A panoramic exploration of the ways in which pop and rock were transformed by the pioneering visionaries of classical music.

The worlds of pop and rock owe a much greater debt to the classical canon than we realise. A direct and fascinating lineage draws from the experimentalism of Pierre Henry to The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows', from Stockhausen to Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' and from Bruckner to Sonic Youth via Glenn Branca. In Everything We Do is Music, Elizabeth Alker highlights the innovators of classical music and their fans and collaborators in pop who challenged the notion that such musical worlds were mutually exclusive. Alker shines a light on the rich tapestry that exists between their borders through exclusive interviews with Sir Paul McCartney, Steve Reich, La Monte Young, Nils Frahm, The Blessed Madonna, Jonny Greenwood, Soweto Kinch and Jean-Michel Jarre among others.

Details

ISBN13: 9780571370184
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 336
Edition: Export - Airside ed
Publication Date: 02 Dec 2025
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

Elizabeth Alker is a presenter for BBC Radio 3, where she hosts Unclassified and the afternoon show, Classical Live. She joined the BBC as a researcher in 2005 and soon became a reporter and presenter for Radio 6 Music. Born to classically trained pianists, she grew up learning the clarinet, recorder and piano, and later worked as a talent scout for Universal Classics and Jazz. She has written for the Guardian, Sunday Times and Dazed and Confused, and is the curator and host of a series of cross-genre concerts at the Southbank Centre with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Reviews

Revelation after revelation. Passionate and absolutely fascinating. I love music more for reading it. -- Guy Garvey

Elizabeth is uniquely positioned at the intersection between the worlds of classical and contemporary music and she draws together many complex threads so beautifully in this book. -- Mary Anne Hobbs

A glorious romp through the formative decades of pop, filled with fascinating insights into the creative processes and avant-garde inspiration of some of our favourite artists. Elizabeth Alker leads us by the hand with her infectious enthusiasm for all music, regardless of genre. She reveals so much about the hidden connections between the sounds we love, and the sounds we think we're afraid of or have never heard before. This is a must-read for anyone who loves music. -- Sara Mohr-Pietsch

Alker joins the dots by following myriad musical ley lines. A fascinating journey into sound. -- Mark Radcliffe