07-16-2010, 12:58 AM
Well, pop music with a symphony is still pop music. I don't think it's really fair to these composers to compare them with Beethoven. They are more in the category with John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Soundtrack music tends to be short and simple and cliche and pompous and we love it. Everyone has heard of Beethoven, but relatively few people have actually heard a Beethoven symphony, or even sonata, in full. In truth, most people would rather hear the Boston Pops play the Star Wars theme, or the Super Mario Bros. theme, or Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
Some of the music is really good on it's own, but the special connection is always going to be with the people who played and loved the games. Especially in the case like Super Mario Bros. that music is a novelty to hear from a live orchestra when so many people have played the game over and over again and heard the music in primitive synth/chip form. And an RPG theme where the emotions of the story come into play, it's very much like a movie soundtrack where you connect with the scene. To hear it without having experienced it in context may be beautiful but it's not the same.
Some of the music is really good on it's own, but the special connection is always going to be with the people who played and loved the games. Especially in the case like Super Mario Bros. that music is a novelty to hear from a live orchestra when so many people have played the game over and over again and heard the music in primitive synth/chip form. And an RPG theme where the emotions of the story come into play, it's very much like a movie soundtrack where you connect with the scene. To hear it without having experienced it in context may be beautiful but it's not the same.