Irwin Kostal (October 1, 1911 – November 23, 1994) was an American

musical arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition (music), composition. Differences from the original composition may include Harmony (music), reharmonization, musical phrasing, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, o ...

of films and an

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals.

Biography

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, Kostal attended Harrison Technical High School, but opted not to attend college, instead teaching himself musical arranging by studying the symphonic scores available at his local

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. His first professional job was as a staff arranger for ''Design for Listening'', an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

show based in his hometown. Irwin was one of four children born to James and Emma Kostal in a Czech enclave of Chicago. His siblings James, Jerome and Violet all remained in the Chicago area.Irwin Kostal at Disney Legends
/ref> After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Kostal was hired for

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

's popular variety series ''

Your Show of Shows ''Your Show of Shows'' is a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC from February 25, 1950, through June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howa ...

'', and followed this with a stint at ''

The Garry Moore Show ''The Garry Moore Show'' is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talent ...

''. In the latter part of the decade he began working on Broadway, orchestrating for '' Shinbone Alley'', ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'', ''

Fiorello! ''Fiorello!'' is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a reform Republican, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the Tammany Hall political machine. The book is by Jerome Weidman and ...

'', and ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

''. His work on the latter resulted in his being hired to score the 1961 screen adaptation with

Saul Chaplin Saul Chaplin (February 19, 1912 – November 15, 1997) was an American composer and musical director. He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York. He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley. In film, he w ...

, Johnny Green, and Sid Ramin. The quartet won both an Oscar and a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for their contributions. Kostal later went on to collaborate with Saul Chaplin for the 1965 film adaptation of the

Rodgers & Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

musical ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'' and won an Oscar for Best Music Scoring. He also conducted the orchestra for several of the Firestone Christmas Albums. For the remainder of his life, Kostal divided his time primarily between stage and screen, with an occasional detour into television to work with such people as

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...

, and Leonard Bernstein. He supervised five of the Sherman Brothers musical film scores (one of them being '' Mary Poppins'') at four different movie studios between 1964 and 1978. In 1982, he conducted the digital re-recording of the music to

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

animated feature These lists of animated feature films compiles animated feature films from around the world and is organized alphabetically under the year of release (the year the completed film was first released to the public). Theatrical releases as well as ...

'' Fantasia''.

Selected shows

*1954-56 Max Liebman's NBC Spectulars: The Merry Widow, Tales of Hoffmann, The Gypsy Baron, Der Fledermaus, The Desert Song with Nelson Eddy, Babes in Toyland, Naughty Marietta, Marco Polo and Lady in the Dark. Orchestrator *1956-57 '' Washington Square'' with Ray Bolger *1957 "Stanley" Series with Buddy Hackett and Carol Burnett. Composer, Arranger and Conductor *1957-58 The Patrice Munsel Show *1958-1963 The Gary Moore Show, Orchestrator *1958 Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates TV Special, Arranger and Conductor *1961 Candid Camera with Allen Funt and Arthur Godfrey *1962 Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, Arranged and Conducted *1965 Julie Andrews and Gene Kelly, Arranged and Conducted - Both Emmy Shows *1966 Lucy in London Arranged and Conducted *1966 Brigadoon Hallmark Hall of Fame (Emmy Show) with Robert Goulet and Sally Ann Howes *1971 Dick Van Dyke Special with Michel LeGrand Arranged and Conducted *1973 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, A musical with Kirk Douglas, Arranged and Conducted - Emmy Nominated *1974 Old Faithful with Burgess Meredith, Jadon Robards and Zero Mostel *1978 The Million Dollar Dixie Deliverance, Disney TV Movie, Original Score, Arranged and Conducted

Death

Kostal died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

Studio City, California Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 192 ...

. At the time of his death he was president of the

American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers The American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers is an organization whose mission is to promote the arts of Music Arranging, Composition and Orchestration within the entertainment industry community and the general public. The ASMAC was foun ...

. In 2004 he was named a

Disney Legend The Disney Legends Awards is a Hall of Fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. Established in 1987, the honor was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...

in recognition of his contributions to films released by the studio.

Additional filmography

* ''

'' (1961) * ''

Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall ''Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall'' is an American musical comedy television special starring Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett, broadcast on CBS on June 11, 1962. Development The special was produced by Bob Banner and directed by Joe Hamilto ...

'' (1962) * '' Mary Poppins'' (1964) * ''

'' (1965) * ''

Half a Sixpence ''Half a Sixpence'' is a 1963 musical comedy based on the 1905 novel ''Kipps'' by H. G. Wells, with music and lyrics by David Heneker and a book by Beverley Cross. It was written as a vehicle for British pop star Tommy Steele. Background ...

'' (1967) * '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968) * ''

Bedknobs and Broomsticks ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' is a 1971 American live-action animated musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Bill Walsh for Walt Disney Productions. It is loosely based upon the books '' The Magic Bedknob; or, How t ...

'' (1971) * '' Charlotte's Web'' (1973) * '' The Blue Bird'' (1976) * '' Pete's Dragon'' (1977) * '' The Magic of Lassie'' (1978) * '' Fantasia'' (1982 rerelease of the 1940 film) (Digital re-recorded version) * ''

Mickey's Christmas Carol ''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' is a 1983 American animated family comedy-drama featurette directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The cartoon is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', and stars Scrooge McDuck as ...

'' (1983)

Additional Broadway credits

*''

'' (1957) *'' Tenderloin'' (1960) *'' Sail Away'' (1961) *'' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (1962) *'' 1491'' (1969) *'' Gigi'' (1973) *'' Rex'' (1976) *'' Copperfield'' (1981) *''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

'' (1982)

Additional awards and nominations

*1962 - Academy Award - Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture, (''

, winner)) *1965 Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment ('' Mary Poppins'', nominee) *1966 Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment (''

'', winner) *1972 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation (''

'', nominee) *1978 Academy Award for Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score ('' Pete's Dragon'', nominee) *1966 Emmy Award for Individual Achievements in Music - Conducting (''The Julie Andrews Show'', nominee) *1973 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction of a Variety, Musical or Dramatic Program (''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', nominee)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kostal, Irwin American music arrangers American male conductors (music) American male film score composers American musical theatre composers American television composers Animated film score composers Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Broadway composers and lyricists Disney people Grammy Award winners Jewish American film score composers Jewish American songwriters Jewish American television composers 1911 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American people of Czech descent 20th-century American Jews Songwriters from Illinois Walt Disney Animation Studios people