Credits:

Danny Elfman

Description:

Danny Elfman's new album features the skillful orchestration that only a film music composer can deliver. Composer Danny Elfman is known for his music for hit movies such as "Batman" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," as well as the theme song for the animated cartoon "The Simpsons. Four-time Academy Award nominee Danny Elfman (1953-) has been acclaimed as one of the most versatile and accomplished masters of film music throughout a career that spans more than 30 years. He is highly regarded as one of the most versatile and skilled masters in the world of film music. Of the more than 100 film scores he has composed, he is most widely known for his work with director Tim Burton, beginning with his first project, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," and continuing with the Academy Award nominated "Big Fish," as well as "Batman," "Scissorhands," Elfman has composed the music for such major Burton films as "Batman," "Scissorhands," "Sleepy Hollow," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Alice in Wonderland," "The Dark Shadow," and "Frankenweenie.In addition to Burton, he has composed music for many popular films familiar to moviegoers, including "Men in Black" and "Mission: Impossible," for which he has received Academy Awards and other accolades. He has also composed concert and stage music, including "Serenada Schizofrana," a commissioned work that premiered at Carnegie Hall, "Rabbitand Rogue" for American Ballet Theater, and "Iris" (2011) for Cirque du Soleil. The violin concerto "Eleven Eleven" was co-commissioned by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Stanford Live, Stanford University, and the Royal Scottish Orchestra for the spirited violinist Sandy Cameron. The work requires technique from both soloist and orchestra, with the soloist using a microphone not to amplify volume but to emulate exquisite balance. The Piano Quartet is a very contemporary work, commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet.The work is described as an eruption of high-speed flares, with moments of repetitive change between the small and intimate and the explosive and grandiose, including snarling strings and a popping piano. Elfman says, "A few years ago, I felt that I wanted to write orchestral music without the ties and constraints of film music, or rather, that it was absolutely necessary to do so in order to preserve my own identity. I have worked on several non-film related commissions over the past 10 years, and each time I have felt incredibly free and almost alive," he says, adding that he finds great meaning in composing in genres other than film music, and that "this album is intended to be a very tricky I am aiming for a very tricky concept. I wanted to write music that would not alienate fans of film music, especially my own film music, but at the same time would not be like film music, but would go beyond it. This was a very difficult challenge, but it was my goal. Sony Music

Tracklisting:

1.Violin Concerto "Eleven Eleven": I. Grave. Animato
2.Violin Concerto "Eleven Eleven": II. Spietato
3.Violin Concerto "Eleven Eleven": III. Fantasma
4.Violin Concerto "Eleven Eleven": IV. Giacoso. Lacrimae
5.Piano Quartet: I. Ein Ding
6.Piano Quartet: II. Kinderspott
7.Piano Quartet: III. Duett fur Vier
8.Piano Quartet: IV. Ruhig
9.Piano Quartet: V. Die Wolfsjungen