All classically trained musicians/artists base their music on what went on before them, whether they go truly experimental, avant-garde, or make their music quite accessible to a more general audience. Yet, can you combine these at some point?
That seems to be exactly what composer/pianist Frank Clare is attempting with his debut project Admiratio Magna, or Latin for big surprise.
In a way, it is a sort of a surprise, as Clare certainly experiments here, trying to, at the same time, to show his admiration for ‘old’ classical music, but at the same time do it with his tongue in cheek, making a bit of a satire of that old classical music making it a bit more accessible for a wider audience.
That is quite evident on compositions like “Die Apotheose,” where Clare goes from serious to cheeky in those twelve minutes or so.
Actually, Clare, who started out with the piano a bit late at the age of 15, shows not only admiration but vast knowledge of classical music, because if he didn’t, his experiment here would be an utter failure.
Yet, on the contrary, Clare makes his vision of classical music an intriguing one and quite accessible to an audience weaned on more popular musical genres.
