He collaborated with some of film history's most accomplished directors, including Robert Wise, Howard Hawks, Otto Preminger, Joe Dante, Richard Donner, Roman Polanski, Ridley Scott, Michael Winner, Steven Spielberg, Paul Verhoeven, and Franklin J. Schaffner. His work for Donner and Scott also involved a rejected score for Timeline and a controversially edited score for Alien, where music by Howard Hanson replaced Goldsmith's end titles and Goldsmith's own work on Freud: The Secret Passion was used without his approval in several scenes.
Goldsmith was nominated for six Grammy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and eighteen Academy Awards (winning in 1976 for The Omen). He composed the Paramount Pictures Fanfare used from 1976 through 2011. The American Film Institute respectively ranked Goldsmith's scores for Chinatown (1974) and Planet of the Apes (1968) No. 9 and No. 18 on their list of the 25 greatest film scores. He is one of only five composers to have more than one score featured in the list, including Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, and John Williams.
Goldsmith was born February 10, 1929 in Los Angeles, California. His family was Romanian-Jewish. His parents were Tessa (née Rappaport), a school teacher, and Morris Goldsmith, a structural engineer. He started playing piano at age six, but only "got serious" by the time he was eleven. At age thirteen, he studied piano privately with concert pianist and educator Jakob Gimpel (whom Goldsmith would later employ to perform piano solos in his score to The Mephisto Waltz) and by the age of sixteen he was studying both theory and counterpoint under Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who also tutored such noteworthy composers and musicians as Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, Herman Stein, André Previn, Marty Paich, and John Williams.
At age sixteen, Goldsmith saw the 1945 film Spellbound in theaters and was inspired by veteran composer Miklós Rózsa's soundtrack to pursue a career in music. Goldsmith later enrolled and attended the University of Southern California where he was able to attend courses by Rózsa, but dropped out in favor of a more "practical music program" at the Los Angeles City College. There he was able to coach singers, work as an assistant choral director, play piano accompaniment, and work as an assistant conductor.
Jerry Goldsmith has often been considered one of film music history's most innovative and influential composers. While presenting Goldsmith with a Career Achievement Award from the Society for the Preservation of Film Music in 1993, fellow composer Henry Mancini (Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Pink Panther) said of Goldsmith, "... he has instilled two things in his colleagues in this town. One thing he does, he keeps us honest. And the second one is he scares the hell out of us." In his review of the 1999 re-issue of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture soundtrack, Bruce Eder highly praised Goldsmith's ability, stating, "...one of the new tracks, 'Spock's Arrival,' may be the closest that Goldsmith has ever come to writing serious music in a pure Romantic idiom; this could have been the work of Rimsky-Korsakov or Stravinsky — it's that good." In a 2001 interview, film composer Marco Beltrami (3:10 to Yuma, The Hurt Locker) stated, "Without Jerry, film music would probably be in a different place than it is now. I think he, more than any other composer bridged the gap between the old Hollywood scoring style and the the modern film composer."
In 2006, upon composing The Omen (a remake of the Goldsmith-scored 1976 film), Marco Beltrami dedicated his score to Goldsmith, which also included an updated arrangement of "Ave Satani" titled "Omen 76/06". Likewise, when composer Brian Tyler was commissioned in 2012 to update the Universal Studios logo for the Universal centennial, he retained the "classic melody" originally composed by Goldsmith in 1997, opting to "bring it into the 21st century."
Goldsmith was greatly influenced by movements of early 20th-century classical music, notably modernism, Americana, impressionism, dodecaphonism, and early film scores. He has cited Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Miklós Rózsa, Bernard Herrmann, Béla Bartók, and Alban Berg, among others, as some of the main influences to his style of composition.
His style has been noted for its unique instrumentation, utilizing a vast array of ethnic instruments, recorded sounds, synthetic textures, and the traditional orchestra, often concurrently. When asked about his inclination for embracing new techniques and constantly shifting his musical palette throughout his career, Goldsmith said, "It seems like it's me, and that's that! Certain composers are doing the same thing over and over again, which I feel is sort of uninteresting. I don't find that you grow very much in that way. I like to keep changing, trying to do new things. Basically, I'm saying the same thing with a little different twist on it. Once you get caught up in the creative process, something inside takes over, and your subconscious just does it for you."
One reason for the consistency of Goldsmith's aural resonance and signature sound is his long time professional association with orchestrator Arthur Morton. Their first collaboration was on the film, Take Her She's Mine. In 1965, Goldsmith was tapped to score the features, Von Ryan's Express and Morituri. He recruited Morton to serve as his orchestrator. Their bond for a unique and expressive sound was borne, and their friendship flourished. Goldsmith went on to compose the soundtracks for Our Man Flint, The Trouble with Angels (with Frank De Vol), The Blue Max, The Sand Pebbles, and Stagecoach, all in 1966. Morton was there providing his orchestration services, assisting Goldsmith in attaining his visionary sounds. Their partnership endured for over 30 years and included the notable scores for Planet of the Apes (1968), Patton (1970), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Papillon (1973), Chinatown (1974), The Omen (1976), MacArthur (1977), Capricorn One (1978), Alien (1979), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Poltergeist (1982), First Blood (1982), Under Fire (1983), The Russia House (1990). The final score that Arthur Morton orchestrated for Goldsmith was L.A. Confidential (1997).
Goldsmith died at his Beverly Hills home on July 21, 2004, from colon cancer at the age of 75. He was survived by his wife Carol and his children Aaron, Joel (who also died of cancer on April 29, 2012), Carrie, Ellen Edson, and Jennifer Grossman.
Reflection
Jerry Goldsmith Lyrics
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You may think you see
Who I really am
But you'll never know me
Every day
It's as if I play a part
Now I see
If I wear a mask
But I cannot fool my heart
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
I am now
In a world where I
Have to hide my heart
And what I believe in
But somehow
I will show the world
What's inside my heart
And be loved for who I am
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
Why is my reflection
Someone I don't know?
Must I pretend that I'm
Someone else for all time?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
There's a heart that must be
Free to fly
That burns with a need to know
The reason why
Why must we all conceal
What we think, how we feel?
Must there be a secret me
I'm forced to hide?
I won't pretend that I'm
Someone else for all time
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
The lyrics to Jerry Goldsmith's song "Reflection" are a powerful statement about self-identity and the struggle many people face in trying to show their true selves to the world. The first verse talks about the idea of wearing a mask and fooling the world, but how this cannot fool your heart. This indicates the internal conflict between what you present to others and what you truly feel inside. The chorus then poses the question of who the girl sees when she looks at herself and when her true reflection will be shown to the world. The second verse continues to explore the theme of hiding one's heart and beliefs in a world that demands conformity, but also expresses hope that the true self can be shown and loved for who they are. The final verse questions why we must all conceal our thoughts and feelings and why we are forced to hide a secret self. The song ends with a powerful plea for the girl's reflection to show who she truly is inside.
Overall, the song is a poignant reminder that it is important to stay true to oneself and not conform to societal expectations or pressures. It encourages people to embrace their true selves and show them to the world, despite the potential risks or fears involved. The lyrics resonate with many people who may feel like they are living inauthentic lives and struggling to reveal who they truly are to others.
Line by Line Meaning
Look at me
Pay attention to me
You may think you see
You might believe you know who I am
Who I really am
My true identity
But you'll never know me
But in reality, you do not really know me
Every day
Each day
It's as if I play a part
I am acting as if I am someone else
Now I see
I have realized
If I wear a mask
If I pretend to be someone else
I can fool the world
Others might believe that I am someone who I'm not
But I cannot fool my heart
However, my true feelings cannot be deceitful
Who is that girl I see
Who is that person I see?
Staring straight back at me?
Looking right at me in the mirror?
When will my reflection show
When will I be able to show myself to others
Who I am inside?
As who I truly am deep down
I am now
At the present moment
In a world where I
Existing in a society where
Have to hide my heart
I need to conceal my innermost feelings
And what I believe in
And my personal beliefs
But somehow
In some manner
I will show the world
I will demonstrate to others
What's inside my heart
What my true feelings are.
And be loved for who I am
And be appreciated for who I truly am.
Why is my reflection
Why does the image in the mirror
Someone I don't know?
Not resemble who I truly am?
Must I pretend that I'm
Is it necessary for me to play
Someone else for all time?
As someone that I'm not for eternity?
There's a heart that must be
I have a heart that seeks to be
Free to fly
Able to express my feelings freely
That burns with a need to know
That has a burning desire to uncover
The reason why
The motives behind it all
Why must we all conceal
Why do we need to hide
What we think, how we feel?
Our thoughts and emotions?
Must there be a secret me
Must I keep a hidden version of myself
I'm forced to hide?
That I'm obliged to conceal?
I won't pretend that I'm
I refuse to act as
Someone else for all time
Somebody else forever
When will my reflection show
When will I be able to present myself to others
Who I am inside?
As who I genuinely am deep down
When will my reflection show
At what point will I be able to demonstrate myself to others
Who I am inside?
As who I truly am deep down
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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