{"id":7778,"date":"2015-05-11T13:04:53","date_gmt":"2015-05-11T13:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=7778"},"modified":"2015-07-09T12:58:56","modified_gmt":"2015-07-09T12:58:56","slug":"elliot-goldenthal-wins-krakow-fmfs-new-wojciech-kilar-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=7778","title":{"rendered":"Elliot Goldenthal wins Krakow FMF’s new Wojciech Kilar Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"elliot<\/a><\/p>\n

By Ray Bennett<\/p>\n

LONDON \u2013 Oscar-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal (pictured above) has been named as the first winner of the new Wojciech Kilar Award to be presented at the Krakow Film Music Festival on May 28.<\/p>\n

The new prize aims to raise the profile of Kilar (pictured below), who died on Dec. 29 2013 aged 81, as it honours composers whose film work has a vigorous life beyond the screen. Pianist and composer Kilar was nominated for a Bafta Award for his score to Roman Polanski\u2019s Oscar-winning film \u201cThe Pianist\u201d and he wrote the music for more than 130 films including \u201cBram Stoker\u2019s Dracula\u201d and \u201cPortrait of a Lady\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Wojciech_Kilar<\/a>Organisers said the primary goals of the new award are to honour and celebrate the memory of Wojciech Kilar\u00a0and\u00a0emphasise the importance of the ethos of the composer in the interdisciplinary world of film: \u201cWith the award\u2019s establishment, the name and accomplishments of Wojciech Kilar, one of the most recognizable Polish composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, will gain a new international dimension.”<\/p>\n

The first honouree, American composer Goldenthal, won the Academy Award for his score to partner Julie Taymor\u2019s \u201cFrida\u201d and also scored her films \u201cTitus\u201d, \u201cAcross the Universe\u201d and \u201cThe Tempest\u201d. He was nominated for best score for Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s \u201cInterview with a Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles\u201d and Neil Jordan\u2019s \u201cMichael Collins\u201d.<\/p>\n

He scored Jordan\u2019s \u201cThe Butcher Boy\u201d and \u201cThe Good Thief\u201d amid a range of films that include \u201cAlien3\u201d, \u201cBatman Forever\u201d, \u201cBatman & Robin\u201d and \u201cHeat\u201d. Busy in the concert hall, Goldenthal composes chamber music and writes music for\u00a0 symphonies, ballets and operas. As well as the Academy Award, he has won two Golden Globes, three Grammy Awards and two Tony Awards.<\/p>\n

Festival organisers said the Kilar Award is granted for lifetime achievement to composers of film music who \u201cremain faithful to the traditional art of composing, write scores that in isolation from the image do not lose clarity\u201d, and use the language of music efficiently to produce \u201crich and distinct colours, shades and textures in their work\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"fmf_main_en\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Krakow FMF Artistic Director Robert Piaskowski noted that the award aims to recognise those who \u201cturn away from the quest for industrialisation and the primacy of special effects in film music soundtracks\u201d.<\/p>\n

Piaskowski said: \u201cFounding this award is to a way to take part in the debate by juxtaposing the traditional art of composing film music with its assembly line, business-like alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vast majority of composers “produce music as if in a factory and do not have direct contact with autonomous work”, he said: \u201cOften standing at the forefront, the composer is just the author of several themes that are harmonized, instrumented and prepared by a staff of anonymous musicians. Our duty is to emphasise the importance and worth of film music often called \u2018the new classical\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The festival assembled a council of experts to choose the recipient and organisers said Goldenthal was an almost unanimous choice. The FMF said, \u201cIn his music, Goldenthal balances between dissonant, atonal music and classical harmony, often during a single phrase, blending traditional orchestral music with jazz and rock, as well as electronic music.\u201d<\/p>\n

The announcement noted that the composer is comfortable working on pieces that are extensive symphonically and chorally as well as more ambient and intimate as he creates both traditional and unusual compositions: \u201cGoldenthal is highly valued for his unique, dark, and almost dense style. None of the contemporary composers of film music use their talent in creating works in such a variety of musical genres.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Director Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa said, \u201cHe engages with his craft brilliantly and stands in line with such great composers as Wagner, Strauss, Mahler or Bruckner. His scores are dense and extremely professional; he maintains the balance between melody and harmony, creates a very personal narrative and style, and possesses strong understanding of the whole form. This is a truly novelistic musical narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more about the Krakow Film Music Festival<\/a> and more about Elliot Goldenthal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ray Bennett LONDON \u2013 Oscar-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal (pictured above) has been named as the first winner of the new Wojciech Kilar Award to be presented at the Krakow Film Music Festival on May 28.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1694,8,9],"tags":[1481,3869,2174,4171,3868,3867,3866],"class_list":["post-7778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film","category-krakow-film-music-festival","category-music","category-news","tag-elliot-goldenthal","tag-joanna-wnuk-nazarowa","tag-julie-taymor","tag-krakow-film-music-festival","tag-national-polish-radio-symphony-orchestra","tag-robert-piaskoski","tag-wojciech-kilar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7778"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8245,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7778\/revisions\/8245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}