Whilst his classical composition is relitively unknown, im wondering if anyone has heard his stuff, as its really amazing.
huh? what? frank zappa? hehe, the black page...oh man...joe's garage, baby snakes, does humor belong in music...
Yes, Zappa was very much into classical music. He was quite an accomplished composer to. His last album before his death in 1993, The Yellow Shark was a very good classical album.
his book, 'The Real Frank Zappa' talks about his classical music, as well as alot of other stuff about him. its a good book if your into zappa
The Yellow Shark is a wonderful album... I also liked The Perfect Stranger conducted by pierre boulez
Frank Zappa's musical career seems to have roughly paralleled the evolution of music over thre course of european history. His early material, like Renaissance or 'Early Music', was a natural outgrowth and response to the culture he found himself in. Then, when he began to develop the potential of music as pure music rather than simply a vehicle for his message, he produced his Baroque masterpieces: Hot Rats, Waka Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. I like to think of Hot Rats as Zappa's Brandenburg Concertos. His music then entered the Classical phase where elegance gives way to drama, as in his live album, Piquantique. In his later orchestral works with The Ensemble Moderne and with P. Boulez he seemed to be painting or sculpting within his (already well established) musical language in the manner of the Romantic composers. If I have a favorite Frank Zappa album it is Burnt Weenie Sandwich. Produced at the culmination of his 'Early Music' phase, it was the penultimate and farewell album of the original permutation of The Mothers of Invention. Burnt Weenie Sandwich and Hot Rats were produced nearly concurrently, are both primarily instrumental, but outside of that are extremely different. If Hot Rats is his Brandenburg Concerto, Burnt Weenie Sandwich has more in common with Eastern European composers such as Bartok, Orff, or even Philip Koutev who stayed close to their folk roots and let their music be the voice of their culture. BWS even has a distinct Balkan/Middle-Eastern flair to it as it showcases the talents of each member of the band.
Ensemble Modern released their own CD of Zappa stuff quite recently - track listing as follows. Maggio What Will Rumi Do? Night School Revised Music for Low Budget Orchestra The Beltway Bandits A Pig With Wings The Dental Hygiene Dilemma Put A Motor In Yourself Peaches En Regalia Naval Aviation In Art? The Adventures Of Greggery Peccary Unlike Yellow Shark, it sounds as though most of the mic'-ing (if not all) is ambiant so it lacks the immidiacy of its Zappa-produced predecessor... but still well worth a listen (if you can find it). If you've not heard "Civilisation, Phase III", you should, too. Edit - "Maggio" is, in fact "Moggio" (from Man From Utopia) but that's the way they spell it at the Ensemble's site.
my personal more classical favourite of zappa is The Uncle Meat Variations - always reminds me of sailing round the world on a galleon - even though the lyrics are 'fuzzy dice and bongos fuzzy dice..'etc the accordian is just beautiful
He scored the entire two hour 'Mothers of Invention' concert at The Royal Festival Hall on 30? October 1968 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. I have it on a c.d. called 'Ahead Of Their Time' with the missing bits on 'Weasel's Ripped My Flesh' c.d.
