Classics Explained
What is Classics Explained?
Classics Explained is a team of young content creators brimming with enthusiasm, verve and a passion for making classical music more accessible. We produce short animated videos explaining the stories and creative processes behind the most famous pieces of classical music. They are a humorous but informative whistle-stop guide for the uninitiated – a visual Wikipedia following in the footsteps of Disney’s Fantasia. We research, script, record, animate and sound-mix them. They are a fast-paced, witty and memorable form of “edutainment”; a mode of engagement currently lacking in the classical music world.
Why?
Ultimately, we want to make classical music more accessible for those who think there’s a stigma attached to it – that the music’s old-fashioned and unrelated to their cultural worldview. To the novice, classical music lacks context, perhaps existing in a sort of cultural and political vacuum. To that end, we never simply “describe” or “explain” – we always provide an interesting new angle on famous works.
Our focus has always been to distil complex ideas into educational, informative and entertaining soundbites. For high school pupils, they are an accessible entry to a complicated subject. For young professional adults, they are a tongue-in-cheek, though highly informative, precis.
Our library includes
Episode 12: The Story of Chamber Music
Episode 11: Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev
Episode 10: The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky
Episode 9: Claude Debussy, Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un Faune
Episode 8: 1812 Overture by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Episode 7: The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Episode 6: The Planets by Gustav Holst
Episode 5: The New World by Antonin Dvorak
Episode 4: Die Walküre (The Ring) by Richard Wagner
Episode 3: Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg
The warm feedback is what keeps us motivated
Brian Nickerson
Oustanding! Such a great teaching supplement, informative, entertaining, accurate, and impeccably realized. Thanks so much...you should definitely do more! Anything from the Ring Cycle, Night on Bald Mountain, Dvorak's Symphonic Poems, etc. etc etc... [sic]
DiPalmaBros
Awesome video! Loving the polished content you’ve been putting out. You should totally do a video on The Rite of spring, it’s got an awesome story to it [sic]
Bendigeidfran Emmanuel Jones
Most marvellous musical masterclass. [sic]
NG Chin kwee David
I am definitely showing this to my students! Thank you for making this, and keep up the good work! :D [sic]