Musical Connections
Musical Connections: Where Will Your Next Journey Take You?
By Dave Prentiss, President and CEO, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra
At Musical Connections we share playlists and offer events that explore the connections between classical music, other types of music, and the world around us. This kind of exploration is possible because of a simple fact: all types of music are connected to each other by the common elements of what makes music, music: things like melody, harmony, rhythm, and the ability to create a feeling or mood, plus other basic things that all music shares like how fast or slow it is, how loud or soft, or how it is structured. These building blocks of music are shaped by songwriters and composers to express themselves and to touch us in so many different ways. By exploring musical connections you take yourself on a journey that will deepen your enjoyment of all music, and maybe you’ll even fall in love (or more in love) with classical music along the way.
We hope you will enjoy listening to and exploring these playlists. If you would like to receive notices of when new playlists are added, and learn about upcoming Musical Connections events, email us here.
Using Spotify Playlists: To enjoy the full playlist you will need an account with Spotify. To create a free account, simply click on the playlist title or one of the songs and you will be prompted to create an account (or to sign in if you already have an account). There is no requirement to provide credit card information or incur any other obligation. With a free account you get full access to the music and will periodically have ads play in between songs.
Upcoming Musical Connections Events:
(Join the email list to be notified)
Friday, September 27, 5:30 PM
Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum
396 County Street, New Bedford, MA 02740
Join New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s Dave Prentiss for an exploration of the connections between flowers, nature, and classical music. Dave will bring a musical lens to explore the wonders of RJD’s gardens and history, while celebrating the creativity of composers inspired by the natural world around us. Come experience the power of nature and music to relax, recharge, and restore us all.
Thursday, November 7, 6:00 PM
Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust
318 Chase Road, Dartmouth, MA 02747
Balance is a condition in which various elements of a system or whole are in proper proportion or arrangement. Within an ecosystem, balance is key in maintaining a thriving biological community of interacting organisms and a healthy environment. Balance is also a vital component in music. Both musical compositions and the orchestra itself need harmonious interactions and a blending of a diversity of sounds. In this program, NBSO CEO Dave Prentiss will explore the connections between a saltmarsh ecosystem and works by Bach, Handel, Mozart and Copland to see the crucial – and glorious – role that balance plays in both.
Examples of past events include Beer, Wine, & Music at Buzzards Bay Brewing; Nature, Birds, & Classical Music at Dartmouth National Resources Trust; and Beethoven and The Beatles at AHA! Night in New Bedford.
Musical Connection’s First Playlist
I use this playlist when I talk to groups about classical music. It helps illustrate some of the basic points I like to make about musical connections (plus – just by coincidence – it’s all music that I really like). For example, in rock, pop, and folk music, songs are usually made up of verses and choruses that alternate back and forth. That is exactly what Handel does in the first piece, The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. In the next piece, the third movement from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 4, there is also an alternating structure that is similar to verse and chorus but he starts with an introduction that really builds up an exciting anticipation before the verse/theme begins. This is also a great example of how classical music can be used to create a sense of motion that propels us forward and then transitions into a new feeling or mood. The next two pieces (#3 and #4) are by Tchaikovsky and Bach and simply show how different the piano can be made to sound depending on what mood or feeling the composer wants to create for us. Pieces #5 and #6 are slow, beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing – need I say more? Next we have a short piece by Bach called Bouree, which has an irresitible melody that has been covered by Jethro Tull and was the inspiration for Blackbird by The Beatles. The rest of the playlist is filled with pieces by Mozart, Sibelius, and Brahms and shows how diverse and creative composers can be in using all the basic elements of music. If you listen to this playlist a few times, whether as background music or in a more focused way, I think you might start to fall in love with some of the pieces. Please take your pick – it’s up to you!
Mozart and His Piano Concertos (Fast Movements Edition)
No composer seems to be more on a “musical mission” than Mozart. His music has such a strong sense of direction and forward movement that you can’t help but feel that Mozart knows exactly where he wants to take us and how to get there. All music (or at least almost all music) conveys a sense of motion that periodically transitions to a feeling of rest. The fast movements of Mozart’s piano concertos deliver this feeling in a very clear and powerful way. I think that is what makes them so energetic and delightful – yes, they are full of many delights! Full disclosure: I often listen to this playlist when I’m riding my bike. It has helped me get up many hills.
Special note: When listening to Piano Concerto No. 22 (song #7 on this list) be sure to hear the change of mood Mozart creates around the 4:15 minute mark. For the first four minutes it’s all rollicking fun and high energy, and then suddenly he decides to go slow and sublime. It’s really beautiful. And then of course he returns to the initial fast-paced mood for a wonderful ending.
Symphony on Tap 2023 & 2024
Our Symphony on Tap concerts are probably the most fun things we do every year. We have a full orchestra playing in a club setting where people can stand next to the orchestra, hang out at a hightop table, and enjoy the beverage and trendy foods of their choice. Here is the music we played at our last two performances.
Nature, Birds & Music
Nature and birds have always fascinated and inspired classical music composers. Countless composers both past and present have immersed themselves in nature to feed their creativity and to explore the connections between music and the natural world. Birds, of course, are the most obvious and delightful example of where nature and music meet on common ground. When you listen to music inspired by nature, I think you will often sense a feeling of gratitude that composers feel for the way nature inspires and sustains them. When you listen to this playlist the titles of each song will help you get in the mood for what is to come. (Translator’s note: Debussy’s Clair de Lune is “Moonlight” and Smetana’s The Moldau is a river that runs though the Czech countryside to the city of Prague.) For Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 be sure to hover over the three dots at the end of each title line to get the full name he gave to each symphonic movement. They tell the story of a day in the country, and in the last three minutes of the second movement, Beethoven creates three bird calls – Nightingale, Quail, and Cuckoo – using the flute, oboe, and clarinet (he actually wrote the names of the birds on the music score to help musicians what they were playing)!
Using Spotify Playlists: To enjoy the full playlist you will need an account with Spotify. To create a free account, simply click on the playlist title or one of the songs and you will be prompted to create an account (or to sign in if you already have an account). There is no requirement to provide credit card information or incur any other obligation. With a free account you get full access to the music and will periodically have ads play in between songs.
A Journey into the Music of William Walton
This is a story about expanding my musical horizons. Until NBSO Music Director Yaniv Dinur told me he wanted us to perform William Walton’s Symphony No. 1, I had never heard of Walton or listened to any of his music. I figured that if we were going to perform Walton’s music I better listen to it first! I started with his Symphony No. 1 and after a few listens I really started to like it. At first it was just a couple of sections that got me, and then gradually the whole piece started to take hold of me. (I recommend listening to it loudly in your car.) That is how my journey into the music of William Walton began and I’ve just kept going, listening to a bunch of his other pieces and discovering what I like. Walton’s music has a lot of drama and energy in it, and it is extremely inventive. You never really know what is going to happen next, but it’s pretty much always something good. Most of Walton’s music is not something you will listen to in order to unwind and relax. Instead, you should expect to get revved up, thrilled, and energized. At times it may even leave you breathless (so don’t forget to breathe)! My advice to any new listener to Walton’s music is this: hold onto your seat and enjoy the ride. (By the way, Walton led a pretty fascinating life; if you want to delve into that, a good place to start is here.
Please Note: Instructions for accessing the playlist are located in the introduction section at the top of the page.
A Time to Relax
I hope this playlist is self-explanatory!