Tom Service Bemoans Hollywood's Clichéd Use of Classical Music in New Column
In a fresh weekly column delving into the classical music world, critic Tom Service voices his frustration with Hollywood's tendency to turn profound pieces into sentimental slop through excessive repetition. He highlights how this trend diminishes the emotional depth and cultural significance of the genre, using recent examples from cinema to illustrate his points.
The Erosion of Classical Music's Emotional Impact
Service recalls a 2008 initiative by Transport for London, where classical music was piped into south London stations to curb antisocial behaviour. This, he argues, marked a pivotal moment when classical music became associated more with relaxation than genuine emotion. Once an entire genre is reduced to a backdrop for calmness, listeners may dismiss it as irrelevant or inaccessible, regardless of its tempo or complexity.
The playlist included the finale of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, a piece described as obsessive, wild, and full of harmonic intensity. Originally crafted in the early 19th century to push orchestras and audiences to their limits, it was repurposed as inoffensive aural wallpaper. Fast forward to today, and Service notes that the situation has worsened, with AI music generators producing bland, arpeggio-laden tracks under the "classical" prompt, further trivialising the art form.
Cinema's Role in Commodifying Classical Music
Service points to cinema and television as major culprits in this commodification, where classical music is used as a ready-made signifier for pseudo-emotions. In the wake of recent Oscar nominations, he cites the overuse of Max Richter's track On the Nature of Daylight, particularly in the film Hamnet. Despite Richter's Oscar-nominated score for the movie, the final scene reverts to this familiar piece, which has become a cliché for moments of contemplation or intensity in films like Arrival and Shutter Island.
Richter's composition, originally part of a 2003 anti-Iraq war protest album, is noted for its emptiness—lacking obvious expression or complexity. This very quality allows it to be filled with any grand narrative, making it a favourite for directors seeking to evoke emotion without effort. However, Service warns that such pieces have a half-life; On the Nature of Daylight is nearing exhaustion, where its chords now signal manipulative intent rather than genuine feeling.
Broader Examples and the Path Forward
Other cautionary tales include Barber's Adagio, once powerful in Platoon but now hackneyed, and Debussy's Girl With the Flaxen Hair, reduced to a simplistic choice for slow piano scenes. Mozart's Lacrimosa has become so overused in gothic contexts that it risks being unlistenable outside concert halls. Service argues that as cinema sets this trend, it trickles down to public spaces like tube stations, further trivialising classical music.
To counter this, Service suggests directors move away from lazy needle-drops and commission more original compositions. He praises Jerskin Fendrix's score for Bugonia as a cliché-free example of wonder, hoping such innovation avoids becoming background noise in transit hubs.
The Political Dimension of Classical Music
In a related development, Service discusses Philip Glass's decision to withdraw his new symphony from the Kennedy Center in Washington. Glass cited a conflict with the center's values, emphasising that art is inherently political. The Kennedy Center's claim of having "no place for politics in the arts" is dismissed as absurd, with Service noting that classical music's institutions and funding sources are deeply intertwined with power structures.
This cancellation, he argues, highlights a broader awakening among artists to the political realities of their work, challenging decades of complacency in Western democracies. Service concludes by recommending Vladimir Jurowski's recording of Mahler's Ninth Symphony with the London Philharmonic, praising its forensic chaos and empathy as a counterpoint to Hollywood's oversimplifications.
