Yngwie Malmsteen: invisible oranges interview

If people who know nothing about classical music hear your records and want to get into classical music, what three compositions should they listen to?

Vivaldi – Four Seasons. Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concertos. Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices.

On your album, on the song “Shot Across the Bow”, the chords remind me of Pachelbel’s Canon. Was this a conscious reference?

Oh, not conscious – that’s a subliminal thing. I’m proud of you, man, you caught that. That’s good. I’ve always loved that piece. To me, Bach, Pachelbel, Albinoni, Vivaldi – they’re inside my brain and my soul. When I do something that is spontaneous and improvised, it will still be hugely influenced by all that. For example, the title track “Relentless” – it’s a very Paganini-ish theme. There’s a center section that’s totally Bach. It ain’t Bach, but you know what I’m saying? It’s natural for me. Since I started, it’s been absorbed into me. It’s inside me already. I don’t think about it. It’s already there. I don’t think about, if I’m in A minor, which notes should I play. I know which notes to play more