Classical rockers?!

[aztechlg]

This sounds very constrasting, but, does anyone have any idea about playing classical music and on the other hand also plays rock music?

[db05]

This sounds very constrasting, but, does anyone have any idea about playing classical music and on the other hand also plays rock music?

Why? Me and my classmates do that. And all the classical guitarists I know personally play rock and jazz.

[retrouvailles]

Steven Mackey is a great example of someone who does both. He is a composer who teaches composition at Princeton, but who also plays in a rock band and writes classical compositions (good ones) featuring electric guitar. A similar composer is Erkki-Sven Tüür. Louis Andriessen is another composer with rock influences who plays non-classical music (not sure if he plays rock, but he definitely plays jazz). He also includes electric guitar (and bass) parts in his compositions (quite well, too).

[scottmcc]

Matthew Bellamy of Muse is pretty good at classical piano.  for a rockstar, that is. 

[Petter]

Steven Mackey is a great example of someone who does both. He is a composer who teaches composition at Princeton, but who also plays in a rock band and writes classical compositions (good ones) featuring electric guitar.

Listened to his string quartet on his site, it was nice, thanks for the mention.

[retrouvailles]

Yup, Ars Moriendi is a very intense and moving work in memory of his father. I had the fortune of seeing that piece performed earlier this year in a concert that actually featured the other two composers I mentioned: Erkki-Sven Tüür and Louis Andriessen. It was an unforgettable experience. I would highly recommend any of the three composers, especially Andriessen, to someone who comes from a Rock background.

[healdie]

Tony Maclapine often includes CHopin pieces in with his rock guitar albums, and frank Zappa was very adapt at writing classical and rock he had works performed by the LSO and Piere Boulez

[aztechlg]

  thanks guys.....I nvr knew there were people who were interested in this two kinds of music

[rc]

I used to listen to a lot of Deep Purple, the guitarist Ritchie Blackmore liked a lot of classical, and nowadays I think he plays renaissance style music.  The keyboardist, Jon Lord composed a suite based on the different instruments in the band.

Then there's Yngwie Malmsteen who I believe learned guitar by playing paganini etudes.  A lot of metal is similar to classical actually.

The guitarist Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead composed the score for the movie 'There Will be Blood', and I heard a few years back he was commissioned to write something for the BBC, but I never heard what happened with that.

[retrouvailles]

The guitarist Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead composed the score for the movie 'There Will be Blood', and I heard a few years back he was commissioned to write something for the BBC, but I never heard what happened with that.

He only composed one piece for that movie, I believe. The other pieces were by Brahms and Pärt, I believe.

[presto agitato]

There are many classical trained pianists who have explored the progressive rock and heavy metal lands.

Patrick Moraz, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Eddy Jobson, Tony Macalpine Vitalij Kuprij, Jordan Rudess, Michael Pinella and many others

[retrouvailles]

There are many classical trained pianists who have explored the progressive rock and heavy metal lands.

Patrick Moraz, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Eddy Jobson, Tony Macalpine Vitalij Kuprij, Jordan Rudess, Michael Pinella and many others

However, most people in that list aren't quality classical musicians (compared to the ones I mentioned, for example). They just dabble in classical music "sounds" using what's called simulacrum.

[dolly lo]

Then there's Yngwie Malmsteen who I believe learned guitar by playing paganini etudes.  A lot of metal is similar to classical actually.

He's amazing! He has got a song called "Baroque and Roll" that sound like Bach, so cool.

Classical and rock? Do you know Apocalyptica? Four guys, with his classical studies, that play heavy metal with cellos.

[rc]

He only composed one piece for that movie, I believe. The other pieces were by Brahms and Pärt, I believe.

I did a quick google on it, and you're right about the Brahms and Pärt, but Greenwood did few tracks for it.  I think this is pretty much the Greenwood content: https://www.amazon.ca/There-Will-Blood-Jonny-Greenwood/dp/B000XA50MK

That movie was so damn dark.  The crazy intensity was fun, afterwards I felt like a corpse.

[rc]

He's amazing! He has got a song called "Baroque and Roll" that sound like Bach, so cool.

Classical and rock? Do you know Apocalyptica? Four guys, with his classical studies, that play heavy metal with cellos.

Some friends have shown it to me.  I think sometimes they play their cellos normally and other times they distort it.  I thought it was neat normally, but when they put on distortion it was so heavy that it masked too much of the cello tone.

I remember somebody showed me a track by Tenacious D called 'Rock your socks' where the guitarist played some Bach, and Jack Black is singing:

"This is Bach and it rocks, it's a rock block of Bach, that he learned in the school, the school of hard knocks"
 

[Petter]

He's amazing! He has got a song called "Baroque and Roll" that sound like Bach, so cool.

Classical and rock? Do you know Apocalyptica? Four guys, with his classical studies, that play heavy metal with cellos.

He's also a complete jerk. But I don't think that has stopped anyone from going into music biz.

[retrouvailles]

Going back to Steven Mackey, I also highly recommend his piece entitled "Physical Property", which is for electric guitar and string quartet. If you think the two don't go together, or the idea sounds cheesy, think again. I had the fortune of seeing Steven Mackey himself play it this past week and it was a great experience. It was amazing to see him interacting with the string quartet almost effortlessly. It almost looked like he was just jamming with them on stage, and he said most of it was written out (save for one improvisation). This is a great example of rock music being integrated with modern classical idioms.

[minor9th]

Megadeth's new guitarist, Chris Broderick, is quite a good classical guitarist. He has a few videos on YouTube:

(Legnani Caprice--rather Paganiniesque)

[healdie]

I know it is classical music but pretty cool don't ya think

P.S he is playing two Ibanez paul Gilbert signature guitars and paul gilbert on his album get out of my yard did the finale from Haydns symphony no. 88 with just guitar overdubbed to recreate an orchestra