View source for Hugo Riesenfeld

{{Short description|Austrian-American composer}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Hugo Riesenfeld
| image              = Hugo Riesenfeld - May 1920 EH.jpg
| caption            = Riesenfeld in 1920
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1879|1|26}}
| birth_place        = [[Vienna]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1939|9|10|1879|1|26}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles]], California, United States
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = film scoring
| occupation         = violinist, conductor, composer
| nationality        = American
| awards             = [[Academy Award|Oscar]] nominations for Musical Director and Best Music for ''[[Make a Wish (1937 film)|Make a Wish]]'' (1937)
| spouse             = Mabel Gertrude Dunning
| children           = [[Janet Alcoriza]]
| education          = [[Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde]]
}}
'''Hugo Riesenfeld''' (January 26, 1879 &ndash; September 10, 1939) was an Austrian-American composer. As a film director, he began to write his own orchestral compositions for [[silent film]]s in 1917, and co-created modern production techniques where film scoring serves an integral part of the action. Riesenfeld composed about 100 film scores in his career.

His most successful compositions were for [[Cecil B. DeMille]]'s ''[[Joan the Woman]]'' (1917), ''[[The Ten Commandments (1923 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'' (1923) and ''[[The King of Kings (1927 film)|The King of Kings]]'' (1927); [[D. W. Griffith]]'s ''[[Abraham Lincoln (1930 film)|Abraham Lincoln]]'' (1930); and the original scores to [[F. W. Murnau]]'s ''[[Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans]]'' (1927) and ''[[Tabu: A Story of the South Seas|Tabu]]'' (1931).

== Life and work ==
Born in Vienna, Riesenfeld's musical career began at the age of seven with a violin study at the Conservatory of the [[Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde]] in his city of birth, where he graduated at the age of 17 in piano, violin and composition degrees. He briefly played in the [[Vienna Philharmonic]]. By the end of the 19th century, he was playing with [[Arnold Schoenberg]], [[Arthur Bodanzky]], and [[Edward Falck]] in a local string quartet.

In 1907, Riesenfeld emigrated to New York City, where he worked until 1911 as concert-master for [[Oscar Hammerstein I|Oscar Hammerstein]]'s [[Manhattan Opera Company]]. He served three seasons as conductor of musical comedy companies for [[Klaw & Erlanger]], followed by a stint as concertmaster and conductor at the Century Opera. He did his first work in film when he conducted the accompaniment for [[Jesse L. Lasky]]'s production of ''[[Carmen (1915 Cecil B. DeMille film)|Carmen]]'' (1915).

[[Samuel Roxy Rothafel|Samuel Lionel Rothafel]]—later known as "Roxy" Rothafel—hired Riesenfeld in 1916 as conductor of, successively, the Rialto, the Rivoli, and the Criterion theatres until 1925, introducing the practice of long-run resident film musicians. These cinemas were among the first where runs of longer than a week became commonplace. In 1923, an article about Riesenfeld stated, "occasionally ten weeks the same piece with undiminished force – so knows he his audience" in a New York City article wrote the Viennese magazines about Riesenfeld. "He says, know the audience and know what you must show him, ever the secret of success at the theater and cinema." [...] "just customize and know what's there and what 'draws'."

==Phonofilm and Red Seal Pictures==
On 15 April 1923, with inventor [[Lee de Forest]], Riesenfeld co-presented a show at the Rivoli Theater in New York City of 18 short films made in the [[Phonofilm]] sound-on-film process.

In 1923, Riesenfeld formed The Red Seal Pictures Corporation, partnered with Edwin Miles Fadiman, Dr. Lee deForest, and Max Fleischer to distribute American and foreign films through their chain of 36 theaters that extended as far as [[Cleveland, Ohio]]. In May 1926, [[Max Fleischer]] began producing a series of sound versions of their popular "Bouncing Ball" [[Song CarTunes]], using the Lee de Forest [[Phonofilm]] sound-on-film process. Red Seal Pictures Corporation filed for bankruptcy in late 1926; shortly afterward, the DeForest Phonofilm Corporation filed for bankruptcy in September 1927.

==Movie theaters and live orchestras==
Most large movie theaters in the U.S. had their own orchestras for silent film accompaniment, with smaller theaters having just a theatre organ, photoplayer or piano. The musicians often relied on an already existing repertoire of opera and excerpts from other compositions. Riesenfeld began as one of the first to write original compositions for films. As an example, the "Brother's Theme" was a mainstay of the 1926 release of ''[[Beau Geste (1926 film)|Beau Geste]]'' (published by Robbins-Engel Inc.).

Next to [[Albert William Ketèlbey]] and [[Ernö Rapée]], Riesenfeld was a pioneer of modern, high-quality production of music. He also co-founded the cinema library music—topical collections of music for silent film orchestra and musicians also. "Mr. Riesenfeld puts much emphasis on the music in the movies", in an article about Riesenfeld and film music. "Orchestra with organ varies in its two large theatres. His organist gets $250 a week, 70 orchestra musicians are well-paid because the lowest wage is 70 dollars a week. [...] Of course, the business costs in America are quite different than ours. Mr. Riesenfeld explains that he must have a dose of 50,000 dollars per week to reach its expenses and to this purpose otherwise it zahle weekly 120,000 spectators as he. [...] News always appear in the first week in its theatres. [...] "Mr. Riesenfeld paid up to 6000 dollars a week for the presentation rights for a good movie."

When he wrote the music for the [[Western (genre)|Western]] movie ''[[The Covered Wagon]]'' (1923), Riesenfeld was one of the most frequently employed [[film composer]]s in Hollywood. From 1928 to 1930, he was General Music Director of [[United Artists]]. After that time, Riesenfeld worked mostly for independent productions.

Away from the film industry, he was orchestra conductor of the [[Los Angeles Philharmonic|Los Angeles Symphony]] and as a composer in the classical sector. He composed the ballet ''Chopin's Dances'' (1905), the comic opera ''Merry Martyr'' (1913), the musical ''Betty Be Good'' (1921), ''Children's Suite'' (1928) and overtures, orchestral music, and songs.

== Illness and death ==
Riesenfeld died in 1939 in Los Angeles after a severe illness. His daughter Janet starred in some Mexican movies as a dancer and actress under the pseudonym Raquel Rojas and Janet Alcorzia and later became a [[screenwriter]].

== Filmography ==

A selection of film compositions, unless otherwise noted:

* 1915: ''[[Carmen (1915 Raoul Walsh film)|Carmen]]'' (as conductor) directed by [[Raoul Walsh]]
* 1917: ''[[Joan the Woman]]'' directed by [[Cecil B. DeMille]]
* 1918: ''A Christmas Fantasy'' (producer, director) short film
* 1919: ''[[Sahara (1919 film)|Sahara]]'' directed by [[Arthur Rosson]]
* 1920: ''[[Humoresque (1920 film)|Humoresque]]'' directed by [[Frank Borzage]]
* 1921: ''[[La Tosca]]'' (new composition) directed by [[Edward José]]
* 1921: ''[[Reputation (1921 film)|Reputation]]'' directed by [[Stuart Paton]]
* 1923: ''[[The Ten Commandments (1923 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'' directed by Cecil B. DeMille
* 1923: ''[[The Covered Wagon]]'' directed by [[James Cruze]]
* 1923: ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' directed by [[Wallace Worsley]]
* 1925: ''[[Beggar on Horseback]]'' directed by James Cruze
* 1925: ''[[The Wanderer (1925 film)|The Wanderer]]'' directed by Raoul Walsh
* 1926: ''[[The Volga Boatman (1926 film)|The Volga Boatman]]'' directed by Cecil B. DeMille
* 1926: ''[[Old Ironsides (film)|Old Ironsides]]'' directed by James Cruze
* 1926: ''[[Beau Geste (1926 film)|Beau Geste]]'' directed by [[Herbert Brenon]]
* 1926: ''[[The Sorrows of Satan (film)|The Sorrows of Satan]]'' directed by [[D. W. Griffith]]
* 1927: ''[[Chang (film)|Chang]]'' directed by [[Merian C. Cooper]] and [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]]
* 1927: ''[[Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans]]'' directed by [[F. W. Murnau]]
* 1927: ''[[The Cat and the Canary (1927 film)|The Cat and the Canary]]'' directed by [[Paul Leni]]
* 1927: ''[[The King of Kings (1927 film)|The King of Kings]]'' directed by Cecil B. DeMille
* 1927: ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927 film)|Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' directed Harry A. Polard
* 1927: ''[[Old San Francisco]]'' directed by [[Alan Crosland]]
* 1928: ''[[The Battle of the Sexes (1928 film)|The Battle of the Sexes]]'' directed by D. W. Griffith)
* 1928: ''[[The Cavalier (film)|The Cavalier]]'' directed by [[Irvin Willat]]
* 1928: ''[[The Awakening (1928 film)|The Awakening]]'' directed by [[Victor Fleming]]
* 1928: ''[[Two Lovers (1928 film)|Two Lovers]]'' directed by [[Fred Niblo]]
* 1928: ''[[Looping the Loop]]'' directed by [[Arthur Robison]]
* 1929: ''[[Lucky Boy (1929 film)|Lucky Boy]]'' directed by [[Norman Taurog]] and [[Charles C. Wilson (actor)|Charles C. Wilson]]
* 1929: ''[[Condemned (1929 film)|Condemned]]'' directed by [[Wesley Ruggles]]
* 1929: ''[[Bulldog Drummond (1929 film)|Bulldog Drummond]]'' directed by [[F. Richard Jones]]
* 1929: ''[[The Iron Mask]]'' directed by [[Allan Dwan]]
* 1929: ''[[Eternal Love (1929 film)|Eternal Love]]'' directed by [[Ernst Lubitsch]]
* 1929: ''[[Coquette (film)|Coquette]]'' directed by [[Sam Taylor (director)|Sam Taylor]]
* 1930: ''[[Abraham Lincoln (1930 film)|Abraham Lincoln]]'' directed by D. W. Griffith
* 1930: ''[[Hell's Angels (film)|Hell's Angels]]'' (Höllenflieger) directed by [[Howard Hughes]]
* 1931: ''[[Tabu (1931 film)|Tabu]]'' directed by F. W. Murnau
* 1932: ''[[White Zombie (film)|White Zombie]]'' directed by [[Victor Halperin]]
* 1933: ''[[The Wandering Jew (1933 film)|The Wandering Jew]]'' directed by [[Maurice Elvey]]
* 1934: ''[[The President Vanishes (film)|The President Vanishes]]'' directed by [[William Wellman]]
* 1934: ''[[Little Men (1934 film)|Little Men]]'' directed by [[Phil Rosen]]
* 1935: ''[[The Phantom Empire]]'' (serial) directed by [[Otto Brower]] and [[B. Reeves Eason]]
* 1935: ''[[Hard Rock Harrigan]]'' (music arranger) directed by [[David Howard (director)|David Howard]]
* 1936: ''[[Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island]]'' (serial) directed by [[Ray Taylor (director)|Ray Taylor]] and [[Mack V. Wright]]
* 1936: ''[[Daniel Boone (1936 film)|Daniel Boone]]'' (stock music) directed by David Howard
* 1937: ''[[The Painted Stallion]]'' (serial) directed by [[Alan James]], Ray Taylor, and [[William Witney]]
* 1937: ''[[Make a Wish (1937 film)|Make a Wish]]'' (music department) directed by [[Kurt Neumann (director)|Kurt Neumann]]
* 1938: ''[[Tarzan's Revenge]]'' directed by [[D. Ross Lederman]]
* 1938: ''[[Wide Open Faces]]'' directed by Kurt Neumann

Posthumous works:
* 1940: ''[[The Return of Frank James]]'' (stock music) directed by [[Fritz Lang]]
* 2003: ''The Making of 'The Last Man''' (short documentary) directed by Luciano Berriatúa

Awards:
* 1938: Oscar nomination for best score for ''Make a Wish''

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Hugo Riesenfeld}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0006252|name=Hugo Riesenfeld}}
* {{Find a Grave|8726345}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riesenfeld, Hugo}}
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1939 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Austrian male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century classical composers]]
[[Category:20th-century American composers]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian composers]]
[[Category:Austrian film score composers]]
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[[Category:American male film score composers]]
[[Category:20th-century American conductors (music)]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Male conductors (music)]]
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[[Category:Players of the Vienna Philharmonic]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States]]
[[Category:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Austrian Jews]]
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