Beethoven Translations into Pop, Rock Music

[alittleviola]

I found on Twitter this performance of the Moonlight Sonata (3rd Movement) by French guitarist Tina Setkic on electric guitar.

She is obviously a virtuoso on her instrument and within her genre, and she makes good use of tapping to translate the keyboard to the fretboard.

That being said, I'm curious to see what the community here thinks of these kinds of translations of Beethoven's music into contemporary genres? Testament to the timelessness of his music, or a bastardization of the beauty of his art into a genre that can't really do it justice? Or somewhere in between these two? Or something else?

[Sorrano]

For me it was an interesting experiment but I never felt that these attempts were very useful to convey the same musical message as the original. Consider, as an example, repainting the Mona Lisa in a pop-art style or Picasso style. I just don't think it really works.

[Chris]

Bringing Beethoven to the electric guitar doesn't enhance Beethoven, but it does enhance the electric guitar. An interesting exercise and experience for guitarists, I would say.

[alittleviola]

I agree. Beethoven apparently had some interest in guitar (I think there are some chamber music pieces by him that feature it?), but there is something to be said for the fact that classical music is a sum of its parts, which includes the instrumentation. Chris' comment is so true that translating classical and art music onto instruments that are predominantly used in folk and pop/rock doesn't give you the very best of the music itself; it's really just an exercise in style.

Still, I guess one could say that it would please Beethoven in some way to see his music transcending classical music as we know it today. He was, after all, writing for eternity.

[Chris]

It's not like this piece was just randomly chosen and shoved onto the electric guitar, either. The main "riff" works quite well in that style in a way that a more lyrical melody would not. After all, the basic building blocks of classical music and rock music are the same - notes, chords, melodies, harmonies.

[EternaLisa]

That being said, I'm curious to see what the community here thinks of these kinds of translations of Beethoven's music into contemporary genres? Testament to the timelessness of his music, or a bastardization of the beauty of his art into a genre that can't really do it justice? Or somewhere in between these two? Or something else?

Does music have boundaries? Pretty certain LVB felt unlimited when he got " in the flow " He wasn't known as "the heavy metal composer" for nothing. In his day, he most certainly showed them how to "Rock"

Edited to add, not forgetting too that a great many of your musicians operating in a different genre are also classically trained, 70s groovy group Argent is an early example... for example, is hinted at in the song's intros first several bars of God Gave Rock and Roll To You, and I often thought the instrumental part of Pleasure (which sounds like 100 years old if one doesn't listen to it often enough compared to the habitual listening of other preferred selections of modern day works)

Apologies...back to Beethoven now..