FEATURE | Can We Talk About Classical Crossover?

This is, without question, the most ridiculous list of “classical” music that I’ve ever read. Piano Guys? Two Cellos?? Jackie Evancho??? ELVIS????? At least Elvis was a great performer, if not remotely classical. The rest are nothing more than fake musicians. — Bill from the United States

Bill wasn’t alone in his negative reaction to an online list of the best-selling classical and crossover albums of 2017 taken from the industry standard Billboard classical charts. That list includes Gregorian chants from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Shall We Dance, an album that incorporates classical repertoire along with music from movies like The Godfather, by classical popularist André Rieu, Rise, by The Texas Tenors, who turn their golden voices to material like the Eagles hit “Desperado” and incorporate country/classical mash-ups in their original material – and everything in between. Reality TV star Jackie Evancho released an album of movie songs, and Elvis is still a hit singing with an orchestra. The February 2018 Billboard crossover chart includes the soundtrack for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and a collaboration between Annie Lennox and the Kronos Quartet.

Read more at: https://www.ludwig-van.com/toronto/2018/03/13/feature-can-we-talk-about-classical-crossover/