Like the rest of the world, we at
HillTop Records were sad to hear that American music recently lost one of its greatest composers:
Marvin Hamlisch, whose contributions to sound and screen were unmatched and uncountable, passed away earlier this week. He leaves behind an incredible legacy--one that includes over forty motion picture scores, three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony, three Golden Globes, and even a Pulitzer Prize.
At the time of his death, Hamlisch held the position of Principal Pops Conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony and Pops, Seattle Symphony, and San Diego Symphony. In these and other cities all across the country, musicians and fans mourn the loss of an incomparable and irreplaceable talent.
Marvin Hamlisch first entered the public arena in 1973, when his compositions for
The Sting and
The Way We Were connected to American movie-goers in a way that instrumental music had not done before. However, the composer seemed destined for stardom long before then: Born in 1944 in New York City, young Marvin quickly learned from his father (who was an accordionist and bandleader.) He was dubbed a child prodigy when, at age five, he could perfectly mimic songs he heard on the radio on the piano. Of his own childhood, Hamlisch was quoted as saying:
"I started studying music at the age of five and a half. My older sister was taking piano lessons. When her teacher left our apartment, I would get up on the piano bench and start picking out the notes that were part of my sister's lessons."
Just shy of his seventh birthday, the boy was accepted into the Juilliard School's prestigious Pre-College Division. He was the youngest student to ever be admitted to the school--and years later, his very first job was as a rehearsal pianist for
Barbra Streisand's
Funny Girl.
Right away, colleagues recognized Hamlisch's rare talent. He was hired by
Sam Spiegel to play piano at the film producer's private parties, and that serendipitous gig opened many doors. Most notably, it led to Hamlisch being asked to write the musical score for
The Swimmer (1968); he was 24, and it was his first film score. Other famous films for which Hamlisch wrote the score include
Sophie's Choice,
Ordinary People,
Three Men And A Baby and, even more recently,
The Informant! (2009) directed by
Steven Soderbergh. Many great American films owe at least a fraction of their success to Marvin Hamlisch.
The incredible composer has proven himself on the stage as well. He wrote the score for the 1975 Broadway musical,
A Chorus Line. That is how he earned his Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize. In 1978, Hamlisch collaborated with
Neil Simon and
Carole Bayer Sager when he wrote the music for
They're Playing Our Song, a musical whose plot was loosely based on his romantic relationship with the lyricist. In the early '80's, Hamlisch and Bayer Sager broke up (and, in 1989, he married TV personality and producer Terre Blair) but managed to continue their professional relationship. Most of the duo's work, however, drew mixed reviews. Hamlisch also worked with Simon more than once; in fact, he received a a Drama Desk nomination for his musical adaptation of
The Goodbye Girl (1993.)
In 2007, Hamlisch was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame and at the 2009 Ghent Film Festival, he was honored with the World Soundtrack Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award. It is easy to chronicle the career of Marvin Hamlisch in terms of awards, of which there are many. However, the songwriter's legacy extends far beyond statues and plaques. The multi-talented composer was just as valued for his work as a conductor, and he was the Musical Director and arranger for Barbra Streisand's 1994 U.S. concert tour. He even wrote the score for the songstress' much-watched television special, "Barbra Streisand: The Concert."
In the last part of his life, Marvin Hamlisch devoted much of his time to the symphony. An especially beloved classical symphonic suite by Hamlisch is
Anatomy of Peace, adapted from the book by
Emery Reves. The piece expresses through music the world federalist sentiments shared by
Albert Einstein and many other intellectuals in the years immediately following World War II. The rare foray into political statement was quite successful for Hamlisch. It was performed in 1991 and recorded in '92 by the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and also performed in Paris in '94 to commemorate D-Day. From groundbreaking, emotional works like this to random (and most often comedic) television appearances, Hamlisch continued to remain in the public eye right until his passing.
While maintaining his position as Principal Pops Conductor, Hamlisch also continued to write music and crusade for keeping music education in schools. A famous quote of his states that “There have been studies that clearly state that children who are exposed to arts education at a young age will in fact do markedly better in their SAT tests.” And Marvin Hamlisch did not only value his younger audiences; his work as a conductor displayed a rare talent for thrilling audiences without pandering to the musicians.
It is unlikely that we will ever see a composer and conductor like Marvin Hamlisch again. To show just how unique and varied his musical talents were, we leave you with Billboard's list--"Marvin Hamlisch's Top 10 Hot 100 Hits As A Songwriter":
1. "The Way We Were," Barbra Streisand (No. 1, three weeks), 1974
2. "Nobody Does It Better," Carly Simon (No. 2), 1977
3. "I Finally Found Someone," Barbra Streisand & Bryan Adams (No. 8), 1996
4. "The Way We Were/Try to Remember," Gladys Knight & the Pips (No. 11), 1975
5. "California Nights," Lesley Gore (No. 16), 1967
6. "Ex-Factor," Lauryn Hill (No. 21), 1999
7. "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows," Lesley Gore (No. 13), 1965
8. "Theme from Ice Castles (Through the Eyes of Love)," Melissa Manchester (No. 76), 1979
9. "What I Did for Love," Glee Cast (No. 51), 2010
10. "Break It to Me Gently," Aretha Franklin (No. 85), 1977
(Note: Hamlisch did not write his first break-out hit--a now-famous version of "The Entertainer," originally composed by Scott Joplin in 1902--so it did not make the list. If the instrumental had been eligible, it would have ranked third.)
