I was there at Carnegie Hall (they didn't open the upper balconies as the ACO doesn't usually draw a big crowd). But otherwise it was a triumph.
I think the piece has been done maybe two other times (Redwood Symphony) and recently Monaco. Kind of depressing...
I thought the piece was going to usher in more concert pieces by Elfman, he then wrote the Overeager Overture, Rabbit & Rogue, and Iris...but that was it for the whole ten year period. I know he likes money but isn't it possible to turn down the occasional "Real Steel" or "Epic" and do something where he can do whatever he wants?
I am a little dour on Elfman. Don't get me wrong, he still puts out good work - but he seemed to have hit a rut after the 90s ended.
An occasional score - Spider-Man 2 - or an occasional cue - his Planet Of The Apes title - but otherwise it all felt a bit too much like autopilot.
Until this work came out.
It's really one of my very favorites from him and really was a huge shot in the arm for my enthusiasm for his output. It's one of the first things I put on a new iPhone or MP3 player. I can't believe its been a decade already!
Even if we haven't had many concert pieces in the wake of this most brilliant concert piece, it has still influenced a LOT of what Elfman has written for films in the years since -- most recently THE UNKNOWN KNOWN last year.
