» Modern popular songs based on classical music.

[Cobalt]

Very interesting post - I for one have been busy listening to a few of the tracks listed and much to my surprise I can hear the similarities despite having heard many of these before and not batted an eyelid.

As for basing work on somebody elses, I think that everybody is guilty of that to an extent. With so much time having passed and so much music composed, I'm pretty certain that everyone has gotten inspiration from elsewhere at one time or another. As long as the similarities aren't too uncanny then I suppose you're likely to go largely un-noticed... until lists like this pop up from time to time anyway

[Miz_ai]

i know that all by myself was rach concerto no2, i was listening to this concerto when i think that the melodies remind me of a pop song , eventually i have this all bu myself sang by celine dion.. it's really the same XD;;; some part of it.. esp with the second movt

[StuckOnBandaid]

This was a great post! I'm not surprised to see that Alicia Keys has bits and pieces of classical music in her work because she's a trained classical piano player. Like you jason, I'm more familiar with the newer songs, and have found this post really interesting.

* (2001) "Black, Black Heart" by David Usher from Morning Orbit - containing Léo Delibes' "The Flower Duet" from Lakmé

I was really surprised to see this song on this list. David Usher is an incredibly talented guy, and I've listened to him since he was in his band 'Moist'. This is an excellent song and if any of you are interested in more softer rock/adult contemporary, you should check it out.

[Kaizen]

Wow, what an absolutely amazing list, I had no idea that so many current songs sampled old classical music. Two songs of interest are "Lacrymosa" & "Anything for you" by Evanescence. Both of these songs takes Mozart's Requiem and samples them into something you would have to hear to believe.

[Jeffrey Hall]

That is quite a list indeed!

One that might be added... Separate Ways, from the album Frontiers (1982), by Journey, opens with a quote from Bach's "Little" G minor fugue, BWV 578. Just in case anybody was interested.

[lofisamuri]

This is an incredible list! I'm going through my iPod now and listening again for the first time. lol.

Great post - thank you for the wealth of info.

[methodistgirl]

Originally Posted by rojo

I wonder, would Jack Fina`s 'Bumble Boogie' (based on Rimsky-Korsakov`s 'The Flight of the Bumblebee') count as a popular song?...

I used to have Neil Diamond's version Bumble Boogie on his You Don't
bring me flowers album. Look it up!
judy tooley

[Corno Dolce]

*I Will Never Fall In Love Again* - based on the 3rd movement of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony.

[ses]

Bernstein's lovely "Somewhere" from West Side Story, must be based from the adagio of Beethoven's 5th piano concerto. When "steeling" is done so spirited and lovely and respectfull I love it.

Wonderfull list Mr. Jason

[Muza]

oh, so many... I cant even recall them right now. Well, the latest one that I heard was, I think by Celine Dion, and it samples Vivaldi's Four Seasons (I may be wrong).

Does anyone know what I am talking about, I'd love to know the name of that song...

[mattbanx]

A lot more in pop set to classical pieces than I thoght.

Half the songs I grew up loving it seems were some obscure or forgotten cover.
Jimmy Page sure was inventive, whereever he got is influences from.
Still remember him playing his axe like a violin on Kashmir.
I always thought Led Zeppelin to be more than just a metal band.

All music seems to be copped or borrowed from somewhere.
I like some orchastral rock also with a lot of stiring sound and other acoustical instruments.
I wonder how many times some classical piece is stumbled upon in that when writing.

[Serassi1836]

Introduction of "Atom heart mother" by Pink Floyd is a Bach's Prelude.
Introduction of "La canzone dell'amore perduto" (the song of the lost love) by F. de Andrè is taken from the Trumpet Concert by Telemann and a theme of "La Collina" (the hill) by the same Italian singer is Chopin's.
In jazz music there are gregorian modes.

[methodistgirl]

You never thought of Bon Jovi's slippery when wet's first song as being
a piece written by Beethoven. Not to mention the group Electric Light
Orchestra doing a lot of their music based on Beetoven and Paccini.
I hope I spelled that right. The Moody blues did an album called Days
of Future Passed that was supposed to the the answer to Divozak's
New world symphony.
judy tooley

[C5Says]

Originally Posted by Izabella

Hi there...

I just wanted to say that there is an crossover artist that gives credit to the original composer,actually he did'n even change the names of the pieces and they are still popular in clubs everywhere,especially in croatia(maybe becouse he's croatian )

Anyway,his name is Maxim Mrvica,and his first crossover album is named "the piano player".He's very popular in Japan,lives in London....
I was on his concert last summer,I have to admit that I heard better as well as worse,but the album is great.
Some of the pieces are:The flight of the bumblebee
Grieg's piano concert in a-minor
Handell's sarabande
Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Chopin's revolutionary etude in c-minor
etc.
Maybe you'll like it...

Yours truly

I was actually thinking of Maksim at the time I almost started to read this. I saw his performance on Bumblebee and it was great! I say he's making an identity for himself. A punk playing classical. It worked.

[rojo]

I heard the Pet Shop Boys' Go West on the radio yesterday, and it dawned on me that it uses the same chord progression as Pachelbel's Canon. I looked it up for confirmation, and discovered that the song was originally by the Village People. (Well, after Pachelbel.) Who knew?