# What have they done to my Beethoven?



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Younger folks may be stepping up their CM listening.

"I expected that the spirit of Beethoven would return some day. You can't keep a good man down, as the proverb goes. And, believe it or not, the revival has finally happened. But I never, in a million years, would have guessed where musical Romanticism would experience this rebirth.

The spirit of Beethoven has come back to life in first-person shooter games. Over-the-top Romanticism, in all its most extravagant manifestations, is now the preferred musical accompaniment to virtual killing."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...ride-along-in-first-person-shooter-games.html


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

Surprised to read how many times he mentions Mahler in the article.

Then there's this nugget: "Michael Giacchino’s score for Medal of Honor: Frontline, released the following year, commandeered a chorus and full orchestra, extracting musical fireworks that would make grim Mahler smile."

Nothing against Giacchino, but come on....


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I would love it if they used more classical music in video games. Think first person shooter with Bach in the background?


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

Linking that sort of music explicitly to Beethoven is a bit naive. It's really more the late romanticism of Hollywood early big orchestral scoring and the addition of some more modernistic flourishes for colouring that gets you today's game and film scores. And don't underestimate the Copland sound, modal harmony and subsequently 70s rock in shaping "epic soundtracks" today. 

What you can't deny is that games and film are probably where most people hear orchestral music and that loks like it's here to stay. I've played plenty of both game adn film music in concert settings and most of it is garbage - a mish mash of empty, stereotyped gestures. John Williams is the shiniest but really still no good - and why does his music sound so fascistic and sinister? How much is it the fault of Spielberg and how much Williams himself? Or is it the American empire obsession of hollywood - fun to think about

But anyway, if you're so inclined, facilitating the move from game and film music to real "CM" may be a worthwhile project...


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

Ugh reminds me of a youtube comment on a video of Bach's double violin concerto. Something like "I put this one whenever I'm shooting guys in Call of Duty. Really fits" *EYE-ROLLING NEVER CEASES*

There's this weird inclination to juxtapose classical with action, main case being the Ninth in Die Hard. I don't know, maybe because it caters to the teenage "EPIC" crowd?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Using Beethoven to make a comment about "over the top Romanticism" seems a bit strange.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Cosmos said:


> Ugh reminds me of a youtube comment on a video of Bach's double violin concerto. Something like "I put this one whenever I'm shooting guys in Call of Duty. Really fits" *EYE-ROLLING NEVER CEASES*
> 
> There's this weird inclination to juxtapose classical with action, main case being the Ninth in Die Hard. I don't know, maybe because it caters to the teenage "EPIC" crowd?


And then you can relish this lovely selection:


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