Mendelssohn scatters fairy dust over the forest and the result is simply magic! Intro here: Music here: Music here on Spotify And here with pictures, but perhaps less character:

Mahler gives us the ridiculous and sublime, heaven and earth and a bit of silliness in these three songs. Here’s the intro: Music here: and here: Please comment, like, share, subscribe!

The Pines of Rome by Respighi brings us noisy children playing, moments of quiet solitude and Roman legions rolling in to leave you awestruck and maybe a bit deafened. Here’s my intro: Music here:   or here:  Intro and music = … Listen

Inspired by the sight of swans, the ‘big tune’ in Sibelius’s 5th symphony ends up being about so much more than birds. Here’s my intro: The music on Spotify here: or here (no pics):

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. (Podcast 4 mins, music 16 mins) Music here: on Spotify here: 

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: