Friday, December 27, 2019
Friday, December 20, 2019
Beethoven’s unfinished tenth symphony to be completed ...
... by artificial intelligence
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Beethoven’s unfinished symphony is set to be completed by artificial intelligence, in the run-up to celebrations around the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
A computer is set to complete ’s unfinished tenth symphony, in the most ambitious project of its kind.
Artificial intelligence has to complete ’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony No. 8, as well as to attempt to of revered 20th-century pianist, Glenn Gould.
Beethoven famously wrote nine symphonies (you can about the Curse of the Ninth). But alongside his Symphony No. 9, which contains the ‘Ode to Joy’, there is evidence that he began writing a tenth.
Unfortunately, when the German composer died in 1827, he left only drafts and notes of the composition.
But can a computer really replicate Beethoven’s genius?
A team of musicologists and programmers have been training the artificial intelligence, by playing snippets of Beethoven’s unfinished Symphony No. 10, as well as sections from other works like his ‘Eroica’ Symphony. The AI is then left to improvise the rest.
Matthias Roeder, project leader and director of the Herbert von Karajan institute, told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: “No machine has been able to do this for so long. This is unique.”
“The quality of genius cannot be fully replicated, still less if you’re dealing with Beethoven’s late period,” said Christine Siegert, head of the Beethoven Archive in Bonn and one of those managing the project.
“I think the project’s goal should be to integrate Beethoven’s existing musical fragments into a coherent musical flow,” she told the German broadcaster Deutshe Welle. “That’s difficult enough, and if this project can manage that, it will be an incredible accomplishment.”
What will the symphony sound like?
It remains to be seen – and heard – whether the new completed composition will sound anything like Beethoven’s own compositions. But Mr Roeder has said the algorithm is making positive progress.
“The algorithm is unpredictable, it surprises us every day. It is like a small child who is exploring the world of Beethoven.
“But it keeps going and, at some point, the system really surprises you. And that happened the first time a few weeks ago. We’re pleased that it’s making such big strides.”
There will also, reliable sources have confirmed, be some human involvement in the project. Although the computer will write the music, a living composer will orchestrate it for playing.
The results of the experiment will be premiered by a full symphony orchestra, in a public performance in Bonn – Beethoven’s birthplace in Germany – on 28 April 2020.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Gustav Mahler - His Music and His Life
Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler became popular in the late 19th century for his emotionally charged and subtly orchestrated symphonies.
Synopsis
Born on July 7, 1860, Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler served as director for the Vienna Court Opera from 1897 to 1907. He later led the New York Metropolitan Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra. He wrote 10 symphonies during his career, which became popular for their 20th-century techniques and emotional character. He died in Vienna on May 18, 1911.
Early Life
Gustav Mahler was born into an Austrian Jewish family on July 7, 1860 in Kaliste, Czech Republic. Mahler and his 11 siblings grew up in Jihlava, where pronounced ethnic divisions made him feel like an outsider. With music serving as an outlet, he began singing and composing on the accordion and piano at the age of 4 and gave his first recital at 10. When he was 15 years old, Mahler entered the Vienna Conservatory. During his years at the school, he began composing a piece where he felt he was able to truly develop his voice, Das klagende Lied. Ultimately, he turned to conducting after graduation, believing it to be a more practical career choice.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
André Rieu donates £360k to provide music lessons for 1,000 children
2 December 2019, 16:55
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The Dutch violinist made the generous donation to a youth foundation, which provides music lessons for children whose families can’t afford them
has donated €425,000 (£360,000) to provide music lessons for 1,000 children living in his hometown in the Netherlands.
The Dutch and conductor donated the money to Jeugdfonds Cultuur Limburg, a culture and youth foundation in the province of Limburg.
With music increasingly disappearing from schools, Rieu says, children today are learning to make music far less than before.
“I would like to give these children the pleasure of making music,” said the maestro. “My orchestra members and I know how much fun it is to make music every day, and to make millions of people happy with music night after night.”
“We were all given the chance to have music lessons since our childhood and were fortunate to learn how to play an instrument,” he continued.
“So, we may understand better than anyone else what it means if you do not get that chance to be involved with music as a child.”
According to Jeugdfonds Cultuur Limburg, it costs €425 (£365) to provide one child with music lessons for a year. The foundation plans to use its recent generous donation to open an ‘André Rieu Fund’, which they hope to use to draw more sponsors.
Earlier this year, Rieu offered to , which were taken from an orchestra for the mentally disabled. He said: “My heart broke when I read [the news]. I want them to be able to perform again very soon.”
Elton John: ‘It’s tragic that music is being taken out of schools
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We met Sir Elton at his old alma mater to talk music education, his ‘mystical’ song-writing process and how the Royal Academy of Music has changed since 1958...
“It was so intimidating then,” tells Classic FM’s Tim Lihoreau, as they meet in a room behind reception at London’s . “It smelt of fear.”
The great and singer has just hosted a Q&A with students of the Academy, which he attended as a Junior Exhibitioner from the tender age of 11.
But by 16, the young Reggie Dwight had decided to quit his classical roots to pursue a career in rock ‘n roll. And, rather hearteningly, he still puts his enormous success down to those early years spent playing scales in a practice room.
“In those days, the Academy meant classical music and nothing else – certainly no rock ‘n roll. That was the devil’s music. But without my training, I never would’ve been able to write the songs I’ve written.
“I’m so grateful for my classical training. I played and and , and to be part of the choir was incredibly fulfilling. Singing in a choir is such a moving, life-affirming experience.”
Today, eight Royal Academy students a year are on the Elton John Scholarship – a fund reserved for exceptional young musicians who would otherwise be unable to afford the fees.
There was a rather lovely moment during the Q&A when four of those students stood up and spoke about what they had achieved thanks to their star sponsor. This of course begged the question: what does Elton make of the dwindling presence of music in today’s schools?
“Music was one of the few O Levels I managed to get,” Sir Elton tells Tim.
“A lot of schools [now] have taken music out of the curriculum and I find that really appalling, because music is so inspiring and for kids that have the ability or want to play music, there’s no outlet for this in schools anymore. It’s tragic.”
Sir Elton has famously enjoyed a long-lasting relationship with the keyboard. The story goes that as a teenager at the Royal Academy of Music, he played a note-perfect rendition of a four-page composition, completely by ear (for any fans out there, the moment is replicated in the movie but replaced with Mozart’s better-known Rondo alla turca).
But that isn’t the only great musical relationship Elton has enjoyed throughout his professional life. His arrangement with songwriter Bernie Taupin is, Tim suggests, a somewhat mystical one.
“It’s very mystical. There’s no rhyme or reason. It exists, I don’t question it,” Elton replies. “It sounds very cliché but it’s like a gift from God.
“I look at his lyrics, as I’m looking at them a film appears, I finish the lyrics, I puts my hands on the keys and then I go from there. Usually, the first four or five chords I play determine what the song’s going to do. And I have no idea where it comes from.”
After around 60 years of playing for other people, it would be easy to assume that Sir Elton got over any feelings of stage fright decades ago.
But there was one instance of it that he still remembers very clearly – and it was when he famously played ‘Candle in the Wind’ at the funeral of Diana, the Princess of Wales, in 1997.
“It was the only time I really got stage fright,” he tells Tim.
“It was an enormous responsibility, and I’d been singing that song for so many years as ‘Goodbye Norma Jean’, and I had to call on all my professionalism of all my years of playing in clubs and being Elton John to pull that off.
“And I was doing it for all the people outside, all around the world, so I had a teleprompter. I just didn’t want to sing ‘Goodbye Norma Jean’ – I would’ve been garrotted on the spot. And I pulled it off because I had to. You have to man up in situations like that.”
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
This vocalised, slow-motion version of ‘Chariots of Fire’ is comedy genius
22 November 2019, 16:39 | Updated: 26 November 2019
Violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-Ki Joo are joined by the Vienna Symphony for this hilarious Vangelis parody.
We’re rarely ones to resist an amusing musical parody, and comedy duo ’s recent orchestral take on is a hoot.
With violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-Ki Joo at the front of the stage as soloists, orchestra hilariously mimics the iconic slow-motion running scene in the opening of the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire – scored so memorably by Vangelis – by swaying about on stage (watch above).
Igudesman on adds the electronic whooshes, which those of you familiar with Vangelis’ track will know, with his own mic’d-up voice.
Meanwhile, Hyung-Ki Joo accompanies the whole spectacle expertly on the at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
The fun doesn’t stop there – Chariots soon morphs into , with members of the orchestra – who happen to be still standing up from the swaying antics before – fire off a skilled ensemble arrangement of the flashy piece.
Igudesman & Joo high-five as they leave stage – as would we have done had we been there.
Bravissimo to all involved!
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