Musicians usually have a good sense of humor. Those who don’t are either at the very top or the very bottom of the music world.

A lot of educators use Camille Saint-Saëns‘ Carnival of the Animals as an introduction to Art Music for very young listeners. The lesson usually goes like this:

TEACHER: Ok class, we’re going to listen to some music now. (plays music) Now what did that make you think of?
STUDENT #1: I have a dog named muffin.
TEACHER: That’s nice. Does it remind you of anything?
STUDENT #2: It sounds like SpongeBob.
TEACHER: Well, this music is about an animal! What animal does it make you think of?
STUDENT #3: A Velociraptor.
TEACHER: Don’t you think it sounds like chickens?
STUDENT #4: I think I’m going to throw up.
TEACHER: Let’s do some coloring instead.

Saint-Saëns piece is delightful enough to be enjoyed by little ones, but has some wicked humor in it aimed at adults. Among the “animals” that he paints with music are: Elephants, Donkeys, Birds, Pianists, People with Long Ears (i.e. music critics), and Fossils. He satirically quotes dozens of musical compositions throughout the work: his own Danse Macabre as well as Berlioz’ Faust, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Offenbach’s Can-Can, Rossini’s Barber of Seville, and more.

This election year was horrible on so many accounts. Without humor I would have crawled away into a cave until it was all over. So, go vote today, and in the meantime, enjoy “Elephants” and “Donkeys”.

As the green earth slowly dies away into winter, it’s natural for a person to ponder his/her own end.

That’s exactly what Richard Strauss did in his “Death and Transfiguration.” The work is a tone poem: a piece of music, usually a single movement, that tells a story or evokes a mood using music rather than words. Strauss didn’t event the tone poem (it slowly evolved throughout the late 19th century), but many will argue that the form achieved perfection in his music.

Death and Transfiguration portrays the process of dying. Someone (perhaps the composer, in his imagination) lies on his deathbed; the great struggle to survive ensues; his life flashes before his eyes – he sees his childhood, his loves, his dreams and failures; finally, he accepts his end and is ‘transfigured’ to a perfect state of being – heaven, nirvana, the afterlife. Perhaps Strauss was preparing himself for his own end, hoping to approach the moment with grace and elegance rather than fear. It is said that, on his deathbed, Strauss commented that passing was just as he composed it to be.

The ‘transfiguration’ theme first occurs at 13:06 – this short vision of heaven helps bring the protagonist from fear and suffering to a peaceful death. AND, it’s nearly identical to the second theme of John William‘s Superman music.

Oh, to be Czech. They are by far the world leaders in beer consumption. On average, a Czech consumes 142 liters of beer every year – their Austrian and German neighbors hold the #3 and #4 positions, but with a figure 40 liters lower. And, they have some of the most gorgeous scenery in Europe.

Czech composer Bedřich Smetana‘s most famous opera is The Bartered Bride – but no, it’s not about a mail-order wife. It’s actually just a classic story of a couple whose true love prevails over her parents, who want to trade her for money and social status (WIN parenting right there!) But more importantly, there is a rousing beer-drinking chorus, and a circus scene in which the performers dance some (what else) traditional Czech dances.

Warning: listening to this might make you drink beer and dance a polka.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc81uNcscIk