by contributing writer and resident music aficionado, François M. Arouet
Who says today’s young musicians are all ultramodern fluff and no depth….
In fact, I would argue that today’s kids are doing more for classical music – with modern technology, electronic instrumentation and with the incredible access the internet affords them – than we traditionalists could ever have anticipated in our wildest dreams.
Although vacuous social influencers of all ethnicities get most of the airtime, it’s musicians like Canadian Cole Rolland, and Russian Gamzada – who are gaining tremendous traction with today’s youth – that should be getting our attention.
This year alone, modern interpretations of Mozart, Vivaldi, Beethoven and the other European classical masters have been viewed by hundreds of millions of young people – kids that would only have read about our great composers at school and forgotten about them moments later if not for modern YouTube based musicians.
Then there’s what classical musicians are doing with our generation’s rock music, as you’ll see below. It shows just how well written good rock songs are written when you hear them played on classical instruments.
I’ve posted three videos that deserve our attention – one featuring a beautiful, classically trained Russian pianist named Gamzada, playing Guns ‘n’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, and the other a metal interpretation of Vivaldi’s “Storm Medley “as performed by Cole Rolland, Angelo Vivaldi and Kristina Schiano.
I’ve also included Rolland’s interpretation of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” below for your enjoyment. What he does improvisationally with the second section of Beethoven’s masterpiece is remarkable.
Note – I have also just added (below) classical concert violist, Rachel Barton’s performance of Metallica’s, “One”, and then the brilliant video for Metallica’s “One” itself so you can hear the original Metal composition.
Cole Rolland (pictured above) in particular needs our attention. Although he might not have Gamzada’s legs 😉 his talent is truly unique and not to be overlooked. His interpretation of Vivaldi and Beethoven in particular have garnered much attention from lovers of classical genres of music.
Classical mag writes that:
“Cole is a professional guitarist and electronic music producer. Over the years, Cole has garnered a massive online following of more than one million YouTube subscribers and upwards of 200,000,000 cumulative video views. His unique approach and vision to bringing a live instrument and improvisational aspect to traditional electronic and classical music has received recognition from top artists around the world….His interpretations of Vivaldi and Mozart, as well as today’s top bands, are not to be missed!”
And this should not surpise anyone who possesses a serious interest and understanding of music….
The compositional links between modern improvisational electric guitar playing and classical music are all but scientifically established.
Professor Adrian North at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, has undertaken the largest study to date on the connection between “musical personality”, technical ability and “tonal preferences in both classical and metal music.”
His conclusions confirmed what Heavy Metal and Classical music enthusiasts and musicians have known for decades (I am both) – that we have more in common than just the use of pentatonic scaling and our shared love of the theatrical. Think Paganini, Wagner, Eddy Van Halen, Mozart and Megadeth.
Besides the musical similarities, Dr North believes that “both types of listeners tend to be introverted, creative and at ease with themselves artistically through improvisation.”
There’s nothing pop about EITHER genre. Both bucked trends and were/are created by eccentric geniuses.
Perhaps that explains why generations of Metal guitarists have turned to “serious” classical music as models for their own guitar solos, “shredding” techniques, explosive harmonic progressions, dynamic variance and every type of musical virtuosity one sees employed by modern, largely European, masters like Cole Rolland, Kiko Loureiro, Dave Mustaine, Eddy Van Halen and others.
North writes that:
“The best metal and classical musicians are masters of their craft, spending vast swaths of their lives practising, honing their skills in order to express grandiose sentiments in the most direct and expressive way possible.”
Therefore it should come as no surprise that “metalheads” are more drawn to Paganini and Vivaldi than, say, to Schumann and Telemann; they prefer Wagner over Verdi; and Bach over Brahms…. and that shred guitarists in particular employ the same sort of harmonic progression and virtuosic arpeggio figurations as the masters that influenced them most.
Theatrical display, unrestrained and inventive virtuosity and improvisation, rhythmic drive, and chromatic expressivity hyperlink the two genres of music.
In fact a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) report during a recent news broadcast I watched on the rebirth of European Art and Culture on YouTube claimed that:
“Legendary guitarists Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, Slash, Marty Friedman (American virtuoso now living and composing classical music in Japan), Kiko Loureiro and the infamous Yngwie Malmsteen all admittedly modelled their guitar playing on the great virtuosos of the baroque period, especially Bach and Vivaldi. (It’s worth noting that Bach himself was heavily influenced by Vivaldi.) Anyone that listens to this music with a serious ear can hear how classical music changed catastrophically towards the end of the 18th century where simplicity and ‘saleability’ took hold of the industry. Yes. it was an industry back then as well….
Van Halen, who studied classical piano and cello before and after arriving in the United States from Holland, invented new ways of playing guitar that bring to mind Paganini’s extended improvisational violin techniques. Compare, for example, Van Halen’s “Eruption” to Paganini’s Caprice No. 24. It is not hard to see.
The CBC program, citing a Cambridge University Study conducted by writer and adjunct professor, Robert Walser, continued:
“Both Malmsteen (who I am not a huge fan of) and Van Halen imported seventh chords (diminished time), harmonic minor scales, lydian and phrygian modes from the classical repertoire he knew so well. On Malmsteen’s first album, Rising Force, only two songs have lyrics — the remainder of his songs are devoted to the realm of “absolute” music and the virtuosic.
Whether Malmsteen is imitating the bouncing bow spiccato violin technique used by Paganini and others, or a contrapuntal bass line similar to those used by Bach, Vivaldi and Corelli, Malmsteen’s metal stylings most definitively have their roots in the great baroque masters.”
A bit too technical for my tastes but the music speaks for itself!
The magical Gamzada
Finally I wanted to add two more videos for your enjoyment – classical concert violist, Rachel Barton performing Metallica’s, “One”, and then the brilliant video for Metallica’s “One”.
Metal played, arranged and interpreted by classically trained musicians demonstrates the power of its original composition.
WOW!! I’m highly impressed!! The first video shows a perfect combination of classical music and E-Guitar music.
It’s amazing how harmonious the end result sounds. This can be entertaining for both old and young and also get the younger generations more interested in classical music and our european musical-cultural heritage.
Thank you for this great article and the videos! 🙂
Here is the younger generation:
The question that should be asked is Why Did Classical Music Die? When the Jews became powerful Classical Music died, it seems to me.
Well, classical music was never adopted by the toiling white masses. They had their fiddle, banjo and guitar music — and there were no recordings to listen to, or concert halls and opera houses in small towns, not that a coal miner with six mouths to feed had money for a ticket. Then there were church hymns, and, among the affuent, when friends came over, the daughter played the piano and folks sang from sheet music — a very common practice.
I love classical music if not too heavy. In this life, I am not so much into Wagner or Beethoven. People need to be cheered up; depression, loneliness, rage, isolation, angst and suicidal thoughts are rampant, and with these Cohenavirus lockdowns it is worse than ever.
Before I came to power in January 1933, Germany, in Year Four of the Great Depression, with the communist party having grown into the second biggest in the nation (right after my own), there had been a national wave of suicides. Women jumped off bridges with a child in each hand. Men stepped in front of trams — or shot themselves.
You would see this again now if Biden wins — Whites committing suicide. A friend of mine said:
I do agree with this touching, heartfelt 1983 hit song by the beautiful Canadian Anne Murray:
But I ask:
Why, oh why, does it take utter misery and despair to get people to the point of demanding real change?
The jew worm has been in the apple for generations. Everything going on now was foretold and laughed off.