RCM joins Apple Music as classical music curator
Monday 12 December 2016
The Royal College of Music (RCM) is delighted to launch the first in a series of bespoke classical music playlists created for Apple Music.
Designed to shine a light on the RCM's prestigious history, the first playlists to be released invite listeners to explore distinguished British composers linked with the College as well as some of the famous musical manuscripts in its collection.
Stephen Johns, Artistic Director at the RCM, said: ‘The Royal College of Music is proud of its position as a world-leading music education institution. At the RCM we embrace technology in enhancing our offer to students and visitors, using cutting-edge digital platforms across teaching and performance. As an Apple Music curator, we will be able to share wonderful recordings with a wide and diverse audience, showcasing some of our talented alumni and highlighting the RCM’s rich musical heritage.’
Highlights of the first playlist include music by two of the RCM’s best-known alumni: Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Compatriots at the RCM, they went on to compose some of the greatest works of the last century including The Planets and Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. A further playlist 'Through the Ages’ brings to life 13 manuscripts found in the RCM collections including Mozart’s Piano Concerto no 24 performed by Sir András Schiff, one of many recent high profile visitors to the RCM.
With more than 500 public concerts taking place at the RCM each year, the RCM's curator page will also reflect artistic themes of the Royal College of Music’s concert seasons. In 2017 this includes a focus on music from the USA and the first staged performance of Rameau’s baroque opera Les fêtes d’hébé in a collaboration with the Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris and the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles.
Apple Music offers classical music fans curated playlists crafted by leading music editors, artists, record labels and musical institutions from around the globe. As a classical music curator, the RCM joins other artistic organisations including Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera House, Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone.
Further playlists will be added on a regular basis, handpicked by RCM staff and professors.
Subscribers to Apple Music will be able to find the Royal College of Music in the ‘Curators’ section of Apple Music, or by visiting www.applemusic.com/rcm.
