Customer Reviews

The Queen Symphony

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Extraordinarny! Having been a Queen fan since the beginning, I have always admired the group's ability to explore new ground and sounds during their existence in the rock world. I love all kinds of music and while i'm by no means a classical expert, this recording is incredible. It captures the true spirit and essence of the group while infusing a new breath of life to their music. The cd, constructed in six movements, starts off with segments from "Radio-Gaga" and builds through a dramatic climax ending with "Who wants to live forever". Each movement is composed of partial Queen tunes tied together with new material.
In some cases, the entire song is played out. Number four playfully reconstructs the mood of "Bicycle Race" tied together with "Save Me", two songs that I have never imagined could be strung together so beautifuly while being played classically at the same time. Movement two is an absolutly gorgoeus version of "Love of my life". The violins and piano are perfect for the work as it blends with "Another one bites the dust'. Another classic duo? Go figure. But it works. The best part is movement 5, "Bohemian Rhapsody", We will will rock you, We are the champions and Who wants to live forvever are masterfully interwined in a majestic piece that captures the true essence of those songs. I got goose bumps when We will rock you started.
This cd solidifies Queen's music in rock history and brings the classical format to me in an entirely new and refreshing way. Tolga Kashif has done an exceptional job here.

Scrolling through the reviews, I noticed that a couple people labeled this symphony as being pretentious, overdone, and insufficient to the music of Queen. To quote one reviewer, : "If the strings got any more lush, the English Horns any more thick, the chorus any more "John Williams," I think I would choke on my own vomit."

Is this person a Queen fan at all?

What makes Queen great is the excess, the fabulousness, the mixture of classical and opera asthetics with rock methodology. This symphony mirrors that perfectly - following the tradition of the better Queen albums, each segment is a piece to its own apart from the rest, but the whole makes a more compelling musical experience than the sum of its parts. It ranges from soft and sentimental to rollicking and cheeky, and I have to say it has been a long time since I enjoyed any version of We Will Rock You nearly as much as this symphony portrays it. Any real Queen fan will delight in this piece. I had put off buying this album for a while thinking it would be another "Passing Open Windows" but the disc is so much more than that. I feel after listening to this that I have a new Queen album, not a new Royal Philharmonic Orchestra album, and that's really what matters most.

Despite the bad reviews on this page I will disagree with the previous reviewers. I believe this is a good recording and an outstanding effort by Tolga Kashif and certainly worthy or praise. Like most people I grew up listening and enjoying QUEEN but I also grew up listening to Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Durante, Pergolesi and various other composers - too many to name here. I play the piano and am well versed in the classical musical language. This work certainly can not stand side by side with Beethoven or Mozart just yet but it is an outstanding effort. Keep in mind that this is a symphony INSPIRED by the music of QUEEN and it is in no way a direct symphonic arrangement of QUEEN's songs. If you want a direct symphonic arrangement look for music by the London Symphony Orchestra. This symphony however is rather enjoyable because one gets to hear how certain themes have been re-worked. It is hard to put into words the compositional factor in this work. It would most likely fall under the Romantic Classical category - you can hear hints of Beethoven throughout the work. Remnants of Holst and Copland are also there. This symphony tells the story of the eternal struggle against the odds and it is presented in six movements (One world, Conjuring of a Storm, Mourning, Frenzy, Triumph and Homage) and within the six movements the melodies of QUEEN are integrated very cleverly to match up with the theme of the movement. Overall the recording of this work sounds great (especially if you're an audiophile and have a hi-fi system). If you're a QUEEN purist - this recording might not be for you but if you are a person who enjoys classical music (especially works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Holst) and who also enjoys something new and creative then by all means get this work. It is definitely worthy of praise and most definitely deserves a critical listen before you cast your ultimate vote on the acceptance of this work into the pantheon of classical music.

I bought this DVD mainly because my father is a fan of Queen and also a symphonic music lover. Queen is also my favourite band, sou I was interested to see how this marriage between rock and Classic Music resulted; well, it was better than i thought: reprises of musics such as "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Love of my Life" and "Bicycle Race" are magical. The whole orchestration is delightful. I found myself in tears while listening to "Love of My Life"! It's just too beautiful to be true!

When I first saw this one..., I picked it up, I told myself that I was listening to this and I would not take it seriously at all. It was/is incredible. As an orchestral composer myself, I can honestly tell that this isn't a composer looking to make a name for himself (first off, he already has quite a name). The music is exciting, extremely well orchestrated, and it suprises you. Scored in the hollywood style with Chorus and orchestra, it has a great dynamic spread from very soft in the beginning to bombastic in the later movements. The Bohemian Rhapsody I will admit seems a bit Cliche' when I first heard it, but if you listen to it without listening to the original before it, it reminds you more of an early romantic scherzo. The Adagio is beautiful - comparable to Mahler. This is a composer who will touch your soul.

I was very impressed by the way Tolga Kashif changed moods so suddenly and smoothly. I congratulate both Queen and Kashif for their accomplishments in music.

It's funny how many reviews here point to the name John Williams, but not without cause. The very beginning of the piece could quite easily be mistaken for the opening of E.T., with its low strings and flute entrance. As it continues, it becomes clear that this is not actually John Williams, but Mahler (although it could be argued that many a Mahler score has at some point been incorporated into a John Williams theme).

...

We arrive at the forth movement, the Allegro Vivo, at which point I begin to wonder whether the Mahler has been replaced by a wonderfully quirky Bernstein piano piece, yet the Mahler certainly returns, both during this movement, and throughout the rest of the symphony.

To the classical musicians who understand the comparison to the Mahler and Bernstein: I hope we all agree that this symphony, although not quite so symphonic in form, is a fantastic example of what we'd all wish to write, but wouldn't dare to on grounds of plagarism. (I not long ago produced an orchestration of Bohemian Rhapsody, which sounds disturbingly similar)

To the less classically-trained listener: Although this review may not answer your question "Should I buy this music?", I hope it will at least serve as an introduction, as does this symphony, to 20th Century classical music. Listen to this piece, until you love it. Then listen to the last movement of Mahler's second Symphony "Resurrection". The Queen Symphony is perhaps the best stepping stone you will find.

Brilliant music, brilliant composer(s), brilliantly played. Dont look for the academia to understand ths. Just let your feelings cry, baby.

Any symphonic work generally contains repeated themes with variants. Certainly, this is no exception. Queen has provided the musical world with many leitmotifs that would have been applicable as symphonic theme material. I can say I have been a fan of this group for 30 years, especially for their ability to write songs beyond the three chord genre of contemporary rock. But as a symphonic work, it falls short, lacks continuity and fails to provide the needed cohesiveness to successfully weave these themes into a masterwork of symphonic caliber. Often, the themelodies are vague: i.e, what song is this? The composer is too obsessed with the "Who Wants to Live Forever" theme as it is repeated to death with confusing variation. The first movement choral sections are unnecessary and confusing; this was best left to it's original Bohemian Rhapsody. Solo keyboard work doesn't know whether it wants to be concerto-like or as a symphonic interlude. Don't get me wrong; I like this work, but I don't love it. There were many other Queen song themes that would have merited symphonic exposition and development. If you are a true Queen devotee, I think you'll find it interesting but not your top listen, and take it with a grain of salt.

When I first heard the symphony, I was quite choked.

It's sometimes really difficult to make the link with queen music, especially in the first movement. But I realize than the purpose of composer Tolga Kashif : he really managed to bring something new to queen music, adding a powerful orchestration influenced sometimes by Gershwin ( cf the 4th movement ) or Tchaickovsky ( cf the 5th movement ). The result is most of the time magnificient. The best movement are the 5th ( with, at the end, We Are the Champions sounding like the Swan Lake of Tchaickovsky ) and the 2nd movement ( Love of my Life shows here that it has been strongly influenced by 18th c. music , like the 2nd part of Bohemian Rhapsody : you could really think these pieces of music had been composed by W.A. Mozart...)

To conclude, this work show all the richness of queen music, especially which was written by Freddie Mercury. Freddie's music ( We Are the Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody, Love of my Life )could have been as succesful in the 18 or 19th c. as it is now !

A truly enjoyable classical adaptation of Queen,especially Brian Mays original music.It shows influence from Gershwin, but still is an inspired and faithful scoring of the lovely tunes and harmonies always associated with the original tracks.Brian approved, and if Freddie had lived, I think he would have approved as well.Sceptics will always throw lack of originality at works like this,but I think it enhances the melodies and adds an extra dimension. A must for classical lovers who can also rock to Queen.