Electronic Classical?

Just thought I'd bring this up as I've been listening to Bach a lot lately, and pulled out 'Switched On Bach' to listen to today (an old LP copy my dad gave to me). It's very entertaining, but very obviously of its time in terms of the sounds used and the restrictions of the equipment. So my question is - are there any more modern (90s and beyond) electronic interpretations of classical works? It may seem like heresy to some I suppose, but I think that interpretations should be just that, both in terms of the way the music is played and the instruments used.

On a personal whim, I love to hear the Brandenburgs done by Aphex Twin or Autechre, for example, or perhaps some of the heavier german classical such as Wagner and Beethoven attempted by Panacea, Speedy J or maybe even GAS. Dream on Mr.C!!.....

 

First one I can think of, off the top of my head , is "Seduction Of Debussy" by Art of Noise.

 

You could try 'Pieces In A Modern Style' by WIlliam Orbit, here's some info courtesy of www.allmusic.com:

After years of making his own esoteric ambient albums and paying for them by doing dance remixes for pop acts, William Orbit hit the big time in 1998 by co-writing and producing Madonna's Ray of Light album. With his own debut solo album on Madonna's label, he returned to his esoteric pursuits, programming a variety of calm classical pieces into his computer and rearranging them to one extent or another. Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" came off relatively unscathed, but by the time he got to "Ogives Number 1" by Erik Satie, Orbit was mixing in the sounds of a helicopter, as if he were Francis Ford Coppola doing sound design work on Apocalypse Now with the Doors' "The End." Handel's "Largo from Xerxes" remained recognizable, but Beethoven's "Triple Concerto" was largely transformed. No matter whose music he was reformulating, however, Orbit worked gently, creating an album that, if it technically belonged beside Wendy Carlos' Switched-On Bach, actually was more reminiscent of Brian Eno's Discreet Music. It may seem surprising, then, to note that "Adagio for Strings" landed on the U.S. and U.K. dance charts, but that was only in Ferry Corsten's remix (actually, an entirely different version, full of the usual thundering percussion), which was included along with an ATB version on a separate CD with the album. Though Orbit was already at work on the new Madonna album at the time that Pieces in a Modern Style was released, from the sound of it you'd have thought he was really angling to get film scoring jobs. -- William Ruhlmann

Hope this is of use.

BL21DE3

 

The "Classic rock violin" by the Starlite Rock Orchestra that I recommended in another thread. In fact I was joking but then I listened to my record again and decided that it is OK in a muppet-sort of way; my kids like it a lot. It features an unnamed (!)violinist of dubious skills and a rather cheap-sounding synth "orchestra" playing stuff like a 4-minute version of Beethoven's 5th.

 

Carlos revisted the SOB project and released a "Switch On Bach 2000" album, erm back in 1992! (S)he makes use of modern sythesizers in this remake of the original SOB project.

How about "Sky"? A classical/rock crossover supergroup fronted by classical guitarist John Williams. A mixture of self penned and re-worked well known classical standards.

Not strictly electronic but how about Gidon Kremer and Kremarate Baltica's recording of Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony with the voices and noises lifted from modern eletronic kid's toys? Great fun IMO.

 

As well as electronic versions of classical pieces, there's quite a few composers who have used electronics in their own work: Stockhausen, Xenakis, John Cage, Luc Ferrari, Morton Subotnick, and others. Some of it's really interesting.

There was a decent compilation CD of some of this stuff a few years ago, called Early Modulations, don't know if it's still in print.

-- Ian

 

The best I've ever heard (and one of my favourite CDs and LPs - I have it on both) is Bob James playing Jean-Philippe Rameau (CBS Masterworks MK 39540). In my opinion, vastly superior to Walter/Wendy Carlos's efforts. James uses all the facilities of the synthesiser, but preserves the spirit of the music.

 

Another one I thought of is "Snowflakes Are Dancing" by Isao Tomita.
This is an electronic performance of works by Debussy.
Tomita has done other classical conversions, I have also got his versions of Holst's "The Planets" - but I think this by far his best. A very beguiling piece- Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun" is particularly good.

 

Originally posted by blogger
"Another one I thought of is "Snowflakes Are Dancing" by Isao Tomita.
This is an electronic performance of works by Debussy."

What a stroke of luck! Just browsing this item on amazon, and a customer review actually lists the original LP catalogue number - should make my search that much easier (I buy only LPs).

Thanks for the replies guys - very helpful indeed!