By VAN Team · Date 12/8/2016

Latrice Royal

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNi1pIyARdx/?taken-by=latriceroyale

VAN in earnest mode: we love opera, and we love drag. Here, Latrice Royal of RuPaul’s Drag Race dances for an old white woman in a painting who, frankly, looks very glad to see her. If this is the start of a trend involving all-drag string quartets and chamber orchestras, you won’t see us complaining.

Tempo Markings

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNsPn5DB0aw/?tagged=classicalmusic

We’ve complained before about the new trend toward social media-friendly tempos and score markings—the more meaningless, the better. Looks like we were right to worry.

Bach Sonatas

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNuYtVtD1Zi/?tagged=classicalmusic

Excuse me, you spilled a flute on your violin sonata.

Elliott Carter

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNuYIryD1e2/?tagged=classicalmusic

Are your fellow quartet players not counting their dotted sixteenth note rests accurately? Cutting and pasting images of Elliott Carter double-checking his manuscript onto their scores may be just the motivation they need to do it right.

Neels Visser

https://twitter.com/NeelsVisser1/status/804108427769188352

Our guess for what album model Neels Visser was listening to? “50 Bathtime Classics.” One user responds, “you should listen to ‘love me like you do’ by Justin Bieber this is the most relaxing song or drake’s songs.” Thank God for the Spotify algorithm to give us music recommendations, rather than our fellow humans.

McDonald’s

https://twitter.com/tonkawrdm/status/806561787197976578?lang=en

Couldn’t disagree more. Though it does depend a little bit on the repertoire: Ockeghem or Ferneyhough in a McDonald’s is super badass, but Roussel would definitely be less cool.

Pokémon

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNuIGFdg_6m/?tagged=classicalmusic

The National Philharmonic turns to Pokémon right on time for the classical music clock, meaning several months after the trend has already blown over in the rest of the universe.

Dallas Urbanite

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNtDHRGh_gT/?taken-by=dallasurbanite

This is a new one: scruff, tats, tight white T-shirt, and oboe. ¶