Written by Troy Killjoy on 16.03.2011 at 16:42


It's a known fact that all musicians, not just ones within the metal scene, take influence from and even use classical music in their songwriting process. Sometimes it's only a few seconds, a minute - sometimes it's a carbon copy of the original version as an intro or interlude or outro...you name it.

And there's a reason why. While I don't necessarily like classical music, I definitely understand its complexity. Musicians this day and age simply cannot create anything that outdoes the majesty of classical music.

For instance, The Beatles are considered a "classic band". On the metal side of things, people hear "classic band" and think Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin for hard rock...

Now compare any of their songs to say...something written by Beethoven? Bach? Rachmaninoff? Vivaldi? Dvorak? The list goes on, and modern musicianship continues to pale in comparison.

/rant

I wager a bigger reason is that the tunes are familiar, respected rather universally and, most importantly, public domain. Borrowing some classical composer also gives you an air of musical legitimacy.

I don't agree with your analysis of modern music, anyway. Even before listening to any music for comparison, it seems immediately suspicious that humans would have somehow changed in the last few centuries and lost their ability to compose and arrange complex, skilled and beautiful music. That seems so uncredible that it's better to look for other explanations.

First, there's the issue of volume. The classical composers we look up to are a handful of stand-outs from a period of half a millenia. It stands to reason the average skill of recording artists in the last half a century isn't quite up to the same standards. Especially in a day when anyone can make music.

Secondly, there's the issue of genres: you gave examples of popular music. It's hardly fair to compare the complexity of a blues-based four-piece band like Black Sabbath whose fame is based on pioneering a sound and atmosphere to a symphony arranged for a 100-piece orchestra.

This extends to modern art (or "classical") music as well. The trend of the 20th and 21st centuries has been to go for a minimalistic aesthetic. The greatest composers of our time, like Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich, Philip Glass or John Cage have taken modern approaches to their music and never intended to write anything like Mozart. I have no doubt they wouldn't have been able to, had they wanted. Off the top of my head, I can't imagine many classical pieces more breathtaking than Pärt's Fratres, Glass's Einstein On The Beach or Reich's Drumming, Electric Counterpoint or Music For 18 Musicians. People like Astor Piazolla and Kimmo Pohjonen make very innovative things with their instruments. And then there are dozens of younger composers who haven't reached huge fame but have composed plenty of amazing film soundtracks, music for contemporary dance and traditional solo albums. Max Richter, Peter Broderick, Johann Johannsson, Gavin Bryars etc.

So yeah, I don't think music was any better before. It's true that you won't hear too much music like Mozart, Haydn or Bach from modern composers, but that's due to trends in style and aesthetic, not any lack of skill and potential in modern composers.

Before I like metal I was a great fan of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi etc (of course I'm still prejudiced). even I have a blog about classical musics but it's in persian and you can see its address in my profile. I like 4 seasons of vivaldi and almost every music(masterpieces) of Mozart and Beethoven.

LOVE IT, Vivaldi being some of my favorite stuff any genre, ever.

Hmm its really nice dude. I love it a lot.

I'm just getting into Sibelius. I've been listening to a lot of Eastern European classical and metal music lately. It is sort of awesome of how well they go together.

Would somebody be generous enough to reccomend some classical composers that write fast, minor key music, preferably as part of a symphony of some sort?

Beethoven is my favorite so far.

There's a lot of love for the old stuff here (and duly warranted), but what do you guys think of neoclassical?

Olafur Arnalds' Eulogy for Evolution blew me away when I got it a few months ago

Written by Aluminum Alloy on 09.05.2011 at 19:37

There's a lot of love for the old stuff here (and duly warranted), but what do you guys think of neoclassical?

Olafur Arnalds' Eulogy for Evolution blew me away when I got it a few months ago

Going to advertise my topic:
Ambient/Drone/Modern Classical

I like Olafur Arnalds. Not my favorite by a long shot, but he's solid stuff. For new stuff you might appreciate, check out NOW Ensemble's Awake and Julia Kent's Green And Grey, off the top of my head. There are other good albums this year, too. Gotta get back to you on that.

Making a list of classical covers or tributes in metal
http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=2699

any suggestions / recommendations welcome

Written by Guest on 25.03.2011 at 05:07

Would somebody be generous enough to reccomend some classical composers that write fast, minor key music, preferably as part of a symphony of some sort?

I don't know of any composer that does only that, but I think you might enjoy this song:



You may also be interested to know that the lyrics translate roughly to:
"When the accused are confounded,
and doomed to flames of woe,
call me among the blessed.

I kneel with submissive heart,
my contrition is like ashes,
help me in my final condition."

Does anyone have in mind any good album/compilation with guitar-driven classical music? More specifically, some mediterranean-like tunes.
If it's not completely guitar-driven but it's really good I can take the recommendation as well

Something like this:

Aram Khachaturian is an Soviet-Armenian composer , his powerful symphonies closer to metal i think my favorite works from him is

Symphony N3 (Symphony Poema) 1947

#part1


#part2


Sympony N2 (The Bells) 1943


Triumphal Poema 1950

Hello guys..I am new at this forum..I want to become musician but i am have no idea that where i can go for learn the music classes.At the end i decide to learn online classes of the music you peoples help me and tell me that which is the best online learn site...Thanks

Anybody a fan of Debussy? I'm currently listening to Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.

I used to be into modern music, i.e. anything after and including the impressionists. (As you may notice in my earlier posts.) But lately I have been more interested in pre-classical (medieval, renaissance and baroque) stuff, especially vocal music. There is nothing quite so out-of-this-world as the vocal polyphony of a Tallis, Byrd or Palestrina piece.



Vocal music, in general, I find underrated. There's an amazing chamber choir in Finland, Lumen valo, specialising in older music but also some newer pieces. Here's their performance of Morten Lauridsen's modern masterpiece:


The Romantics had their moments, too:


And finally, The King's Singers are awesome. They have their less interesting moments (a cappella versions of pop hits), but here's a great medieval Christmas carol:

Written by Frank Comstock on 10.10.2013 at 11:58
Anybody a fan of Debussy? I'm currently listening to Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.

I am. One of the most creative and original composers I've heard.

The Planets from Gustav Holts destroys the world,

Written by Cass on 20.12.2016 at 21:08

The Planets from Gustav Holts destroys the world,

nice. before I ever knew about Holts, I listened to Emerson, Lake & Powell's version of it (worth checking out). I knew it was a ELP re-arrangement, in their style (they have quite a few), but I did not know this composer.

Written by JoHn Doe on 21.02.2019 at 13:27

Written by Cass on 20.12.2016 at 21:08

The Planets from Gustav Holts destroys the world,

nice. before I ever knew about Holts, I listened to Emerson, Lake & Powell's version of it (worth checking out). I knew it was a ELP re-arrangement, in their style (they have quite a few), but I did not know this composer.

Nice, indeed. Gustav Holst is probably the single classical componist I appreciate.
Got aware of him around 1992, since Bathory's track 'Hammerheart' is actually a rearrangement of a 'Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity' theme as well.
Still loving that song...

This masterwork premiered on this day in 1893:

One of the most famous string quartets, premiered on this day in 1825. Generally, Beethoven does nothing for me (sorry) and I almost never listen to him, but this one I quite enjoy:

Starting my (very late) morning with coffee and Brahms. This piece originally premiered on this day in 1881. Call me crazy, but I hear a little bit of John Williams and even Nobuo Uematsu (specifically his Balamb Garden theme from Final Fantasy VIII) in this concerto. If one is to take influence, of course one could do a lot worse than Brahms

Fun fact: Brahms was most likely atheist or at least agnostic.

Premiered (for a full audience) on this day in 1896.

The melody starting at 4:35 is one of the most beautiful ever written. God, I love Dvořák.

It's Advent again, which means playing tons of Christmas-related music. Over the past few years, I've grown to love Poulenc's Four Motets of Christmas Time more and more:



Although probably the (objectively - fight me) best great work of Christmas music, sacred music, and possibly "classical" music in general, is Bach's Christmas Oratorio.

Well, when i started with classical music, I discoverd Franz Schubert, whom I really like. He created Heavy Metal for the piano. Let's take d959, 2. movement. Starts so softly and then in this version from 3:05 gets very heavy, wild and a bit crazy. I think he was one of the first who did this kind of piano work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNu9OxXprq0

@IronAngel: who is the lady at your posts-picture? Probably not you, I guess..

Beethoven is my favourite classical composer by far. I spent half a year perfecting to play the entire Moonlight Sonata on piano. Yeah, the first part is easy enough, but then you get to the third movement which is as metal as it possibly gets:

I actually have a complete compilation of such songs. It's odd, but somehow, I struggle to connect with platforms like Spotify and the like. However, I stumbled upon an alternative that works well for me. I've been using praiseanthems, and I believe it's all about personal preferences. It's a matter of individual taste – some might take a liking to it, while others may not. Personally, I'm quite fond of it. The platform offers an array of top-notch songs that suit my preferences perfectly. If you find yourself not particularly fond of the conventional music platforms either, I recommend giving it a shot.