Classical music is often put down as being a dead genre, one that was left behind a century ago. While you won’t see a classical music act, musician, or composer in the popular music charts, the genre has transcended the mainstream music scene to become a core element across entertainment.
Many people will remember the craze for Mozart music back in the 1990s, when scientists claimed that the music helped babies sleep, with classical music often cited for its relaxing effects. There’s even a pianist who plays classical music to blind elephants at a sanctuary in Thailand. But along with soothing notions, classical music can also create tense moments, emphasize power, and enhance a feeling of grandeur in an audience.
Classical music is far from being a dead genre; in fact, you listen to it far more than you know.
Classical music is still in modern music
Today’s music may sound and appear very differently to that of classical music, and yet the foundation of almost every current pop song is from the classic era.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) could be said to be the father of pop music, having created a three-minute, verse-chorus-based song that was intended as a shorter and more melodic piece rather than his usual works as a classical composer. Schubert wrote hundreds of these short songs, perfecting the craft of short and simple music that has led to the modern music scene of today.
Almost all modern songs can be seen as having roots in classical music, but many even use samples from the supposedly dead era in their music. Lady Gaga’s Alejandro uses Vittorio Monti’s (1868-1922) Csardas for the intro, and Little Mix utilized the tune of Pavane by Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) in the song Little Me.
Classical music is in your favorite games
For a game to reach its full potential and become an immersive experience for players, it has to have a top-quality soundtrack. In many of the biggest single-player and open-world games of recent years, developers have turned to modern classical composers to create soundtracks.
One of the most notable of recent times is Jeremy Soule for his work on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the tremendous The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. All feature tracks of some level of serenity as well as powerful, thunderous pieces that enhance the action.
But some games go much further than merely featuring a classical soundtrack: some are wholly based on the works of a classical composer. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is famed for his concerti The Four Seasons, which captures the essence of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Through such a powerful and well-known piece, developers High 5 Games decided to use the music as the basis of their free online game, featuring each of the seasons being high-value icons.
Classical music enhances the cinematic experience
As is the case in gaming, the soundtrack used in movies is needed to tell the viewers how they should be feeling at certain moments, and then emphasizing those demands. Currently dominating the box office, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a huge fan of classical music and its power to influence the audience’s mood.
Used in many different ways across the 23 films of the MCU, the most powerful pieces have come from Alan Silvestri and his compositions for the Infinity Saga-ending chapters of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The biggest moment in the entirety of the saga came in a climactic moment in Endgame, which sees almost every main character from across the movies assemble to fight the enemy, with the classical music created by Silvestri, ‘Portals,’ making it an unforgettable scene for film fans.
Further back, you can easily cite the likes of Raging Bull, The Shining, Apocalypse Now, the Star Wars saga, and, of course, the epic Howard Shore-conducted soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Classical pieces may not be competing in the weekly music charts, but it’s going very well across almost all forms of popular modern entertainment.
