Elliot Goldenthal: Music for Film
American composer Elliot Goldenthal has made a tremendous contribution to the art of film and theater music. After broadening his artistic horizon from the concert hall to the theatre scene and the big screen in the 1980s, he has written music for nearly forty films. For this he won numerous awards and accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and three World Soundtrack Awards. At Film Fest Gent, he will be awarded a WSA Lifetime Achievement Award for his rich career and his courage to wander off the traditional Hollywood paths.
Ahead of his time
With his sense of experiment and innovation, Goldenthal has left his mark on the history of film music. Known for his unique mix of techniques, genres and styles, he has set an example for future generations of composers. His fusion of orchestral music with jazz, rock and electronic music and his delicate use of ethnic elements has resulted time and again in compelling soundtracks that were ahead of its time.
The album Elliot Goldenthal: Music for Film includes, among others, a selection from his score for Frida (2002). With the music for this impressive Frida Kahlo biopic by Julie Taymor, his artistic and life partner, he won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe after two earlier nominations. Also newly recorded and featuring in this compilation are fragments from his epic music for David Fincher's Alien³ (1992) and Neil Jordan’s Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994).
Joyful reunion
Premiering on this album are two concert suites that have never been recorded before. The Grand Gothic Suite dives into the world of Batman and includes highlights from his score for Batman Forever (1995) and his never commercially released score for Batman & Robin (1997). Dedicated to yet another peak in his career, the suite Final Fantasia celebrates his music for Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001). This new recording is a joyful reunion with Film Fest Gent music director Dirk Brossé, who conducted the original recordings of this piece in the early 2000s.
Other highlights featuring on this album are a selection of themes from his score for Jordan’s Michael Collins (1996) and themes from Michael Mann's Public Enemies (2009) and Heat (1995). Honouring his flourishing collaboration with director Julie Taymor the album closes with the compelling Finale from Titus (1999).
Musical afterlife
Released during the 51th edition of Film Fest Gent in October 2024 and licensed to Silva Screen Records, the album Elliot Goldenthal: Music for Film is the 19th title in Film Fest Gent’s continuing series of annual film music albums, containing new studio recordings by Brussels Philharmonic directed by FFG music director Dirk Brossé. Together they give some of the world’s greatest scores an extended afterlife beyond the films.
Previous recordings feature the work of Craig Armstrong, Angelo Badalamenti, Marco Beltrami, Terence Blanchard, Carter Burwell, Mychael Danna, Cliff Martinez, Mark Isham, Laurence Rosenthal, Alan Silvestri, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Shigeru Umebayashi and Gabriel Yared.
