With the triumphant return of the BBC's Sherlock to our screens, following his supposed death at Reichenbach, the series everyone is talking about prompts another thought for classical fans.
It is an ongoing characteristic of Arthur Conan Doyle's books about his great detective, that Holmes is passionate, if not hugely accomplished, about the violin, which took pride of place alongside recreational drugs and mentally sparring with Dr. Watson.
And classical music has held a special place for other perhaps surprising, and unlike Sherlock non-fictional, figures.
Here, then, Classicalite's Five Best...
Albert Einstein
Einstein, like Holmes, loved his violin and would on occasion even give concerts in later life. When asked what if all of his ideas about ordered structure in the universe were wrong, what if everything was just chance and coincidence, he replied, "God would not be that unmusical."
President Richard Nixon
"Tricky Dickie" was deeply in love with classical music and harbored ambitions to conduct a symphony orchestra. Eugene Ormandy was a favorite of his and, as a 2011 piece in The Atlantic pointed out, "several already-released tapes of Nixon phone conversations feature classical music blaring in the background at rock 'n' roll volume."
Prime Minister Edward Heath
British PM Ted Heath did what Nixon never managed, he actually did conduct a symphony orchestra! He sang in a choir when young and the thrill of great music never left him. He even wrote a book entitled, simply, Music (for that matter, Heath's Prime Ministerial successor Harold Wilson was also a music-lover, though Heath was far more serious about it all).
Neil Sedaka
It's never a surprise when pop musicians love classical. After all, great music is great music and the list of rockers who love their Mozart is long--among them Brian Wilson, Jon Lord, Paul McCartney and Sting. But not many people know that Sedaka was actually a classical pianist who was good enough to be selected to represent the United States in the ultra-prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition. However, when the Russians learnt that he was a rock 'n' roller, they refused to allow him to compete. Well, that's the devil's music for ya.
Roger Federer
The world-class tennis player is the grandson of a conductor, and has enthusiastically, if rather unmusically, been seen wielding a violin for a videotaped congrats message to the Lucerne Festival. Well, once he finishes with the tennis, he'll have time to practice. It shouldn't be of particular interest that a great athlete likes classical music, of course, but it doesn't happen that often for some reason, outside of cricket.
© 2024 Classicalite All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
