The ASCAP Foundation has named the winners of its 57th annual Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards, honoring the best in music writing and broadcasts, and two books about legendary film composers landed among the top prizes. Tim Greiving’s book on John Williams and Steven C. Smith’s book on Bernard Herrmann were both recognized in the concert music field, according to the foundation’s Oct. 21 announcement.
For fans of film music, the awards shine a welcome spotlight on two composers whose scores have shaped how audiences hear movies for decades. Greiving’s “John Williams: A Composer’s Life,” published by Oxford University Press in September 2025, is the first biography of Williams, whom Variety called Hollywood’s most successful living composer. It won a Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Award in concert music.
Smith’s “Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores That Changed Cinema,” also from Oxford University Press, received a Special Recognition Award in the same category. It’s Smith’s second book on Herrmann — his 1991 biography, “A Heart at Fire’s Center,” earned him the same award decades ago. The new book focuses on Herrmann’s 11-year partnership with director Alfred Hitchcock, a pairing often called the greatest director-composer collaboration in film history.
Who else won: the full list of honorees
A judging panel of four ASCAP members — Robbie Fulks, Julie Flanders, Carman Moore and Betsy Schramm — chose this year’s winners. The program recognizes outstanding books, articles, liner notes and broadcast programs about every kind of music, not just film scoring. This year’s honorees:
Books
- Tim Greiving, Book Award (concert music): “John Williams: A Composer’s Life,” the first biography of the composer.
- Lucy Caplan, Book Award (concert music): “Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera,” which explores Black innovation in American opera during the Harlem Renaissance.
- Steven C. Smith, Special Recognition Award (concert music): “Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores That Changed Cinema.”
- Gayle Wald, Book Award (pop music): “This Is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music, and the Long Civil Rights Movement,” a life story of the singer often called the first lady of children’s music.
- James O’Leary, Book Award (pop music): “The Middlebrow Musical: Between Broadway and Opera in 1940s America,” which examines how shows like “Oklahoma!” and “Street Scene” took on weightier stories.
Broadcast and media
- Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson and David McMurry, Broadcast/Media Award (pop music): their 2025 documentary “Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted,” about cult R&B musician Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams.
- Gail Wein, Broadcast/Media Award (concert music): “Classical Gas,” her 2025 podcast series of interviews with classical musicians, produced by Classical Voice North America.
- Rick Beato, Special Recognition Award (concert music broadcast/media): his 2025 YouTube series “Everything Music.”
Liner notes
- Ruth Komanoff Underwood, Paul Williams “Loved the Liner Notes” Award: the percussionist’s personal essay for “Cheaper Than Cheep,” the live box set drawn from a 1974 concert film by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.
Articles and criticism
- Ben Sisario, article award (pop music): “The ‘Race Against Time’ to Save Music Legends’ Decaying Tapes,” The New York Times.
- Esteban Meneses, article award (concert music): “Revolución: Mexican Composers on the Rise,” Symphony Magazine.
- Max Keller, Special Recognition Award (concert music article): “Does It Matter How a Cello Is Held? It’s a Centuries-Old Debate,” The New York Times.
- Gabriel Kahane, Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism: “A Love Letter to Music Listings,” The Atlantic.
What the Herrmann and Williams honors mean for film score fans
The dual recognition of the Williams and Herrmann books shows how ASCAP’s writing awards keep spotlighting scholarship on composers whose work defined the sound of American cinema across different eras. Williams remains active as a working composer, while Herrmann’s scores for Hitchcock films, including “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest” and “Psycho,” remain a touchstone for film music historians decades after his death. Having both honored on the same list gives readers two fresh entry points into understanding how film scores get made and who shapes them behind the camera.
ASCAP Foundation Executive Director Patricia Leonard said this year’s honorees help preserve the stories of music innovators across genres, from concert music and rock to folk, musical theater and children’s music.
Underwood’s liner notes award also keeps attention on Frank Zappa’s vault, with “Cheaper Than Cheep” arriving through Zappa Records/UMe.
Where to find the winning books
Both film composer books are published by Oxford University Press and available wherever music biographies are sold.
For readers tracking other recent entertainment honors and releases, Total Apex Entertainment continues to cover the music and streaming space.
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