Miklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-American composer whose career bridged the concert hall and the cinema — an ambition he himself described as his "double life." Born in Budapest, he trained in Germany and built an early reputation as a concert composer in Europe before entering film music in Britain in the 1930s, working on productions for Alexander Korda.
Following the film industry to Hollywood, Rózsa became one of its most distinctive voices. He pioneered a tense, psychologically probing style — including early use of the theremin — in film noir and psychological dramas such as Spellbound (1945) and A Double Life (1947), winning Academy Awards for both, and later became celebrated for his richly researched scores for historical epics, among them Quo Vadis, Ivanhoe, El Cid, King of Kings, and Ben-Hur (1959), for which he won his third Oscar.
Throughout his Hollywood years Rózsa sustained a parallel career as a composer of concert works, including a violin concerto written for Jascha Heifetz. His scholarly approach to historical style and his symphonic craftsmanship made him one of the most respected figures of Hollywood's golden age.
Ben-Hur (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Miklós Rózsa
United States / 2012-02-28
Film Score Monthly (Golden Age Classics) FSMCD Vol. 15, No. 1
5xCD (Album) / 164 Tracks / 359:34 m:s
BUtterfield 8: Bronislau Kaper at M-G-M, Vol. 1 (1954-1962)
United States / 2010-07-15
Film Score Monthly FSMCD Vol. 13, No. 9
3xCD (Album)
El Cid
United Kingdom / 2008-09-01
Tadlow Music Tadlow 005
3xCD (Album) / 61 Tracks / 205:23 m:s
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Miklós Rózsa
United States / 2022-04-19
Intrada (Special Collection) ISC 475
2xCD (Album) / 53 Tracks / 88:27 m:s
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Miklós Rózsa
Worldwide / 2022-07-08
Back Lot Music
Digital (Album)
Hi-Res
/ 49 Tracks / 76:19 m:s
Double Indemnity: Film Noir at Paramount
United States / 2015-12-08
Intrada (Special Collection) ISC 335
1xCD (Album)
Elmer Bernstein's Film Music Collection
Elmer Bernstein
United States / 2006-08-15
Film Score Monthly FSM BOX 01
12xCD (Album) / 168 Tracks / 583:13 m:s
Eye Of The Needle / Last Embrace
United States / 1991
Varèse Sarabande (CD Club) VCL 9101.9
1xCD (Album) / 21 Tracks / 68:10 m:s
Eye of the Needle (Original Motion Picture Score)
Miklós Rózsa
United States / 2012-05-14
Varèse Sarabande (Encore Series) VCL 0512 1132
1xCD (Album) / 13 Tracks / 41:32 m:s
Eye of the Needle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Miklós Rózsa
United States / 2024-06-21
Varèse Sarabande (CD Club)
2xCD (Album) / 36 Tracks / 102:06 m:s
The Fantasy Film Music of George Pal
Various Artists
United States / 2004-03-16
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1016
1xCD (Album) / 28 Tracks / 71:37 m:s
Fedora / Crisis
United States / 1989-03-01
Varèse Sarabande (CD Club) VCL 8902.2
1xCD (Album) / 24 Tracks / 53:48 m:s
Fedora / Crisis
United States / 2014-12-01
Varèse Sarabande (Encore Series) VCL 1114 1154
1xCD (Album) / 24 Tracks / 56:25 m:s
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
United States / 2016-03-15
Intrada (Special Collection) ISC 349
2xCD (Album)
Hollywood Legend: Miklós Rózsa
United States / 1989
Varèse Sarabande VSD-5206
1xCD (Album)
Ivanhoe
Variant: Excalibur Collection
United States / 1995-02-28
Intrada (Excalibur Collection) MAF 7055D
1xCD (Album) / 18 Tracks / 61:20 m:s
Ivanhoe (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Miklós Rózsa
United States / 2020-12-01
Intrada INT 7160
1xCD (Album) / 18 Tracks / 61:51 m:s
Ivanhoe (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Miklós Rózsa
United States / 2020-12-01
Intrada
Digital (Album)
Hi-Res
/ 18 Tracks / 61:51 m:s
Julius Caesar
Miklós Rózsa
United States / 2021-08-24
Intrada INT 7165
1xCD (Album) / 24 Tracks / 58:59 m:s
King of Kings (World Premiere Digital Recording of the Complete Film Score)
Miklós Rózsa
United Kingdom / 2020-08
Tadlow Music TADLOW 033
2xCD (Album) / 39 Tracks / 144:04 m:s
Last Embrace
Miklós Rózsa
United States / 2009-07-21
Intrada (Special Collection) ISC 104
1xCD (Album) / 23 Tracks / 57:25 m:s
The Lost Weekend
United States / 2015-06-09
Intrada (Special Collection) ISC 321
1xCD (Album)
The Man in Half Moon Street
United States / 2014-04-01
Intrada (Excalibur Collection) MAF 7132
1xCD (Album)