Tony Banks: Siren

from Six Pieces for Orchestra

The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Englishby

Banks now – beginning with the suite for orchestra called Seven (2004) – does what I have suggested progressive rock should do: he transcends progressive rock. But he does it by simply beginning to write in a different genre altogether, another existing genre. What I suggested, more precisely, was, as it were, rather that progressive rock itself progress beyond progressive rock, i.e., beyond its remaining rock elements, into a new genre that is a further development of progressive rock. But Banks’s orchestral work is interesting in its own right, and although it is not this new genre, it could certainly contribute indirectly to its development.

In Classic FM’s introduction here there is, again, the irritating use of the term “classical”, which seems to be interchangeable with “classic” in this context and is equally misleading. Banks is rightly uncomfortable with it in the interview in the foregoing post.