| Serenada Schizophrana | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 3, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | The Newman Scoring Stage atFox Studios | |||
| Genre | Classical | |||
| Length | 46:00 | |||
| Label | Sony BMG Masterworks | |||
| Producer | Danny Elfman | |||
| Danny Elfman chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    link |
Serenada Schizophrana is a suite of six symphonic movements written by American film composerDanny Elfman in 2004. It was commissioned by theAmerican Composers Orchestra, which premiered the work atCarnegie Hall inNew York City on February 23, 2005, conducted by Stephen Sloane.[1] A studio recording was released on October 3, 2006, withJohn Mauceri conducting theHollywood Studio Symphony orchestra. Album art was done byGeorge Condo.
The music was used in the soundtrack for the 2006IMAX filmDeep Sea 3D. The movements "Pianos" and "Blue Strings" were adapted for the soundtrack toErrol Morris's 2008 documentaryStandard Operating Procedure, for which Elfman also composed the full music score.
The work is Elfman's first majorclassical composition.
The series consists of 6movements, running approximately 42 minutes:
The 2006 recording also consists of two extra tracks following the work: "End Tag" and "Improv for Alto Sax". The tracks are respectively listed as the seventh track and abonus track.
The movement "I Forget" featuresSpanish lyrics by Claudia Brant and Livia Corona sung by female solo voice and chorus.
Serenada Schizophrana is scored for the following large orchestra and chorus:[2]
In the liner notes for the 2006 CD recording, Elfman writes: "I began composing several dozen short improvisational compositions, maybe a minute each. Slowly, some of them began to develop themselves until finally I had six separate movements that, in some abstract, absurd way, felt connected."[3]
He goes on to list the following influences forSerenada Schizophrana and his work in general:Bernard Herrmann,Nino Rota,Dimitri Tiomkin,Max Steiner,Erich Korngold,Sergei Prokofiev,Igor Stravinsky,Béla Bartók,Dmitri Shostakovich,Carl Orff,Kurt Weill,Duke Ellington,Harry Partch andPhilip Glass.
Both the 2005 premiere and subsequent 2006 recording ofSerenada Schizophrana received favorable response from critics. After the premiere performance,The New York Times called the piece "music that works. With six movements, rolling piano solos (by Christopher Oldfather) and the charming hoots and chirps of eight female voices (the ACO Singers under Judith Clurman), Mr. Elfman gave us music comfortable in its own world and highly professional in its execution... The composer of this piece has an ear for symphonic colors and how to balance them."[4]
Film Score Monthly hailed the CD release as "a freewheeling six-movement composition for full orchestra that forever teeters between the worlds of scowling academia and impish rebellion... perfectly balanced...Serenada Schizophrana sparkles with orchestral color and energy..."[5]Soundtrack.Net called it "a musical roller coaster ride through various little set pieces and landscapes, containing at times the orchestral majesty of Elfman's early career, his minimalist phase, and his more recent bouts of complex overlapping constructions and controlled dissonance."[6]
