Classical Music influences in Prog

Perhaps the most classically oriented of the classical prog bands are Sky and The Enid. Neither do much for me- 'classical rock' itself rarely does. Something about Sky and The Enid I find rather cheesy, but lots of people like them so what do I know? I love 'Pictures At An Exhibition' and whether it's all that faithful or respectful doesn't worry me (I did hear the original version in a music lesson around 4 years ago)- I just love their interpretation. I also love Rick Wakeman's early albums. That said, Keith Emerson's 'Piano Concerto' which was an attempt to do a modern classical piece was rather obvious ego massaging, imo. I don't like that much at all.

Eric  Satie inTony Banks   Aaron Copland  in ELP,Bach in Yngwie Malmsteen AND jon lord, tchaikovski in Cozy Powell,Rossini in Marillion

Edited by markosherrera - October 22 2006 at 14:12

Ravel's Bolero challenges many musicians: Jeff Beck, Zappa, ELP

Edited by pero - September 21 2006 at 02:55

How about THE NICE? Kind of a mix between Type 1 and Type 2. THE NICE was twisting classics and jazz like mad from 1967 and 1971.

- Intermezzo from Sibelius' Karelia Suite on "Ars Longa Vita Brevis".

But if you read the Wikipedia write-up on THE NICE you'll see that there are several quotes in other THE NICE tracks to classical composers (Rachmaninoff and Lalo, to name two) plus jazz composers. Actually, until I read the article I did not realise just how many classical and jazz (and pop, and rock) quotes THE NICE used in their tracks. Makes me even more impressed with the group actually, even if some of what they were playing was not completely original. This was progressive rock without a doubt: rock with classical and jazz quotes and influences, plus rocked-up, twisted versions of the classics and jazz pieces. It sure as Hell wasn't bog-standard rock or pop-rock.

Edited by Fitzcarraldo - September 20 2006 at 19:20

R o V e R wrote: Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow-Hall of the mountain king (Arrangment) From Edward Greg's "Peer Giant" suite

And many other too... Rick Wakeman and ELO versions are probably the most known.
This is like a standard, as "So What" in jazz.

A B Negative wrote: oliverstoned wrote: [QUOTE=yesfan88] King Crimson did a version of Holst's "Mars" from the Planets suite. I heard it on a live album my friend had...I forgot what they called it.  The first incarnation of King Crimson performed a version of Mars (heavy on the mellotron!) when they played live. There are a few recordings available, including on Epitaph Volumes 1 & 2. By the time KC recorded In the Wake of Poseidon it had evolved into The Devil's Triangle but still sounded very similar to the original.

Dragon Phoenix wrote: Renaissance - Scheherazade suite quotes from Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. This is one of the few occassions where classical music is used tastefully in prog IMHO. Another one not yet mentioned I think is Joybringer by MMEB (Holst - Jupiter from The Planets).

    
Trouble is, Renaissance also tastelessy quoted Beethoven's "Pathetique" Sonata in one piece - I forget which, as it was so awful, but I think it is on "Turn of the Cards".

More tasteful is Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Variations" (On a theme of Paganini), which draws more on Rachmaninov than Paganini, but is nonetheless quite brilliant.

On the flip side, the Butcher Shop Quartet have produced an amazing arrangement of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" for rock band.

And you can't talk about "Classical" music in prog without mentioning The Enid, who are/were the very best at incorporating orchestral music with prog.

BaldJean wrote: Mother Gong use the theme of Ravel's "Introduction & Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet & string quartet" for the track "The Three Tongues" from their album "Fairy Tales" and even improve the theme slightly (the first 4 bars of the beginning of the theme are repeated in Ravel's version; in Mother Gong's version the last note of these 4 bars goes up instead of down in the repetition, which is in my opinion an improvement)

    

Interesting! i have to give it another listen.

Renaissance - Scheherazade suite quotes from Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. This is one of the few occassions where classical music is used tastefully in prog IMHO.

Another one not yet mentioned I think is Joybringer by MMEB (Holst - Jupiter from The Planets).

Let us welcome back an favourite thread from the dead.