Drama, heartbreak and transcendental music from the end of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.  Intro here: Music here:  and on spotify:  The ballet on video is below if you want to watch dance. Act 4 begins at 1:43:15, but they’ve snuck an extra … Listen

This episode brings you romance, swans and big tunes, from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Music here: on Spotify here:  and with video here, where Act 2 starts at 36’20”:

The first truly great full length ballet has so much good music it needs three episodes! Here’s the first! Music here (and it is music only today – no pictures):

The Polovtsian Dances from Borodin’s Opera Prince Igor are a total showstopper. 10 minutes of sonic boom! Here’s the Cacophony introduction: And the music: and here:

This is the first audio introduction where I forget to mention the name of the piece! It’s the Mother Goose Suite, by Ravel and I love it.  The music’s here:  or here:

Time to get all deep and meaningful?  Maybe not too much. Here’s my intro to Haydn’s wonderfully entertaining 22nd Symphony. This filmed performance is in the venue where the piece was most likely first-performed with similar instruments, and numbers of … Listen

A wonderfully exhilarating and punchy fusion from the writer of West Side Story. Here’s my intro: And the music is here, with video: And here on Spotify: If you liked this please comment below!

A simply stunning, jazzy clarinet concerto. Quintessentially American! Here’s the introduction: And then the music, with the excellent Martin Fröst as soloist, here: and here:

Evocative, moving and reflective. Introduction: Listen here:   No video today – this feels like an eyes closed kinda piece!or here on Spotify: