Daniel Slatkin Explained

Daniel Slatkin
Birth Name:Daniel Alexander Slatkin
Birth Date:16 May 1994
Birth Place:St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Years Active:2016–present
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Daniel Alexander Slatkin (born May 16, 1994) is an American composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist and music producer known for his concert works, film scores, and television scores.[1] [2] At the age of 23, Slatkin's feature film debut was premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre,[3] and five months later had his symphony orchestra debut with a concert work commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.[4]

Early life and education

Daniel Slatkin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to conductor and 7-time Grammy winner, Leonard Slatkin and Linda Hohenfeld, on May 16, 1994.[5] [6] The Slatkins are part of a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His grandfather, violinist and conductor Felix Slatkin, was the founder of the Hollywood String Quartet and concertmaster of the Twentieth Century Fox Orchestra.[7] His grandmother, Eleanor Aller, was the cellist of the quartet and principal cellist of the Warner Brothers Orchestra, becoming the first female to hold a principal chair in a Hollywood studio orchestra.[8]

Slatkin was educated in the concert hall. He traveled throughout his youth while training classically in piano, watching his father perform on stages all over the world. Slatkin attended Brooks School where he began forming his musical voice, and during this time had his first professional performance as a pianist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the age of 17.[9] [10] After high school, Slatkin attended the University of Southern California,[11] studying business, music and film.

Career

Slatkin has followed in the footsteps of his family, achieving acclaim at an unusually young age. Slatkin conducted his first orchestral commission, In Fields, at age 23 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, his works have been performed and commissioned by the Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, National Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.[12] His recorded music has been broadcast internationally, with his most recent recording, In Fields, having been released in February 2022.[13]

Slatkin's debut feature film, Making Fun: The Story of Funko, was premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and his film music has since been heard around the world, from Netflix to ESPN to PBS to Amazon Prime to festivals, where his work has been nominated for best score.[14]

In 2022, Slatkin wrote and recorded the score for a feature film with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the Max M. Fisher Music Center.[15] [16] The film, about the Detroit bankruptcy, won the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film.[17] That same year, his score for independent feature film Neon Bleed won two Best Score awards, with the selections made by Roger Taylor of Queen and Alan Parsons.[18] [19]

Concert works

Filmography

Films

YearTitleDirectorNotes
2014Never to ReturnScott Bergen EspanolShort film
20166:15 on a Saturday NightDianna IppolitoShort film
2017NexusDianna IppolitoShort film
2018Making Fun: The Story of FunkoDavid RomeroNetflix
2018Dread HuntNicholas KramerShort film
2018How We EatBlair PenningtonShort film
2018Millennial RomanceScott Bergen EspanolShort film
2018Hollywood CheckmateConnor AdamsShort film
2019American BisonMax McGillivrayShort film
2019The Last PieceWill LowellShort film
2019Mommy’s BirthdayJacob ArbittierShort film
2020Dinner GuestsJacob ArbittierShort film
2020Man’s best friendPancho MolerShort film
2020MelissaJacob ArbittierShort film
2020Clap ClapJacob ArbittierShort film
2020MatchesJordan Nistico
2020Come F*ck My RobotMercedes Bryce MorganShort film
2020Chestnut LaneJacob Arbittier
Ian Soares
Short film
2020Zero Time to WasteMatt HelbigShort film
2021FishJacob ArbittierShort film
2021PLUM: A Baseball LifeConor Fitzgerald
2022Slice & HookRay BolandShort film
2022Gradually, Then Suddenly: The Bankruptcy of DetroitSam Katz
James McGovern
2022Bag LadyMax McGillivrayShort film
2023Neon BleedJohn Capone
2023The Chosen OneElazar FineShort film
2023Choke HoldMax McGillivrayShort film

Television

YearTitleDirectorNotes
2018Bread, Salt & The Graphite KidDavid RomeroPBS
2021The KitchenistasDavid RomeroPBS
2023SC FeaturedHarry HawkingsAwaken: The Morgan Hoffmann Story

Personal life

Slatkin resides in Los Angeles with his wife and business partner, Bridget Slatkin.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: McCollum . Brian . Son of DSO's Leonard Slatkin composed score for new Detroit bankruptcy documentary . 2022-04-30 . Detroit Free Press . en-US.
  2. Web site: Post-Dispatch . Daniel Durchholz Special to the . Maestro's musings: Slatkin's new book takes hard look at classical music industry . 2022-03-06 . STLtoday.com . en.
  3. Web site: December 18, 2017 . World Premiere of 'Making Fun - the Story of Funko' on Jan. 22 at Tcl Chinese Theatre! . funko.com . 2022-03-06 .
  4. Web site: MSM trustee Leonard Slatkin (HonDMA '13) releases Slatkin Conducts Slatkin, a new CD featuring the MSM Symphony Orchestra . Manhattan School of Music . en . 2022-03-06.
  5. Web site: Slatkin conducts Slatkin . 2022-03-31 . Gramophone . en.
  6. Web site: TIMELINE LEONARD SLATKIN . 2022-03-06 . en-US.
  7. News: Teachout . Terry . 2021-03-09 . The Best Musicians You’ve Never Heard Of . en-US . Wall Street Journal . 2022-03-06 . 0099-9660.
  8. News: Oestreich . James R. . 1995-10-13 . Eleanor Aller, 78, A Cellist and Part Of a Musical Family . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-03-06 . 0362-4331.
  9. Web site: McCollum . Brian . Son of DSO's Leonard Slatkin composed score for new Detroit bankruptcy documentary . 2022-04-30 . Detroit Free Press . en-US.
  10. Web site: Detroit Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert . I Love Detroit MI . en-US . 2022-03-06.
  11. Web site: Southern California: 2014 – 2015 Men’s College Squash Season Preview College Squash Association . 2022-03-06 . csasquash.com.
  12. News: Leonard Slatkin gives himself a 75th birthday present: a reunion with the NSO . 2022-03-06 . Washington Post . en-US . 0190-8286.
  13. Web site: CD Spotlight. Noble Grief. Music from Leonard Slatkin and his family, heard by Gerald Fenech . 2022-03-06 . www.classicalmusicdaily.com.
  14. Web site: IdyllwildCinemaFest . "We’re filmmakers. The art form we’ve chosen has the power to inspire." . 2022-04-13 . IdyllwildCinemaFest . en-US.
  15. Web site: McCollum . Brian . Son of DSO's Leonard Slatkin composed score for new Detroit bankruptcy documentary . 2022-04-30 . Detroit Free Press . en-US.
  16. Web site: 2022-04-29 . Daniel Slatkin composes score for documentary about Detroit’s financial woes . 2022-04-30 . The Hub . en-US.
  17. Web site: Rahman . Nushrat . Documentary about Detroit's bankruptcy saga wins $200,000 film prize . 2022-03-06 . Detroit Free Press . en-US.
  18. Web site: McCollum . Brian . Son of DSO's Leonard Slatkin composed score for new Detroit bankruptcy documentary . 2022-04-30 . Detroit Free Press . en-US.
  19. Web site: Cinema . Scotland International Festival of . WINNERS 2022 . 2022-05-08 . Scotland International Festival of Cinema . en-US.