Gareth Malone’s Guide to Classical Music: The Perfect Introduction to Classical Music. Gareth Malone

outside the concert hall because temperature can affect tuning, as instruments contract and expand with heat. The oboe provides a steady tone (normally an A) which is easier to tune to than other wind instruments. The oboe is less likely to be far out of tune when taken out of its case than other instruments. String instruments can be wildly out, so it’s important for them to have a clear example of a note that the orchestra can agree on. The signal to tune the orchestra is when the leader enters and stands in front of the orchestra. The note ‘A’ is played and the different sections take it in turn to tune. In his Ninth Symphony Beethoven starts the work with a section which sounds very similar to the orchestra tuning up – it’s a kind of ‘in’ joke.

      Why do some composers deliberately use unpleasant sounds? Shouldn’t music be lush and beautiful?

      I’ll deal with the whys and wherefores of harmony in Chapter 7. The short answer is that many composers believe that the purpose of ‘serious music’ is not to send you to sleep but to invigorate and challenge the listener; in order to achieve this, composers have used some arresting sounds. If a piece doesn’t sound lush it may be because the subject matter does not require it: should music about war or death be beautiful? Discuss.

      Is it OK to be bored by classical music? (I often am)

      Chapter 12 is about surviving a concert, and I use the word surviving deliberately. I don’t wish to hoodwink you into believing that all classical music is exciting and every concert is a masterpiece. I have spoken to many professional musicians who readily admit to finding certain music boring. It’s OK. Seek out the music that stimulates and reject that which, after a good listen, turns out to be boring. The composer won’t mind – he’ll most likely be dead.

      Good point – on that subject, are all composers dead white guys?

      No. But, as in many professions, women and non-Europeans struggled for recognition. At one time classical music only existed within the European world, but as the music becomes increasingly international, interesting forms of music are emerging that are influenced by ‘non-Western’ musics. Recording has been a help here in spreading high-quality music right around the globe.

      There are many examples of music written by people who are not white Europeans: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (not to be confused with the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge) was a successful black English composer born in 1875 who studied at the Royal College of Music and won the support of Edward Elgar; Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959), the Brazilian composer; Tan Dun (b. 1957), who writes with a distinctively Chinese voice; Astor Piazzolla (1921–1992), who elevated the Argentinean tango to a form of art music. It is no longer the preserve of a small group of white men from central Europe.

      In fact there are constant efforts by the classical music world to reach out to communities who are not traditionally associated with this music. I’ve been involved with many such projects, and they work: I’ve taken Rachmaninov to African Carribean communities in Hackney; singing projects to predominantly Muslim schools in Tower Hamlets; and run composition projects at Alexandra Burke’s old school in North London (I think she was there at the time but I don’t remember her …). I stand in admiration of El Sistema in Venezuela which teaches classical instruments to underprivileged children. This chimes with the dream of many classical musicians – that anybody can appreciate this wonderful music. The world famous tenor Plácido Domingo is said to have cried when he heard the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. A handful of musicians may enjoy the prestige that comes from the exclusivity of classical music but in my experience most of us would like everyone to feel the same as we do.

      Apart from composers such as Hildegard of Bingen, the twelfth-century abbess; Fanny Henschel, Felix Mendelssohn’s sister; and Judith Weir, one of Britain’s most successful contemporary composers⁸, unfortunately most people don’t realise how many female composers there are. There are also many, many composers who are not dead. It’s just that it often takes a while for their music to be recognised internationally – by which time they may well be deceased.

      Who is the greatest composer?

      J.S. Bach … no wait – Mozart. Hold on … Schubert. Stop! Stravinsky. This is impossible to answer and changes every day according to my mood. In my opinion the greatest composer is whoever is holding your attention.

      Are musical geniuses made, not born?

      All music requires hard work to perfect. Even to reach a rudimentary level on an instrument takes several years of practice, and to reach a professional standard a person must start at a young age while the brain is still adaptable – I’ve never met a professional classical instrumentalist who started their instrument after the age of twenty. Some composers have to work harder than others at their craft. Some composers are more formal in their approach to music; others are more instinctive, but for all of them it’s a craft, and that takes work.

      Perfect pitch, which is the ability to recognise the name of a note without access to an instrument, is a musical gift that emerges in childhood; it often goes hand in hand with early training and other musical abilities. You’d suspect that this would only exist in a small percentage of the population; however, neuroscientist Daniel Levitin has proved (through some very innovative experiments) that in fact most people have the ability to some degree. They do not realise they have this capacity because it is not as highly developed as it would be in a musician.⁹ Who knows how many Mozarts exist who never had the chance to play a piano?

      It’s not that perfect pitch is the mark of a musical genius but it has always been considered an ability of the most highly gifted musicians. To discover that in fact we all have the potential, given the right circumstances, to develop musical gifts does not detract from the achievements of a Bach, Beethoven or Mozart. They were born with the same mental faculties as the rest of us – they just worked harder.

      In the case of Mozart, who was the son of a successful musician, he had just the right combination of circumstance and talent to start him composing. His prodigious mental gifts enabled him to complete musical tasks that others would struggle with, and sheer hard work got him there in the end. Had Mozart been raised by the local blacksmith I doubt he would have been the composer he became at the age of eight, when he wrote his first symphony – his upbringing, which by modern standards might seem like pushy parenting, enabled him to succeed. It’s a lesson to all aspirational parents.

      I think that the whole concept of genius does a disservice to the brilliance of our great composers. It’s a nonsense that a composer can write a great symphony on inspiration alone. It takes at least ten years and thousands of repetitions to learn any new skill; becoming the architect of a great piece of classical music means you’ve probably discarded a lot of rubbish first, and that you’ve developed calluses on your hands from practising your art.

      Can a voice be made, not born?

      This is another matter altogether. We are born with a voice that is uniquely our own. No amount of money or training can make a small vocal instrument into a big one or an ugly one into a beautiful one. Training can improve the sound hugely but if you fundamentally sound like a goat then there’s not much that can be done about it.

      Were ye olde instrumentalists better than now?

      That depends on how you define ‘better’. Listening to recordings from the early twentieth century I’m struck by the difference in playing style. The ready availability of quality recordings has pushed standards higher and higher. Grade VIII used to be the standard required for admission to music college; that’s no longer a guarantee. As demand for places has intensified, young players get better and better.

      Unfortunately, although evidence exists in some of the reviews of the time,¹⁰ we’ll never hear Bach’s unparalleled mastery of the organ, or Mozart’s keyboard extemporisation. To my ear there has never been a better time to listen to music. Audio equipment is cheap and of high quality. Recordings from the last century are readily available and you can hear playing of immaculate accuracy in most modern concert halls for a reasonable amount of money.