Biography
Originally a painter, Leonard Rosenman switched his area of interest to music after serving in World War II. Rosenman studied in his native New York and in Europe with Arnold Schoenberg, Roger Sessions, and Dallipicolla. It was avant-gardeist Schoenberg who had the most influence on Rosenman's orchestral, operatic, and chamber compositions. Rosenman's work as a film composer and arranger is along more traditional lines, and thus has been dismissed by some music critics as "insignificant." The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences would certainly disagree with that assessment, having bestowed Academy Awards on Rosenman for the adapted scores of
Barry Lyndon (1975) and
Bound for Glory (1976), and having honored him with Oscar nominations for his work on
Cross Creek (1980) and Star Trek IV: The Long Voyage Home (1984). A prolific television composer, Leonard Rosenman has written incidental music for such series as
The Defenders,
The Twilight Zone, Gibbsville and Marcus Welby MD, and has won Emmies for the background scores of the made-for-TV movies
Sybil (1976) and
Friendly Fire (1979). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide