“When the British classical radio station Classic FM unveiled the results of its annual Hall of Fame of best-loved classical pieces this week, nine of the top 300 spots went to video game soundtracks, with three such works which holding top 20 positions,” writes Rebecca Stein on Friday (4/10) at New York radio station WQXR’s website. “The new listener survey placed composers of video game music amongst core composers like Ralph Vaughan Williams, Rachmaninoff, Mozart and Beethoven. Game composer Jeremy Soule’s ‘Elder Scrolls’ series took the number 11 spot in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame, accompanied by Nobuo Uematsu’s ‘Final Fantasy’ video game soundtrack at number 9, and Grant Kirkhope’s soundtrack to the game ‘Banjo Kazooie’ in the number 13 spot…. Some of these video game composers—who have massive fan followings—have undergone classical training and cite classical musicians as their main influences.… Jeremy Soule never earned an official music degree, but he cites Debussy, Wagner, Mozart, and film score composing legend John Williams as his biggest influences…. Their orchestral-based sounds may provide an entry-point into the often intimidating world of classical music. Perhaps Soule and his fellow composers can serve to bridge these gaps.”
Posted April 13, 2015
