In the opera world, one of the most dedicated barrier breakers is Against the Grain Theatre, a Toronto-based opera collective that presents classical music in unusual venues. “Somehow we’ve become this dress-up elitist thing. “That’s a very 20th-century construct that never happened in Mozart’s time,” Mehta says. The rules Rhodes and Mehta are talking about are things such as not clapping between movements of symphonies. “Yes, an audience has a certain expectation,” he says, “but I’m all for getting away from the rules.” ![]() Mervon Mehta, performing arts executive director at the Royal Conservatory of Music, sees Rhodes’s side of the argument. His brash approach to classical presentation earned him a six-album deal not with Deutsche Grammophon, but with Warner Records, home to Madonna, Black Sabbath and Ed Sheeran. Given his unshaven appearance, he clearly has no endorsement deal with Gillette. It is Rhodes’s notion to eliminate the stuffy ritual of live classical music. I feel we have an obligation to try to do what we can to make classical music as accessible as possible, without dumbing it down." “Unless you’ve got money, the chances of someone knowing what a live cello sounds like is next to zero, let alone the opportunity to play it. Millennials are turning a deaf ear to Beethoven violin bows rub them the wrong way.Īccording to Rhodes, whose TV documentary Don’t Stop the Music raised money for instruments for British elementary schools, it’s not the youngins’ fault. National Endowment for the Arts, attendance at classical music performances has decreased to the point that only 8.8 per cent of Americans are attending classical concerts. Over the past five years, according to the U.S. What Rhodes is doing now is returning the favour. In short, classical music rescued Rhodes. “The way he played should have been illegal,” Rhodes says, in full fanboy mode. And, of course, he was a miraculous key striker. He was a Bach enthusiast, given to unorthodox musical interpretations and personal eccentricity. He was a slouchy figure on the piano bench, legs crossed, humming or whistling to himself occasionally. “When I discovered Gould, it was like a key unlocking something, and it fit perfectly.” It was the playing of the genius Canadian pianist Glenn Gould that had the most profound effect on Rhodes. The new legislation will be known as the Rhodes law, in recognition of campaigning by the pianist in defence of children’s rights.) (Just this month, the government of Spain announced a law to protect children from violence. "It couldn’t be stolen or manipulated or cheated from me.” “In the midst of all this madness, it was literally the only thing that was for just for me," he explains. And sadly, it’s all too common."īecause his alleged assailant died before he could appear in court, Rhodes’s savior was not the British judicial system. “Monstrous things happened to me – things that kids should not have to deal with. “I was a weird kid,” the 40-year-old maestro and media personality says. In his early 30s, a traumatized Rhodes attempted to kill himself in a psychiatric hospital. Until the age of 14, Rhodes had no formal music education, and at 18, he stopped playing the piano entirely for a decade. The candid memoirs tell a horrifying tale about sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a prep-school phys-ed teacher. If one is interested in Rhodes himself, however, his 2015 book Instrumental: A Memoir of Madness, Medication and Music would be the place to start. ![]() If one wishes to be introduced to classical music and seven of its iconic composers – stand up, Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Chopin and Beethoven – the lavishly illustrated Playlist is the book for the job. Perhaps because there was a time when his tomorrow was in jeopardy. He’ll keeps things loose – “I wear jeans on stage because they’re comfortable” – but he’ll play full out, kicking out the sonatas like there’s no tomorrow. On March 5, Rhodes makes his Canadian concert debut at Toronto’s Koerner Hall with an all-Beethoven program. ![]() Album cover for "The Beethoven Revolution". ![]() British rock-star concert pianist James Rhodes, who makes his Canadian debut on March 5 at Koerner hall.
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