Classical Notes: October 4, 2011 Archive

Classical or not?

Posted at 2:55 PM on October 4, 2011 by Daniel Gilliam (6 Comments)

Il Volo consists of three teenagers: Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca. Their combined age is 49. They have a recording deal with Geffen (Universal Music Group), a worldwide tour, appearances on late night talk shows and, what seems to be, a huge fan following. So far, this could be any other "boy band" or pop sensation. Easy enough. But they're currently No. 3 on the Billboard Classical charts and No. 1 on Amazon's "Best Sellers in Classical Music." The New York Times' Zachary Woolfe profiled the group on tour, and provides a glance into their rise to fandom.

My questions to you are: is this "classical music"? Should Classical MPR — or any other classical radio station, for that matter — regularly play Il Volo or groups like it?

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