Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 - May 17, 1981) was an Academy Award-winning German-American film music composer born in San Francisco. Born into a musical family, Friedhofer began playing cello at the age of 13. After taking lessons in harmony and counterpoint at The University of California, Berkley, he was employed as a cellist for the People's Symphony Orchestra.
In 1929, he relocated to Hollywood, where he performed as a musician for Fo...
more
Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 - May 17, 1981) was an Academy Award-winning German-American film music composer born in San Francisco. Born into a musical family, Friedhofer began playing cello at the age of 13. After taking lessons in harmony and counterpoint at The University of California, Berkley, he was employed as a cellist for the People's Symphony Orchestra.
In 1929, he relocated to Hollywood, where he performed as a musician for Fox Studios productions such as Sunny Side Up and Grand Canary (1934). Later, he was hired as an orchestrator for Warner Bros. and worked on over 50 films for the studio. While at Warner's, he largely worked with Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Steiner, in particular, relied on Friedhofer's skill in turning his sketches into a full orchestral score.
In 1937, Friedhofer composed his first full-length film score, The Adventures of Marco Polo. Though he still worked as an orchestrator through the 30s and into the 40s, he gradually received...
less
