While Classical Music has been associated with Bach and Handel, the 20th Century has had its share of Classical Music Genius such as Former Beatles Paul Mc Cartney, Cuban Composer Gonzalo Roig, and Estonian Composer Arvo Part.

Classical Music is alive and kicking with composers such as the former Beatles Singer and Songwriter Paul Mc Cartney having written his «Liverpool Oratorio» almost two decades ago. Paul Mc Cartney also wrote another Classical Music piece called «Standing Stone» in 1997 followed by «Working Classical» in 1999, and «Ecce Cor Meum» in the year 2006. The four albums have been garnered popularity in the Classical Music Charts as well as Popular Music.

There have been other releases of Classical Music especially after some of Bachs Cantatas have been found in Japan such as «The Wedding Cantata BMW 216» and others which were found in eastern Germany. It is these releases that have people buying classical music if only to hear music that was never released to the public. For those who think that Classical Music has no place in the 20th and 21st Century have not heard of the works of Gonzalo Roig and Arvo Part.

Recently, there has been an interest in the music of Cuban Composer Gonzalo Roig [1890-1970] and his classical zarzuela called «Cecilia Valdes» which played to rave reviews in Miami Florida as well as Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I once saw the performance of «Cecilia Valdes» in Miami Florida and the majority of the public were a younger generation of those who either left Cuba when they were babies or born in the United States to Cuban Parents.

During the performance of «Cecilia Valdes», there were other nationalities in the theatre as well as those who were performing. The public and the performers were from the generation that lived through the era of the Beatles, the Disco Era, and other eras. A recent performance showed another public and performers who lived in the era of Hip Hop, Britney Spears, and Selena Gomez yet they were enjoying the Zarzuela written in 1932 and relaxing.

Arvo Part [1935-Present] is another example of why Classical Music is alive, kicking, and popular.

Arvo Part’s music increased in popularity after the Independence of Estonia from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [now Russia] in 1990. Arvo Part was famous for writing works such as the «Berliner Messe», «Tabula Rasa», «Te Deum», and «Summa for Chorus» have been popular among the youth and young adults for being an alternative to the artificial music that exists today as well as for relaxation.

What is admirable about Arvo Part was that his early compositions of the 1950’s and 1960’s were written at a time when foreign influence in Estonia was minimal with the exception of the usual Russian influence. For those who underestimate Arvo Part and think that classical music is dead should read the quotes of the New York Composer Steve Reich [1936-Present].

The words of Steve Reich about Arvo Part were the following: «Even in Estonia, Arvo was getting the same feeling that we were all getting.I love his music and I love the fact that he is a brave and talented man. He is completely out of step with the zeitgeist [the fashion statements of the present time and yet he is enormously popular, which is so inspiring. His music fulfills a deep human need that has nothing to do with fashion.»

While Paul Mc Cartney deserves credit for maintaining Classical Music, people like Gonzalo Roig and Arvo Part deserve praise for being able to transcend the fashion of the day with their classical music. As long as there are people who listen to Mc Cartney, Roig, and Part, there is hope for Classical Music.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/eur ope/3596027.stm

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/arti cle/0,2144,3271063,00.html

http://www.helium.com/items/1315065-mc-cartney-roig-part-classical-music-20th-century