Friday, February 7, 2020

Vivaldi’s ‘infuriating’ Four Seasons

... dropped as hold music by Government hotline

Vivaldi 'Spring' is no longer DWP's hold music. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

Callers waiting to speak to the Department of Work and Pensions will no longer hear music from the Baroque masterpiece, after saying they couldn’t deal... ‘Viv-al-di’ repetition.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons has been dropped by the Department of Work and Pensions as its on-hold music, after callers said the repetitive clip was making them feel anxious. Callers waiting to speak to an adviser about a benefits problem have heard a 30-second loop of ‘Spring’, the first concerto in the great Italian composer’s masterpiece, for nearly 15 years.

But with millions of callers on hold for up to an hour, many people were hearing the clip up to 120 times in a row. One user called the DWP’s choice of music a “cruel and unusual punishment”.

“We had some feedback that the Vivaldi clip caused anxiety for claimants and in particular had an impact on autistic callers,” a DWP spokesperson said.

The Department has said ‘Spring’ will be replaced by a ‘calming’ 20-minute mix of eight unnamed musical tracks that aims to reduce callers’ anxiety by creating “a steady and neutral pace and reducing the issue of repetition”.

“We tested it with claimants in job centres and they overwhelmingly preferred it,” a DWP spokesperson said. “It was seen as more calming and peaceful and light. One person said, ‘I loved The Four Seasons, it’s a lovely piece of music’, but most preferred the new music.”

The DWP has used ‘Spring’ as its on-hold music since 2006. They called it a ‘cost-effective solution’, explaining that while the music would usually be funded by taxpayer money, they were licensed to play the Vivaldi for free.

But while the average helpline on-hold time is eight minutes, waiting times can go up to an hour. The repetitive music appears to have caused unnecessary anxiety for those calling about an often stressful matter.

“Queue times can be long, longer than the whole symphony on occasion, and callers are required to listen to the same sample, interspersed with the same recorded message, for infuriating periods of time,” it said.

“The false jollity of the piece in question, combined with the repetition involved in the short sample length, is largely at odds with the motives of people ringing the line, usually because of a problem with receipt of benefits.”

Friday, January 31, 2020

Rachmaninov is the most innovative composer ...

... in 200 years, researchers reveal

Rachmaninov was more innovative than Beethoven, researchers say. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

Beethoven might be considered one of the greatest composers of all time – but his music wasn’t as original as Rachmaninov’s, researchers claim.

Sergei Rachmaninov was the most innovative composer in classical music history, according to new research that puts the Russian giant just ahead of Bach, Brahms and Mendelssohn.

A study of more than 19 composers, published in the open access journal EPJ Data Science, showed that Rachmaninov’s music was the most unlike his predecessors’ across the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras (c. 1700-1900),

His compositions were also judged the most original, compared to his earlier works.

Beethoven, whose music bridged the gap between the Classical and Romantic eras, was found to be the most influential composer in the later period. However, the study did not consider his music highly original compared to his previous works.

Similarly, Classical composers Haydn and Mozart were considered influential in their time, but their compositions did not evolve drastically over their lifetime. To carry out the research, a team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea studied 900 classical piano compositions written by 19 composers between 1700 and 1900 – widely considered the two defining centuries in classical music history.

They calculated each composition’s influence (how it differed to predecessors’ piano music) and novelty (how it differed from previous piano works by the same composer).

Composers from the Romantic era, such as Brahms and Mendelssohn, scored greater overall for ‘novelty’.

Beethoven was considered the most influential composer in the Romantic period. Picture: Getty

Juyong Park, the corresponding author, said: “Our model allows us to calculate the degree of shared melodies and harmonies between past and future works and to observe the evolution of western musical styles by demonstrating how prominent composers may have influenced each other.

“The period of music we studied is widely credited for having produced many musical styles that are still influential today.”

The authors cautioned the results might have been different if works other than piano compositions had been included in their analysis.

Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ is currently topping...

... the iTunes singles chart

By Rosie Pentreath, Classic FM London

Ahead of the UK leaving the European Union on Friday, Remain campaigners are buying and streaming Beethoven’s seminal work – while Leavers champion Dominic Frisby’s ‘17 Million F***-Offs’.

Classical music is making a rare appearance at the top of the iTunes UK singles chart in the form of Dutch violinist André Rieu’s version of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’.The final movement of Beethoven’s seminal Symphony No. 9, ‘Ode to Joy’ was originally written for symphony orchestra and chorus – a rarity in symphonies written in the Romantic period (and still now). The version currently moving around the top spaces of the iTunes chart features Rieu leading the Johann Strauss Orchestra.

Rieu’s singles chart entry has occurred as people on the Remain side of Brexit are buying and streaming ‘Ode to Joy’. A version of the piece is the organisational anthem of the European Union, and with it Remainers are sending a political message ahead of the UK leaving the EU this Friday (31 January).

People on the Leave side of Brexit are similarly buying and streaming ‘17 Million F***-Offs’ by Dominic Frisby to also send a political message ahead of Friday.

Classical music rarely makes it into the iTunes or other popular music charts, such as the UK Official Singles and Album charts.

Rare exceptions include the cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, whose ‘Elgar’ album made history earlier this month when it jumped into the UK Official Album Chart Top 10, landing at No. 8 – just behind Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Easy Life, and ahead of Post Malone.

Other songs currently hovering around the top spots of this week’s iTunes single chart include The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’, Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Before You Go’ and Tones and I’s ‘Dance Monkey.’

Monday, January 20, 2020

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 - Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra led by ...

Thursday, January 9, 2020

'No Time To Die'

Hans Zimmer steps in at last minute to score Bond film ‘No Time To Die’

By Sian Hamer, ClassicFM

The legendary film composer is taking over from Dan Romer as a last-minute replacement – just three months before the Bond movie is set to be released.

The score to the new Bond film No Time To Die will now be produced by Hans Zimmer.

Zimmer, who has been drafted in as a last-minute replacement, is taking the reins from composer Dan Romer who was originally set to score the film.

According to Variety, the Beasts of No Nation composer was dismissed over “creative differences” with the film’s production company, Eon Productions, last month.

We’re sure the score to the highly-anticipated action movie is in safe hands with Zimmer, whose track record in cinematic music includes the instantly recognisable sounds of the Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator and The Da Vinci Code.

But taking on this job is no small task, especially considering Zimmer is already scoring three big movies this year – Wonder Woman 1984, Dune and Top Gun: Maverick.

Zimmer is an 11-time Oscar nominee, who won the Best Score award in 1994 for The Lion King.

Back in 2015 we spoke to Daniel Craig, ahead of the release of Spectre, about the importance of music throughout the Bond franchise – particularly when it comes to those iconic motifs.

“It’s so emotive that sound, and if you use it at the right point in the movie then everyone remembers, ‘Yes, we’re in a Bond movie.’”

We’re excited to see what Zimmer produces in this latest instalment – especially considering he’s got less than three months to do it.

Eight of the world’s 100 top conductors are now women ...

... compared to just one in 2013

7 January 2020, 11:30 | Updated: 7 January 2020, 12:31

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Marin Alsop, Simone Young, Susanna Mälkki and JoAnn Falletta. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM

New research into classical music in 2019 shows progress for female composers and conductors, as more women take up space on the concert stage than ever before.

Female conductors, including Simone Young and CBSO’s Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, now make up eight per cent of the world’s top 100 maestros.

The figures, which come from classical music website Bachtrack, reveal that in 2013 there was just one woman – the great American maestro, Marin Alsop – in the top 100.

There’s also progress for female composers, as the study finds 24 of the top 100 contemporary composers are now women – that’s double the figure of 2017.

London-born Cecilia McDowall, known for her great choral works including Now May We Singen and O Oriens, was 2019’s most performed female contemporary composer – followed by Judith Weir, Anna Meredith and Jennifer Higdon.

“There is much interest in choral music nowadays which is so encouraging,” McDowall says. “It seems in good health.”

Elsewhere in the study, Latvian maestro Andris Nelsons was found to be last year’s busiest performer, conducting a total of 132 concert and opera performances (that’s more than one every three days).

As the classical music world prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, the research revealed over 13 per cent of all classical concerts featured a work by Beethoven.

Beethoven was the top concert composer – closely followed by Mozart and J.S. Bach – while his Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’ was the year’s most performed concert piece.

Mozart was also popular in the world of opera – he was the third most performed composer, beaten only by Verdi and Puccini.

Bachtrack’s research also reveals a surge in appreciation for Clara Schumann’s work. In 2019, a year that celebrated the 200th anniversary of the great 19th-century pianist and composer’s birth, Schumann was the 44th most performed composer – after being ranked at No. 94 the year before.

Klaus Döring's Classical Music/Klaus Döring's Klassische Musik

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