Daniele Amfitheatrof (1901–1983) was a Golden Age composer who came to Hollywood from Russia by way of Italy. He possessed an advanced compositional style, although cinematically he wrote very much within the conventions of the time. He worked at almost all of the studios during the 1940s and '50s. FSM has released some of his work at M-G-M, including the excellent western scores for The Last Hunt and Devil's Doorway. IMDB

Elmer Bernstein (1922–2004) had a Hollywood career that lasted over a half a century; invented and reinvented himself as a composer across several genres (jazz, epics, westerns, comedies and adult dramas); and scored more than a few Hollywood classics—The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Escape and Airplane! to name but five. FSM has released a dozen of his scores and counting, but the most popular may be Heavy Metal (1981)—don't be fooled by the title, it's Elmer's "Star Wars." In addition to his prolific work as a composer, Bernstein was a tireless champion of film music as an art form, serving on the boards of several professional organizations and in the 1970s recording his own LP series of classic Hollywood scores, Elmer Bernstein's Film Music Collection, released by FSM as a 12-CD box set. IMDB

Scott Bradley (1891–1977) was the in-house animation composer at M-G-M from 1934 to 1958, scoring the classic Tom and Jerry shorts by Hanna & Barbera as well as Tex Avery's cartoons (Droopy, the Wolf, Screwy Squirrel, etc.). Along with Carl Stalling at Warner Bros., Bradley invented what is today considered the classic Hollywood cartoon sound—the chaotic but inherently musical blend of pop/classical quotes and symphonic outbursts. Bradley was actually a modernist concert composer who also did occasional dramatic scoring at M-G-M; he took his work seriously and his cartoons became all the more hilarious because of it. IMDB

Robert Franklyn (1918-1980) orchestrated almost all of the scores Bronislau Kaper composed for M-G-M from the mid-‘40s until the early ‘60s. He also worked on the orchestration team for several of the studio’s musicals, including Meet Me in St. Louis and Annie Get Your Gun. His composition credits are limited to a few short subjects but he also contributed cues to various “staff scores” such as Son of Lassie. IMDB

The Polish-born Bronislau Kaper (1902-1983) parlayed a successful stint in the French film industry (1933-1935) into a longtime Hollywood contract at M-G-M (1935-1962), where he was an indispensable member of the music department and wrote many famous songs and scores (Green Dolphin Street, Invitation, Lili). He capped his M-G-M career with his mammoth symphonic score to Mutiny on the Bounty, a fan favorite. He worked in the 1960s as a freelancer, scoring Lord Jim among others. Thanks to our relationship with Turner Classic Movies Music, we have brought a significant amount of Kaper's M-G-M music to CD—with more to come. IMDB

André Previn (b. 1929) famously broke into film scoring at M-G-M while still a teenager—he was a child prodigy as a classical and jazz pianist who took to composing and arranging as well. In his twenties and thirties he scored numerous films and acted as music director for famous movie musicals like Gigi, Porgy and Bess and My Fair Lady. He largely retired from film in the late 1960s—fed up with Hollywood—to pursue a career as a classical conductor; he has also written operas and stayed active as a recording artist. Previn's early work as a film composer (much of it on obscure projects) is of startlingly high quality and FSM will continue to release it where possible. IMDB

Nathaniel Shilkret (1889-1982) was a versatile and pioneering composer, conductor, recording artist and music executive whose thousands of recordings for RCA Victor sold an estimated 50 million copies. Between 1925 and 1941 he conducted over 3,000 radio broadcasts with soloists including Glenn Miller, Jascha Heifetz, George Gershwin and Andres Segovia. He worked as musical director for RKO from 1935-37 and for M-G-M from 1942-1946. From the earliest days of sound films through the early 1950s he composed or contributed to over 180 film scores—including many documentary short subjects. IMDB

Herbert Stothart (1885-1949) was the primary dramatic composer of the M-G-M music department for the 1930s and '40s, scoring such classics as Mutiny on the Bounty, The Wizard of Oz and Random Harvest. Given that he passed away right before the advent of widescreen films with stereophonic sound and magnetic film recording, very few of his scores have been released on CD—something FSM intends to change.IMDB