512 Washington Street Southeast
Olympia, WA 98501
USA
Great music inspires – and inspired musicians can masterfully transform the familiar into something new and innovative. Many of the world’s celebrated composers borrowed, reinterpreted and rearranged music written by their peers and predecessors. Stravinsky borrowed from Tchaikovsky, who rearranged Mozart, who stole from Beethoven, who breathed new life into old folk songs.
Modern genres, including pop, jazz, Broadway and rock, all contain countless works inspired by classical melodies. MCE’s “Pop Meets the Classics” concert celebrates popular contemporary hits with classical connections. Performances include everything from Neil Diamond’s ‘70s pop hit “Song Sung Blue” (based on Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, Second Movement), to the Walt Disney classic “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (based upon a waltz in Tchaikovsky’s ballet Sleeping Beauty) to “Strangers in Paradise“ (based on Borodin’s Polovetsian Dances) from the Broadway musical, Kismet.
