Are any of you into cross-over classical?

[spindrifter]

You know--electric violins, hip-looking Opera Babes and the like? I hate to admit it, but I like some of it.

[LouisianaLiberal]

1. I'm not sure what you mean by "cross-over "

Anything that might attract a new audience can't be bad I guess. As for hip-looking opera babes - I'm all for them.:-)

[spindrifter]

2. Check this out:

http://www.rhapsody.com/classical/crossoverclassical/more.html

Description of Crossover Classical

As a genre, Crossover Classical has come into its own in recent years through the commercial successes of musicians like Yo-Yo Ma, Charlotte Church, Vanessa Mae and Josh Groban. These artists offer an alternate take on classical music, infusing it with touches of pop and rock as well as more disparate influences such as Appalachian folk tunes, African chants and Nordic fishing songs. This style of classical music generally appeals to a wider swath of the population, although purists may lament that it's a diluted and inferior version of the real thing. In any case, the popularity of Crossover Classical is enticing more young people to take a second look at the genre and maybe even pick up a violin or try opera singing. It certainly doesn't hurt that many of the most successful Crossover Classical artists have been marketed with the gloss and sex appeal usually reserved for pop stars.

[fortyfeetunder]

3. Crossover has kept classical fresh for centuries.

I think crossover classical has been around for centuries, kept the audiences interested... I recall Mozart's dabbling with parody in his operas (see the movie Amadeus) and, think about incorporation of ethnic folk tunes in Tchaikovsky's 4th symphony, Dvorak's New World Symphony, Copland's Rodeo and El Salon Mexico) or jazz (Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Piano Concerto in f), we've seen crossover all along.

What makes the 20th century special is the advent of electronic music, starting with Wendy Carlos and "Switched on Bach", etc.

[spindrifter]

4. Good point!