Elliot Goldenthal

Infobox musical artist
Name = Elliot Goldenthal
Background = goldenrod


Img_capt = Elliot Goldenthal
Birth_name = Elliot Goldenthal
Origin = Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Born = Birth date and age|1954|5|2|mf=y
Died =
Genre = Classical
Avante Garde
Film score
Opera
Oratorio
Musical
Experimental
Occupation = Composer
Bookwriter
Lyricist
Musician
Actor
Singer
Music producer
Theatrical producer
Years_active = 1979 - present
Instrument =
First_album =
Notable songs = "Burn It Blue" from "Frida"
"The Dream Within" from "Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within"
Label = Sony Classical
Varese Sarabande
Atlantic Records
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://goldenthal.filmmusic.com/ "Goldenthal.filmmusic.com"]

Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2 1954 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an acclaimed Academy Award and Golden Globe winning American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, and is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various musical styles and techniques in original and inventive ways.

Biography

He was born on May 2, 1954 as the youngest son of a Jewish housepainter father and a Catholic seamstress mother in Brooklyn, New York, where he was influenced from an early age by music from all cultures and genres. He lived in a multi-cultural part of town, and this is reflected in his works. [ [http://sg.movies.yahoo.com/Elliot+Goldenthal/biography/57588/family/ Elliot Goldenthal - Family and Companions - Yahoo! Singapore Movies ] ] He was educated at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn where, at the age of 14, he had his very first ballet "Variations on Early Glimpses" performed; he continued to display his eclectic musical range, performing with rock bands in the 70's. He then studied music full time at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where he studied under Aaron Copland and John Corigliano (both of whom he greatly admired), to earn his BA then MA in musical composition. [ [http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Elliot_Goldenthal/187208 Elliot Goldenthal at Hollywood.com ] ] [ [http://www.msmnyc.edu/ouralumni/classnotes/ Manhattan School of Music: Alumni Class Notes ] ] [ [http://www.soundtrack.net/features/article/?id=51 SoundtrackNet : Interview - Elliot Goldenthal ] ]

He lives in New York City "happily unmarried", as he once put it, [ [http://www.filmtracks.com/composers/goldenthal.shtml Filmtracks: Elliot Goldenthal ] ] with his partner Julie Taymor, whom he met in 1982 through a mutual acquaintance, who told him "I know a person whose work is just as grotesque as yours"; they have an office/apartment where they both live and work. [ [http://www.donshewey.com/arts_articles/taymor_goldenthal.html "Julie Taymor and Elliot Goldenthal: United in Their Love of the Outsider," by Don Shewey ] ]

Goldenthal has written works for concert hall, theater, dance and film. His work includes music for films such as "Alien³", "Michael Collins", "Batman Forever", "Heat" and the Academy Award-winning score for Julie Taymor's "Frida", a movie in which Goldenthal had a small acting part as a "Newsreel Reporter". [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006106/ Elliot Goldenthal ] ] Incidentally he also had a small part in the stage show "Juan Darièn" as a "Circus Barker / Streetsinger". [ [http://goldenthal.filmmusic.com/concert/juandarien/index.html Elliot Goldenthal Concert & Stage: Juan Darien - A Carnival Mass (1996) ] ] "See below for links to individual score pages; some with audio samples".

The Tony-Award winning carnival mass "Juan Darièn" (1988/'96) and "The Green Bird" (1999), based on a story by Carlo Gozzi, are some of the composer's theater works.

In 2006, Goldenthal completed his original 3-act opera with Taymor entitled "Grendel", an adaptation of the John Gardner novel which told the story of Beowulf from the monster's point of view. It had its world premiere in early June 2006 at the Los Angeles Opera with an audience containing the likes of John Williams and Emmy Rossum; the opus was added to the Los Angeles Opera's permanent repertoire and earned Goldenthal a nomination in April 2007 for the Pulitzer Prize for Music. [ [http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2007/music/ 2007 Pulitzer Prize Winners - PRIZE IN MUSIC, Citation ] ] [ [http://www.writingstudio.co.za/page1842.html Page Title ] ]

In April 2008 it was announced that Goldenthal will reunite with Michael Mann to score a 1930s gangster movie called "Public Enemies" and Goldenthal will also score another Julie Taymor Shakespeare adaptation in "The Tempest", scheduled for 2009. [ [http://upcomingfilmscores.blogspot.com/2008/04/elliot-goldenthal-public-enemies.html Upcoming Film Scores: Elliot Goldenthal: Public Enemies ] ] [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1274300/]

He cites acclaimed Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu as an influence and someone he styles his own career on; Goldenthal has said that the lines between traditional concert music and orchestral film score are becoming more blurred which is the way he thinks it should be. [ [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Mar03/articles/elliotgoldenthal.asp?print=yes Elliot Goldenthal ] ] He has also collaborated four times with Irish director Neil Jordan, scoring movies like "" and "In Dreams".

tyle

Elliot Goldenthal has often been called the "thinking mans composer" and a generally more cerebral choice for film makers and fans of film music alike. [http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/demolition_man.html] [http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/demolition_man.html] He is known for his often intense experimentation and willingness to try new and unconventional techniques and processes. This experimental approach has lead him to score movies in almost every genre from horror to action to Shakespeare adaptations [http://www.filmtracks.com/composers/goldenthal.shtml] ; the only type of film he has not yet scored is comedy but at the same time he has composed comedic motifs for several films such as Demolition Man which are considered tongue-in-cheek types of movies in the first place. And it is this openness to try his hand at anything which has gained him a lot of respect in the music and film communities and with fans. He is not as well known, or popular, as other film composers such as the "household names" John Williams or Hans Zimmer but he is widely appreciated among film score fans for his sheer musical abilities and distinctive style; a style, which though artistically appreciated among film music enthusiasts, some have said can be too experimental or inaccessible to the mainstream listener because of Goldenthals passion for defying the norms of contemporary classical music. [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Mar03/articles/elliotgoldenthal.asp?print=yes] [http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/in_dreams.html] [http://www.moviemusicuk.us/batforcd.htm] [http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/final_fantasy.html]

Atonal and brutal in his action music, sometimes in underscore and tends to use very fast French horn bending tones/whining; [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006106/bio Elliot Goldenthal - Biography ] ] although Goldenthal himself has said that he doesn't "hear" atonal and tonal, rather "...I don't have any differentiation in my head between tonal and atonal, I either hear melody or I hear sonority — I don't hear atonal or tonal so much." [ [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Mar03/articles/elliotgoldenthal.asp?print=yes Elliot Goldenthal ] ]

At the website filmscoremonthly.com a former classmate of Goldenthals replied to a piece on the Sphere score from 1998 saying that when he and Elliot were both studying at the Manhattan School of Music in the 70s Elliot was already experimenting with unusual techniques and when studying trumpet once, Elliot asked him to "buzz into the wrong end of the mouth peice and sing into it as well", he thought he was crazy but looking back after a decade or so of Goldenthals film and concert music he said that he "...was just way ahead of the rest of us." [http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/1998/03_Mar---Spheres_of_Influence(Goldenthal).asp]

Respected cultural historian and critic Piero Scaruffi found fit to mention Goldenthal in lists of honour and general overview of film music on his website, [http://www.scaruffi.com/history/film2.html] placing three of Goldenthal's theatre works in a "Brief history of music through its milestone compositions" [http://www.scaruffi.com/music/classic.html] and putting his score for "Drugstore Cowboy" at number 27 in a list of "Best musicals of all time". [http://www.scaruffi.com/music/soundtra.html]

Lists of works

Film works

*1979 - "Cocaine Cowboys"
*1980 - "Blank Generation"
*1989 - "Drugstore Cowboy score"
*1989 - "Pet Sematary score"
*1991 - "Grand Isle"
*1992 - "Fools Fire" "(TV)" - "directed by Julie Taymor"
*1992 - "Alien³ score"
*1993 - "Demolition Man score"
*1993 - "Golden Gate score"
*1994 - "Interview with the Vampire score"
*1994 - "Roswell" "(TV)"
*1994 - "Cobb score"
*1995 - "Batman Forever score"
*1995 - "Heat score"
*1996 - "Michael Collins score"
*1996 - "A Time to Kill score"
*1997 - "The Butcher Boy score"
*1997 - "Batman & Robin" "(score not commercially released)"
*1998 - "In Dreams score"
*1998 - "Sphere score"
*1999 - "Titus score" - "film directed by Julie Taymor"
*2001 - " score"
*2002 - "Frida score" - "film directed by Julie Taymor"
*2002 - "The Good Thief score"
*2003 - "S.W.A.T. score"
*2007 - "Across the Universe soundtracks" - "film directed by Julie Taymor"
*2009 - "Public Enemies"
*2009 - "The Tempest" - "film directed by Julie Taymor"

Concert music works

*1980 - Brass Quintet No. 1, Brass Quintet No. 2 (No. 2 has been recorded recently by Extension Ensemble, New York)
*1988 - Pastime Variations
*1990 - Shadow Play Scherzo
*1996 - (recorded in 1995, featuring Yo Yo Ma)

Theatre works

*Play "The King Stag" (1984 production of Carlo Gozzi's play by Andrei Serban)
*Musical "Liberty's Taken" (an original 1985 musical co-created with David Suehsdorf and Julie Taymor)
*Musical "The Transposed Heads" (adapted in 1986 by Sidney Goldfarb and Julie Taymor from the novel by Thomas Mann)
*Play (Commedia) "The Serpent Woman" (1988 production of Carlo Gozzi's Commedia)
*Musical "" (1988 off-Broadway, reworked and recorded for Broadway in 1996)
Co-Bookwriter, lyricist, arranger of the Latin text.
*Ballet "Othello" (a 1998 ballet with choreography by Lar Lubovitch)
*Musical "The Green Bird" (1999 on Broadway production of production of Carlo Gozzi's work)
Stage director: Julie Taymor
*Opera "Grendel" (opened 2006 June at Los Angeles Opera; "not released on CD yet as of July 2008")
Libretto: Julie Taymor and J D. McClatchy, after the novel "Grendel" by John Gardner, and the poem "Beowulf"
Stage director: Julie Taymor

Awards and nominations

*(2007) Pulitzer Prize for Music in Music Nomination for his acclaimed "Grendel" opera"
*(2004) Emmy Awards Nomination, "Great Performances: Dance in America" - Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)
*(2004) ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Win, "S.W.A.T." - Top Box Office Film Score
*(2003) World Soundtrack Awards 2003 Win, "Frida" - Best Original Soundtrack of the Year
*(2003) World Soundtrack Awards 2003 Win, "Frida" - Soundtrack Composer of the Year
*(2003) World Soundtrack Awards 2003 "Nomination"', "Burn It Blue" from "Frida" - Best Original Song Written for a Film
*(2002) Academy Awards Win, "Frida" - Best Original Score
*(2002) Academy Awards Nomination, "Frida", "Burn It Blue" - Best Original Song
*(2002) Golden Globes Win, "Frida" - Best Original Score
*(2002) World Soundtrack Awards 2002 Nomination, "The Dream Within" from "Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within" - Best Original Song Written for a Film
*(1999) CFCA awards Nomination, "The Butcher Boy" - Best Original Score
*(1998) ASCAP awards Win, "Batman & Robin" - Top Box Office Film Score
*(1998) Chicago Film Critics Awards Nomination, "The Butcher Boy" - Best Original Score
*(1998) Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1998 Win, "The Butcher Boy" - Best Original Score
*(1997) Tony Awards Nomination, "Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass" (Broadway Production) - Best Original Musical Score
*(1997) ASCAP awards Win, "A Time to Kill" - Top Box Office Film Score
*(1997) Grammy Nomination, "Defile and Lament" from "A Time to Kill"
*(1996) Academy Awards Nomination, "Michael Collins" - Best Original Score
*(1996) Golden Globe Nomination, "Michael Collins" - Best Original Score
*(1996) ASCAP awards Win, "Batman Forever" - Top Box Office Film Score
*(1995) Grammy Nomination, "Batman Forever" - Best Instrumental Composition
*(1995) ASCAP awards Win, "Interview with the Vampire" - Top Box Office Film Score
*(1995) Golden Globe Nomination, "Interview with the Vampire" - Best Original Score
*(1994) Academy Awards Nomination, "Interview with the Vampire" - Best Original Score
*(1994) ASCAP awards Win, "Demolition Man" - Top Box Office Film Score
*(1990) Critics Choice Award (Edinburgh Festival) Win, "Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass" - Best Music
*(1990) American Arts and Letters Richard Rodgers Award Win, "Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass" - Best Music
*(1988) Obie Award Win, "Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass" (Original Production) - Best Music

Among others including the Arturo Toscanini Award, the New Music for Young Ensembles composition prize, the Stephen Sondheim Award in Music Theater and a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship. [ [http://michaelcollins.warnerbros.com/cmp/crew.html#elliot Michael Collins - The Filmmakers ] ]

Quotes

cquote|"Copland would sit down at the piano and play through his scores very slowly, stopping to explain any harmonic or rhythmic changes I inquired about. I had the good fortune to be with John, who was my `formal' instructor, at a time he was developing into a major composer." -- on studying under Copland & Corigliano.| [ [http://www.crouchingphotographer.com/Sonic%20Wars.htm Film Composers ] ]

cquote|"Bring Fellini back from the dead, and let me work with him!" -- 2000, expresing his love of Federico Fellini. [ [http://www.filmtracks.com/composers/goldenthal.shtml Filmtracks: Elliot Goldenthal ] ] [ [http://www.soundtrack.net/features/article/?id=51 SoundtrackNet : Interview - Elliot Goldenthal ] ] |

Trailer music

A number of Goldenthal's cues (as is common with a lot of composers) have been used for trailer music, below is a list of known uses up to 2004. [ [http://www.soundtrack.net/trailers/composer-trailer.php?id=76 SoundtrackNet Trailers : Elliot Goldenthal ] ]

Interview with the Vampire (1994) was used in::Copycat (1995) - Theatrical Trailer

Alien III (1992) was used in::The Animatrix (2003) - Theatrical Trailer:The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - TV Trailer:The Matrix (1999) - Theatrical Trailer:The Matrix (1999) - TV Trailer:The Village (2004) - Theatrical Trailer

Batman Forever (1995) was used in::Batman & Robin (1997) - Theatrical Trailer:Batman Forever (1995) - Theatrical Trailer

Demolition Man (1993) was used in::Evolution (2001) - Internet Trailer:Men in Black (1997) - Theatrical Trailer:Men in Black II (2002) - Teaser Trailer

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) was used in::The Manchurian Candidate (2004) - Teaser Trailer:Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) - Teaser Trailer

Heat: (1995) was used in::L.A. Confidential (1997) - TV Trailer

ee also

*Aaron Copland
*John Corigliano
*Tōru Takemitsu
*Julie Taymor
*Avant-garde
*Contemporary classical music
*Musique concrète
*Modernism (music)

References

External links

*
* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=5362 Elliot Goldenthal] at the [http://www.ibdb.com/ Internet Broadway Dabatase]
*
* [http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/elliot_goldenthal Elliot Goldenthal] at Rate Your Music
*
* [http://wc03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:dxfoxqrgldke Elliot Goldenthal] at All Music Guide
* [http://goldenthal.filmmusic.com/ "A Website for the Composer"]
* [http://theoscarsite.com/whoswho8/goldenthal_e.htm Elliot Goldenthal at Theoscarsite.com]
* [http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/Biography/58317/Elliot+Goldenthal.html?dataSet=1 Elliot Goldenthal at Variety.com]
* [http://www.moviemusicuk.us/goldenth.htm Elliot Goldenthal at Moviemusicuk.us]
* [http://www.donshewey.com/arts_articles/taymor_goldenthal.html An Interview with both Taymor and Goldenthal by the New York Times]
* [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Mar03/articles/elliotgoldenthal.asp?print=yes An indepth interview from 2003]