Danny Elfman’s Violin Concerto ‘Eleven Eleven’ is a substantial four-movement piece completed in 2017; it was co-commissioned by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Elfman wrote the work for Sandy Cameron, a violinist he met while writing for the Cirque du Soleil show Iris in 2011.
Adolphus Hailstork’s Piano Concerto No. 1 was commissioned in 1992 by a consortium of five orchestras, led by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (VSO). Hailstork, then a close neighbour of conductor JoAnn Falletta, the orchestra’s music director laureate, had become a ‘composer in residence’ with the VSO. Together they gave the first performance in 1997 with Falletta declaring the work ‘one of the greatest American piano concertos since Gershwin’s Concerto in F.’
Danny ELFMAN (b. 1953)
Violin Concerto “Eleven Eleven” *
Adolphus HAILSTORK (b. 1941)
Piano Concerto No. 1 **
Sandy Cameron, Violin *
Stewart Goodyear, Piano **
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
JoAnn Falletta
This recording presents brand new concertos from two vibrant and contrasting American composers. Adolphus Hailstork’s First Piano Concerto draws on his African American heritage to create a work brimming with energy and high spirits, reflecting the rich traditions of jazz and blues. The Violin Concerto “Eleven Eleven” by Danny Elfman – renowned for his many film scores – has its roots in the composer’s rock, film and television background, but also illustrates his love for the music of Shostakovich and Prokofiev. In keeping with his famous Batman score, this work is a true violin concerto noir that is both haunting and compelling.
Violin Concerto ‘Eleven Eleven’:
II. Spietato
Piano Concerto ‘Spiritualist’
Poems of Life • Glacier • Rush
Biegel • Cohen • Sparr • McAllister • London Symphony Orchestra • Falletta
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★
Symphony No. 2 ‘In the Spring’
Oedipus Tyrannus – Prelude • Poseidon and Amphitrite
Ulster Orchestra • Falletta
– Gramophone
An American Port of Call
Deas • Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus • Falletta
– Audiophile Audition ★★★★
The Poem of Ecstasy • Symphony No. 2
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra • Falletta
– Fanfare