Durig the late 1960s, creative minds in rock began to expand (jazz influence, electronic
exploration, now classical)
Rock Pioneers:
Buddy Holly
the Beatles
the Byrds
Jimi Hendrix
Blood, Sweat, & Tears
"major" (extended) works of art? comparable with those of the classical
tradition?
Combining rock & classical elements: 6 approaches ...
quote a classical excerpt; Prokofiev theme enters at 1:23 in "Russians"
Sting's "Russians,"
based on
"Romance" from Prokofiev's Lieutenant
Kije Suite
use a classical melody as the basis for a rock song
Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic" based on Chopin's Prelude in C minor
"A Fifth
of Beethoven" from Saturday Night Fever
based on Beethoven's Symphony No. 5
series of rock songs conceived as units in a larger form (sometimes using an orchestra to perform musical interludes between songs) ... musical unification
vs. "loose" concept album
rock musicals
Hair (1967)
Tommy (1969; star-studded film version in 1975)- The Who
Jesus Christ Superstar (1971) - Andrew Lloyd Webber
Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) - The Beatles
Days of Future Passed (1968) - Moody Blues
more recent: Green Day's later albums
American Idiot (2004)
21st Century Breakdown (2009)
adapt full classical work to rock performance ... e.g., Emerson, Lake, &
Palmer ...
"Promenade" from Pictures at
an Exhibition, based on the work by Modest
Mussorgsky
"Fanfare
for the Common Man," based on the work by Aaron
Copland
work for rock group & classical ensemble (musical examples provided
in next section)
Jon Lord's "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" (will hear excerpts
later)
Rick Wakeman's Six Wives of Henry VIII (1972), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974) or King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975)
low-level example: Metallica's S&M (1999) - essentially creating "arrangements" of Metallica songs for performance with a symphony (not originally conceived that way)
a more recent example Metallica's "No
Leaf Clover"
from S&M (Live), 1999 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
use the musical language of rock to create an extended work modeled after
a classical form
ELP
Yes
more recent examples (often, more like a collection of short songs seguing one into the next):
"The Decline" by NoFX (1999)
"Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming" from American Idiot (2004)
20th Century Art Music vs. Traditional
Classical Sound
Traditional Concept of "Classical"
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Brandenburg
Concerto No. 5, 1st movement (1721)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) - Symphony
No. 40 in G minor, 1st movement (1788)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - Piano
Sonata in C minor ("Pathétique"), 1st movement
(1797-98)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) - Violin
Concerto in D, 3rd movement (1878)
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) - "Love Theme" from Romeo
and Juliet (1881, 3rd version)
Examples of 20th Century Art Music
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) - "The
Moonfleck" from Pierrot lunaire (1912)
Charles Ives (1874-1954) - "The
Rockstrewn Hills Join in the Peoples' Outdoor Meeting" from Orchestral
Set No. 2 (1919)