Commercials with classical music represented in them in some way are, more often than not, less than flattering. Â As New Yorker Magazine writer Alex Ross put it - "Snobs at the symphony, the sopranos screaming under Valkyrie helmets, the badly edited bowdlerizations of the Ode to Joy,"Â do nothing but reinforce classical music stereotypes. With one commercial, Apple has changed that. Â Conductor/composer Esa-Pekka Salonen is featured in their most recent ad, not because he has the "right look," or adds a European cache to their product. Â No. Â Salonen has been using Apple computers to write and score music for a decade or more.
Now, Salonen has created an app so people from all walks of life, casual listeners and newbies to seasoned music lovers can enjoy classical music in a more satisfying, and much cooler, way.
The Finnish musician explains and demonstrates the app here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4msNKgRQDc It is refreshing to see a classical musician represented as something other than a caricature. Â If a child somewhere decides to try their hand at writing music on an Apple product because of this ad, or even just decides to LISTEN to something classical, it would be very cool. Read Esa-Pekka Salonen's Ad for Apple (New Yorker)