Fusion of Classical and Modern

MDR

I have heard alot of example's recentily of fusions of classical music and more modern tempo's.

For Example

Damain Rice's - Eskimo.
Hans Zimmer - Now We Are Free
Elton John + Pavoritti - Live Like Horses
F.Mercury and XYZ Monserate - Barcelona

(I know other ones but I can't think of them off-hand)

Is there anymore music in this genre ? I find it very interesting ...
Can someone be kind enough to point me in the direction of a couple of bands.

beardedchicken

hmm... i wouldn't have called damien rice's eskimo classical fusion. true, there's an opera singer in it, but i'd say it's just one element of the song. i dunno why, but i wouldn't immediately have classified it as such.

if you look at groups like bond and mediaeval baebes, or soloists like vanessa mae and to a certain extent nigel kennedy's newest work, i think that would fall into the classical with a modern twist more easily. very often that just means taking classical pieces, and putting a modern (dance usually) beat to them, like vanessa mae, but bond for example also compose their own original pieces, using the conventions of classical music and the beat of more modern styles.

just my two cents

Crucifix

Lots of metal bands include classical elements in their music. Metallica have a live recording of them performing with the san fransisco symphony (quite good in my opinion), and a band called Dimmu Borgir recently released an album with a full orchestra accompanying them (haven't heard it, but I've been told it's good).
Also, a good example of the dance classical thing is Rob Dougan - Clubbed to Death.

Éomer of Rohan

I have to admit that I like Metallica's S&M stuff as well.

There are plenty of other bands which use classical instruments and forms of music - for example, Luca Turilli - a fantasy metal band.

Specky

Sorry to be an aged progressive rock dude but I always liked Emerson, Lake and Palmer's version of "Pictures at an Exhibition".

I seem to recall Yngwie Malmstien did some Stravinsky stuff.

Anyone else old enough to remember the Classic Rock albums? Rock/pop classics played orchestrally? (and no...not like James Last...) There were three or four albums, came out late 70s/early 80s, there were really quite nice versions of "I don't like mondays", "paint it black" etc etc..

There was also a reasonably entertaining thing called "Masterworks" containing a pile of popular classics played on "synthesizer". Ah....those were the days.

...and who can forget Sky!?!?!

They were completely naff towards the end but in concert they were surprisingly good. The Sky 2 album contains some good stuff. Problem is whenever I think of Sky I think of how much of a tw@t Tristan Fry (drums and persussion) looked like, and that Herbie Flowers (bass and tuba!) was the guy who played one of the most famous bass lines in the world, on Lou Reid's "Walk on the Wild Side".

feylya

Well, Malmsteen does a lot of stuff with an orchestra, Steve Vai did Fire Strings with the Japanese Orchestra and there's always the Trans-Siberian Orchestra!

Specky

Is Malmsteen still going?? I never really liked his stuff much, was more into Stevie Vai....Alien Lover Secrets had some nice playing as well as the spectacular stuff. I remember the column of the same name that he wrote in Guitar magazine at around the time the album came out...the guy is definitely plugged into another plane!!

...who else would have sat down and transcribed all those Zappa solos??

Oh, and closer to the original subject, there's the Frank Zappa album "Francesco Zappa" which "purports" to be a number of pieces written by the 18th century composer of that name played on the Synclavier......"arf" he said.

feylya

Yeah, Malmsteen is still going and he looks like Cartman! He's just finished touring on G3 and he's releasing Attack!!! in America. His Concerto for Electric Guitar is bloody amazing imo.

davros

I heard a piece by Filippa Giordano on a compilation album. She signs opera with a modern (and astonishing) voice.

You can hear a poor quality extract of that piece - Vissi D'arte from Tosca - on Amazon. I think it's wonderful but opera buffs might violently disagree.

Specky

Well on cross-overs "For The Stars" Anne Sofie Von Otter and Elvis Constello (Deutche Grammophon) has some nice stuff on it....and Anne Sofie is a bit of a Yummy Mummy too...