Disney Legend Alan Menken to Receive Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award

According to Billboard, Disney Legend Alan Menken is set to receive the Max Steiner Film Achievement Award at the Hollywood in Vienna gala on September 24th.

What’s Happening:

Menken was originally announced as a recipient on February 29th, 2020, just days before the COVID-19 pandemic put such gatherings on hold.
Stars from Broadway and the West End will pay tribute to the eight-time Academy Award winner at the 13th Hollywood in Vienna.
The event will be held at the Vienna Concert Hall (Wiener Konzerthaus) over two nights — September 23rd for a concert and September 24th for a concert and award ceremony where Menken will be presented with the award by the city of Vienna.
Disney+ is set to stream the gala event globally for the first time – a sign of how important Menken is to the Disney brand.
Menken amassed eight Oscars in a seven-year span (1989-95). He won best original score for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas and best original song with songs from those same films (“Under the Sea,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “A Whole New World” and “Colors of the Wind,” respectively).
You can learn more about Menken and his late songwriting partner Howard Ashman in Jim’s recent Disney Legends Spotlight.
The Max Steiner Film Music Award is presented annually by the City of Vienna to renowned film music composers. Past awardees include:
- Gabriel Yared (2019)
- Hans Zimmer (2018)
- Danny Elfman (2017)
- Alexander Desplat (2016)
- James Newton Howard (2015)
- Randy Newman (2014)
- James Horner (2013)
- Lalo Schifrin (2012)
- Alan Silvestri (2011)
- Howard Shore (2010)
- John Barry (2009)

What They’re Saying:

Alan Menken said in a statement: “I am truly honored to be receiving the prestigious Max Steiner Award this year, and I feel humbled to have my name and work associated with the brilliant and legendary Max Steiner himself. The way his creative life moved from theater to film to the concert stage, even as his personal life moved him from Austria to England, and from Broadway to Hollywood, is an inspiration for all of us who follow in his footsteps nearly 50 years after his passing. And to receive this award in Vienna, the classical music capital of the world, promises to make this one of the highlights of my life and career.”
Hollywood in Vienna Founder Sandra Tomek said in a statement: “Alan Menken wrote the melodies we listened to growing up from The Little Mermaid to Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. And now our children listen to those melodies once again through Disney’s live-action adaptations of those films. Alan wrote melodies that are known around the globe and are beloved by generations.”