These students, it was fun and fun to write this month’s songs about the band. With that being said, buckle up, sit tight, and get ready to learn why music is the best way to prank anyone—though, if you’re not a musician, read until the end, because I haven’t forgotten about you 😉 I don’t forget.
On another note (ha ha, note, I’m hilarious), it’s not uncommon for orchestras to prank their conductors on their birthdays. Though this isn’t necessarily an April Fool’s prank, wouldn’t it be funny if it wasn’t April Fools, but the main birthday? Im so confused! *evil laugh*
For Sir Roger Norrington’s 84th birthday, the SWR Symphonieorchester surprised him with an epic arrangement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (more commonly known as the Eroica Symphony), meshed with the song “Happy Birthday,” during a rehearsal. The orchestra begins the piece as usual, but a few measures in, the melody of the birthday ballad smoothly permeates the piece and is passed through different instruments. Finally, after the carol, the birthday group sang. Meanwhile, Roger Norrington, the knight, laughed and clapped in his swivel chair. Not a bad day to be a conductor. The instructions are also very good: this arrangement is a perfect harmony between Beethoven and Happy Birthday. *starry eyes* it’s brilliant, and I know you agree with me 😉
Fun fact: Beethoven admired Napoleon so much that he dubbed his Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 the Bonaparte Symphony in 1804. But, plot twist, the son suddenly became cruel. *gasp* And when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France, Beethoven called off the performances of his symphony and re-sub-titled his symphony Eroica.
Another example of a birthday admirer of Beethoven is conductor Franz-Xavier Roth, pranked by Gürzenich-Orchester Köln. As they rehearse the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, the orchestra suddenly integrates the melody of “Happy Birthday” into the piece. Going beyond that song, however, the symphony-song turns into a medley of pieces, with “Happy Birthday”’s theme subtly popping up here and there. Meanwhile, the driver just smiled and said “O” in French.
Do you remember Mahler’s 5th Symphony? (the previous prank-piece included an excerpt from this as well; if you have extra brown spots, add some to fill the column above!) As the french horn completes its iconic opening solo, the rest of the Berliner Philharmoniker joins in and merges the melody into “Happy Birthday” for their conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Not quite as impressive as Gürzenich-Orchester Köln’s or SWR Symphonieorchester’s arrangement, I have to admit, but Mahler’s worth the mention. The Japanese respect this Japanese, even though the group is German. Conductor of American and Canadian symphony orchestras.
The off-season musical parody of the Berlin Philharmonic also has an interesting side—this orchestra seems to be building a reputation for mischievousness. As soloist Daishin Kashimoto prepares to play Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1, the tricky orchestra begins to play the opening of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor. If I were a Bourbon, I should be ashamed, but Kashimoto whipped out the Mendelssohn without skipping a beat (literally), as if he had been preparing for that all along, with a mere two measures’ notice. Those two measures last about two seconds, people, if not less. *shivers* Soloists = seriously incredible.
Fun fact: Felix Mendelssohn survived Sergei Prokofiev by nearly 100 years (*actually, he died about a century before Prokofiev was born). JS Mendelssohn admired the works of Bach and became a famous composer in England and a friend of Queen Victoria. Prokofiev died on March 5, 1953, which happens to be the same day as Joseph Stalin’s death. Not exactly “funny”, but it can be funny. Thank me when that comes up on your history exam 😉 Prokofiev’s most famous works include the ballet Romeo and Juliet, as well as Peter and the Wolf.
Now, prepare to be hit with controversy: John Cage’s 4’33” (“Four Minutes and Thirty-three Seconds”). For those of you who aren’t familiar with this piece and have not yet facepalmed, this piece of music contains three movements. First – 33 seconds Second – 2 minutes 40 seconds Third – 1 minute 20 seconds. Best of all, anyone can perform 4’33”. However, the real question lies not in whether or not anyone can play it—there is no question there—but rather whether or not Cage’s composition is music at all, because no notes are played. *narrative screams* The score is filled with rests; the piece consists of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence. Cage called that silence “the absence of intended sounds”: the pitter-patter of rain, or a dreaded cough from an audience member, or perhaps even the footsteps of someone storming out from the concert hall indignantly (yes, some people up and left during the premiere of this piece) (and yes, there was someone standing first). This baffling piece deserves more than a paragraph in an article about musical pranks…but what do you think? Is “Four Minutes and Thirty-three Seconds” true music? This part of the program is not limited to music creation. (Sitting in a chair) In April, your family will love it :D.
That’s it for now. See you next month ^ – ^ *I do not know*
Photo Credit: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/20/6b/2b/206b2b38c8daf31c221c6f3e57c86034.jpg
Works Cited
Lockspeiser, Edward. “Felix Mendelssohn.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Mar. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Felix-Mendelssohn.
Macdonald, Kyle. “The Berlin Philharmonic Hoped to Prank a Soloist by Playing the Wrong Concerto… but It Didn’t Go to Plan.” Classic FM, Classic FM, 6 Apr. 2021, www.classicfm.com/artists/berlin-phil/soloist-concerto-prank-gone-wrong/.
Nestyev, Israel V, and Richard Taruskin. “Sergey Prokofiev.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1 Mar. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Sergey-Prokofiev.
Schwarm, Betsy. “4′33″.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 17 Feb. 2023, www.britannica.com/topic/433-by-Cage.
Schwarm, Betsy. “Eroica Symphony.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 12 Dec. 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/Eroica-Symphony.