The rights to Franz Waxman’s legendary catalog has been snapped up by G. Schirmer, the New York-based subsidiary of Wise Music Group, Billboard can reveal.
Through the global publishing deal, announced Wednesday (Feb. 23), G. Schirmer/Wise Music Group will represent the late composer and conductor’s entire collection of works, which include some of the great scores from cinema’s golden age, from The Philadelphia Story (1940) to Rebecca (1940), Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1941), Suspicion (1941), and Taras Bulba (1962), among many more.
A two-time Academy Award winner, Waxman is recognized as a towering figure in his field, with a catalog that also includes a well of symphonic works and concert versions of his Oscar-winning scores for Sunset Boulevard (1950) and A Place in The Sun (1951).
With G. Schirmer now responsible with steering Waxman’s musical legacy, the music publisher is keen to introduce new audiences to his music in concert halls everywhere.
“We are extraordinarily honored to be the worldwide publisher of Franz Waxman’s incredible film and concert oeuvre,” comments G. Schirmer president, Robert Thompson, in a statement announcing the deal. “Schirmer is deeply committed to fostering his legacy.”
The music publisher acquired the catalog from the Waxman family. Financial terms were not revealed.
“I’ve entrusted my father’s legacy to G. Schirmer/Wise Music Group because I know they will protect and value his work,” comments his son, John Waxman, who owns Fidelio Music. “I’m grateful that generations to come will now have the opportunity to experience the breadth of Franz Waxman’s music around the world.”
Born 1906 in Dresden, Germany, Waxman was part of the exile of Judeo-German musicians who fled Europe between 1933-1944 to escape Nazism. His career flourished in the U.S., where, in 1950, he won the best score Oscar for his work on Sunset Boulevard, and then won the same category the following year for A Place In The Sun.
Waxman passed away in 1967, at the age of 60, having accumulated 12 Academy Award nominations. Today, he’s cited as one of the fathers of cinema music.
Formerly known as Music Sales Group, Wise Music Group rebranded itself in 2020 after its chairman Robert Wise.
The business owns or controls nearly half a million copyrights, and operates such publishing houses and imprints as Chester Music, Associated Music Publishers, Novello & Co, Éditions Alphonse Leduc, and G. Schirmer, established in 1848.
Represented composers include Ólafur Arnalds, Samuel Barber, John Corigliano, Ludovico Einaudi, Duke Ellington, Philip Glass, Olivier Messiaen, Missy Mazzoli, Igor Stravinsky, Jean Sibelius, Kaija Saariaho, Tan Dun, Joby Talbot and Anna Thorvaldsdottir.
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