What do Grammy award winner Eminem and German composer Ludwig van Beethoven have in common?
In his day, Beethoven was the musical bad boy, the radical rule-breaker who turned tradition on its head. If bad boys live long enough, they may, like Beethoven, go mainstream….their innovations transformed into conventions. Accepting his Grammy this week, rap star Eminem turned toward the mainstream…and history will tell what legacy he leaves. Meanwhile, Beethoven lives on, two hundred years later…his compositions used as background for animated cartoons, in elevators and phone answering systems.
This fate, for the composer of a piano sonata called the “Pulp Fiction” of its time? Are we missing something? Composer Robert Kapilow says absolutely.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Robert Kapilow: Conductor, composer, pianist and commentator.