Photo: Ezra Johnson / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Elliot Goldenthal is a composer I return to because he treats genre boundaries as something to dissolve. Born in Brooklyn in 1954, trained under John Corigliano and mentored by Aaron Copland, he carries the bloodline of American concert music yet pours it into film and theatre scores, winning the 2003 Academy Award for Frida. What I value most is not the trophy count but the visceral chill his music delivers, the way he scores pain and shadow without flinching. He blends classical, theatrical and cinematic instincts into something that refuses to sit neatly in any box, and that restless inventiveness is exactly why he matters to me.
Overview
Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and film and theatrical scores. He studied formally with John Corigliano and was deeply influenced and mentored by Aaron Copland, developing a distinctive style and ability to blend various musical styles and techniques in original and inventive ways.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Elliot Goldenthal
- Name (Japanese)
- エリオット・ゴールデンサール
- Reading
- えりおっと・ごーるでんさーる
- Born
- May 2, 1954 (age 72)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Horse
- Origin
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- composer / lyricist / songwriter / film score composer / musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Andries Hudde Junior High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2003 Academy Award for Best Original Score
- 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
- Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theatre
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Composer — see all → · Lyricist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.