Chloe Flower fuses classical and contemporary music in a style coined 'popsical'

Chloe Flower: Bridging Classical Music and Contemporary Sounds

Key Concepts: Popsical (genre), Female Composers in Classical Music, Classical Music Accessibility, Florence Price, Kassiani, Music Industry Empowerment, Historical Gender Disparity in Orchestral Music.

Introduction & The "Popsical" Genre

Chloe Flower, a pianist and composer, is actively working to increase young people’s engagement with classical music. She achieves this through collaborations with artists from genres like rap, house, and pop, and has defined a new musical style she calls “popsical.” This term, as Flower explains, arose from the difficulty in categorizing her sound to industry professionals. “I do hip-hop, but I’m not a hip-hop pianist. I do house, but I’m not a house pianist. So, for me, explaining to labels and to people what my sound is, I just thought it was easier to say popular music and classical music mixed together, popsical.” The core concept of “popsical” is the fusion of the structure and artistry of classical music with the accessibility and appeal of popular genres.

Breakthrough with Cardi B & Industry Empowerment

Flower’s career gained significant momentum after Cardi B discovered her piano rendition of Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” on social media. This led to Flower being featured prominently in Cardi B’s Grammy performance. Flower highlights Cardi B’s support as a pivotal moment, stating, “She taught me that women can empower women even at the highest level in the music industry.” Cardi B specifically requested Flower be given a prominent role, even arranging for the transport and restoration (estimated at $20,000) of Flower’s “Liberace piano” from Las Vegas. This experience underscored Flower’s belief in the power of collaboration to bring classical music to a wider audience, emphasizing that excitement is key to inspiring both children and adults to learn instruments.

"She Composed: The Holidays" – Highlighting Forgotten Female Composers

Flower’s latest album, “She Composed: The Holidays,” focuses on reviving and celebrating music written entirely by women, dating back to the ninth century. This project is a direct response to the statistic that only 5% of orchestral music currently performed is composed by women, despite a substantial body of work existing.

Notable Composers Featured & Historical Context

The album specifically highlights two composers:

• Kassiani: A composer from modern-day Istanbul, Turkey, active in the ninth century. Kassiani defied societal expectations by choosing to enter a convent and compose music rather than marry the emperor. She is recognized as the earliest known composer whose work still survives.
• Florence Price: An American composer of color from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Price faced both misogyny and racial discrimination during the Jim Crow era. Remarkably, a significant portion of her work remained undiscovered until 2009, when it was found during a house renovation after a tree collapsed onto an attic, revealing a trove of musical notation.

Flower emphasizes the inspirational nature of these composers, particularly Price’s resilience in overcoming significant obstacles.

Addressing the Gender Imbalance in Classical Music Performance

Flower notes the noticeable absence of female composers’ work in traditional holiday concerts, despite the abundance of available music. She aims to normalize the inclusion of these compositions, challenging the dominance of frequently performed pieces like “Sleigh Ride,” Handel’s “Messiah,” and Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker.” She believes actively promoting and performing music by female composers is crucial to rectifying the historical imbalance.

Conclusion

Chloe Flower’s work represents a multifaceted approach to revitalizing classical music. Through the creation of the “popsical” genre, strategic collaborations with popular artists, and the dedicated revival of forgotten female composers, she is actively working to broaden the appeal of classical music and address historical inequities within the industry. Her efforts highlight the importance of accessibility, empowerment, and recognizing the contributions of diverse voices in the world of music.