Jack Pepper's classical music birthday playlist
What to play from the canon when you're need of a classical birthday playlist
Last updated 19th Jun 2020
It's Jack Pepper's birthday in the next few days. So, in anticipation, we asked him to come up with a list of suitably celebratory music that might feature on a playlist. Expect fizz, jollity, and musical accompaniment to raise a glass.
Where possible, we've included some clips to illustrate - though they won't necessarily be the recordings Jack is recommending. Be warned though, in these times when live performance is made impossible by COVID19, John Williams wishing Gustavo Dudamel a happy birthday will bring a tear to the eye.
John Williams – Happy Birthday Variations
Recording: Artists Orchestra of Los Angeles / John Williams (cond)
It might sound odd to say it, but I think John Williams is massively underrated. Yes, he is the second most-Oscar-nominated person ever, second only to Walt Disney (heard of him?), but his work encompasses many underacknowledged spaces and styles. Williams has written 15 concertos, a string quartet that was performed at a US Presidential Inauguration, and he even arranged his Harry Potter music into a violin concerto for classical star Anne-Sophie Mutter. As a composer myself, I massively admire John Williams’s ability to cross different spaces, his love of a good melody and his embrace of a wide audience. He is a fastidious craftsman (he still works with pencil and manuscript paper in Hollywood, writing out his scores) and doesn’t turn his nose up at different styles. What better company for a birthday?
His Happy Birthday Variations start with rousing brass, which then give way to a percussion reading of the tune, followed by solo harp. After many musical spotlights on individual sections of the orchestra, all the instruments come together for a triumphant finale, like friends and family gathering round a birthday cake: the ultimate musical birthday party.
Mercer Ellington - Things Ain’t What They Used To Be
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Simon Rattle (cond)
Mercer Ellington was the son of master composer Duke Ellington, and had his first piece recorded by his father’s band when he was 18. It was appropriately called ‘Pigeons and Peppers’ (Gloria, the regular pigeon visitor to Pepper Towers - mentioned in a previous article for Scala Radio and pictured above - is thriving, thank you).
This Ellington recording comes from a diverse album courtesy of former Culture Bunker guest Simon Rattle, and this album is proof that classical orchestras and musicians should not be typecast or straitjacketed into a particular image or style. The title of this piece might be a potentially pessimistic one for a birthday (I am getting on a bit now though, what can I say?), but embrace the energy and sensuousness and it’s a great party piece. Jazz meets the symphony orchestra.
Elgar – Salut D’amour
Yo Yo Ma (clo) / Kathryn Stott (pno)
A birthday is also a time for thanking those around us who have made everything possible, so what better hymn of thanks to our loved ones than Elgar’s instrumental love song? Long before ‘To Love Somebody’ or ‘I Will Always Love You’, Elgar brought us this – he wrote it for his beloved wife as an engagement present. Elgar and his wife will make an appearance in the Culture Bunker this Saturday (20th June).
James P Johnson – Victory Stride
Concordia Ensemble / Marin Alsop (cond)
This debuted in the Culture Bunker earlier this month. James P Johnson was the father of Stride Piano in jazz, but he also wrote a ‘Harlem’ Symphony and 16 musicals. He really wanted to be taken seriously as a concert composer, but this infectious piece brings together his many diverse styles. The big band meets the orchestra.
Stravinsky – Greeting Prelude
An angular take on the famous tune, Stravinsky wrote this 50 second arrangement of Happy Birthday To You for the 80th Birthday of conductor Pierre Monteux, who had conducted some of Stravinsky’s early masterpieces that made his name. Stravinsky got in trouble for his arrangements, once being threatened with imprisonment for rearranging the American national anthem. Thankfully, this piece is more just a unique gift from one musician to another. As far as presents go, the bar is set.
Kate Rusby – Underneath The Stars
VOCES8
A tender choral arrangement of a song by a top British folk singer-songwriter. VOCES8 is a group well-known to the Culture Bunker; one of the founder-members, Charles MacDougall, was an early guest on the show, and they share my passion for music education and bringing music to the widest number. The choir are the flagship ensemble of the VOCES8 Foundation, which reaches over 40,000 young people annually through workshops and masterclasses. This mellow recording is perfect for a reflective Birthday.
Irving Berlin – Puttin’ On The Ritz
The Band of the Blues and Royals
Any regular Culture Bunker listeners will know this is a dream combination for me: a military band playing Irving Berlin. The UK is privileged to have so many top military bands who, like Scala, see great music as great music; pop along to the annual Royal Marines Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall, and you’ll hear symphonic Tom Jones, Hans Zimmer and new music side by side. Military musicians are also great friends of the Culture Bunker; earlier this year, I had a drumming lesson with the Royal Marines Corps of Drums on stage at the Albert Hall (now on Scala’s YouTube channel). Last year, we were privileged to enjoy some exclusive performances and a parade by the Band of the Household Cavalry, playing down the road from Buckingham Palace just for us. I have similar admiration for the amazing variety of Irving Berlin, a man who brought sophistication to pop songs that at once appeal to a wide audience and to specialists. Even more incredible, then, to think that Berlin couldn’t read a note of music. Proof that music is about feeling first and foremost.
Copland – Hoe-Down (Rodeo)
Colorado Symphony / Andrew Litton (cond)
From a ‘Ranch House Party’ to a wild dance in the ‘Hoe-Down’, Copland’s music to his second cowboy ballet Rodeo is perfect for a celebration. Copland once said: “I adore extravagance, but I abhor waste.” Birthdays were probably an ideal time then. He enjoyed a good party; if anything got slightly risqué, he’d say with mock distress: “And I thought this was a respectable household.” As a
musician who once played in dance bands, it’s impossible not to be overcome by the exuberance of this Hoe-Down. It’s a favourite on Scala. Clear the floor and get ready for dancing before listening.
Mary Rodgers – Once Upon A Mattress: Overture
The daughter of famous musical theatre master Richard, Mary Rodgers made a name in literature as well as music: she was a writer of children’s books. Her father didn’t encourage her into the music profession, but her musical Once Upon A Mattress ended up competing with her father’s work at the TONY Awards. She was an assistant with Leonard Bernstein’s Young People Concerts, and in her own music writes in a similarly vibrant, melodic and direct way. A wonderful piece to wake up to on your Birthday morning.
Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture
Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Barenboim (cond)
Tchaikovsky came to despise this work’s popularity. It was written as a crowd-pleaser, and is full of cannon fire, bells and musical quotations of pieces like the French National Anthem. It was written for the consecration of a cathedral in Moscow, built to commemorate Russian victory over Napoleon earlier in the century. The piece has gone wrong in performance, with one occasion in Uruguay in 1998 being marred by a musician’s decision to stick some dynamite in the end of their bass trombone. A clarinettist was knocked out and the conductor hurled backwards into the audience when the trombone plunger shot through the air…. This is a musical fireworks display (hopefully just in sound), perfect for a celebration. Just cover your ears when the cannon fire.
When is Jack Pepper's Culture Bunker on Scala Radio?
Listen to Jack Pepper's Culture Bunker every Saturday from 3pm, via the Scala Radio website, app, or via Sky 0216