Author: Don

A Mike Heron song from the earliest days of The Incredible String Band.

A little yokai metal.

Moose and Squirrel remains the best moment in the history of television (you can make a case for Monty Python or early Simpsons, but — nah). Here’s some of the music, composed by Frank Comstock and Fred Steiner.

The story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, as retold by Rachmaninoff.

Enescu’s most popular piece. According to Wickedpaedia, “For all their popularity, the two Romanian Rhapsodies proved to be ‘an albatross round Enescu’s neck: later in his life he bitterly resented the way they had dominated and narrowed his reputation as a composer.'”

Let’s see if this works. Here’s an earlier tune by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.

The Hungarian band After Crying in an ELPish mood.

The Windham Hill label was notorious for new age drivel, but some of their offerings did bear listening.

Some straightforward energetic Japanese pop.

Finland may have the highest proportion of lunatic musicians among its population, but Sweden is up there, too.

Leonard Bernstein may have been a fool, but he could write music.

Francis Monkman was one of the founders of Curved Air. He left after their third album, and later joined Herbie Flowers, John Williams (the classical guitarist, not the Star Wars guy) and a couple others in the classical/prog fusion band Sky. He didn’t stay there long, either, but remained long enough to play the keys on the toccata that may or may not have been written by Bach.

Curved Air, Mark II, featuring a teenage Eddie Jobson on keyboards.

Hybrid music from the Klezmer Conservatory Band.

The opening theme to Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto¹, written by Yuki Kajiura.

One the pieces that Peter Schickele claimed as his own — sorta.

Don’t go stepping on people’s feet.

Liszt tried hard, but he couldn’t top Berlioz’s arrangement of the “Rákóczi March.” It’s impossible to play this too loudly.