Friday, December 20, 2019

Beethoven’s unfinished tenth symphony to be completed ...

... by artificial intelligence

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

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 Beethoven’s unfinished tenth symphony, in the most ambitious project of its kind.

Artificial intelligence has recently been used to complete Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony No. 8, as well as to attempt to match the playing of revered 20th-century pianist, Glenn Gould.

Beethoven famously wrote nine symphonies (you can read more here 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.”

Beethoven died before completing his tenth symphony. Picture: Getty

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

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.

Mahler: Symphony No. 7 - Radio Philharmonic Orchestra led by Edo de Waar...

Thursday, December 5, 2019

André Rieu donates £360k to provide music lessons for 1,000 children

2 December 2019, 16:55

André Rieu donates £360k to provide music lessons for children. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

The Dutch violinist made the generous donation to a youth foundation, which provides music lessons for children whose families can’t afford them

André Rieu has donated €425,000 (£360,000) to provide music lessons for 1,000 children living in his hometown in the Netherlands.

The Dutch violinist 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.”

André Rieu playing a full-size violin as a child. Picture: Beeld Privéarchief Rieu

“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 replace €20,000 worth of stolen instruments, 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

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

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,” Sir Elton tells Classic FM’s Tim Lihoreau, as they meet in a room behind reception at London’s Royal Academy of Music. “It smelt of fear.”

The great pianist 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 Chopin and Mozart and Debussy, and to be part of the choir was incredibly fulfilling. Singing in a choir is such a moving, life-affirming experience.”

Sir Elton John speaks to Classic FM’s Tim Lihoreau at the Royal Academy of Music. Picture: Classic FM

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.”

Watch Taron Egerton and Elton John’s magical duet at 'Rocketman' Cannes premiere

Credit: Getty Images

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 Handel composition, completely by ear (for any Rocketman 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.”

Sir Elton John singing 'Candle In The Wind' at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. Picture: Getty

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 Igudesman & Joo’s recent orchestral take on Chariots of Fire is a hoot.

With violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-Ki Joo at the front of the stage as soloists, Vienna Symphony 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 violin 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 piano at the Vienna Konzerthaus.

QUIZ: Can we guess which section of the orchestra you’re in? >

Igudesman & Joo perform Chariots of Fire with Vienna Symphony. Picture: Igudesman & Joo / YouTube

The fun doesn’t stop there – Chariots soon morphs into Monti’s virtuosic Czárdás, 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!

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

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