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.
He has used all his skills in drawing and digital manipulation to painstakingly rework great paintings from the Renaissance to the 20th century. And you’ll be delighted to hear that he’s reimagined them to feature that star of small screen comedy, Mr Bean.
Here’s a tour of the magnificence, starring many of the iconic facial expressions of Rowan Atkinson’s most famous creation.
John Singer Sargent’s Madame X
An aristocratic Bean from Rembrant
More Rembrandt
Rowan Atkinson and that Olympic opening ceremony sketch
Frank Cadogan Cowper’s ‘Vanity’ (with added Bean)
Rembrandt’s Self Portrait
If George Washington drove a yellow Mini
Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’
Édouard Manet’s ‘Plum Brandy’
Napoleon Beanaparte
Gilbert Stuart Bean
10-year-old Emanne Beasha wows everynoe with a wonderful rendition of "Ebben"
Classical music versus pop? We've got some strong thoughts on this one...
In recent days a music meme has been widely shared on social media. It uses carrots and leaves to suggest a difference between ‘classical’ ‘pop’ music genres. The post on Facebook page Classical Music World Wide has now been shared over seven thousand times.
Memes are fun, and we don't usually take them too seriously (we promise). However, we had a few thoughts about this one.
The meme repurposes another meme, ‘Success’ is not always what you see', shared on 9gag and elsewhere a few years ago.
There is no classical music versus pop music
The history of classical music tells the story of blurred boundaries between classical forms and the popular music of the time. Gershwin and Stravinsky dived into jazz, Bach and Couperin composed suites in popular dance styles, and Chopin wrote salon music. Schubert based his Lieder on the music you'd usually have found in homes and salons.
And many composers of rock and pop explore things from the opposite direction: Billy Joel's piano music, Jonny Greenwood's film scores, or The Beach Boys’ pitch-perfect harmony and counterpoint are all good examples.
Styles, conventions and manners of composition may differ, but we reckon there’s no such thing as pure musical genres, in black and white with walls in between. Every boundary has been blurred so many times over the centuries, all one can say with any accuracy is: music is music.
‘Depth’ and ‘success’ in music is subjective and not technical
If you feel a piece of music has depth, richness, emotions, fascination, life or mystery, that’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. There’s not a formula for it, it’s what you feel, and like all experiences of art and creativity, it’s unique to you.
Musical complexity does not equal depth. It’s not the number of notes, it’s how those notes make you feel. And that’s true if it’s a mind-bending double fugue, an Ed Sheeran chord progression, or the two chord Adagio movement from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.
And we're sure that both Franz Schubert and Lady Gaga will both confirm that a lot goes into a three minute song.
Classical music DOES have broad and immediate appeal
Classical music can reap powerful, immediate rewards, just as pop music does. Think the ‘Nessun Dorma‘ at the football world cup 1990, the climatic cadence of Mahler Symphony No. 2, the ear-worm that is Ravel’s Bolero, or that moment of Mozart in The Shawshank Redemption. Classical music’s carrot leaves can be very big too!
We don’t need to diminish other genres
We can all agree that classical music is awesome. But we don’t need to talk down any other style or musical experience to make that point. Let’s use our time celebrating the amazing things within classical music and its glorious blurred boundaries. It stands by itself just fine.
Pianist and teenage opera singer go viral after impromptu performance on London Underground
Credit: Dr K Boogie Woogie on YouTube
By Helena Asprou
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When Elicia Palmer teamed up with a stranger to perform a beautiful rendition of the 1965 film classic, she probably had no idea she would become an Internet sensation...
Originally from Grimsby, Elicia Palmer had been travelling through Tottenham Court Road underground station when she spotted a musician playing the station’s public piano.
Keen for a duet, the pianist approached the opera singer and cellist to make his musical request – but at the time, the teen was unaware it was Brendan Kavanagh, a well known concert pianist with a YouTube following of 844,000.
Also known as Dr K, the pianist, composer and former secondary school English teacher had left his day job in order to become a YouTube sensation by giving live Boogie Woogie style performances in unusual places.
Now, his videos have received millions of views online – and fans were quick to be impressed by his impromptu collaboration with Elicia (watch video above).
The video of this impromptu duet has received thousands of YouTube views. Picture: YouTube: Brendan Kavanagh
The talented teen, who is currently studying her A-Levels at Franklin College, Grimsby, is classically trained and chose to sing a moving rendition of ‘Edelweiss’, a film classic from The Sound of Music.
And ever since Kavanagh uploaded the recording of their performance, the video has been viewed more than 364,000 times.
Speaking about the experience, Elicia said: “It was very strange. I was just going to the shops with my friend and then we passed this guy playing the piano.
“We thought because we’re musicians we’d listen to him and spend a bit of time there in the Tube station.
“Then this guy came up to me, asked if we were musicians, and I said I was a cellist. My friend told him I’m a singer as well so he asked me to join him. She pushed me into it a bit!
She continued: “It was crazy because I didn’t know who he was at first, I didn’t realise he was famous. Everyone had their cameras out. They must’ve known who he was but I didn’t.
“It’s crazy. I’ve had a lot of messages from around the world which has been really nice. People have been saying that I need to do more and they want me and Brendan to collaborate together.”
Well, Elicia, Brendan – we’re certainly keen to hear your next duet!
