Anthony Collins (composer)
Anthony Vincent Collins ( born September 3, 1893 in Hastings, East Sussex, England; † December 11, 1963 in Los Angeles, California ) was a British film composer who has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Film Music. Furthermore, Collins operated as a musician, conductor and composer of classical music and was the London Symphony Orchestra longtime employee.
Life
At 17, Collins appeared as violist with Hastings ' urban orchestra and thus gained first experience as a professional musician. After he had served during the First World War in the British Army, he began in 1920 to study at the Royal College of Music. There he learned composition with Gustav Holst and violin with Serge Rivarde. In 1925, Collins first violist of the London Symphony Orchestra.
1936 asked Herbert Wilcox Collins, the film music for his drama Queen Victoria (Victoria the Great, 1937) to compose. The following year, Wilcox hired him again as a film composer for the sequel Sixty Glorious Years.
In addition to his work in the film music business Collins began a career as a conductor. Initially he conducted at the Carl Rosa Opera Company Music Theater. In 1938 he took over this task for the first time at the London Symphony Orchestra, where he led the Symphony No. 1 by Edward Elgar musical.
The following year, Collins went to California. There he composed and conducted six years for RKO Pictures.
At the Academy Awards in 1940, he was first nominated for an Oscar for best film music and indeed for the film Nurse Edith Cavell ( 1939). More nominations followed in 1941 for Irene (1940 ) and in 1942 for the musical film Sunny ( 1941).
After the Second World War, he returned to England, continuing to compose film music and worked as a conductor for the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and other orchestras. From 1950 Decca Records produced several recordings of the symphonies of Jean Sibelius, which were recorded under the Collins line by the London Symphony Orchestra.
1953 Collins finally returned to the United States. There, he conducted, among others, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the recordings for two LPs that were released in 1956 by EMI.
Overall, Collins worked until 1957 over 75 films as a composer of film music or as music director with. In addition to his film music he composed classical pieces - such as two symphonies for string instruments, violin concertos and chamber music - but also some pieces of light music.