It’s
been a month of movie music in Clef Notes. Let’s focus our attention this week
on a few pillars in film score history. We’ll talk about Ennio Morricone later
in the week and today, it’s Henry Mancini (1924–1994).
Did
you know that Henry Mancini was from Cleveland, Ohio? He was first introduced
to music in his youth, playing the flute. Following WWII, he joined the Glenn
Miller-Tex Beneke Orchestra as a pianist and arranger. He got his start at
Universal in 1952 with a short assignment for an Abbott and Costello film. He
ended up sticking around for several years after that, working in their music
department. Over the course of his career, he won 4 Oscars, 20 Grammys, and
other awards, and produced an impressive discography. Perhaps you’ve seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), The Pink Panther (1963), or Peter Gunn (1958–1961)? These are just a
few examples from the extensive list of cinematic projects he contributed to
throughout his lifetime.
What’s
your favorite Mancini score?
