Danny Elfman: Percussion Concerto (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Wunderkammer; Percussion Concerto – Triangle/D.S.C.H./Down/Syncopate*; Are You Lost?**. *Colin Currie, percussion; **Kantos Chamber Choir; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor. Sony Classical 19659889842

 

The composer Danny Elfman (b. 1953) is probably most widely known for his work as a film composer: some of his many notable credits include the soundtracks for The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Good Will Hunting, Batman, Spiderman, Mission Impossible, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In addition to all that, millions of fans owe him a debt of gratitude for composing the theme music that opens The Simpsons. He is also a singer, and in fact led the new wave band Oingo Boingo (1979-1995). As the twenty-first century made its appearance, Elfman began to compose serious classical music including a piano quartet, a percussion quartet, a violin concerto, and a cello concerto – and of course, the compositions on this lively new release from Sony Classics.

 

Elfman (left) relates in the liner notes that he was in London working on a film score just before the COVID-19 pandemic when his manager suggested that he meet with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYOGB), who had expressed an interest in a commission. At first Elfman was skeptical about the idea of a youth orchestra, but after attending a NYOGB concert performance, he recounts, “I was, “to say the least, blown away by how good they were. I decided on the spot that I would indeed find a way to write a piece for them. So I jumped into the composition that’s now called Wunderkammer. My original intention was to create something that was very challenging for them, as I knew they were up for that, and something that would also be fun and exciting for them to dig into, which might feature different instrument sections to give everyone a moment to shine.” Shining here are sections of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as under the baton of JoAnn Falletta (pictured below) they take us on a tour of Elfman’s three “wonder rooms,” which are by turns relatively fast, slow, and fast. The outer movements have a bouncy, loping feel to them, while the middle movement has an element of spookiness lurking about. All three give the players plenty to do – there are even some vocal passages. 

Elfman’s Percussion Concerto has its roots in his travels in West Africa as a teenager, where he began collecting and learning to play balafons (similar to a marimba). Later, in his twenties, he played in Indonesian gamelan ensembles and then built his own wood and metal percussion ensembles for theater performances. He writes that “shortly after the 2017 premiere of my first violin to concerto, I had a chance meeting with percussionist Colin Currie in London. We decided it could be great fun to create a piece together. I was excited to plunge into the challenge of another concerto, while at the same time to really go back to my roots with wood and metal, mallets and sticks and hands. I also knew Colin was an extraordinary musician who would be great to collaborate with.  And I was aware that there that there were far fewer concertos for percussion than for the more obvious instruments like piano, violin, cello, etc., and that meant there were far fewer models to guide me, which made the idea of a percussion concerto far more enticing.” 

Currie (left) gets a chance to strut his stuff right from the get-go, playing a variety of percussion instruments to open the first of the four movements, Triangle. This is followed by D.S.C.H., a movement that manages to capture the feeling of a Shostakovich symphonic movement – that feeling that the Soviet composer is writing celebratory music while nervously fearing for his life. Elfman has penned a worthy tribute here! The third movement, Down, is more down in tempo, more brooding in mood, strings and more reflective percussion from Currie. The energy level picks back up in the finale, Syncopate, in which the temp increases and Currie cuts loose once again, supported energetically by the orchestra, including notably tympani and big bass drum. It’s a fun movement for turning up your stereo and letting your neighbors know you’re home – and syncopated!

After all the fun and energy of the two preceding percussion-oriented pieces, Are You Lost? seems a bit out of place. Elfman mentions that the folks at Sony Classical had suggested that for this recording of Wunderkammer and the Percussion Concerto, he should also include a piece that had never been recorded before. As a result, he decided to recast a movement from a trio he had written for violin, voice, and piano into a composition for choir and full orchestra. Interestingly, the opening notes of are you lost of Are You Lost? echo the opening notes of Syncopate, so perhaps it is not completely out of place after all. Still, it seems tacked on, something of an afterthought. It’s an okay piece; however, it really would have made more sense to place it between rather than after its discmates. 

 Although more extensive liner notes would be welcome, the sonics are impressive and overall, the release is a refreshingly original and bracingly refreshing blast of fresh air. I will admit that when I first auditioned it, I was unimpressed; it took a few sessions for the music to come. To life for me. Once it did, however, I found it to be music that well-crafted and completely satisfying. It’s music that will make you smile. Highly recommended.