of Stravinsky will do well enough in a very smart house-party where all the conversation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-francis-tovey/the-trombone-and-side-drums-in-the-chamber-music-of-stravinsky-will/) Donald Francis Tovey > [New music? Hell, there's been no new music since Stravinsky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/new-music-hell-there-s-been-no-new-music-since-stravinsky/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [It's something he used to say when he was happy. It could be a very, very simple day. We might be sitting out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/it-s-something-he-used-to-say-when-he-was-happy-it-could-be-a-very/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) ## More by Ennio Morricone > [I want people to know about all the kinds of music that I write. Some believe I just write film scores, which is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/i-want-people-to-know-about-all-the-kinds-of-music-that-i-write-some/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [I can't be enthusiastic as soon as I write something on the music sheet. The music sheet is only the beginning: it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/i-can-t-be-enthusiastic-as-soon-as-i-write-something-on-the-music/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I don't understand why this happens in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-scores-by-himself-so-did-bach-2/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [I also used these realistic sounds in a psychological way. With The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, I used animal sounds - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/i-also-used-these-realistic-sounds-in-a-psychological-way-with-the/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [There are some directors who actually fear the possible success of music. They fear that the audience or the critics will think the film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/there-are-some-directors-who-actually-fear-the-possible-success-of/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [The respect for a musical score must come from the director... If the director has no power and has to surrender to budgetary constraints,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/the-respect-for-a-musical-score-must-come-from-the-director-if-the/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [I really like conducting my music in concerts because I'm convinced it's not just for films; it has its own life. It can live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/i-really-like-conducting-my-music-in-concerts-because-i-m-convinced/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [I come from a background of experimental music which mingled real sounds together with musical sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/i-come-from-a-background-of-experimental-music-which-mingled-real/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [In my youth, cinemas showed two films in one day. I used to watch both of them. It may sound strange, but 'West Side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/in-my-youth-cinemas-showed-two-films-in-one-day-i-used-to-watch-both/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [There was a theft! But, of course, if it was up to me, every two years I would win an Oscar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/there-was-a-theft-but-of-course-if-it-was-up-to-me-every-two-years-i/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [I dislike cats. I like horses, some monkeys, and sweet dogs that aren't too aggressive. I used to have a wonderful, big cat, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/i-dislike-cats-i-like-horses-some-monkeys-and-sweet-dogs-that-aren-t/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [Music is an experience, not a science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/music-is-an-experience-not-a-science/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [It could have been extremely boring to write musical scores for only westerns of horror films. It was really exciting for me to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/it-could-have-been-extremely-boring-to-write-musical-scores-for-only/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [If you scroll through all the movies I've worked on, you can understand how I was a specialist in westerns, love stories, political movies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/if-you-scroll-through-all-the-movies-i-ve-worked-on-you-can/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [I often use the same harmonies as pop music because the complexity of what I do is elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/i-often-use-the-same-harmonies-as-pop-music-because-the-complexity-of/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) [Explore all 36 Ennio Morricone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) ## More Bach quotes > [“Do you know what he told me after lying under a cliff for thirty six hours with two inches of his femur sticking out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/do-you-know-what-he-told-me-after-lying-under-a-cliff-for-thirty-six/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-listen-to-bach-a-great-deal-in-general-i-like-to-listen-to-hymns/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Yes, I mean like you know, having studied with Yehudi Menuhin that is like some direct route into Bach, because he was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-kennedy/yes-i-mean-like-you-know-having-studied-with-yehudi-menuhin-that-is/) [Nigel Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-kennedy/) > [I began to realize that some of the things Ornette Coleman had said about things being played three or fours ways, independently of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-began-to-realize-that-some-of-the-things-ornette-coleman-had-said/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Whenever you study composition you inevitably encounter Bach right off the bat. You can't get across the room without running into him and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-roberts/whenever-you-study-composition-you-inevitably-encounter-bach-right/) [Howard Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-roberts/) > [“The way we define opera circa 1700 may help us to throw light not just on the choices facing Bach and his brilliant peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eliot-gardiner/the-way-we-define-opera-circa-1700-may-help-us-to-throw-light-not/) [John Eliot Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eliot-gardiner/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In Bach there is still too much crude Christianity, crude Germanism, crude scholasticism; he stands on the threshold of European (modern) music, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-bach-there-is-still-too-much-crude-christianity-crude-germanism/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I used to listen to a lot of Bach on the radio, and when the basses started to sing, it made everything complete -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-haden/i-used-to-listen-to-a-lot-of-bach-on-the-radio-and-when-the-basses/) [Charlie Haden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-haden/) > [The music of Bach is without doubt the most sacred gift to the world of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heitor-villa-lobos/the-music-of-bach-is-without-doubt-the-most-sacred-gift-to-the-world/) Heitor Villa-Lobos > [“To wake up one day and be Steinway and Glen in One... Glen Steinway, Steinway Glen, all for Bach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/to-wake-up-one-day-and-be-steinway-and-glen-in-one-glen-steinway/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-ll-have-a-good-secure-life-when-being-alive-means-more-to-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“BACH! A colossal syllable, one which makes composers tremble, brings performers to their knees, beatifies the Bach-lover, and apparently bores the daylights out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-elie/bach-a-colossal-syllable-one-which-makes-composers-tremble-brings/) [Paul Elie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-elie/) Browse all 199 Bach quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. 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