What Music?

It is, in fact, Rózsa's Violin Concerto in D, Opus 24.

The concerto was, in fact, one of Wilder's primary motivations for writing the HOLMES (with I.A.L. Diamond) script in the first place (though he'd actually conceived of doing a Holmes musical in the 1950s, the script to be co-written with veteran screenwriter Harry Kurnitz). At a party, Wilder approached Rózsa, who'd scored several of the director's greatest films -- the under-appreciated FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO, DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE LOST WEEKEND, and asked for a replacement LP record copy of the concerto, as he'd worn out the one he had.

Intrigued, Rózsa asked Wilder why he'd been playing it so much that it needed replacing. Wilder replied that the work's second movement reminded him of Sherlock Holmes's addiction to cocaine, and he'd been listening to it to put him in the mood to work on a Holmes screenplay.

More than a decade later, when the film was finally about to go into production, Wilder had the producers (who are, parenthetically, relatives of mine) sign Rózsa to write the music, much of which would be adapted from the 1953 concerto (all three movements provided themes that were expanded and developed in the film score).

As it turned out THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES was the only instance in which Rózsa adapted one of his concert works for the screen; he also never incorporated themes he wrote for film scores into concert pieces (though he did adapt several film scores into concert suites).

If you are sufficiently interested, there is a brand-new recording of the complete film score, one of its composer's masterpieces. It can be purchased here:

www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm?ID=6676