The sad news today is that Keith Emerson, spearhead of the legendary trio Emerson, Lake and Palmer, has died aged 71.
The group could be regarded as the original pirates of classical music, taking pieces by Sibelius, Prokofiev, Bach, Bartók and – famously – Musorgsky‘s Pictures at an Exhibition, reworking them affectionately for rock band and a new audience.
By way of tribute, here they are in their most famous arrangement of all, Copland‘s Fanfare for the Common Man:
A full appreciation of Emerson’s achievements, especially with regard to his use of classical music, will follow in due course.
