It's all about the classical music composers and their works from the last 400 years and much more about music. Hier erfahren Sie alles über die klassischen Komponisten und ihre Meisterwerke der letzten vierhundert Jahre und vieles mehr über Klassische Musik.
Emperor Naruhito is a keen violist. Picture: Getty Images
By Sofia Rizzi, ClassicFM London
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Emperor Naruhito of Japan is a keen violist and has just been gifted a very unusual viola by US President Donald Trump.
The newly-crowned Emperor of Japan, Emperor Naruhito, is not only the leader of a country, he's also a dedicated viola player.
Ruling as the head of the Imperial Family isn't the only thing Naruhito has kept in the family – he also keeps the musical talent going for another generation. Naruhito's father, former Emperor Akihito, is a cellist, and his mother Empress Michiko is a violinist.
The new emperor only recently began his reign on 1 May following his father's abdication, but he has already made public appearances playing the viola. In 2013 he played on a viola made from debris wood from the 2011 tsunami.
Emperor Naruhito played on a violin made from driftwood debris from the 2011 tsunami. Picture: Getty
During President Donald Trump's visit to Japan to welcome the new Emperor to his post, he gifted Naruhito with an American viola, made in 1938 by Ivan W. Allison of West Virginia.
The instrument was sold by Joe Joyner of Little Rock, Arkansas. In a Facebook post, Joe wrote:
“On April 30 I heard a news story that Japan's Emperor Akihito was stepping down and that his son, Naruhito, would be taking his place. 24 hours later I received a call from the U.S. State Department seeking an American made viola to give as a diplomatic gift. Shortly after this call, I began seeing news stories about Japan's new Emperor Naruhito being a violist.
“Nearly a month later, I can now say that last week I sold the Emperor's new viola, an instrument made in 1938 by Ivan W. Allison of Charleston, West Virginia. The instrument was presented to Emperor Naruhito by President Donald Trump today.
Madonna at Eurovision Song Contest 2019 - Grand Final. Picture: Getty
By Rosie Pentreath, ClassicFM London
We asked Classic FM presenter and soprano, Catherine Bott, if Madonna’s Eurovision half-time performance was good or bad from a professional singer's point of view. Her take on the vocals is pretty controversial...
Reviews of Madonna’s Eurovision performance last night are mixed at best.
After the Queen Of Pop’s performance of ‘Like A Prayer’ and her new single ‘Future’, the majority opinion seems to come down on the side of Madonna’s performance having been poor, with people believing she sang flat and missed the mark on everything from costume and pitching to political message.
Indeed, on first listen we can’t help noticing that Madge opted for some unusual pitches to hang her well known hit 'Like A Prayer' on. The notes she uses in lines like “I hear you call my name” and “you know I’ll take you there” are much lower than the ear expects.
But, was Madonna’s Eurovision performance actually bad?
We’ve recruited Classic FM presenter and pro soprano, Catherine Bott, to help us unpack the controversial half-time set.
“I was interested to see the Madonna show because I'd seen reports that she sang flat/out of tune throughout her big number,” Catherine says.
“Not so – those constant tell-tale upward flicks in pitch before important notes told me that creative and deliberate use was being made of pitch modification software which in itself was perfectly fine, and her actual voice had more depth and texture than I was expecting”.
That’s what Catherine had to say about the version of the performance Madonna has posted on her YouTube channel, at least: a tick for the quality of Madonna’s voice itself and unsteady pitching saved only by auto-tune added after the fact.
“I didn't do the Eurovision experience on Saturday night,” Catherine explains and on searching for the video a day later, she had come across the edited version. “It had clearly been auto-tuned to within an inch of its life," she laughs in retrospect.
“I have just played the original clip and there are none of those synthetic grace notes. This is Madonna au naturale and very badly tuned indeed.” You can watch the original version of Madonna's performance above.
Madonna & Qauvo perform at Eurovision Song Contest 2019 Grand Final. Picture: Getty
In the interest of full disclosure, Catherine admits to not really “getting” Madonna because of “all those visuals not backed up by a voice of substance or interest”.
“For me the ‘horror’ of her performance was its banality. She clearly still thinks she's being transgressive – with all those robed, chanting figures, the gas-masks, our heroine prostrating herself like a Bride of Christ before revealing the traditional corset – but the production only achieved maximum tastelessness”.
Ouch, our Catherine doesn’t mince words.
Why was Madonna’s Eurovision performance so controversial?
In spite of Eurovision having a strict “non-political” stance, Madonna highlighted ongoing Israeli-Palestinian tensions in her performance by dressing backing performers up in Israeli and Palestinian flags and flashing the words ‘WAKE UP’ over the stage at the end of her performance.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and local public broadcaster, KAN, were by all accounts caught by surprise by the political message and claimed it “was not part of the rehearsal”. EBU released a statement confirming “The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event and Madonna has been made aware of this.”
This all comes after activists had called for Madonna to boycott this year's Eurovisiondue to its being held in Israel at a time of ongoing conflict with Palestine.
As well as being off-key and a poor performer, Madonna managed to violate the EBU’s principle of non-political engagement by adding the Israeli and Palestinian flags to the back of two dancers backs. What a waste of money she was #Eurovision2019
Madonna's outfit, featuring a cloak, leather armour, fishnet tights and eye-patch, added to the attention-grabbing spectacle.
“Sorry”, our experienced soprano says, “but [Madonna’s performance] came across like the Lower Sixth Drama Soc's ‘controversial’ end of term show. She really should have grown out of trying to shock people by now.”
“Kudos to her for doing all those stairs with trip-hazard flowing robes and an eye-patch, though.” Amen to that.
The hidden meaning behind Cersei’s music in Game of Thrones
By Emma Clarke, ClassicFM London
Spoilers are coming. Look away now if you haven’t seen Game of Thrones season 8, episode 5...
The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones aired in the US last night, showcasing Daenerys’ wrath, as she rained fire on King’s Landing.
But before that, there was a moment when the show gave a little nod to seasons past, as a familiar tune by Ramin Djawadi played out amid the battle scenes.
You may not have caught it but there was a point, as Daenerys was busy torching the Lannister army and breaking down the ramparts of King’s Landing, at which the same sequence that was used in the ‘Light of the Sevens’ theme – which made its debut in the season 6 finale – played out ahead of Cersei’s demise.
So what is the significance of the theme in season 8, episode 5? We explain all...
At first, Cersei is quietly confident as Daenerys and her army of the Unsullied, the Dothraki and the North arrive at King's Landing. Picture: HBO
Where does the music appear in season 8, episode 5?
As Daenerys rides on the back of Drogon, setting alight the walls of King’s Landing, we cut to a shot of Cersei Lannister, as she watches on helplessly from the Red Keep.
Cersei’s hand, Qyburn, comes into the room to inform her that the dragon has destroyed all the Scorpions (the specially designed, dragon-killing crossbows), and the Iron Fleet has been wiped out, along with the Golden Company’s soldiers. All they have left is the Lannister soldiers.
Despite the desperation of the situation, Cersei maintains: “They [her men] will defend the Red Keep to the last man. The Red Keep has never fallen, it won’t fall today.”
As she says this, that familiar cello sequence starts pouring out, bringing a strong sense of foreboding.
Cersei starts to realise the danger she's in, as the Red Keep starts crumbling brick by brick. Picture: HBO
We then switch to a scene of her little brother, Tyrion, as he enters the walls of King’s Landing, horrified by Daenerys’ actions. While the cello part starts off slower than what it does in the ‘Light of the Seven’, it starts quickening in pace, swelling and building into a deafening crescendo.
The music pauses dramatically, as the last of the Lannister army drops their swords in defeat.
We then pan over the terracotta roofs of King’s Landing (presumably to emphasise that there are a lot of people living within the fortress’ walls that are about to be barbecued), to find Jaime pushing his way through the crowd in order to meet his twin sister one last time.
Cersei's twin brother Jaime struggled through the crowds at King's Landing to reach his sister. Picture: HBO
Moments later, the Red Keep is crumbling piece by piece, as Cersei, Qyburn and The Mountain descend the spiral staircase. Ser Gregor’s brother, The Hound, then meets them on their descent, in order to kill his older sibling. For the first time ever, The Mountain ignores his queen’s command, before killing Qyburn to fight his brother. The pair battle it out as the apocalyptic scenes play out around them.
Cersei managed to escape from the Red Keep’s tower, and Jaime finds her in the map room after he kills Euron Greyjoy. They embrace as the violin track trickles into the background. Jaime leads her into the underground passages in the hope of escaping. When they get there, they discover the path has been blocked with rubble, and they die in each other’s arms as their home falls down upon them.
the last time we heard 'The Light of the Seven' was in the season 6 finale of Game of Thrones. Picture: HBO
The ‘Light of the Seven’ theme in the season 6 finale
The last time we heard the ‘Light of the Seven’ theme was in the dramatic season 6 finale, when Cersei trapped her rivals in the Sept and blew it up using Wildfire.
Waiting in the Sept were the High Sparrow, Margaery Tyrell, her brother Loras, and their father Mace Tyrell.
After Loras renounced his ‘sins’ and was branded by the High Sparrows’ followers, Cersei was next to face trial. But in true Cersei fashion, she had no intention of attending her trial, but, rather, stayed in the Red Keep across from the Sept, to watch as the religious building went up in green flame.
Cersei blew up the Sept in the season 6 finale, using Wildfire. Picture: HBO
Before this iconic Game of Thrones scene, however, there was a beautiful choreographed sequence where the Sparrows were shot from above. As they gracefully move across the floor of the Sept, the ‘Light of the Seven’ starts playing, adding a sense of urgency and impending doom.
Unlike other Game of Thrones tracks, the ‘Light of the Seven’ is mostly played on the piano, which makes it all the more harrowing.
During the whole thing, Cersei used The Mountain to barricade her son Tommen in, who would otherwise have sought to help his doomed wife, Margaery, who was also in the Sept.
After witnessing the Sept blow up in a huge green explosion, King Tommen removed his crown, placed it on the table beside him and walked out of shot. The camera was still pointing to the arched windows of the Red Keep, as Tommen returned, and threw himself out the window, plummeting to his death. He was the last of Cersei’s children.
Cersei last surviving child, Tommen, killed himself after witnessing his mother's treachery. Picture: HBO
So why was it used again now?
The fact that show producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss chose to use the haunting music again now is incredibly significant.
While there are slight changes to the piece, the key elements of the theme have gone unchanged. It is purposely slower than the original and sounds slightly more dissonant, but it foreshadows that bad things are ahead.
As we associate the heartbreaking tune with the mass murder in season 6, we already fear the worst before Daenerys wipes out the entire city. We sense what she is about to do and the harrowing music sets the scene.
It is important it returns now, as we’re seeing a lot of imagery that is similar to that of the season 6 finale; there’s a deadly explosion, a Mad Queen, innocent people are killed, and a significant building in King’s Landing crumbles to the ground.
Only time will tell what Queen Daenerys will do with her newfound power – and what the last few contenders for the Iron Throne will do, for that matter.
