Deep Purple

Now we have something here that may surprise a few people !!

The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is a concerto composed by Jon Lord, with lyrics written by Ian Gillan. It was first performed by Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold on 24 September 1969 and released on vinyl in December 1969. After the score was lost in 1970, it was performed again in 1999 with a recreated score. The 1969 performance was the first ever combination of rock music and a complete orchestra..

 Man from Mordor9 March 2018 at 14:32

Thanks for this post. I was in the audience at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1969 to hear this performance. Deep Purple were one of several bands to attempt to marry rock and classical - to varying degrees of success. Another, and well worth exploring, is that to The Nice (Keith Emerson) who were commissioned to produce a work for the Newcastle Arts Festival and came up with "The Five Bridges Suite" which was performed and recorded with complete symphony orchestra conducted by Joseph Eger. (Sir) Malcolm Arnold, conductor on the Deep Purple recording was a Northamptonshire lad who became principal trumpet player for the London Philharmonic. He composed a lot of music, including nine symphonies. He is (sadly considering his wonderful classical compositions) probably best remembered for his film scores, which included The Bridge On The River Kwai, Inn of The Sixth Happiness and the series of 50s St Trinian's films. Malcolm died in 2006, and Jon Lord succumbed in 2012 to the big 'C' - both sad losses.