Classical music has been around for many, many years, rock not so long, but something magical happens when the two worlds collide.
In a couple of months time the latest group to perform live with a symphonic orchestra will be Alter Bridge, an American rock band that was formed in 2004, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips.
The two very special gigs will take place on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd October 2017 at London’s Royal Albert Hall joined by the Parallex Orchestra – a 52-piece London-based symphony orchestra conducted by Simon Dobson.
The majourity of the group was originally know as Creed who disbanded in 2004, the former members Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips began working with Kennedy, formerly of The Mayfield Four. released their debut album, One Day Remains, the same year. Despite mixed reviews, One Day Remains went on to be certified Gold by the RIAA.
Before they perform live at the Albert Hall in October, the group will be releasing a new live album released, Live At The O2 Arena + Rarities, on September 8 via Napalm. Recorded on November 24, 2016, at The O2 Arena in London, England during the tour for 2016’s The Last Hero, the album also features a disc of tracks initially released as bonus tracks on special editions of previous studio albums, as well as two previously unreleased recordings.
But lets look more into Rock meets Classical, there sure are a few groups in the past fifty years who have either mixed the two in their own blend or just worked with a symphonic orchestra.
Concerto for Group and Orchestra by Deep Purple
Deep Purple was one of the founders of what we now know as heavy metal, during 1969 on September 14, the band released its Concerto for Group and Orchestra, which featured the group playing a number of its own tracks—such as “Wring That Neck” and “Child in Time”—before performing an entire rock ‘n’ roll concerto composed by keyboardist Jon Lord and also featuring original lyrics.
Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Kamen – S&M
Metallica is about as heavy as it gets but they had a good go at mixing both worlds, when they did a show with the San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Kamen. The project was a rousing success, giving fans new takes on classics such as “Master of Puppets” and stunning new works like “No Leaf Clover”.
Electric Light Orchestra
They really need no introduction, one group that combines both worlds with ease, now Jeff Lynne’s ELO, as the clip above shows, it works really well.
The Scorpions – Moment Of Glory
The German group recorded in 2000 with the world famous Berliner Philharmoniker orchestra. It contains a string of Scorpions classics such as Big City Nights, Dynamite, Wind Of Change and Still Loving You, performed by the band with full orchestral support.
Kiss Symphony
Yes even Kiss got in on the act, performing with The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, with some members go all out wearing the band’s iconic face paint.
Styx and The Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Recorded in Cleveland with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra from the same city, features covers of The Beatles classic “I Am The Walrus”.
Jon Anderson and The Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Yes! even Jon Anderson had a go, and this actually sounds very.
There are obviously others out there, but as you can see Classical & Rock can mix and create some wonderful music, we would really like to know of your favorite.
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