Music Metadata Smackdown

Classical music has a problem. A tiny company, and the world’s largest technology company, both think they have the answer.

- KEN C POHLMANN

They are strapping on their powdered wigs and stepping onto the podium. May the best baton win.

If you want to listen to Adele’s matter to pull up a menu and you’ll immediately see the artist, album, and song title. That’s true of most pop music because most pop songs can be categorized in a straightforward manner.

Classical music is much harder Omega Airlines (not the real name so I don’t get sued), the menu for their classical music “Mixtape” was virtually undecipherable. The thing like:

1. Piano Concerto No. 5, Ozawa 
2. Mozart, Symphony in G minor 
3. Haitink, Concertgebouw 
4. Pavarotti, Turandot
5. Yo-Yo Ma, Dvorak

Say what? Because I am reading this menu, I have no way of knowing what is being offered. It’s like some perverse riddle to test your knowledge of classical music. In fact, this is what their gibberish meant:

1. Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. Ozawa, Boston Symphony
2. Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in G minor, Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic 
3. Bruckner, Symphony No. 8 in C minor, fourth movement, Haitink, Concertgebouw 
4. Puccini, Turandot, “Nessun dorma,” Pavarotti, Mehta, Los Angeles Philharmonic