//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: Svengallop in G minor // Story: Beethoven's Tenth // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// When the Canterlot Philharmonic’s recording of Beethoven’s Third came out on record, something extremely unexpected happened that September. Ponies that had heard the music at its premiere had not only bought the record but shared it among other friends. Soon, word spread about the record in that, even when foals and teenagers that couldn’t stand classical music, were suddenly recommending it to their friends, and their friends, and their friend’s friend. By the end of two weeks of its release, music store owners in Canterlot were rather shocked that the youth were putting their money, not on Sapphire Shores, not Countess Coloratura, but on Ludwig van Beethoven! The Eroica became a curiosity when it spread outside of the capital. To the north, Rainbow Falls and the Crystal Empire’s youth said that the music was fun. In the East, classical orchestra’s from Manehatten to Fillydelphia were shocked to find their theater was not only packed, but over half of the audience were younger than eighteen! From Appaloosa to Dodge City, themes from the symphony were being played on the piano in bars. And in the west from Vanhoover to Applewood, the music was a spark of inspiration for artists and scriptwriters alike, searching for the next blockbuster for their movies. But for one stallion, however, who was reading a newspaper that reported record sales, he looked on in disbelief. “That can’t be right,” he said as he looked again at the results. “There’s simply no way-” He flipped over to the reviews for that particular record, his jaw dropped at what he read. While the whole symphony roughly clocks around for nearly an hour, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Heroic third Symphony is taking Equestria by storm, and for good reason. The music has provided those who hear it, a revelation. Instead of the stale, boring kind of classical music that would put you to sleep, Beethoven somehow made the genre not only spring to life, but exciting, emotional, and even though it lacks lyrics, it is absolutely incredible in its originality! Given that the artist who wrote all four movements is deaf, makes the music we hear even more unbelievable than anypony could ever imagine! After listening to the symphony all the way through, this critic asks if this could be the future of pop music as we know it. Only time would tell if such a thing is possible. “Morning Svengallop,” the stallion with the pink salmon mane looked up. It was one of the backup dancers, who took a moment to read his expression. “Is something wrong?” “Have you read this?” he held up the newspaper. “Did you see the record charts?” “Uh, not really boss,” the dancer tilted his head, “Why, did the Countesses’ album fall out of the top ten?” “Thankfully no, but there’s somepony that surpassed it.” “Really?” the dancer took the paper into his aura. When he found the list, he blinked, “Who’s… Beet-hoe-van?” “That’s not important,” the stallion in an expensive blue suit said as he picked up his equally expensive cup of coffee. “Do you know what genera that is?” The other stallion shook his head, “Classical. A, classical, record, is making more money than the Countess. How in the name of Luna’s oversized moon, did a classical album sell more this week then ours!” “Maybe it’s good?” Svengallop shot him a glare. “I don’t think so. Classical has been dead for years, records like that would be found in discount bins for a bit. You usually play that sort of thing if you wanted to fall asleep! So how did this guy get positive reviews from critics and the younger demographic? It doesn’t make any sense!” “I’m just saying,” the dancer said, placing the newspaper on the table. “Maybe if this guy has figured out how to make something like classical sound good… does he deserve to be on there?” The manager shook his head, “I just don’t understand it. How are kids and teens buying into this? Because, that’s where the real money comes from, that’s who’s buying these records. As such, they want popular music that has costumes, choreography, and brilliant vocal effects – not violins, pianos and music that goes on for hours without any lyrics. That’s what classical music is, and this guy is getting more than us? How is that possible!” “How would I know,” the dancer shrugged as he grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl. “Perhaps the guy is doing something right,” with that, he left the room. Svengallop sat there; staring into the paper, half hoping that it would catch fire. No matter how much he tried to wrap his brain around him, he couldn’t buy into the idea that a nopony that he hadn’t heard of before could possibly make so much from such an unpopular form of genera. There must be more to this somehow. Kids never have the time or the attention span to listen to something that old ponies would listen to. The question, of course, was what? Picking up the paper again, he looked through the Los Pegasus Tribune under entertainment to look at the music section. Sure enough, there was an orchestra that’s going to play the Heroic symphony tomorrow night at seven-thirty. While he knew that the Countess had her show going at the same time, he thought that maybe he could slip out and take a listen to this to see for himself. “After all, what do I have to lose?” he asked himself, picking up his cup of coffee. “If the show turns out to be boring, then at least I would know for certain that it’s all a fad. And fad is only one letter away from becoming fade. If the music is boring, then that means that this guy just simply got lucky, and his sales will drop eventually by next month. Ha, yeah,” he took a sip, “What do I need to worry about anyway?” The next night, the manager went in feeling confident but left worried by the time the symphony was over.