Elliot Goldenthal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elliot Goldenthal
Goldenthal in 2014
Background information
Born	(1954-05-02) May 2, 1954 (age 71) Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Contemporary classical theatre music film score avant-garde
Occupation(s)	Composer songwriter
Years active	1978–present
Associated acts	Julie Taymor

Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer. He writes music for many things, including modern classical concerts, movies, and plays. He is known for his unique style, mixing different kinds of music in creative ways.

Elliot Goldenthal won an Academy Award for Best Original Score in 2002. This was for his music in the movie Frida. His longtime partner, Julie Taymor, directed this film. He studied music with famous composers like Aaron Copland and John Corigliano.

Early Life and Education

Elliot Goldenthal was born on May 2, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York City. His father was a Jewish housepainter, and his mother was a Catholic seamstress. Growing up in a diverse neighborhood, he was exposed to many different kinds of music. This mix of cultures and sounds influenced his own music later on.

His grandparents came to the United States from Romania. When he was 14, his first ballet, Variations on Early Glimpses, was performed. He also played in rock bands in the 1970s, showing how much he loved different music styles.

He later studied music at the Manhattan School of Music. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in 1977 and his Master of Music degree in 1979. He studied with John Corigliano, a composer he greatly admired.

Career Highlights

Goldenthal has written music for many types of projects. These include concert halls, theater shows, dance performances, and movies.

Some of the well-known films he has scored include Pet Sematary, Alien 3, Michael Collins, Batman Forever, and Heat. His music for Frida won an Academy Award.

He also created music for plays, like the Tony Award-winning Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass (1988/1996) and The Green Bird (1999). In 2006, Goldenthal finished his opera called Grendel. This opera was based on a novel that tells the story of Beowulf from the monster Grendel's point of view. It was first performed in Los Angeles and was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Music.

In 2008, he worked with director Michael Mann again for the gangster movie Public Enemies. In 2009, he scored another film directed by Julie Taymor, The Tempest, which was based on a play by Shakespeare. Goldenthal has also worked with Irish director Neil Jordan on films like Interview with the Vampire.

Personal Life

Elliot Goldenthal lives in New York City with his partner, Julie Taymor. They met in 1980 through a friend. They share an office and apartment where they live and work together.

Musical Style

Elliot Goldenthal is known for his experimental and unique musical style. He often tries new and unusual techniques in his compositions. He has written music for almost every movie type, from horror to action films and Shakespeare adaptations. He hasn't scored a full comedy yet, but he has added funny musical parts to films like Demolition Man and the Batman series.

His varied work has earned him a lot of respect in the music and film worlds. Fans appreciate his musical talent and special style. He has said that he doesn't really hear music as "atonal" (without a clear key) or "tonal" (with a clear key). Instead, he hears either a "melody" or a "sonority" (a rich, full sound).

Goldenthal often works with a special team. This team helps him focus on writing his music. One of his team members, Richard Martinez, said that Goldenthal is always looking for new sound combinations. A former classmate once said that Goldenthal was already experimenting with unusual techniques in music school. He was "way ahead of the rest of us."

Every project we do requires a different approach, but one thing that's always consistent is the framework that Rick provides. In essence, he's giving me all these new instruments to work with. He keeps coming up with surprising combinations of sounds.

Works by Elliot Goldenthal

Film and Television Music

Feature Films

Television Programs

Concert Music

Theatre Works

Awards and Nominations

Elliot Goldenthal has received many awards and nominations for his music:

• Won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for Frida (2002).
• Won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Frida (2002).
• Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Music for his opera Grendel (2007).
• Nominated for a Tony Award for Best Original Musical Score for Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass (1997).
• Won several ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards for top box office film scores.
• Won the Obie Award for Best Music for Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass (1988).
• He also received the Arturo Toscanini Award and the Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater.

See also

In Spanish: Elliot Goldenthal para niños

• Avant-garde
• Modernism (music)