Cliff Eidelman
Born: 5 December 1964, Los Angeles, California.
Biography:
Film music prodigy Cliff Eidelman began his formal training in violin at the age of eight, and continued with multi-instrument training ranging from piano and guitar in genres such as jazz to classic music in his youth. After studying music at Santa Monica College and the University of Southern California, he got his first conducting experience with a ballet and overture that was commissioned by his alma mater. Within weeks of graduating USC in 1989, Eidelman approached by director Robert Young to score his epic drama "Triumph of the Spirit"; Eidelman was just 25 at the time, but the score he wrote was both moving and dramatic, and seemed to indicate that he had a great future ahead of him. Eidelman's breakthrough into public consciousness came just three years later, with his score for the sixth Star Trek movie, "The Undiscovered Country", a competent and stylish work grounded in powerful musical expression. On the back of Star Trek, Eidelman's wrote music for such notable films as "Leap of Faith" (1992), "Untamed Heart" (1993), "My Girl 2" (1994), "Now and Then" (1995) and "One True Thing" (1998). However, since the end of the 1990s, Eidelman’s career has unexpectedly floundered, and he has since become Hollywood's forgotten man. He remains arguably the most talented composer not to be working regularly on major studio pictures, although ironically his last two films - "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" (2003) and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) – have been amongst his highest grossing films to date. Away from film music, Eidelman's career as a conductor has flourished, and he has spent time working with record label Varèse Sarabande and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra re-recording classic scores of the past for their series of re-releases, one of which - "Romeo and Juliet" - featured an original classical piece by Eidelman inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest. Most recently, in the absence of regular film music work, he released an album original songs, entitled “My Muse”, and is working on a concert piece, “Creation”. He currently resides in Santa Monica, California with his wife Claire.
Reviews:
An American Rhapsody, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, Now and Then, A Simple Twist of Fate, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Triumph of the Spirit and Untamed Heart
Filmography:
He's Just Not That Into You (2009), Open Window (2006), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), Sexual Life (2004), The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), An American Rhapsody (2001), Harrison's Flowers (2001), Ocean Men (2001), Witness Protection (2000), Montana (1998), One True Thing (1998), The Beautician and the Beast (1997), Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), If These Walls Could Talk (1996), Now and Then (1995), My Girl 2 (1994), A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), The Meteor Man (1993), Untamed Heart (1993), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), Leap of Faith (1992), Delirious (1991), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Crazy People (1990), Judgment (1990), Animal Behavior (1989), Dead Man Out (1989), The Final Days (1989), Jacob Have I Loved (1989), Magdalene (1989), To Die For (1989), Triumph of the Spirit (1989).
Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2007 (adjusted for inflation):
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ($125.9m), The Lizzie McGuire Movie ($50.2m), Now and Then ($44.1m), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ($43.0m), Leap of Faith ($39.9m), One True Thing ($35.1m), Untamed Heart ($32.3m), My Girl 2 ($29.4m), Crazy People ($22.2m), The Beautician and the Beast ($17.7m)
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