Simple power of the piano

By Stephen Charles (courtesy)

Piano is a great way to introduce friends to classical music. There are new listeners who can't follow the violins and flutes and timpani and feel a little overwhelmed. They will take time to get used to to the melody of such togetherness.

Till then, there is the piano. It can absorb and translate the different melodies. If you like, you can play this video while you read the rest of the story.

Ideal classical music for film?

English composer William Walton said this of film music:
"Film music is not good film music if it can be used for any other purpose."

He was excused from military service during the second world war to make music for war propaganda films and drive ambulances.

He was not enthused with the music he made for the film 'The First of the Few'. However his 'Spitfire prelude and fugue' became immensely popular and he extracted it from the film to release it as an orchestral piece. (Spitfire was called the most famous plane of World War 2)

What is this 'Overture' in music?

The ‘Overture’ in Opera, and in mainstream movies. An old article published on theyoungindia.wordpress.com

Hear this, the Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila (R&L), and have your hearts filled with joy. It made better this Sunday morning, muddled by the nonchalance of the rains, and the cruel indifference of the weather to the humidity. Do as I have, read something whilst listening to it, then leave aside the reading material, and sway to its energy, defined so fluidly by the violins and the flute, alternatively taking over the task to make you meditative. Leave aside the rains.


R&L is an Opera (theatrical performance set to music) in five acts, based on a poem by Alexander Pushkin. It is composed by Mikhail Glinka, often hailed as the father of Russian classical music. Behold, the Opera didn’t do wonders and Mikhail was

The wicked 'can can' music

That damn song was the only reason I passed my periodic table tests in school. - YouTube comment

(Many of us have heard this music, but not recognised that it is part of the classical oeuvre)

We listened to French composer Jacques Offenbach's soulful Barcarolle in the last post. This time, we listen to his composition that is widely popular, great fun and also irritating. I have added some YouTube comments for this music, that appear in italics.

The role of Barcarolle in 'Life is Beautiful'

Venice is a city in Italy. It is considered beautiful, and all of it is a World Heritage Site. They have gondolas, which are rowing boats that carry tourists. The gondola is driven by a gondolier.

The folk song sung by the gondolier is called barcarolle.

Barcarolle is also found in classical music, in the form of music set to the rhythm of the gondolier's stroke while rowing.

One of the most famous barcarolle is 'Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour' from an opera by Jacques Offenbach. It has been used brilliantly by filmmaker Roberto Benigni in his film 'Life is Beautiful'. We are going to see the usage of this music in the film. The same music across two distinct emotions.