John, Paul, Johann, and Wolfgang: How Classical Music Inspired The Beatles (and Terri Hemmert!)

When it come to influential rock bands, few encompassed as much range as The Beatles. Despite the fact that they were only together for seven years, the four-piece group explored sounds ranging from skiffle to pop to progressive rock, pushing the boundaries of what was expected out of popular musicians at the time. This musical melting pot soon reached classical music audiences as well. Beginning with their 1965 album Help!, The Beatles invited growing numbers of classical musicians into their recording sessions, sparking a wider trend of mixing classical music elements into various genres of music. 

This mix is one that Terri Hemmert knows all too well. Dubbed Chicago’s very own “Beatle-ologist,” Hemmert is a legendary rock and roll DJ whose mother was a devout organ player. So just like The Beatles, she is hard to confine to one single genre. The 75-year-old radio Hall of Famer recently celebrated 50 years at WXRT, and is fast approaching her 20th season hosting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Classic Encounter series.

So if you’re curious what classical and rock have in common, The Beatles might be the place to look. And if The Beatles are the place to look, Hemmert is definitely the person to ask. After all, she has hosted WXRT’s weekly radio program Breakfast with the Beatles since the early 2000s, interviewed the band members on multiple occasions, and even led a variety of Beatles-themed festivals!

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of two landmark Beatles albums — A Hard Day’s Night and Beatles for Sale — we sat down with Terri Hemmert for a chat about The Beatles and to uncover the surprising classical music connections in their celebrated catalogue. 

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WFMT: Terri, there seems to be a big crossover between fans of classical music and fans of The Beatles. Why do you think that is?

Terri Hemmert: Well I give a lot of credit to George Martin. He was their producer, and classically trained. He’s the guy that always wanted to add something. He’d do things like play a piano solo and speed it up so it sounds like a harpsichord. Or invite Alan Civil, one of the leading French horn players in England, to the recording session of the Revolver album. 

Martin would just make their ideas happen. Like during the recording of “Penny Lane.” Paul had watched the Brandenburg Concertos on BBC TV the day before and heard that Bach trumpet, a little piccolo trumpet. He said to George Martin, “What is that instrument?” So Martin, seeing Paul’s interest, got the guy who played it on TV, Dave Manson, to come into the studio!

It was because they were The Beatles! They could do anything they wanted. And Martin took advantage of that. Over just a couple of years, he started bringing on orchestras and strings – like the string quartet on “Yesterday.” There’s a lot of classical influence even in the psychedelic stuff: “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “I Am the Walrus,”… all that stuff. 

Martin played on so many of the songs too. He would translate Paul’s ideas because none of the Beatles could read music.

WFMT: The Beatles couldn’t read music?

Hemmert: Yeah. There’s a story I’ve told a couple of times now for Classical Encounter about Alan Civil, that French horn player that came in to record with The Beatles. The song’s called “For No One.” They had a score, but Paul didn’t write it down. He sang it to George Martin. George sketched it out and had it formatted for the French horn. Then, Paul sang the part directly to Alan.

The thing is, unlike a classical composer, Paul had no idea what the limitations of the horn were and… *laughs* Paul had Civil play it way too high! I played the French horn, so I recognized it right away. Even Mozart wasn’t that tricky!

Even though Paul kind of goofed up there, Civil nailed it on the first take. Then after the take, Paul said to him, that was really good, but let’s see if you can do better. All while George was in the booth waving to Paul mouthing “No, no, no!” 

That kind of thing happened a lot because Paul didn’t realize what the rules were. He learned a lot from George Martin. 

WFMT: Do you know anything about other musicians that were hired for these sessions with The Beatles?

Hemmert: No, I don’t know the names so much… but I can say that they were always trying something new. They brought in this big brass section and tried to get a Motown feel on “Got to Get You in My Life.” They got together a mini orchestra for the recording of “All You Need Is Love” and “A Day in the Life.”

Interesting fact: Alan Civil was the first time they ever put the name of a studio guest on a Beatles cover. I was a senior in high school when Revolver came out, and to hear a French horn solo on that record… I just thought, “Wow!”

I think that’s also part of the draw. There is a crossover: from the people in my generation that were interested in classical music to the new Beatles fans we see in each generation after. It is something that connects. It’s not just some loud people banging out three guitars and drums. The music of the Beatles is diverse.

That’s why I think The Beatles have staying power. 

WFMT: You had mentioned earlier that Paul McCartney was really interested in classical music… We’ve actually played his Liverpool Oratorio once or twice on WFMT. But did any of the other Beatles members follow suit?

Hemmert: No, no. The other members all thought Paul was nuts for trying. John did some interesting string arrangements (or had them done for him) on some of his solo work, but never went further. George was more into the eastern stuff, working with Ravi Shankar and all that… Paul was the only one that really immersed himself in Western classical music.

Paul wrote some string quartets, some choral music, and a couple of other pieces. But even his songwriting reflects it, I think. It’s so… baroque at some points. Sometimes they’re kind of like art songs, just really beautiful.

All this with Paul not being schooled in music at all. In fact, he still doesn’t know how to write. He composed all those orchestra pieces with software assistance. He would play piano and transpose that into notes on the computer. And slowly, over the years, he’s also started to be better about the strengths of each section in an orchestra. He would play and learn by ear. 

WFMT: Something that I’ve heard people say a lot is that The Beatles paved the way for the addition of Western classical elements in pop and rock music. What is your take on that?

Hemmert: Oh absolutely. I think that was one of the more interesting things that grew out of their early period. You can see it in the bands that followed suit. After The Beatles, Procol Harum picked up on it with their syrupy strings, and then progressive rock came around, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and so on.

The Beatles started a totally different direction for rock music by raising our expectations of what rock music can be. It wasn’t just hit singles anymore: now, rock music was full albums, and a lot of experimental stuff. One album was totally different from the one before it. It wasn’t like The Beatles got their groove and made a career out of just doing the same thing over and over: they’d come in and say, “I want an instrument that can do this,” or, “I want this song played backwards.” They were trying to incorporate all this amazing stuff into three-minute rock songs! 

What you have to remember, too, is that The Beatles did all this in seven years. By comparison, The Rolling Stones have been together 50 years. They’re a great band, but they have never diversified like the Beatles did.

WFMT: What are some of your favorite examples of classically-inspired Beatles music that you can recommend to our listeners?

Hemmert: I would go straight to Revolver. To me, it’s the best album they ever made. “Eleanor Rigby” is on there, and “Tomorrow Never Knows.” That album is actually what got me interested in contemporary classical music: folks like Steve Reich and Philip Glass. 

Sgt. Pepper’s is pretty good too. There’s one track in particular on that album called “She’s Leaving Home” which features the harp and a string quartet. That was a song that even my faculty advisor at Elmhurst College actually enjoyed… and he really didn’t like rock music!

Then, of course, there’s “A Day in the Life.” That, to me, is something that would be of interest to anybody who likes classical music. All of the players are supposed to get from point A to point B, but not play what the person next to them is playing until the last chord. When they recorded that song, they didn’t fade it out with the pots on the control board: they just let the resonance fade on its own. They let it reverberate. The first time I heard it, it took my breath away. 

So that’s somewhere to start: Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in their entirety. That’s where The Beatles started to really get deep into orchestration and mixing genres. 

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This Interview has been edited for length and clarity. Find out more about Terri Hemmert’s CSO lecture series by visiting cso.org/concerts-tickets/feature-pages/classic-encounter/. To discover more songs or performers who are influenced by classical music, check out WFMT’s weekly Sounds Classical program!