Sony Classical announces the release of four time Academy Award® nominated composer Danny Elfman’s first ballet score, Rabbit & Rogue (Limited Deluxe Edition), on June 30. This Limited Deluxe Edition offers a variety of insights into the production of the ballet score, including a bonus DVD with an exclusive interview with Danny Elfman.
“The creation of this ballet score was done hand in hand with a remarkable woman, Twyla Tharp. Every note, every beat. She encouraged me, challenged me, cajoled me, and even fed me. It was one of the best times I have ever had working. For her trust in me I will be forever grateful. I dedicate this recording to her.” (Danny Elfman)
Rabbit & Rogue is Danny Elfman’s first ballet score, which he created for Twyla Tharps’ choreography for the American Ballet Theater. By all accounts, Elfman wrote a score that wears his admiration for the Russian ballet masters, such as Stravinsky and Prokofiev, proudly on its sleeve.
ABOUT DANNY ELFMAN
Over the last 30 years, four-time Oscar nominee Danny Elfman has established himself as one of the most versatile and accomplished film composers in the industry. He has collaborated with such directors as Tim Burton, David O. Russell, Gus Van Sant, Sam Raimi, Paul Haggis, Ang Lee, Rob Marshall, Guillermo del Toro, Brian De Palma, and Peter Jackson. Beginning with his first score on Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Elfman has scored a broad range of films, including: Milk (Oscar® nominated), Good Will Hunting (Oscar® nominated), Big Fish (Oscar® nominated), Men in Black (Oscar® nominated), Edward Scissorhands, Wanted, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mission: Impossible, Planet of the Apes, A Simple Plan, To Die For, Spider-Man (1 & 2), Batman, Dolores Claiborne, Sommersby, Chicago, Dick Tracy, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland.
Elfman’s recent work includes David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, Errol Morris’ The Unknown Known, Goosebumps for Sony Pictures, Fifty Shades of Grey, Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, Universal Pictures’ sequel Fifty Shades Darker, and Tate Taylor’s Girl on the Train. Up next for Elfman is The Weinstein Company’s Tulip Fever and Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades Freed.
A native of Los Angeles, Elfman grew up loving film music. He travelled the world as a young man, absorbing its musical diversity. He helped found the band Oingo Boingo, and came to the attention of a young Tim Burton, who asked him to write the score for Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. (25 years later, the two have forged one of the most fruitful composer-director collaborations in film history.) In addition to his film work, Elfman wrote the iconic theme music for The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives. He also composed a symphony Serenada Schizophrana for Carnegie Hall, an overture The Overeager Overture for the Hollywood Bowl, Iris—a Cirque du Soleil show at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre and most recently, Elfman’s violin concerto No. 1 which will world premiere in Prague on June 21st. Danny Elfman’s Music From the Films of Tim Burton had its concert premiere at London’s Royal Albert Hall. “Having a particular style is not bad,” says Elfman, “but I prefer to push myself in the direction of being a composer who you never know what he’s doing next.”
ABOUT THE BALLET
Rabbit & Rogue is the fifteenth commission of choreographer Twyla Tharp for American Ballet Theatre. The ballet features a mischievous pair of principal men in a disconnected, virtual world. They encounter two couples and their supporting ensembles – one tumultuous, one harmonious. With the advancements in consumer video technology, Tharp was able to utilize video during the rehearsal of Rabbit & Rogue more extensively than with previous projects. By editing and collaging rehearsal footage, Tharp was able to approximate the timing and positions on stage in order to maximize the performers’ limited rehearsal time.
Rabbit & Rogue was given its World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House, NY in June 2008, danced by Herman Cornejo, Ethan Stiefel, Paloma Herrera, Gennadi Saveliev, Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg.
SET CONTENT
CD
1. Intro
2. Frolic
3. Gamelan
4. Rag
5. Lyric
6. Finale
Composed by: Danny Elfman
Produced by: Danny Elfman and Noah Snyder
Performed by: Berlin Session Orchestra
Conducted by: Joris Bartsch Buhle
DVD
5.1 audio (high definition)
Interview with Danny Elfman during the recording session of Rabbit & Rogue
Buy the Deluxe Edition Here: http://smarturl.it/RabbitRogue-cd
