Howard goodall Explains the connection through his music series 'The stone age to digital age'
Start at 36:45 and go until 42:10 for segment on Schubert and Adele
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Howard Goodall has really been able to describe both the styles of pop and classical music and draw connections between them, especially in the case of Adele and Schubert in an article on Guardian.com.
The first connection he makes is between the style of song of Adele and Schubert. Adele's music is much in the pop style: quick and memorable with a catchy chorus. Goodall likens this to Schubert's music, "I think the modern pop song was created by Schubert...He wants you to get it first time; there's verse-chorus, voice and piano underneath, and he wants you to remember the chorus." That is very much what Adele has accomplished in her songs. She incorporates piano and voice together very well, there's the verse-chorus format of her songs, and her choruses are definitely catch and memorable. Howard Goodall also connects the two through the themes of which Schubert and Adele write about. Schubert writes many of his songs about unrequited love, romance, and coming to terms with the mysteries of life and doing it in a way that can connect with his audience and make them feel emotion from his music. In the same way, Adele has written many of her songs about the same things: romance, heartbreak, and unrequited love. She also brings emotion to her songs with the piano-voice combination and makes for a powerful performance that people can relate to. The final connection Goodall finds between Schubert is intent of the music. "...he [Schubert] is trying to create something that is instantly liked by lots of people and enjoyed by them either in their own homes or in a salon...that is not really very different from what Adele is doing...Adele wants her songs to be instantly enjoyed." Both musicians strive for an instant gratification aspect in their music where the audience can enjoy the song the minute they listen. And that is why Schubert is the inventor of pop music and Adele falls into the same category. Pop music is what is popular for the people and they identify with. While Schubert did not have that popularity during his short lived life, he did become popular posthumously and Adele is quite a popular artist now, winning many awards and being recognized as a successful solo female artists who has broken many records and achieved billboard topping hits. |