Lang Lang playing a piano medley ...

... with friends is an absolute dream

By Helena Asprou, ClassicFM

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The superstar trio perform an impressive piano medley in this video – but how many pieces of music can you recognise?

Virtuoso pianist Lang Lang has just released a new music video with friends – and it’s every classical music lover’s dream.

In the video (watch above), which premiered last weekend, Lang Lang is seen to play a beautiful medley of music on a Steinway concert grand, but he’s joined by familiar faces.

Seated beside him at two other pianos are Tao Tsuchiya, a popular Japanese actress, model and dancer, and Soshina, who has won two titles in prestigious Japanese comedy competitions.

The talented trio apparently play a total of 29 classical masterpieces, but how many can you recognise?

Lang Lang performs a medley of music with friends. Picture: Universal Music

In the full version of the music video, Lang Lang starts things off with a moving performance of Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’, a piece the composer penned in 1810 after the apple of his eye, Therese, rejected his marriage proposal.

Sad times for the musical maestro, but it’s not long before the mood here changes.

Taking us all by surprise, after a few bars, is the grand finale of Rossini’s William Tell Overture, followed by the triumphant “Hallelujah” Chorus from Handel’s Messiah and Brahms’ lively Hungarian Dance No. 5.

Then, the tempo slows right down as we’re treated to mesmerising snippets of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, ‘Once Upon A Dream’ from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty and Mozart’s ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’.

By now, we’re starting to lose track of the trio’s incredible repertoire, but they polish things off with a few other classical favourites – including Gershwin’s unmistakeable melody to ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and Mozart’s ‘Rondo Alla Turca’.

Phew. We’ll let you do the rest…

Lang Lang - 'Grande Valse Brillante' (live at The Global Awards 2019)

The pianist performed at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo

Lang Lang highlights the lack of music education in state schools

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Composer of 'Inspector Morse' theme dies aged 65.

Barrington Pheloung. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

12K

The Australian-born composer behind the beloved ‘Inspector Morse’ and ‘Lewis’ themes has passed away.

Barrington Pheloung, the much loved television composer, died yesterday in Australia aged 65.

Pheloung was best known for his dark, hypnotic music for Inspector Morse, for which he was nominated for Best Original Television Music at the 1992 British Academy Television Awards. He also composed the themes for the sequel Lewis, and the prequel Endeavour.

Within the Inspector Morse theme, Pheloung employed a Morse code motif for the letters that spell the name M.O.R.S.E. In occasional episodes, his music would even reveal the name of the killer in Morse code, or sometimes the name of another character (as a red herring).

Barrington Pheloung composed the ‘Inspector Morse’ theme. Picture: ITV

The sad news was announced earlier today by music production company DNA Music, with whom the composer worked on the music for TV detective series Endeavour.Pheloung’s representatives at DNA Music say they are “utterly heartbroken”.

“Some people just can’t help making a difference in our lives by simply being who they are. They make the world a little brighter, a little warmer and a lot funnier. Barrington was one of these people.

“An incredible composer, his music has touched us all and thankfully we have the memories and his music to cherish him by. Today is a very sad day, our hearts and thoughts are with Barrington’s wife Heather, his sons, Anthony, Danny and Timmy and his daughter Adel at this very sad time.”

Born on 10 May 1954 in Manly, New South Wales, Pheloung began playing R&B guitar in nightclubs. But then, he discovered the music of Bach in his late teens and everything changed.

Pheloung moved to London aged 18, to study guitar at the Royal College of Music under the great guitarist John Williams and Julian Bream. He also studied composition and conducting, and in his second year, received his first commission for a ballet score.

His film work includes Hilary and Jackie, based on the life of the great cellist Jacqueline du Pré. More recently, he worked on the music for 1983, the concluding episode of the Channel 4 drama Red Riding.

People have been sharing their memories of the composer on Twitter. One user wrote: “Very sad to hear of the death of Barrington Pheloung. I have many happy memories of our escapades together at the Royal College of Music. RIP.”

Another said: “You may not know his name, but you know his incomparable music.”

We translated The Lion King's 'Circle of Life" lyrics ...

... into English – and they’re not what you’d expect

Watch the full trailer for Disney's The Lion King remake

Credit: Disney

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

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It’s one of the greatest Disney songs in history, and Elton John and Lebo M. have just breathed new life into it. But what do the opening Zulu lyrics mean in English?

‘The Circle of Life’, the opening call in The Lion King, marks the moment the young Simba is held up by Rafiki for all the animals of Pride Rock to see. 

And it perfectly sets the tone for the remarkable African-influenced score for the Disney classic. While ‘The Circle of Life’ is mostly sung in English, the chorus number opens with and is underpinned by a few memorable lines of Zulu.

“It was unusual for them to suddenly have an African voice over the opening titles,” composer Hans Zimmer told Classic FM at the film’s press junket in London.

Hans Zimmer on The Lion King score: ‘The death of a father needs a serious requiem’

Filmed exclusively for Classic FM.

So, what are the opening lyrics to ‘Circle of Life’?

The lyrics, written in Zulu and sung by the great South African composer Lebo M., read as follows:

‘Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba Sithi uhm ingonyama.

‘Nants ingonyama bagithi baba Sithi uhhmm ingonyama Ingonyama Siyo Nqoba Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala’

And here’s how they translate:

‘Here comes a lion, father, Oh yes it’s a lion.

‘Here comes a lion, father, Oh yes it’s a lion. A lion we’re going to conquer, a lion, a lion and a leopard come to this open place.’

... that’s it.

via GIPHY

Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, who play Timon and Pumbaa in the remake of the Disney movie, rinsed the translation in a recent interview on Capital FM, Classic FM’s sister station, calling the lyrics ‘lazily written’ and saying they ‘weren’t hugely creative’.

They might have a point. Won’t stop us from singing along to it, though...