Richard Robbins (composer)
Richard Stephen Robbins was an American composer, and producer of motion picture scores for the Merchant Ivory films.
Robbins was born in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. In November 2012, he died of Parkinson's disease at the age of 71. He died at his home in New York.
Personal life
Robbins began playing the piano at the age of five. He graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston, and later received a fellowship through a fund established by the philanthropist Frank Huntington Beebe to continue his studies in Vienna.
Robbins was gay, and had a relationship with Ismail Merchant, and probably James Ivory, with whom he worked on several films. He lived his later years with his long-term partner, artist Michael Schell.
Awards
Robbins was nominated for an Oscar in 1992 for his score for the film Howards End and in 1993 for The Remains of the Day. Additionally, he won a Sammy Film Music Award in 1992 for Howards End. He won the Golden Osella for Maurice.
Filmography
Robbins wrote the score for the following films unless otherwise noted:Sweet Sounds ; short film; director onlyRoseland ; assistant to producer Ismail MerchantThe Europeans Jane Austen in Manhattan Quartet Heat and Dust The Bostonians A Room with a View Sweet Lorraine My Little Girl Maurice The Perfect Murder Slaves of New York Love and Other Sorrows Bail Jumper Mr. & Mrs. Bridge The Ballad of the Sad Café ; directed by Simon CallowHowards End The Remains of the Day Street Musicians of Bombay ; also directorJefferson in Paris Surviving Picasso The Proprietor Lumière and Company: segment "Merchant Ivory" The Hidden Dimension A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries Place Vendôme ; directed by Nicole GarciaCotton Mary ; directed by Ismail MerchantThe Golden Bowl The Girl, directed by Sande ZeigThe Mystic Masseur Le Divorce The White Countess ; directed by James Ivory