Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911 – December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor most famous for creating music for films. As a conductor, he supported the work of composers who were not well known at the time. He is widely considered one of the greatest film composers in history. Alex Ross wrote that "Over four decades, he changed movie scoring by moving away from the musical styles that were common in Hollywood during the 1930s and instead used his own unique ways of using music's sounds and beats."

As a young man, Herrmann was the main conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra. This role led him to become the composer for Orson Welles's radio show, The Mercury Theater on the Air. This connection helped him write his first film score for Welles's movie Citizen Kane (1941). In 1941, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the film The Devil and Daniel Webster. He later worked with Welles on The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) and Jane Eyre (1943). He is best known for his work with director Alfred Hitchcock, with whom he created music for nine films, including The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) (where he appeared briefly as a conductor at Royal Albert Hall), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963) (where he served as "sound consultant"), and Marnie (1964).

Other films he composed include Anna and the King of Siam (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Cape Fear (1962), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), and Twisted Nerve (1968). He also wrote music for fantasy films by Ray Harryhausen and for television shows such as Have Gun – Will Travel and The Twilight Zone. Later in his career, Herrmann composed music for films inspired by Hitchcock, including The Bride Wore Black (1968) by François Truffaut and Sisters (1972) and Obsession (1976) by Brian De Palma. His final score, created shortly before his death, was for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976).

Early life and career

Herrmann was born in New York City as Maximillian Herman, the son of a Jewish middle-class family from Russia. His parents were Ida (née Gorenstein) and Abram Dardik, who was from Ukraine and had changed the family name. Herrmann attended DeWitt Clinton High School, an all-boys public school located on 10th Avenue and 59th Street in New York City. His father supported his interest in music, taking him to the opera and encouraging him to learn the violin. At thirteen, he read Berlioz's Treatise on Instrumentation, which greatly influenced his future work. After winning a composition prize, he decided to focus on music and enrolled at New York University, where he studied with Percy Grainger and Philip James. Later, he attended the Juilliard School and, at age 20, founded the New Chamber Orchestra of New York. He became friends with Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. Throughout his life, Herrmann stressed the importance of orchestration, saying, "To orchestrate is like a thumbprint. People have a style. I don’t understand it, having someone orchestrate. It would be like someone putting color to your paintings."

Herrmann worked as an assistant to Johnny Green, host of Music in the Modern Manner. He composed incidental music for Keats's La Belle Dame Sans Merci and conducted rehearsals for musicians, including Benny Goodman. Within two years, he became the music director of the Columbia Workshop, an experimental radio drama series for which Herrmann composed or arranged music (one example was The Fall of the City). Within nine years, he became the chief conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra. He introduced more new works to American audiences than any other conductor and was a strong supporter of Charles Ives's music, which was not well known at the time. Herrmann's radio programs, such as Invitation to Music and Exploring Music, featured unusual selections of music, both old and new, that were rarely heard in public concerts. Examples included Music of Famous Amateurs, which included music by historical figures like Frederick the Great, Henry VIII, and writers such as John Milton, Samuel Pepys, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

During the 1940s, Herrmann's radio broadcasts included premieres of works by composers such as Myaskovsky, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Richard Arnell, Edmund Rubbra, and Charles Ives. He performed music by Hermann Goetz, Alexander Gretchaninov, Niels Gade, and Franz Liszt. He received many awards for his unique programming and support of lesser-known composers. In Dictators of the Baton, David Ewen wrote that Herrmann was "one of the most invigorating influences in the radio music of the past decade." Herrmann's own concert music was performed by famous conductors like Leopold Stokowski, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Thomas Beecham, and Eugene Ormandy. Barbirolli conducted the premiere of Herrmann's cantata Moby Dick, dedicated to Ives. Herrmann also composed music for The March of Time, Lights Out, and a radio adaptation of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

In 1934, Herrmann met Lucille Fletcher, a young CBS secretary and aspiring writer. She admired his work, and the two began a five-year relationship. Their marriage was delayed because of objections from Fletcher's parents, who were uncomfortable with Herrmann's Jewish heritage and his strong personality. The couple married on October 2, 1939, and had two daughters: Dorothy (born 1941) and Wendy (born 1945).

Fletcher became a well-known radio scriptwriter and collaborated with Herrmann on several projects throughout their careers. She helped write the libretto for his opera Wuthering Heights, based on Emily Brontë's novel. The couple divorced in 1948. The next year, Herrmann married Lucille's cousin, Lucy (Kathy Lucille) Anderson. That marriage lasted until 1964.

Collaborations with Orson Welles

While working at CBS, Herrmann met Orson Welles and created music for Welles's radio programs, The Mercury Theatre on the Air and The Campbell Playhouse. These shows adapted books and movies into radio plays. Herrmann also conducted live performances, including Welles's famous radio version of H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, which aired on October 30, 1938. This broadcast used only music that already existed.

When Welles signed a contract with RKO Pictures, Herrmann worked with him on films. Herrmann wrote the music for Citizen Kane (1941) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music in a Drama. A song from a fictional opera, Salammbô, which Kane's wife, Susan Alexander, performs, was also composed by Herrmann. Welles encouraged Herrmann to create a musical style that imitated real operas, writing in a telegram, "This is a chance for you to do something funny and clever." Herrmann used techniques he learned in radio, explaining that short musical cues—lasting only a few seconds—were important for storytelling in radio, unlike in films, where such cues are often ignored.

Herrmann used repeating musical themes, or leitmotifs, in Citizen Kane. He said, "I usually don’t like using repeating musical themes in films, but in this case, they were necessary because of the story." One theme, a simple four-note melody played by brass instruments, represented Kane's power. Another theme, played on the vibraphone, was linked to "Rosebud," a symbol in the film. This theme appeared repeatedly and helped viewers understand the meaning of "Rosebud."

Herrmann composed the music for Welles’s film The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), but RKO Pictures heavily edited his score. When more than half of his music was removed, Herrmann stopped working with the film and threatened legal action if his name remained in the credits. He also directed music for The Orson Welles Show (1941–1942), which included the debut of his wife’s suspense story, The Hitch-Hiker, and a program called Ceiling Unlimited (1942), which celebrated aviation during World War II. Welles later said, "Benny Herrmann was an important part of our team."

Between his work with Welles, Herrmann composed music for The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), for which he won his only Academy Award. He described using four violin tracks layered together and recording the sound of singing telephone wires at 4 a.m. for scenes featuring the devil, played by Walter Huston.

Herrmann used parts of his The Campbell Playhouse score for Rebecca in Robert Stevenson’s film Jane Eyre (1943), the third movie Welles starred in. Other notable scores from this time include Hangover Square (1945) and Anna and the King of Siam (1946). Herrmann especially liked his music for The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947).

Herrmann responded to Pauline Kael’s 1971 essay, “Raising Kane,” which questioned who wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane and downplayed Welles’s role. Herrmann reused music from Citizen Kane in a later work called Orson Welles Raises Kane.

Collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock

Herrmann worked closely with the director Alfred Hitchcock. He created music for nine Hitchcock films, starting with The Trouble with Harry (1955) and ending with Marnie (1964). Hitchcock wanted Herrmann to write the music for Rear Window (1954), but Herrmann was not available at that time. Instead, the film’s unique music was composed by Franz Waxman.

For The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Herrmann composed the score. However, two important pieces in the film—“Que Será, Será” and the Storm Clouds Cantata—were not written by Herrmann. He did, however, re-arrange the music for the Storm Clouds Cantata, which was originally composed by Arthur Benjamin for Hitchcock’s 1934 film. Herrmann also appeared in the film as the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra during a scene at the Royal Albert Hall. The score for The Wrong Man (1956) used a jazz style and focused heavily on the bass. The film’s main character, Emmanuel Balestrero (played by Henry Fonda), is a jazz bassist.

Herrmann’s most famous film music is from Psycho (1960). The score used only string instruments from the orchestra. Hitchcock admitted that the music played a key role in creating the film’s tense and ominous mood. David Thomson noted that Herrmann used parts of Beethoven’s Eroica in the score, and a recording of this piece can be seen in the bedroom of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Hitchcock originally wanted the famous shower scene to have no music, but Herrmann suggested adding it. After testing both versions, Hitchcock agreed that the music was essential. Herrmann later said he wrote the Psycho score using only strings to create a sound that matched the film’s black-and-white photography. He also noted that many people did not recognize the sound of a string orchestra, even though it is the same type used by composers like Mozart and Haydn.

Herrmann’s score for Vertigo (1958) is often considered his greatest work. In many key scenes, Hitchcock allowed Herrmann’s music to take center stage. The melodies in the score are similar to the “Liebestod” from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, and they strongly express the main character’s obsessive love for a woman. This connection highlights that Vertigo, like Tristan, is a story about love and death. Herrmann deeply regretted not being able to conduct the Vertigo score himself because of a labor strike in America. Instead, the music was conducted by Muir Mathieson in England and Austria. Herrmann always conducted his own compositions, and he considered Vertigo one of his best works, making the lack of personal involvement a disappointment.

Herrmann was credited as “sound consultant” for The Birds (1963). The film did not use a traditional musical score; instead, it used electronically created bird sounds.

In 1963, Herrmann began writing original music for the CBS-TV series The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, which was in its eighth season. Hitchcock acted as an advisor and host for the show, but Herrmann worked again with Norman Lloyd, a former Mercury Theatre actor and co-producer of the series. Herrmann composed music for 17 episodes (1963–1965), and much of his work for CBS was later reused for other programs.

In 1973, Herrmann said that, unlike most film composers, he required creative control over the music as a condition for accepting a scoring job. He explained that Hitchcock would adjust scenes based on how much music Herrmann wanted. For example, Hitchcock asked Herrmann to include music during the “recognition scene” near the end of Vertigo, and he insisted that no dialogue be spoken during that moment.

Herrmann’s relationship with Hitchcock ended abruptly when they disagreed over the score for Torn Curtain (1966). Hitchcock wanted a more jazz- and pop-influenced score, reportedly under pressure from Universal executives. Hitchcock’s biographer, Patrick McGilligan, said Hitchcock worried about being seen as outdated and believed Herrmann’s music needed to change with the times. Herrmann initially agreed but later decided to compose the film according to his own ideas. François Truffaut wrote that Herrmann’s style, inspired by composers like Wagner and Stravinsky, did not fit the industry’s preference for music that could be used in popular recordings. Truffaut also called Herrmann’s removal from the project a serious mistake, as his contributions to films like The Man Who Knew Too Much, North by Northwest, and Psycho had helped those films succeed.

Hitchcock listened to only the beginning of the Torn Curtain score and then confronted Herrmann about the pop-style music. Herrmann was upset and told Hitchcock, “You can’t outjump your own shadow. You don’t make pop pictures. What do you want with me? I don’t write pop music.” Hitchcock insisted Herrmann change the score, which went against Herrmann’s usual creative control. Herrmann then said, “Hitch, what’s the use of my doing more with you? I had a career before you, and I will afterwards.” The score was rejected and replaced with one by John Addison.

Hitchcock may have tried to reconcile with Herrmann and asked him to score Topaz (1969). However, Herrmann had already felt wronged and was unlikely to accept unless Hitchcock made a special effort. According to reports, Hitchcock did ask Herrmann to score his final film, Family Plot, shortly before Herrmann’s death.

In 2009, Norma Herrmann, Herrmann’s wife, began auctioning his personal collection on Bonhams.com. After their relationship ended, Herrmann had given Hitchcock a copy of his classical work. In return, Hitchcock gave Herrmann a copy of his 1967 interview book with Truffaut, which he signed with the words, “To Benny with my fondest wishes, Hitch.”

Later life and death

From the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, Herrmann composed music for several science fiction and fantasy films, including Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) and the Ray Harryhausen Dynamation films The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Mysterious Island (1961), and Jason and the Argonauts (1963).

Herrmann began writing for television shows, including Have Gun – Will Travel and Twilight Zone. He created the theme music used during the first season of Twilight Zone and composed music for episodes such as “Where Is Everybody?”, “Walking Distance”, “The Lonely”, “Eye of the Beholder”, and “Little Girl Lost”.

In the mid-1960s, Herrmann composed the well-received music for François Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451. The score used strings, two harps, a vibraphone, xylophone, and glockenspiel to create a tense, nervous mood similar to Herrmann’s earlier work for Alfred Hitchcock. He also composed music for Truffaut’s film The Bride Wore Black (1968), which was inspired by Hitchcock’s style.

By 1967, Herrmann worked mostly in England. In November 1967, the 56-year-old composer married 27-year-old journalist Norma Shepherd, his third wife. In August 1971, the Herrmanns moved to London, where they lived permanently.

Herrmann composed music for Brian De Palma’s films Sisters (1972) and Obsession (1976), which shared themes with his earlier works Psycho and Vertigo. De Palma asked Herrmann to score Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976). Herrmann agreed after seeing a scene in which the character Travis Bickle pours schnapps on his cereal. Thomas Hobbs described the music as “smoky, airborne jazz notes that make you imagine pollution rising from Manhattan’s sewers.” This was Herrmann’s first extended use of jazz in a film score, similar to his earlier work on The Wrong Man. After finishing the Taxi Driver score on December 23, 1975, Herrmann watched an early version of his next film, God Told Me To by Larry Cohen, and had dinner with Cohen. He returned to his hotel and died suddenly from a heart attack the next day.

Scorsese and Cohen honored Herrmann by dedicating their films to him. Herrmann was buried in Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York.

Other works

In addition to his film scores, Herrmann composed several concert works, including his Symphony, completed in 1941; the opera Wuthering Heights; the cantata Moby Dick (1938), which was dedicated to Charles Ives; and For the Fallen, a tribute to soldiers who died in battles during World War II. He recorded these compositions, along with others, for the Unicorn label during his time in London. A piece written later in his life, Souvenir de Voyages, demonstrated his skill in creating music that does not tell a specific story or depict a scene.

Compositional style and philosophy

Herrmann's music is known for using short, repeating patterns, creative use of instruments, and in his movie scores, showing character traits that are not obvious from other parts of the film.

Early in his life, Herrmann chose to follow a strong belief in honesty and artistic freedom, even if it made him unpopular. He believed strongly in being a true artist. He once said a quote from Tolstoy: "Eagles fly alone, and sparrows fly in flocks." Because of this, Herrmann only composed music for films when he had the freedom to create without interference from the director. This led to a disagreement with Hitchcock after many years of working together on films.

Herrmann believed that music for films should not be limited by the usual instruments used in concert halls. Instead, he used unusual instruments for specific effects. For example, he used nine harps in Beneath the 12-Mile Reef to create a sound like the ocean. In Citizen Kane, he used four alto flutes to make the opening feel strange. He also used a rare instrument called the serpent in White Witch Doctor.

Herrmann believed that the best film music could be played on its own, even without the film. To support this, he recorded many of his film scores and the works of other composers for Decca Records.

Herrmann worked with unusual musical techniques in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), a film directed by Robert Wise. At that time, electronic sounds were new, but Herrmann used electric violin, electric bass, theremins, four pianos, four harps, and a large group of brass instruments. He once joked that the only thing missing was an electric hot water bottle, which a colleague provided.

Herrmann began using electronic instruments in 1951 with the theremin in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Robert B. Sexton noted that the score included treble and bass theremins, electric strings, bass, prepared piano, guitar, and other instruments like electronic organs, brass, and percussion. Herrmann treated the theremins as part of the orchestra.

Herrmann helped design the sound for The Birds, where an electronic instrument called the mixturtrautonium was used. Oskar Sala played this instrument on the film's soundtrack. In his score for It's Alive, Herrmann used several electronic instruments. He also used the Moog synthesizer for the main themes in Endless Night and Sisters.

Recording

Bernard Herrmann was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the music of Charles Ives. He met Ives in the early 1930s, performed many of his works while leading the CBS Symphony Orchestra, and conducted Ives' Second Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra during his first visit to London in 1956. Herrmann later recorded the symphony in 1972. This reunion with the London Symphony Orchestra, after more than a decade, was important to him for several reasons. He had long wanted to record his own version of the symphony, believing that Leonard Bernstein's 1951 recording was "too loud and incorrect." On a personal level, it helped ease Herrmann's feeling that he had been ignored by the orchestra after his first visit in 1956. Herrmann, who was known for being difficult to work with, was also upset about the recent appointment of the London Symphony Orchestra's new conductor, André Previn, whom Herrmann disliked and called "that jazz boy."

Herrmann was also a strong supporter of the romantic-era composer Joachim Raff, whose music had nearly been forgotten by the 1960s. In the 1940s, Herrmann played Raff's 3rd and 5th Symphonies on his CBS radio broadcasts. In May 1970, Herrmann conducted the world premiere recording of Raff's Fifth Symphony, Lenore, for the Unicorn label. He mostly paid for this recording himself. At the time, the recording did not receive much attention, even though it received good reviews. Today, it is seen as an important step in helping people rediscover Raff's music.

Herrmann's film music is well represented on recordings. His friend, John Steven Lasher, created several albums featuring Urtext recordings, which are original versions of the music. These albums include works from films like Battle of Neretva, Citizen Kane, The Kentuckian, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Night Digger, and Sisters, released under labels owned by Fifth Continent Australia Pty Ltd.

In 1996, Sony Classical released The Film Scores, a recording of Herrmann's music performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen. This recording won the 1998 Cannes Classical Music Award for Best 20th-Century Orchestral Recording and was nominated for the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical.

Decca reissued on CD a series of Phase 4 Stereo recordings featuring Herrmann conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. These recordings included music from his film scores, such as pieces from Hitchcock films like Psycho, Marnie, and Vertigo. In the liner notes of the Hitchcock Phase 4 album, Herrmann said that the suite from The Trouble with Harry was a "portrait of Hitch." Another album focused on Herrmann's fantasy film scores, including music from films by special effects animator Ray Harryhausen, such as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and The Three Worlds of Gulliver. Other Phase 4 Stereo recordings from the 1970s included Music from the Great Film Classics (pieces from Jane Eyre, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Citizen Kane, and The Devil and Daniel Webster) and The Fantasy World of Bernard Herrmann (music from Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Fahrenheit 451).

In 1974, Charles Gerhardt conducted a recording titled The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann with the National Philharmonic Orchestra. This included suites from Citizen Kane (with Kiri Te Kanawa singing Salammbô's Aria) and White Witch Doctor, along with music from On Dangerous Ground, Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, and the Hangover Square piano concerto.

Between 1966 and 1975, Herrmann recorded several LPs of other composers' music for various labels. These included Phase 4 Stereo recordings of Gustav Holst's The Planets and Charles Ives's 2nd Symphony, as well as an album titled The Impressionists (music by Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, and Honegger) and another titled The Four Faces of Jazz (works by Weill, Gershwin, Stravinsky, and Milhaud). Herrmann also recorded his own film music in Phase 4 Stereo and made LPs of movie scores by others, such as Great Shakespearean Films (music by Shostakovich for Hamlet, Walton for Richard III, and Rózsa for Julius Caesar) and Great British Film Music (scores by Lambert, Bax, Benjamin, Walton, Vaughan Williams, and Bliss).

For Unicorn Records, Herrmann recorded several of his own concert-hall works, including the cantata Moby Dick, his opera Wuthering Heights, his sym

Accolades

These awards and nominations are listed by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences:

• 1941: Winner, Best Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, The Devil and Daniel Webster (later renamed All That Money Can Buy)
• 1941: Nominee, Music Score of a Dramatic Motion Picture, Citizen Kane
• 1946: Nominee, Best Score of a Dramatic Picture, Anna and the King of Siam
• 1976: Nominee, Original Score, Obsession
• 1976: Nominee, Original Score, Taxi Driver

In 2005, the American Film Institute ranked Herrmann's scores for Psycho and Vertigo as No. 4 and No. 12 on its list of the 25 greatest film scores. His scores for these films were also considered for the list:

• Citizen Kane (1941)
• The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
• Jane Eyre (1944)
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Taxi Driver (1976)

• 1976: Winner, British Academy Film Award, Best Film Music, Taxi Driver

In popular culture

• Bernard Herrmann's music and character were included in the radio play "The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock" by David Rudkin, produced by BBC Radio in 1993.
• The song "Marnie" was created using the theme from the film Marnie and appeared on Michael Poss's 2000 album Silver Screen Serenades.
• The song "The Whistle Song" from the film Twisted Nerve was used as the opening theme for the movie Kill Bill: Volume 1 by Quentin Tarantino.
• A portion of Herrmann's score for The Trouble with Harry was used in a 2010 U.S. television commercial for the Volkswagen CC.
• Music from the Vertigo soundtrack was used in a BBC Four documentary titled Spitfire Women, which aired in the UK in September 2010.
• A 2011 television commercial titled "Snowpocalypse" for Dodge all-wheel drive vehicles used Herrmann's main title theme from Cape Fear.
• The song "Gimme Some More" by Busta Rhymes includes a sample from Herrmann's score for Psycho.
• The prologue of Lady Gaga's 2011 music video for "Born This Way" features Herrmann's prelude from Vertigo.
• The 2011 television series American Horror Story used music from Twisted Nerve, Psycho, and Vertigo in its episode scores.
• The 2011 film The Artist included a recording of the love theme from Vertigo. Later, actress Kim Novak expressed concern about the use of the music, stating that her work "had been violated by The Artist."
• Paul Schackman played the role of Herrmann in the 2012 film Hitchcock.
• Herrmann's scores from several Hitchcock films are used in the New York City theatrical production Sleep No More. Specific examples include the prelude from The Man Who Knew Too Much, which plays as audience members move through a dark maze at the start of the experience; moments from Psycho that highlight themes from Macbeth; and the use of the opening suite from Vertigo to signal the beginning of characters' hour-long loops.
• Matthew Bourne's 2016 dance theater production The Red Shoes, based on the 1948 film, includes music from multiple Herrmann film scores.
• Benny & Hitch is a radio drama about the relationship between director Alfred Hitchcock and composer Bernard Herrmann. It was performed live on October 16, 2022, at Alexandra Palace in London with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The drama was written by Andrew McCaldon and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on December 25, 2022. Toby Jones and Tim McInnerny portrayed Hitchcock and Herrmann, respectively. Other cast members included Joanna Monro as Alma Hitchcock, Tara Ward as Lucy Anderson (and Tippi Hedren), and Jonathan Forbes as Lew Wasserman (and briefly as Paul Newman).

Television scores

Herrmann created music for television shows, including westerns like Cimarron Strip, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Have Gun – Will Travel, and the 1968 suspense television movie Companions in Nightmare.

For The Twilight Zone:
• Opening and closing themes (used only during the 1959–1960 season)
• Where Is Everybody? (first aired October 2, 1959)
• Walking Distance (first aired October 30, 1959)
• The Lonely (first aired November 13, 1959)
• Eye of the Beholder (first aired November 11, 1960)
• Little Girl Lost (first aired March 16, 1962)
• Living Doll (first aired November 1, 1963)

For The Alfred Hitchcock Hour:
• A Home Away from Home (first aired September 27, 1963)
• Terror at Northfield (first aired October 11, 1963)
• You'll Be the Death of Me (first aired October 18, 1963)
• Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale (first aired November 8, 1963)
• The Jar (first aired February 14, 1964)
• Behind the Locked Door (first aired March 27, 1964)
• Body in the Barn (first aired July 3, 1964)
• Change of Address (first aired October 12, 1964)
• Water's Edge (first aired October 19, 1964)
• The Life Work of Juan Diaz (first aired October 26, 1964)
• The McGregor Affair (first aired November 23, 1964)
• Misadventure (first aired December 7, 1964)
• Consider Her Ways (first aired December 28, 1964)
• Where the Woodbine Twineth (first aired January 11, 1965)
• An Unlocked Window (first aired February 15, 1965)
• Wally the Beard (first aired March 1, 1965)
• Death Scene (first aired March 8, 1965)

Radio scores

These works are performed by a narrator and a full orchestra. They were created to be played on the radio because a human voice would be too quiet to hear over the loud sounds of an orchestra. In a 1938 radio program called Columbia Workshop, Herrmann explained the difference between "melodrama" and "melodram." He said these works are not part of the first category but belong to the second. The 1935 works were completed before June 1935.

• La Belle Dame sans merci (September 1934)
• The City of Brass (December 1934)
• Annabel Lee (1934–1935)
• Poem Cycle (1935): "The Willow Leaf," "Weep No More, Sad Fountains," "Something Tells"
• A Shropshire Lad (1935)
• Cynara (June 1935)

For more information, see Columbia Workshop for other programs Herrmann was involved in but did not write the original music for.

• Palmolive Beauty Box (around 1935) (2 existing musical cues)
• Dauber (October 1936)
• Rhythm of the Jute Mill (December 1936)
• The Gods of the Mountain (1936)
• The Happy Prince (December 1941)
• A Christmas Carol (1954, a CBS-TV special based on Dickens’ story)
• A Child Is Born (1955, a TV special hosted by Ronald Reagan with singers Nadine Conner and Theodor Uppman)
• Brave New World (1956)

Concert works

• The Forest, a musical piece for a large orchestra (1929)
• November Dusk, a musical piece for a large orchestra (1929)
• Tempest and Storm: Furies Shrieking!, a piece for piano (1929)
• The Dancing Faun and The Bells, two songs for a medium voice and small chamber orchestra (1929)
• Requiescat, a piece for violin and piano (1929)
• Twilight, a piece for violin and piano (1929)
• March Militaire (1932), music for a ballet in the Americana Revue (1932)
• Aria for Flute and Harp (1932)
• Variations on "Deep River" and "Water Boy" (1933)
• Prelude to Anathema, a piece for fifteen instruments (1933)
• Silent Noon, a piece for fourteen instruments (1933)
• The Body Beautiful (1935), music from a Broadway play
• Nocturne and Scherzo (1935)
• Sinfonietta for Strings (1935)
• Currier and Ives, a suite (1935)
• Violin Concerto, unfinished (1937)
• Moby Dick, a cantata (1937)
• Johnny Appleseed, an unfinished cantata (1940)
• Symphony No. 1 (1941)
• The Fantasticks (1942)
• The Devil and Daniel Webster, a suite (1942)
• For the Fallen (1943)
• Welles Raises Kane (1943)
• Echoes, a string quartet (1965)
• Souvenirs de Voyage (1967)