Pete
Townshend‘s Classic Quadrophenia album has been excluded from the Official UK
Classical Chart.
According
to a statement, Townshend’s ‘symphonised’ version of The Who’s album has sold
enough copies needed to secure the No.1 position in the Classical Charts.
However,
the orchestral record has not been accepted into the Classical Chart, due to
the fact that the original material is rock music.
The album,
which was released on Monday, has reached No. 32 in the UK Official Album
Chart.
On
discovering his exclusion from the Classical Chart last week, Townshend
expressed his disappointment:
“So
musical snobbery in the “classical” elite is still alive & kicking then?
F**k ’em. There’s a huge team behind this album, entirely rooted in the
practical world of recorded classical music, who deserve better than this petty
slap-down. I know I’m a rock dinosaur and I’m happy to be one, but the team on
Classic Quadrophenia are all young, creative and brilliant.”
Despite
the work being disallowed from the UK Classical Chart, Townshend hopes Classic
Quadrophenia will go on to become a regular part of the orchestral repertoire
and boost attendance at classical concerts:
“A lot of
major symphony orchestras are in trouble because their audience is getting old
and the younger audiences prefer softer stuff, such as film soundtrack music,”
he explains. “I think that Quadrophenia would reinvigorate their audiences and
bring in people who might not otherwise go to see a symphony orchestra perform
without lights and fireworks and a movie screen.”
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