James Parsons

“The exile's intellectual mission”: Adorno and Eisler's Composing for the Films

Coming to terms with Adorno and Eislers Composing for the Films (Komposition für den Film) has never been easy. First-time readers in 1947 undoubtedly found the book puzzling, starting with its authorship. The art deco dust jacket transmits in chartreuse lettering against a dark grey background only five words: the title and the single name “Eisler.” Yet Hanns Eisler is not the sole author, a revelation delayed until 1969 (though still questioned), when, seven years after Eislers death, his collaborator, Theodor W. Adorno, issued a German-language version of the text.1 The preface to the 1947 edition compounds the likelihood of…