No Words

     One thing that has always been important to me is music.  I haven't talked about that much on my blog other than to mention that I play the piano.  But music has always been something I feel connects me to the divine, something that has an indescribable healing property and, gosh darn it, it just makes me happy.  As Victor Hugo says, 'Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.'  So here are my favorite classical expressions without words.  Enjoy!

Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev- 1936

Prokofiev was commissioned by the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow to write a new musical symphony for children.  He wrote 'Peter and the Wolf' in 4 days.  It includes text spoken by a narrator along with an orchestra.

Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky- 1875

This one is one of my mother's favorites.

George Frederic Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from 'the Messiah'- 1741

Contains scriptural text from the King James Bible

Here's a fun flash mob version!

Frederic Chopin's Raindrop Prelude-1838

Side note: Chopin is my favorite classical artist.  My dad used to play his music all the time at home when I was growing up.  I've learned to play a few of these as well (just not very well)

Chopin's Fantasie-Impromptu- 1834

This is the ultimate for me.  I would love to be able to learn to play this!

Clair de Lune- Claude Debussy 1890

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt- 1847

'Queen of the Night' Aria from Mozart's Opera 'The Magic Flute'- 1791

Scott Joplin's 'The Entertainer'- 1902

Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin- 1924

This one's long (16 min.) but amazing!  It combines classical with jazz. 

Flight of the Bumble Bee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov- 1900

This clip comes from the movie 'Shine'

Serenade by Franz Schubert- 1828

Fur Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven- 1810

Another Beethoven favorite: Ode to Joy (Symphony No. 9)- 1824

By the time he wrote this he was quite deaf and as he conducted this for the first time, he was conducting an orchestra that he could not hear and was not in time with.

I found another good flash mob scene for this one.

Franz Joseph Haydn's Serenade

Minuet in G Major by Johann Sebastian Bach