eighth blackbird's recent Chicago performance of music by Glenn Kotche, classical composer by day/Wilco drummer by night, got us to thinking about rock musicians who moonlight as composers.
We discovered a surprising number of rock stars who are composing operas. Are they craving recognition in the field of so-called "serious music"? The compositions that result have been across the board--some well-received, others decidedly not so.
Here, then, are Classicalite's Five Best musicians that are worth another look:
Glenn Kotche, Wilco
When it's not composed expressly for faucets, the music of Glenn Kotche has been performed by Kronos Quartet, Silk Road Ensemble, Bang on a Can All-Stars and other world-class contemporary music ensembles. He even contributed a permanent sound installation to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Kotche is a rare musician who has achieved considerable recognition for his successes in both genres, rock and classical. He has been a member of Wilco since 2001.
John Paul Jones, Led Zeppelin and Them Crooked Vultures
Led Zeppelin fans won't hear "Stairway to Heaven" played live by the band anytime soon. The band's bass player, John Paul Jones, recently squelched rumors that the band is going on tour next year. "2014 is full of opera for me at the moment," he recently told the Washington Post. Jones is writing an opera based on the short play The Ghost Sonata by 19th-century Swedish author August Strindberg.
Stewart Copeland, The Police
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stewart Copeland recently wrote his fourth opera, based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart." The one-act opera received its U.S. première at the Long Beach Opera in May of this year and garnered favorable reviews. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said the following about Copeland's foray into the world of classical music: "I am...happy to report that an old rocker can learn new tricks." Copeland worked with a composition teacher for several years, and studied the music of composers he admired, including Ravel, Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. Apparently, his hard work paid off. Judge for yourself in this video of "The Tell-Tale Heart."
Damon Albarn, Blur and Gorillaz
British composer Damon Albarn, frontman of Blur and lead singer of virtual band Gorillaz, has also found success with his operas. Monkey: Journey to the West is a stage adaptation of a 16th century Chinese novel. Rolling Stone writer David Fricke called it "a dazzling collision of Chinese folklore, spiritual instruction and ethno-digital pop music." At the opposite end of the operatic spectrum is Dr. Dee, Albarn's historical opera based on the life of scientist and astrologer John Dee, an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. Albarn mixed period Elizabethan instruments like the viola da gamba, theorbo and shawm with a traditional orchestra and African drums to tell the story of Dee, a strong believer in magic who may have been the inspiration for Shakespeare's Prospero.
Roger Waters, Pink Floyd
The bassist and leader of Pink Floyd, known for concept-heavy albums like The Wall, also created Ça Ira, an opera about the early French Revolution. Ça Ira reminds some listeners of Brahms and others of Les Miz. It reminds almost no one of The Wall or other Pink Floyd albums. The CD of this work was released in 2005 with a cast that included Bryn Terfel, and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Chart. Fans of The Wall may not want to check this one out, but for the rest of you, here is a video of Roger Waters discussing the work interspersed with footage of rehearsals.
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