Definitively the Best Classical Covers of Pop Songs

By Daniel Ross, ClassicFM London

One of the great things about classical musicians is that they’re always up for a cover version. Here are the best classical covers of pop songs on the internet, from Taylor Swift to Michael Jackson.

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Taylor Swift - Blank Space (Brooklyn Duo)

The cloying eagerness to settle down balanced by the whimsy of living your youth with abandon… Argh, it just feels so real! And even without the lyrics, Brooklyn Duo get it across beautifully.

Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk (Electric Colour Orchestra)

A monster hit that requires its performers to convey as much charisma as Bruno Mars. Do these guys manage it? (YES.)

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (Nicholas Hersh)

One of the all-time greats in the pop rep, Bohemian Rhapsody has been reimagined in countless different and inventive ways. But here, turning it into a kind of viola concerto, it sounds like it’s never sounded before.

Adele - Skyfall (Ji Liu)

Classy, solemn, exciting - and that’s just the Adele version. When pianist Ji Liu gets hold of it, though, Skyfall becomes that little bit more heightened.

Play

Ji Liu plays Skyfall

When James Bond meets Rachmaninov

04:03

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Nicki Minaj - Anaconda (Lara St. John)

One of the most bonkers pop songs in recent years is given a performance art twist in this invigorating chamber performance.

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (2CELLOS)

The King of Pop is ripe for classical reinterpretation, and many have tried - especially with Smooth Criminal. But the boys from 2CELLOS had it nailed when they stripped the whole song back and let the intensity come to the fore.

Let It Go - Idina Menzel (The Piano Guys)

This list wouldn’t be complete without the Piano Guys, who arguably kickstarted this whole movement for classical covers of pop songs in the YouTube generation. Their delicate mash-ups (on this occasion they’ve paired the Disney classic with some Vivaldi) are as ingenious as they are infectious, and this might just be their best one.

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A Haydn Minuet and Trio Sounds Exactly the Same Played Back- and Forwards

Did you know: This Haydn minuet and trio sounds exactly the same played backwards as it does forwards

By Elizabeth Davis, Classic FM London

An enterprising YouTuber has shown that the minuet and trio movements from Haydn's Symphony No.47 sound the same backwards and forwards… and it’s pretty awesome

image: http://assets9.classicfm.com/2016/37/haydn-palindrome-symphony-asset-1473773299-article-0.jpg

However great a piece of music is, it usually sounds pretty pants when it’s played backwards.

But not Haydn’s Minuet and Trio from his Symphony No.47 – nicknamed ‘The Palindrome’ – because Haydn used a neat bit of musical trickery to create a piece that's perfectly symmetrical.

Haydn wrote a ridiculous number of symphonies – 104 in fact. And we made one member of the team listen to them all.

Here’s why it’s called ‘The Palindrome’

The second part of the Minuet is the same music as the first part – but in reverse. And the same thing happens in the Trio .

Here’s the score of the melody from the minuet to demonstrate:

image: http://assets.classicfm.com/2016/37/haydn-palindrome-symphony-1473771572.jpg

Here's what the movement sounds like performed live:

And just in case you're in any doubt that the piece *is* actually a palindrome, one muso geek on YouTube has actually reversed the audio, just to prove the whole Minuet and Trio is really and truly the same backwards as it is forwards.

First you'll hear the whole Minuet and Trio movement played in reverse, before the real version.

Music geek of YouTube, we salute you.

Haydn is known as a bit of a musical trickster – he also wrote the ‘Surprise’ Symphony designed to wake up audience members who chose to doze through his musical creations.

He also wrote the ‘Joke’ string quartet which has a couple of “fake” endings to trick unsuspecting audience members into applauding too early. The cheeky chappy.