Conductor Leonard Slatkin shares his early memories of growing up on the soundstages of Hollywood…
A black sedan pulls up to the security gate at the Fox Studio Lot. I lean out the window and give the guard my name. He instructs me to head to the Alfred Newman Scoring Stage. It’s 12 June 2024, and I am about to experience déjà vu in real time…
Leonard Slatkin: early days with Alfred Newman at 20th Century Fox…
More than 70 years have passed since I first set foot on the hallowed soundstage where so many musical memories were made. My father, Felix Slatkin, was lead violin of the 20th Century Fox Studio Orchestra from the late 1930s until the early ’50s. Alfred Newman was head of the music department, responsible for composing and conducting most of the films during that golden era. I will never forget my very first LP – the soundtrack to the biblical epic The Robe, one in a series of guaranteed box-office bonanzas. What a fantastic score by Alfred, who kindly autographed a copy of the album for me.
Meeting Marilyn Monroe and Bernard Herrmann
Dad would take me to recording sessions in what is still the world’s most extraordinary recording facility. There, at age eight, I met Marilyn Monroe while she was shooting How to Marry a Millionaire in 1953. On another occasion two years earlier, I witnessed the recording of Bernard Herrmann’s inventive score to The Day the Earth Stood Still. During that session, my father was the first to use an electric violin in a film. I remember him playing the instrument in one room and hearing the sound emerge in an adjacent studio.
Max Steiner, Franz Waxman and Carl Stalling at Warner Brothers
Meanwhile, out in the Valley, my mother Eleanor Aller occupied the first chair of the cello section at Warner Brothers. She was the first woman to hold a titled position in the Hollywood studio system. When I wasn’t in school or at Fox – and I ditched classes often – I could be found on the Warners’ lot. That’s where I met composers Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Dimitri Tiomkin, and the head of the music department, Ray Heindorf, an outstanding conductor.
Whether the Fox or Warner Brothers orchestra was better is a toss-up, but each had its own distinct personality. Add to the mix the glorious musicals from MGM, and one could not find better musicianship anywhere.
I should mention another important composer at Warner Brothers, Carl Stalling, who created the incredible world of cartoon music. John Williams once told me that this was the only kind of film for which he felt ill-equipped to compose, as it was so difficult. Mom confirmed that it was equally hard to play. Remember that piano glissando in the opening music of every Looney Tunes episode? Well, that was performed by my uncle, Victor Aller, a studio staff pianist.
Leonard Slatkin: meeting Korngold, a Hollywood legend
One of the greats whom I did not meet was Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the Austrian émigré who changed the world of film scoring with sagas like The Sea Hawk and The Adventures of Robin Hood. For his score to the 1946 film Deception, he also created a showcase piece for my mother. Although she doesn’t appear onscreen, she dazzled audiences with her mastery of Korngold’s newly created Cello Concerto, which figures prominently in the film.
I was told a marvellous story about a time when both Korngold and Steiner were walking together on the Warners’ lot. Apparently, they were not the best of friends. Steiner reportedly asked Korngold, ‘So, tell me, Erich, how come my music is getting better and yours is getting worse?’ Korngold’s classic response: ‘It is simple, Max. You are stealing from me, and I am stealing from you.’
Leonard Slatkin: my heartthrob Doris Day… and the soundtrack to Jaws
Of all the thrills I experienced in the Hollywood studios, none compares to the time I met my heartthrob, Doris Day, in 1953. She was filming Calamity Jane, and when she sang ‘Secret Love’, I was sure it was about me. To this day, I keep an autographed photo of her in my office.
My father left the film industry prior to the collapse of the studio system to concentrate on conducting, but my mother kept at it until 1975. The last score she recorded was for Jaws. As John Williams says, ‘Leonard’s mother has been scaring people ever since,’ to which I always reply, ‘She was scaring people long before that’.
Beyond the soundstage, my parents were part of the larger cultural picture in Los Angeles. In 1939, my father, along with my mother and two other studio musicians, founded the Hollywood String Quartet. This group became respected in the industry, garnering accolades for their recordings and concert appearances alike. They disbanded in 1961, following an Australian tour. Their longstanding record company, Capitol Records, had been acquired by the London-based EMI, which already had the Amadeus Quartet on its roster and did not need another chamber group. By that time, my father was busy as not only a violinist and conductor but also a record producer and arranger.
‘Uncle’ Frank Sinatra would sing me to sleep
Meanwhile, a third component made up my parents’ musical lives: the flourishing pop music industry, particularly at Capitol, which boasted a lineup that included Nat King Cole, George Shearing, Nancy Wilson and Frank Sinatra. My parents enjoyed relationships with outstanding artists in virtually every musical genre.
Sinatra – Uncle Frank – would drop by the house to discuss an upcoming recording project and, after dinner, would take my brother and me upstairs and sing us to sleep. Sadly, we did not have cassette recorders in those days.
My father died suddenly of a heart attack in 1963, at the age of 47. Mom took her time getting back to music-making, but when she did return, many of the composers in the studios went out of their way to write important solos for her – Alex North in the score for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, André Previn for the film Dead Ringer, and Jerry Goldsmith in many of his scores.
The Statkins… a Hollywood legacy continues
When the last session for Jaws wrapped, Mom called me. I was the associate conductor of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra at the time. ‘Len, I wanted you to know that I have played for the last time and am retiring,’ she said. ‘Why?’ I asked. ‘You’re not even 60 and sound fantastic.’ ‘Because,’ she replied, ‘I never want anyone to say, “I knew Eleanor Slatkin when she played well”.’ It was as simple – or complicated – as that. She stayed true to her word, devoting her time to coaching musicians, no matter if they were instrumentalists, singers or conductors. She passed away in 1995 at the age of 78.
My brother, Fred, served as the principal cellist of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Like our father, he suffered unexpected heart failure and died in 2022. He was 75. But the Slatkin family circle continues. Another person accompanied me in the black sedan that pulled up to the Fox lot: my son, Daniel Slatkin. He is a composer for film and television, and has also been writing concert music, which I am proud to perform. On that day in June, the third generation of Slatkins stepped onto the Newman stage. I am sure that some day soon, Daniel will be leading the orchestra, understanding the legacy that he inherits.
Leonard Slatkin joined the LA Film Orchestra at the Newman Scoring Stage to record ‘Pictures at an Exhibition: The Paintings of Bob Peak’, a new work by 10 leading film composers inspired by the father of the modern film poster. The second volume of Slatkin’s study guide for conductors is published this autumn by Rowman & Littlefield.
From royalty to Westerns – Leonard Slatkin’s soundtrack picks
I would need a whole book to write about my favourite soundtracks. Here are five that I think anyone who loves the movies would enjoy…
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Korngold was probably the composer who shaped the movie music scene the most, having scored 16 films for Warner Brothers. This epic starring Errol Flynn and Bette Davis often gets lost in the mix, but it contains the seeds of what would become his Symphony in F sharp and the Cello Concerto. My mother, in her first year as principal cellist, is heard in the solo work at several points in the film.
How Green Was My Valley (1941) Alfred Newman
In just his second year as music director at Fox, Newman wrote one of the most iconic scores in the history of cinema. Lyrical, dramatic and filled with Welsh tunes, it contains one brilliant cue after another, capturing every nuance of the film. My father, also in his second season with the studio, plays the violin solos.
The Magnificent Seven (1960) Elmer Bernstein
Setting the standard for the action-adventure saga, especially the Western, Bernstein was considered a major influence on virtually every film composer who followed. This epic has it all: a memorable theme, marvellous set pieces and perfect underscoring. My father served in the armed forces with Bernstein.
More soundtrack picks from Leonard Slatkin…
Capricorn One (1978) Jerry Goldsmith
Choosing just one of Jerry’s scores is no mean feat, as his compositional variety is probably greater than that of any other film composer. This movie haunted me when I first saw it; I remember staying in the theater to watch it a second time, if only to figure out the rhythmic pattern of the dramatic theme music. It is in 13 beats, by the way. Jerry was a dear family friend.
The Fury (1978) John Williams
This well-received film flies under the radar in the context of John’s total output, but it ticks all the boxes. With his use of the theremin, he enters Bernard Herrmann territory; however, as usual, John’s voice shines throughout, especially in the memorable scene on the carousel. My family knew John in his early years, when he was credited as Johnny Williams.