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10 Pieces of Classical Music Reinterpreted

Depending on your take, this is either sacrilege or inspirational- taking classical tunes from the masters of yesteryear and reinterpreting them within pop, rock and ambient genres. Will the master composers be turning or grooving in their graves? You decide!

1. Adagio for Strings-Samuel Barber: William Orbit

Depending on where you stand this is a blissful laid back syrupy journey, or a tedious piece of jetsam that goes nowhere, slowly.  It was featured in Oliver Stone's Vietnam war film Platoon. Anyway, William Orbit (he who made Madonna's Ray of Light album so interesting) gives the Adagio the ambient treatment while Ferry Corsten gives it a trance beat remix from the off to kick it into life!

2. Jupiter from the Planets Suite-Gustav Holst: Manfred Mann's Earthband

A hit for the Mann Band who poppify Holst's Jupiter to good effect.  The picture is of the survivors at a 2010 reunion concert, the video is them performing (well, miming)  Joybringer back in the day.

3. Pictures at an Exhibition-Mussorgsky: Emerson Lake & Palmer

Love 'em or loathe 'em, you gotta give it to the powerhouse trio of ELP, when they go for it, they go for it big time! An album and a tour with this as their centrepiece, I caught them slogging through this at Lewisham Odeon in South East London, with wavering Greg Lake vocals due to a cold. Pompous, overblown, arrogant, and maybe even (as John Peel famously said) a waste of talent and electricity- but it's grandeur and stature can't be denied… oh come on people, relax- Mussorgsky ain't around to complain!

4. Rondo movement of Sonata in G major, op. 36 no. 5-Muzio Clementi: The Mindbenders (A Groovy Kind of Love)

The tune is quite clearly "borrowed" from the classical piece, but with the words added... especially the word "groovy", it became a number 2 chart hit in both the UK and the States in 1965. Get out those velvet loons and beads! Later covered by Phil Collins.

5. Gymnopaedie No.1- Erik Satie:Janet Jackson (Someone to call my lover)

While Janet and her entourage may protest there are definite similarities between the Satie piano piece and JJ's song.  The changing the time signature from 3/4 waltz to 4/4 and addition of vocals may disguise things a bit, but the bones of the Satie tune are clearly there. Judge for yourself here!

6. Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring-Bach :Apollo 100 (Joy)

A shameless boogie-up of the classical piece, with extra bits thrown in (that don't really work). Oh dear.

7. Snowflakes are Dancing-Clause Debussey:Isao Tomita

According to the liner notes this album is a "Virtuoso electronic performances of Debussy's beautiful tone paintings".  While the synthesiser is certainly clearly there, its tones are quite complimentary to the music, especially on the slower tracks such as the infamous "Clair de Lune"…

8. Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary-Purcell:  Walter (now Wendy) Carlos (Theme from a Clockwork Orange)

Oh my little devotchkas, babooshkas, chellovecks and droogs, it's the opening dramatic music for the long-banned 1960's Stanley Kubrick film, and it still makes all the malenky hairs on your plot stand up and get you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence. Real starry horrorshow, oh my brothers (as Alex, played by Malcolm McDowell, would say in the film). Walter/Wendy Carlos' first Moog synth translation of classical pieces came with his best-selling album "Switched on Bach" released in 1968. I only include the album cover here because it contains a photo of the first mighty Moog series one synthesiser along with a bozo dressed as a Baching mad bloke in a wig.

9. Flight of the Bumble Bee-Rimsky-Korsakov: B Bumble and the Stingers (Bumble Boogie)

This boogie-woogie version of R-K's whirlwind piece was released in 1961, but only got to 21 in the US BillBoard chart.  The follow up, Nut Rocker, with Bumble Boogie as the B-side, got to No 1 in the UK.

10. Ode to Joy (from the 9th Symphony)-Beethoven: Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore had long incorporated bits of medieval and classical music during his solos both with Deep Purple and then Rainbow. His interpretation of this part of the great 9th  Choral Symphony (and EU anthem) then found its way onto the Difficult to Cure album. Hmmm…  In this live clip you'll need to fast forward two-thirds in to hit the main theme, as the man in black was on a big nano-noodling night when this was shot!