Classical Music in Commercials

Classical Music in Commercials

I seem to recall from the dark recesses of my mind several commercials that I can’t find info on, perhaps because they were about 40 years ago. One showed a cartoon character ascending a podium and conducting a Beethoven Symphony. (I don’t remember which one, but it seems that it was the 5th or 9th.) About the same time was another wordless commercial of an autumnal scene with a deer in the golden grass, accompanied by Beethoven’s Symphony # 6 (“Pastoral”). Finally, these words appeared on the screen: “This moment of softness was brought to you by Zee, a very soft tissue.” A bit more recently, a third one I recall was for a feminine product to the music of Satie’s Gymnopedie # 1.

Some research has brought me to several sources that have identified classical music in commercials, from which I have compiled this listing.

Bach Cello Suite # 1                                                                          AmericanExpress              Current
Beethoven Symphony # 5 in C minor                                           XM Satellite Radio            2007
Beethoven Fur Elise                                                                         McDonald’s                         1980s
Beethoven Symphony # 9 in D minor                                          Starz Cable Movies            1990s
              (The theme is the “Ode to Joy” theme from the 4th movement.)
Bizet “Habanera” from Carmen                                                     Pepsi                                     2001
Copland Fanfare for the Common Man                                       U. S. Navy                            1990s
Copland “Hoedown” from Rodeo                                                  Nat’l  Beef Council             1970s
              (“Beef, it’s what’s for dinner.”)
Debussy “Claire de lune”                                                                 Chanel No. 5                        2005
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue                                                           United Airlines                    1968
Jenkins Palladio                                                                                DeBeers Diamonds            1990s
              (Diamonds are forever!)
Khatchaturian Sabre Dance                                                           Scrubbing Bubbles              1990s
Mascagni "Intermezzo" from Cavalliera Rusticana                  Kleenex                                  1982
Orff “O Fortuna” from Camina Burana                                       Capital One                           2004
Ponchielli “Dance of the Hours” from La Gioconda                 K9 Advantix                          2004
Prokofiev Peter and the Wolf                                                         Coca-Cola                             2009
              (Played during Super Bowl.)
Rinsky-Korsakov “Flight of the Bumblebee”                              Nasonex                                2006
Rossini “Largo al Factotum” from The Barber of Seville         Hershey’s Kissables            2006

Saint-Saens “Aquarium” from Carnival of the Animals                   
                                                                                                             Disney Cruise Line             1990s
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture                                                            Quaker Puffed Wheat        1970s

               ("This is the cereal that's shot from guns." [Repeat])     
Tchaikovsky “Dance of the Reed Pipes” from The Nutcracker    Jiffy Lube                        2000

             
See what I mean? We are surrounded by classical music, but don’t know it.

It has occurred to me that if would be difficult to identify a classical theme in a movie or other appearance in media. If one doesn’t know the music by name, how will one recognize it in a larger musical context? I found a website that offers some help here. This is a listing of the top 100 most popular pieces of classical music. There are links to hear these on YouTube, too. They offer only short snippets of music, but they are always the most familiar melodies. And they are identified as they play. Try it out; it’s quite well done. Remember, however, that I am not responsible for the site’s name. If your sensitivities allow it, check out http://www.kickassclassical.com/classical-music-popular-famous-best-top-100-list.html

Classical Music in Movies Part 3

The list demonstrating the widespread use of classical music in movies continues.

The Magic Bow
    Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Paganini: Caprice No. 20, Paganini: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Moonraker
    Chopin: Prelude, Op. 28 No. 15, Leoncavallo: Vesti la giubba, from I Pagliacci, J. Strauss II: Tritsch Tratsch Polka
A Night at the Opera
    Verdi: Anvil Chorus, from Il Trovatore
Nijinsky
    Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Stravinsky: The Rite   of Spring
Out of Africa
    Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, 2nd movement
Paradise Road
    Chopin: Funeral March, from Piano Sonata No. 2, Dvorák: Symphony No. 9, Grainger: Country Gardens & Londonderry Air, Holst: Jupiter, from The Planets, Ravel: Bolero
Platoon
    Barber: Adagio for Strings
The Portrait of a Lady
    Bach: Piano Concerto No. 5, Bach: Violin Concerto in A minor, Schubert: Impromptus Op. 90, Nos. 3 & 4, Schubert: String Quartet No. 14, J. Strauss Jr.: Artist's Life
Prizzi´s Honor
    Rossini: Overture to The Barber of Seville
Raging Bull
    Mascagni: Intermezzo, from Cavalleria Rusticana
Rollerball
    Albinoni: Adagio, Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, 4th movement
Romy and Michele´s High School Reunion
    Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique," J. Strauss II: An der schönen blauen Donau
A Room With a View
    Puccini: Doretta's Dream, from La Rondine, Puccini: Firenze, from Gianni Schicchi, Puccini: O mio babbino caro, from Gianni Schicchi
Schindler´s List
    Bach: English Suite No. 2, Bourrée, Gade: Tango Jalousie, Lehár: Meinen Lippen sie küssen so heiss
The Seven Year Itch
    Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
The Silence of the Lambs
    Bach: Goldberg Variations
Sleeping with the Enemy
    Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, 5th movement
Somewhere in Time
    Rachmaninov: Paganini Rhapsody, 18th Variation
Sour Grapes
    Bach: Adagio, from Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Beethoven:    String Quartet No. 2, Beethoven: String Quartet No. 7, Boccherini: Minuet, Brahms: Hungarian Dance, Mozart: Horn Concerto, Mozart: String Quintet, Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours, from La Gioconda, Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf, Rossini: Overture to The Thieving Magpie, J. Strauss Jr.: Tales from the Vienna Woods, Suppé Poet and Peasant Overture
The Spy Who Loved Me
    Bach: Air, from Suite No. 3
Star Trek: Insurrection
    Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique", 1st movement, Haydn: String Quartet No. 63, "Lark", 4th movement, Mozart: String Quartet No. 17, "Hunt", 1st movement
The Thin Red Line
    Fauré In paradisum, from Requiem
Titanic
    J. Strauss II: An der schönen blauen Donau
To Be Or Not To Be
    Chopin: Military Polonaise
Torrents of Spring
    Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor, 2nd movement, Chopin: Etude, Op. 10, No. 6, Mozart: Overture to Don Giovanni
The Truman Show
    Brahms: Wiegenlied, Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd movement, Mozart: Horn Concerto No 1, 1st movement, Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11, 3rd movement
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
    Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
Wayne´s World
    Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet
The Untouchables
    Leoncavallo: Vesti la giubba, from I Pagliacci
White Nights
    Bach: Passacaglia in C Minor
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
    Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

Wow! There’s a lot of classical music in movies, isn’t there? Is a favorite movie listed here? Watch it again, this time focusing on the music. Notice, too, that all types of classical music - symphony, solo sonata, concerto, vocal as well as various lesser categories have been “imported” into film scores. If you wish to discover a particular kind of classical music you can also use this as a guide to explore new classical music forms. Notice, too, that classical music themes can be found in all kinds of movies - animated. spy thriller, romance, sci fi, biopics, historical fiction, etc.

(Finally, remember that my listing of any of these movies is not necessarily an endorsement of their theme or recommendation to view it. I have selected these because of their use of classical music. Some discernment may be called for in considering whether to watch some of these movies. Thanks.)

Classical Music in movies, Part 2

The big screen loves classical music. Sometimes is seems that classical music was made for the big screen. It is not unusual to hear classical melodies in movie soundtracks.

Here are some astounding numbers what composer’s music has been offered in what number of films.
   
    Mozart 252 films
    Beethoven 190 films
    Bach 167 films
    Tchaikovsky 203 films
    Wagner 173 films
    Franz Schubert 108 films
    Vivaldi 81 films
    Stravinsky 28 films
    Phillip Glass 33 films

If I were to begin a list, it would necessarily be incomplete; the list is even longer than that for popular music. I would be inclined to list movies that I know and appreciate, but they might not be movies you’ve seen and come to appreciate. Nevertheless, I will make an effort to list some of the major movies that have included classical music, including some that I haven’t seen, but note that they have quoted somewhat extensively from classical music. (I should point out that I haven’t seen all of these, and my listing is based on the classical music heard in the movie, not the subject matter or rating; some use of caution may be necessary.)

Ace Ventura Pet Detective
    Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, 2nd & 3rd movements, Mozart: A Musical Joke
Amadeus
    Mozart: Gran Partita, Adagio, Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20, 2nd movement, Mozart: Requiem, Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 25 & 29
Apocalypse Now
    Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries, from Die Walküre
Babe: Pig in the City
    Rossini: Largo al factotum, from Barber of Seville, Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, 2nd & 3rd movements, Verdi: Anvil Chorus, from Il Trovatore
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
    Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
Chariots of Fire
    Allegri: Miserere, Parry: Jerusalem
Citizen Kane
    Rossini: Una voce poco fa from Barber of Seville
Clear and Present Danger
    Dvorák: Symphony No. 9, 2nd movement.
A Clockwork Orange
    Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, 4th movement, Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance No. 1, Purcell: March, from Funeral Music for Queen Mary, Rossini: William Tell Overture
Death in Venice
    Beethoven: Für Elise, Lehár: Vilja Song, from The Merry Widow, Mahler: Symphony No. 3, Mahler: Symphony No. 5, Puccini: Vogliatemi bene from Madame Butterfly
The Dirty Dozen
    Haydn: String Quartet Op. 76, No. 3, "Emperor," Strauss II: Emperor Waltz
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
    Bach: Ich ruf zu dir, from Orgelbüchlein, Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Bizet: Habanera from Carmen, Schumann: Aufschwung
Elvira Madigan
    Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21, 2nd movement
Excalibur
    Orff: Carmina Burana (beginning), Wagner: Prelude to Tristan and Isolde, Wagner: Siegfried's Funeral March, from Götterdämmerung
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
    Boccherini: Minuet, Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance, Elgar: Symphony No. 1, 1st movement
Hilary and Jackie
    Bach: Cello Suite No. 1, Prelude & Gigue, Bach: Cello Suite No. 3, Prelude, Bach: Cello Suite No. 6, Gavotte, Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 7, "Archduke, Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2, 2nd movement, Dvorák: Cello Concerto, 2nd movement, Elgar: Cello Concerto, Franck: Cello Sonata (arr. of Violin Sonata), Haydn: Cello Concerto in C major, 3rd movement, Schumann: Fantasy Piece No. 1
Immortal Beloved
    Beethoven: Für Elise, Beethoven: Piano Sonatas No. 8, 2nd mvt. & No. 14, 1st movement, Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, 1st movement, Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, 1st movement, Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, 1st movement, Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, 1st movement, Beethoven: Violin Con- certo, 1st movement
The Living Daylights
    Borodin: String Quartet No. 2, 3rd movement, Mozart: Symphony No. 40, 1st movement,
The Lone Ranger
    Rossini: Overture to William Tell
Lorenzo´s Oil
    Barber: Adagio, Elgar: Cello Concerto, 2nd movement, Mahler: Symphony No. 5, Adagietto, A. Marcello: Oboe Concerto, 2nd movement, Mozart: Ave verum corpus

So far, we have covered only about half of the alphabet. Guess I’ll have to do the second half tomorrow. Are you beginning to see (hear?) that classical music is everywhere? There us much more to explore. See you in the next post.

Classical Music in movies, Part 1

Please allow me to continue with this introduction (perhaps better, reintroduction) to classical music.
Movies are full of classical music bits or complete movements. My next post will give some numbers that are amazing. This post is simply an introduction to that post.

Perhaps some of the earliest examples of classical music used in modern media might be from Walt Disney studios. In the 30s and 40s (even before my time!) Walt Disney produced a series of cartoons called Silly Symphonies. They span the changeover from black and white to color, although they are all “talkies.” Often these cartoons were set to various classical themes, as were other Disney cartoons that followed over the course of many years. Mendelssohn’s Spring Song is an example that readily springs (pun intended, sorry) to mind here.

Perhaps the biggest classical music offering came in Fantasia, which was released in 1940. Fantasia offers a sort of fantasy look at 7 familiar pieces of classical music: Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor,  Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours and a combination work including Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Schubert’s Ave Maria. The cartoon work tried to follow some of the different types of classical music - abstract, evocative, story-telling, faith-expression, etc. This movie has been reedited and re-released numerous times, with the latest incarnations reflecting the original, adding some footage that fell to the cutting room floor along the way. The quality of the sound track has also been remastered to showcase what was the latest innovation when it was originally released - stereophonic sound.

One section was taken from this movie, and became a popular cartoon shown on its own over and over again: Mickey Mouse as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Who hasn’t seen that at least a couple of times in their lives?

There was a sequel in the late 1990s, but it didn’t catch the imagination nearly as much as the original did. As I recall, the sequel used images that were so far from the musical work’s title or content that it just didn’t match up to the original standard.

From there it isn’t hard to find other movies that used classical music in their soundtracks. The theme from Mozart’s 21st Piano Concerto is prominently heard in Elvira Madigan. Rachmaninov’s 18th variation from the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is heard throughout Somewhere in Time. Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries sounds fitting to helicopter scenes in Apocalypse Now. There are the obvious classical music films based on some element of a composer's life: Amadeus and Immortal Beloved. I think one of the greatest pairings of classical music and cinema is the scene of the incomplete space station in 2001: A Space Odyssey slowly rotating to the strains of Strauss’ Blue Danube waltz..
See? You have heard classical music, haven’t you? I’ll even go so far as to say that you enjoyed it, too, didn’t you? Only a true curmudgeon could answer “No” to these questions.

Classical Music You Know...but Don't Know It!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LCwI5iErE

The link posted above is from a musician/humorist explaining some of the differences in people and their musical listening choices. Like him, I am also optimistic about the future of classical music. There are some good reasons for it, too.

I find it interesting to consider how classical music themes have been used in popular culture: movies, popular songs, commercials and radio/TV shows. My plan is to address these, giving familiar examples. The ultimate goal, again, is to point out that classical music isn’t remote, obscure or difficult to listen to.

For this post, I’d like to focus on popular songs. How many of these do you recognize? They all have their roots in classical melodies. Here goes...

(1918) "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" by Joseph McCarthy and Harry Carroll - based on the Fantasie Impromptu in C Sharp Minor by Frédéric Chopin.
(1937) "Song of India", arr. Tommy Dorsey - based on "The Song of the Indian Guest" from Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko.
(1938) "My Reverie" by Larry Clinton - drawn from Debussy's Rêverie
(1939) "The Lamp is Low" - Peter DeRose and Bert Shefter - based on Maurice Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte
1941) "Tonight We Love", by Freddy Martin, Bobby Worth and Ray Austin - with melody based on Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op.23
(1945) "Full Moon and Empty Arms", by Buddy Kaye and Ted Mossman - based on Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.
(1953) "Stranger in Paradise" by George Forrest and Robert Wright, in the Broadway musical Kismet - from a theme from Alexander Borodin's Polovetsian Dances from his opera Prince Igor.
(1945) "Till the End of Time," words by Buddy Kaye and Ted Mossman based on Frédéric Chopin's "Polonaise In A Flat."
(1956) "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning - based on a theme from Chabrier España, Rhapsody for Orchestra.
(1958) "Catch a Falling Star" by Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance - borrows its theme from Brahms' Academic Festival Overture.
(1959) "Once Upon a Dream" in the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty - is based on a waltz in Tchaikovsky's ballet Sleeping Beauty.
(1959) "Don't You Know" by Della Reese - comes from "Musetta's Waltz" from Puccini's La Boheme.
(1963) "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp)" by Allan Sherman - based on Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" from the opera La Gioconda.
(1965) "A Lover's Concerto" by The Toys - based on J.S. Bach's Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach".
(1970) “Song of Joy” by Miguel Rios - based on the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
(1972) Pictures at an Exhibition by Emerson, Lake and Palmer - entire album based on the work by Modest Mussorgsky, with two original pieces ("The Sage" and "The Curse of Baba Yaga").
(1974) "Annie's Song" by John Denver - based on Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5, second movement.
(1975) "Could It Be Magic" by Barry Manilow - quotes extensively from Chopin's Prelude in C minor.
(1976) "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy - disco version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in c minor.
(1986) "Mars" by Emerson, Lake & Powell - arrangement of Mars: Bringer of War from Holst's The Planets
(1998) "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" by Sweetbox - borrowing from Bach's Air on the G string.
(1999) "Barber's Adagio for Strings" by William Orbit - a techno/electronic version of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings"
(1999) "Love of My Life" by Dave Matthews and Carlos Santana on the Super-natural album. Main theme is a nearly note-for-note quotation of a theme in the 3rd symphony of Johannes Brahms, with some rhythmic changes.
(2005) "Road to Joy" by Bright Eyes is based on the melody of Beethoven's Ode to Joy from the Symphony # 9 in d minor.

Whew! And this list is not, repeat not, exhaustive. I’ve seen pages and pages of such listings. I hope this will help you to see that classical music isn’t forbidding, mysterious or foreign. It has been used again and again in popular culture. It is also evident that these popularizations of classical melodies aren’t restricted to the older or younger or in-between generation. We all have heard it, even if we didn’t know what it was.

What next? Did you find songs with which you were familiar here? If so, take the plunge and seek out the classical composition on which its melody was based. Note: it’s possible that the popular theme is derived from the middle or nearer the end of a work, so you might have to listen a bit to find the tune. Check out what’s online as an easy (and often free!) way to discover new music. If all else fails you can always turn to the public library. They usually have a circulating library of music CDs.

Intro to Classical Music Terms

It seems that you can’t talk about classical music without getting into another language - and I don’t mean Italian, German, French or Russian. There are words that have common usage that are unfamiliar to any newcomer to music, especially classical music. So, with some fear and trepidation, here is an intro to some of those terms.

Let’s say you read or hear music described as Beethoven’s Symphony # 5 in C minor, opus 67. What does it all mean? Let’s break it down.

The first mention here is Beethoven, who composed this music.

Next is Symphony, which is often a large work to be played by an orchestra, usually a large orchestra with most or all kinds of instruments included. A symphony traditionally has 4 sections, or movements, each one usually offering a change from what preceded and what follows - something like fast, slow, fast, faster; or slow, fast, moderate, fast, and so forth. If the description reads Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, opus 61, the work is not a symphony, but a composition for one or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra.

To list a symphony as # 5 shows that it was the fifth symphony in the composer’s musical output. This is not always true. Some compositions were found after a composers death and may be listed posthumously; however, they certainly weren’t written after the composer died! I can remember in my lifetime when Dvorak’s New World Symphony was catalogued as # 5 in E minor. But further research of Dvorak’s music uncovered several earlier symphonies, causing musicologists to renumber the E minor symphony as # 9.

In C minor describes the key signature, the musical key in which the work was written. Although not always true, major keys are often bright, cheerful works while minor keys or darker, melancholy works. The key signature generally applies only to the first movement; other movements are usually in a different key.
Some composers, e.g., Schubert, wrote more than one symphony in the key of C major, the sixth and the ninth. To distinguish popularly, the former is called the “Little C major Symphony” while the latter is called the “great C major Symphony.” To further distinguish musical works, an opus number is assigned.

Opus 67 refers to the order of composition in the works of a composer. The 5th symphony, thus, was Beethoven’s 67th composition. Well, it would simply make things easier if that were always true, but it isn’t. It has become the customary designator, but may not always truly indicate order. Sometimes you may find a series of compositions, such as Haydn String Quartets, Opus 76 #s 1 - 6. In this case, Haydn wrote a series of 6 string quartets to be published together at the same time. Some composers’ works are so numerous and tradition so uncertain that others have made it their goal to catalog the composer’s words. After a Bach composition you will usually see BWV # (whatever). After a Mozart work, you will find a Koechel number, such as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525. Haydn’s works were catalogued by Hoboken, hence an H number. Other composers have their catalogers, but these are the main ones.

We’ve mentioned several major types of music, i.e., symphony and concerto, but there are more. A sonata is generally a 4-movement work like a symphony, but played by a single instrument, or an instrument with piano accompaniment. An overture is an introduction to a major musical work, usually offering previews of themes that will be heard in the major work itself. However, some overtures stand alone, independent of a larger work, such as Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

Other works for larger instrumental forces include tone poems, concertos for orchestra, ballet music, incidental music, rhapsodies, divertimentos, and serenades, but this is not an exhaustive listing.

Other works are usually thought in the context of a solo instrument - etudes, preludes, fantasies/fantasias, sonatas, among others.

Some works are composed for small groups of musical instruments, and are generally known as chamber music. These include piano trios, string trios, string quartets, piano quartets, wind quartets and quintets, sextets, septets, octets and occasionally for even more instruments. Some composers wrote music for various combinations of piano, strings and wind instruments. To clarify, a piano trio isn’t 3 pianos playing together; it’s usually a violin, a cello and a piano. A string trio can be any combination of stringed instruments, but is often 2 violins and a cello. A string quartet includes 2 violins, a viola and a cello. A string quintet may have mixed combinations of violins, violas, cellos and double bass. If you know any Latin numbers, the rest are generally self-explaining: sex is six, sept is seven, oct is eight, non is nine

Then there is vocal music, either solo or choral or a combination. Solo vocal music include arias, chansons, songs, while group choral compositions may include operas, operettas, oratorios, cantatas, motets, choruses, and may be for any number of singers and a variety of singing ranges (soprano, alto, tenor, bass).

Well...There’s a lot here, and this is simply an introduction. I hope that this may help you to understand some of the basic terms used in naming classical music forms.

Classical Music Doesn't always sound Classical

Perhaps it’s because of my particular sense of humor, but I have some affinity for “alternative” presentations of classical music. I also am inclined to think that this may be another way to interest people in considering classical music as an approachable and listenable experience.

Do you remember any of these? (If so, you’re showing your age, and pretty accurately guessing mine.) Spike Jones and his Cityslickers. Allan Sherman. Walter (now Wendy, but that’s another story) Carlos. The Swingle Singers. P.D.Q. Bach. Gerard Hoffnung. Flanders and Swann. Jacques Loussier. Victor Borge. These are not in chronological order, simply as they come to memory. I don’t think space will permit commenting on all of these, so I’ll pick and choose my favorites.

All of these offered some version of well-known classical music melodies. Spike Jones and his band “murdered” classical melodies by famous composers, including 1812 Overture, None but the Lonely Heart, and Dance of the Hours. His performances included cow bells, pistols, glass bottles, just about anything you might consider even remotely musical.

Allan Sherman’s big hit was “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah,” also based on Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours. Remember these words?
    Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh,
    Here I am at Camp Grenada
    Camp is very entertaining
    and they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.
He continues about malaria, food poisoning, poison ivy, alligators, a lost camper and so on, pleading to go home. Then the sun comes out and all is well, so “Muddah, Faddah kindly disregard this letter.”

Sherman recorded an album with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. It was called “Peter and the Commissar,” after the longest piece on the album. It was a take-off on Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.” It was hilarious! I finally found a CD recording of this that, although short in duration, was worth it. The album also included “Variations on ‘How Dry I Am’” with solo hiccups skillfully presented by Maestro Fiedler himself. Finally there was a piece called “The End of the Symphony,” taking long and laborious symphonic finales and showing how something like Porky Pig’s “Th-th-that’s all folks!” would have worked better.

Along came Peter Schickele. He already had a reputation as a music arranger, and had arranged music for several top singers. Now he turned his energies to P.D.Q. Bach, the last and least of Johann Sebastian’s 20-something odd children (supposedly). Bach wasn’t his only target. One of my favorite performances is a play by play account of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony as a sports broadcast. Then there were the parodies of baroque music that are even  funnier if you know something about baroque music. “Operas” include some delicious examples of plays on words. One considers the challenges of running that only the running knows. The running knows, the running knows (or is it the running nose?)

Michael Flanders and Donald Swann were British musical comedians. They had several LPs released by Angel Records here. Although much of their music was original, there was a delightful parody of the final movement of Mozart’s 4th Horn Concerto. In this piece, as usual for this pair, there is wonderful wordplay that nicely complements the music. Probably a more popular non-classical song was “The Hippopotamus,” with its rollicking chorus, “Mud, mud, glorious mud! Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. So follow me, follow, Down to the hollow. There we will wallow In glo-o-o-orious mud.”

Finally, who could forget Victor Borge, the Great Dane of classical music? You may have seen him on any of a number of PBS broadcasts. A trained classical pianist, Borge saw the humor in classical music and focused on that aspect. His routine was as much visual as musical. He enticed a number of well-known musicians to collaborate with him, often as straightman to his comedian. I met Borge when he performed in San Diego, and concluded that he was the same person off stage as he was on - humorously outgoing and engaging in a most friendly manner. This most certainly was a golden memory to treasure.

All of this leads to something on the internet that was brought to my attention the other day. Someone has taken “1000 ringtones and 2000 text alerts” and put them together to play a theme from Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. (Sure, you remember this one. A while back Quaker Puffed Wheat/Rice used this melody as we heard “This is the cereal that’s shot from guns. Boom! [Repeat.]) This may not be as complex as programming a Moog Synthesizer, but it is worthy of notice as another contribution to the spreading of classical music. You can check this out at http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/23/tchaikovskys-1812-overture-reconstructed-from-1000-cellphone-ri/

Hope you enjoy it, and perhaps even find your musical appetite whetted to explore more classical music-  in one form or another.