Irwin Kostal facts for kids

Irwin Kostal (October 1, 1911 – November 23, 1994) was an American musical arranger and orchestrator. He helped create the amazing music for many famous films and Broadway musicals. An arranger takes a song and decides which instruments will play which parts. An orchestrator writes down the music for each instrument in a large orchestra.

Early Life and Career

Irwin Kostal was born in Chicago, Illinois. He went to Harrison Technical High School. Instead of going to college, he taught himself how to arrange music. He did this by studying the scores (the written music) of symphonic pieces at his local library.

His first professional job was working for an NBC radio show called Design for Listening. After that, he moved to New York City. There, he worked on popular TV shows like Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and The Garry Moore Show.

Broadway and Film Success

In the late 1950s, Irwin Kostal started working on Broadway musicals. He helped orchestrate famous shows like Shinbone Alley, The Music Man, Fiorello!, and West Side Story.

His work on the West Side Story musical led him to work on the 1961 movie version. He worked with Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, and Sid Ramin on the film's music. For their amazing work, the team won both an Academy Award (Oscar) and a Grammy Award.

Kostal also worked with Saul Chaplin again for the 1965 film The Sound of Music. This movie was based on the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. He won another Oscar for Best Music Scoring for this film.

He also conducted the orchestra for several of the popular Firestone Christmas Albums.

Later Career and Disney Work

For the rest of his life, Irwin Kostal mostly worked on stage and film projects. He also did some television work with stars like Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, and Leonard Bernstein.

He was a music supervisor for five musical films by the Sherman Brothers. One of these was the beloved movie Mary Poppins (1964). In 1982, he conducted the new digital recording of the music for Walt Disney's classic 1940 animated film Fantasia.

Notable Film Scores

Irwin Kostal contributed to the music of many well-known films:

• West Side Story (1961)
• Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1962)
• Mary Poppins (1964)
• The Sound of Music (1965)
• Half a Sixpence (1967)
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
• Charlotte's Web (1973)
• The Blue Bird (1976)
• Pete's Dragon (1977)
• The Magic of Lassie (1978)
• Fantasia (1982 re-release)
• Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

Broadway Musicals

Here are some of the Broadway shows Irwin Kostal worked on:

• West Side Story (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 (1982)

Awards and Recognition

Irwin Kostal received many awards and nominations for his musical contributions:

• 1962 - Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for West Side Story (winner)
• 1965 - Academy Award for Best Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment for Mary Poppins (nominee)
• 1966 - Academy Award for Best Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment for The Sound of Music (winner)
• 1972 - Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation for Bedknobs and Broomsticks (nominee)
• 1978 - Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score for Pete's Dragon (nominee)
• 1966 - Emmy Award for Individual Achievements in Music - Conducting for The Julie Andrews Show (nominee)
• 1973 - Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction of a Variety, Musical or Dramatic Program for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (nominee)

Death and Legacy

Irwin Kostal passed away from a heart attack in Studio City, California, in 1994. At the time, he was the president of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers. In 2004, he was named a Disney Legend. This honor recognized his important contributions to films made by the Disney studio.