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Since I bought the CD in August I have had the “burning” curiosity to see a live performance of Serenada Schizophrana, and I have had the desire to see Rabbit and Rogue just as long. Yet I cannot find any upcoming performances of either, what happened to them? I would at least think Rabbit and Rogue would be performed sometime in the near future…or at least receive the Hybrid SA-CD treatment that Serenada Schiozphrana received…along with a recording of “Overeager Overture”… seriously, what happened to that piece? It was only performed once? WHY ARE THESE THREE WORKS NEVER PERFORMED is the question I suppose I am asking.
Welcome to the world of concert music! It was just creative luck that Serenada was recorded. They got IMAX to pay for the recording so they could use sections of it in the “IMAX DEEP SEA 3D” movie. That’s why it says that on the cover. Otherwise, there’s no way in the world it would have been recorded.
THE BAD NEWS
Same goes for Rabbit. It was not a smashing success. I saw it in a half full Metropolitan Opera House. Danny was happy as it was his first foray into ballet. But the chance that someone is going to foot the $300,000 budget to record and produce it? Slim to none.
With that said, there’s a better chance that someone will choose to revive the live ballet. But again, i wouldn’t hold my breath for that. And depending on what the publishing agreement is on the music, they may not be able to perform the music alone without the dancing.
PLUS, since Elfman is used to the big budget Hollywood sized orchestra, even if it were to be played in concert, it would be (and was) expensive as hell. Both pieces were impractically scored and won’t come close to making it into the so-called orchestral repertoire.
You add to this, that orchestras turn up their noses at most things, especially concert pieces and a ballet that were “orchestrated” by others…none of this adds up to you hearing it in a town near you any time soon.
THE GOOD NEWS
This is part of the deal. If you are a concert hall composer…you work hard on composing a piece for 3 months or 6 months…you get inadequate rehearsal time, most likely the orchestra never plays the piece from beginning to end before the first performance, and when it happens, it’s most likely a bad performance. Then that’s it. OVER. Finito. No more performances! Do you see why many gifted composers don’t find this professional avenue attractive? But, Danny’s been through it. Part of the reward IS the making of the music and not the payday and not the screen credit. It’s simply making music with someone you like. He’s been through that now and it’s a totally different experience than scoring a movie for the 75th time. Good for him.Wow BATMAN! That is an astonishing acumen. Would you, by chance, be some one in the business?
Speaking of, there’s a great book on the rise and fall of the classical music recording industry called THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CLASSICAL MUSIC by Norman Lebrecht. I worry about getting good orchestral music recorded that isn’t backed by a big studio these days. I think the concert-hall composers are going to have to be the pioneers this time around (as opposed to the producers/distributors of old). With the rise of the independent and personal studios, the proliferation of cheap (i.e. digital) distribution, it’s up to Elfman to get his music into our hands.
Hope he’s up for the new century!
saj
I am and I do work “in the business.” However, my personal theory on this matter is the same as sajrocks’ point: that it’s up to Elfman to get the music to his public.
It’s all fine and dandy to be hired to do a film score and get an album put out. Elfman has more money than God right now (don’t let me be misunderstood, his success is well deserved). if he wanted to record it, he could.
For other lesser known composers, it’s mostly about doing whatever the hell you need to do to get your music recorded and put out. Now…it’s nice to be rich and have the luxury of doing what you want, but how excited would you be about dropping $300,000 to record a ballet? You’d have to drop another $300,000 to get anyone beyond the ultra-dedicated to buy it. And in truth, you’d sell about 5 to 10 thousand copies. For a net profit of about -$598,000.
The big record industry is dead…even if they think they are still alive. Hopefully there will be a reason or occasion to have this piece recorded. But again, I doubt it *ever will. The most likely thing will be that it will be used in part or in whole for another soundtrack. not only did serenada get made because of IMAX Deep Sea 3D, but it was also extensively cut up and re-used for Standard Operating Procedure.*in Elfman’s lifetime.
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