I have been listening to a lot of classical music lately but unfortunately have little knowledge of it. Looking forward to working through this post listening and learning.
I think it is a strong indicator of how today, Opera has pretty much fallen off the larger US cultural radar screen, that in 1957 Warner did a Bugs Bunny cartoon short wherein Elmer Fudd dresses up as a character from a Wagner Opera, while Bugs cross-dresses as a Valkyrie. Could Warner Brothers get away with that today? I doubt it.
I am personally convinced that "What's Opera, Doc?" marks the zenith of Western civilization, pretty much for the reasons you give. And I'm not even an opera fan, having been repulsed by opera as a child (thanks, Mom).
Thank you for a hearty chuckle! Yes, you are right!
What a pity that the Voyager Golden Records, which after all, used mechanical means to encode and play back analog information, could not carry a cartoon movie to another galaxy!
Anthony Daniels, better known by his pen name, Theodore Dalrymple, worked as a prison psychiatrist in the UK. A while back he said that, formerly, popular culture included a healthy dose of high culture. Opera and ballet were on the Ed Sullivan show more often than the Beatles and Rolling Stones. The Longines Symphonette sold LPs of stuff like "the world's most familiar operatic arias" or "the world's best loved symphonic overtures."
Daniels makes the point that all that high culture has all but disappeared from pop culture, replaced by low culture, which is cheek by jowl with prison culture - bad tats and waistbands below the cracks of they asses.
There's a great story about Aretha Franklin stepping in to sing Nessun Dorma at the Grammy awards when Pavarotti got sick. Do you think Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga even know what Turandot is or who Puccini was?
But Carl Stallings and the orchestra did a great job didn’t they. If you close your eyes and listen to the music you know exactly what the characters are doing. Just like Peter and the Wolf.
Wonderful. Thank you for not only the selection but the education. Learning more about the selections in the previous posts has been great and will enjoy listening to these as well.
I sampled a bit of the Idagio app last year, but I didn't end up keeping it past the trial running out because I just don't have the knowledge of classical music to justify it every month. But if this is a regular feature I may have to rethink that. Fantastic article, thank you.
I am aware of Idagio, but I have a Qobuz subscription that I am happy with. Qobuz charges differently depending upon the resolution of the files that are streamed, so if you don't need Greater-than-CD-Quality resolution, that might be a less expensive option.
Well, nobody else has volunteered, so, before the next installment goes up, let me share a stray thought.
Many colleges have student orchestras of varying levels of accomplishment. Perhaps there is a college near you with a student orchestra and a music program that includes (usually non-tenure-track "adjunct instructors") instruction in percussion. Or, at the very least, a college that owns a set of tympani.
Get in touch and say that you have always wanted to bang the kettles for the Also Sprach opening, and how much would a coaching session not to exceed one hour cost? I'd guess (depending on various factors) the answer would be between $75 and $125.
Bring a boom box and have a friend with a tripod video the occasion. The boom box so you can play a CD of Also Sprach to play along with.
I might need a crash course on the bare minimum for listening quality headphones or speakers, I can't imagine computer speakers will do these any justice, and I have yet to re-foam my old Cerwin Vegas in the living room.
We've had a few threads on this in the past. (If we were not on Substack I'd point to them here, but that is just about impossible.) I've done my best to answer them, but I think there is enough interest on ACF in the topic that your input would be very much appreciated.
Unfortunately they are not only wired but have to be stuck into your ears. As far as In-Ear Monitors go, they are fairly comfortable, but people have varying tolerances for sticking things into their orifices. But, after you choose the right eartip from the many supplied with the IEMs to give yourself a good seal, you will get good sound.
For speakers, we will have to know more about your budget, size of the room, how far your listening position is from the speakers, how loud you listen, and any other requirements you may have.
Thanks. I've been waiting to hear about the Original Poster (Danny's) target price ranges.
And, in view of the Dead Sea Scrolls Length of my answer to Ronnie's discographic inquiries, I have to have a chat with Jack about how it is best to get this organized.
I may have taken the "bare minimum" spec too literally. And, without counting the no doubt considerable value of your time, the longer your answers the better, from this subscriber's perspective.
How about a target of under $600? Also, I'm not averse to buying things secondhand. The space where I have my current sound system is a room of about 300 sq ft, but eventually I'd also like to have a decent set up in the garage, which is 30'x40' and insulated.
Just buy from Amazon and get a MBG. But here are two other shopping hints. One, pro audio powerhouse Sweetwater Sound is going to have a more "curated" selection, by which I mean you don't have to sift through a lot of cheap junk. Also, if you are within driving distance of a Guitar Center store, that is probably your best chance to "try before you buy."
If I had to blindly recommend an "Aspirational-Class" headphone, it would be Sennheiser's HD-650, with the proviso that it is open-backed, and so if you need to shut out noise or prevent sonic leakage out, these will not do:
My metier, to use that French word, is planning out systems that are not affordable. Here's an article about a famous listening room I helped design and build--we went past the original budget, which was $1 million.
So, it's a challenge to suggest loudspeakers at $600 or under, especially trying to make them "future-proof" for your circumstances.
"Nothing up my sleeve!" I now pull a rabbit out of my hat.
Here's a pair of loudspeakers at $299 the pair, direct from the makers, but with an MBG. I design loudspeakers and it's not a hobby, I have been paid for it, and I can't imagine how they deliver the value proposition they do:
Even better, when you relocate to your garage, they have a 10" active subwoofer designed for those satellite monitors, at $199 each.
Chinese company Edifier delivers a lot for the money. If you want powered speakers, wifi, and all that, browse their offerings by searching on amazon "Edifier Bookshelf Loudspeakers."
Those Verifi speakers look like quite a value, good to know about. Real rosewood veneer for $299 a pair? Too bad the rosewood 12" sub for $399 is sold out, it is quite impressive-looking. I do not recognize the drivers - any idea what they are using?
If you know the company, any chance of having them send a speaker to Audio Science Review or Erinsaudiocorner for measurement? They should be quite a hit over there, which would do their business no harm. From the engineer's notes, they appear well-designed and measure well on-axis. I would expect good, smooth directivity with the low crossover point and 5" woofer. The only caution I would note is that the commendably low distortion is measured at quite a low level, equivalent to 81.5dB at 1m, but one has to limit expectations from such a small speaker. (To most here other than John, apologies for the technobabble.)
I am getting a loaner pair for subjective evaluation by me. I will mention the measurement options to my contact there.
I have no idea where they source their drivers. The world's largest OEM driver company designs in Denmark and manufactures in Indonesia: SB Acoustics. But there are factories I have never heard of in China pushing out "good-enough" affordable drivers.
When I built an LS3/5A-sized speaker, the carbon-fiber woofer was $183 each and the gold-plated Titanium tweeter was $137 each. So, that's $640 per pair before crossovers and cabinets!!! Let's say I could get cabinets at $100 each, crossovers $50 each that is still a $5000/pr. loudspeaker in an audio salon.
Re: Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelsohn, and Tchaikovsky
With the usual caveats that I have not heard every recording, and de gustibus, etc. And, these days I rarely play CDs or SACDs; Qobuz (or even YouTube) is where I get most of my music these days.
For both the Beethoven and the Brahms, although because of the age of the recordings (1949) they are not likely to be anyone’s prime choices, Yehudi Menuhin-Furtwangler-Lucerne Festival Orchestra should be required listening.
First, for the monumental (but still congenial) conception of the works that soloist and conductor share. But most of all, for the “Divine Frenzy” of Menuhin’s solo cadenzas, which in both concerti are by Fritz Kreisler. Viennese bon-bons, those cadenzas are not. They are more challenging technically than either of the concerti, although of course in both those monumental concerti, interpretation is as important as technique.
Here's an audio YT of the Kreisler Brahms 1st mvmt Cadenza, in all Menuhin’s Divine Frenzy:
My go-to Beethoven has long been David Oistrakh’s Paris 1958 Cluytens ORTF Orchestra (EMI). I might be projecting, but to me it seems that the orchestra is in awe of the soloist, instead of just putting up with him, which seems to me to happen from time to time.
That said, I probably should declare a tie with Josef Suk-Sir Adrian Boult-New Philharmonia (EMI 1971). Suk was the great-grandson of Dvorak. Problem is, I can’t find a digital stream of it, but I have not looked everywhere.
All that said, going from a mono tape recorder or 16-inch radio transcription acetates in 1949 to the second decade of the 21st century, the improvement in sound quality is impossible not to be impressed by. Veronika Eberle-London Symphony Orchestra-Sir Simon Rattle (LSO Live 2023) is a truly remarkable recording in terms of sound quality, easy to find on Qobuz. The 21st-century “moderne” cadenzas will either work for you, or they won’t.
Mendelssohn: Henryk Szeryng 1965 London Symphony Orchestra-Antal Dorati (Mercury) has recorded sound that has held up well. As always the case with this lawyer and diplomat and part-time violinist (that was a joke), the name of the game is “elegance.” For a 21st-century recording, I like Alina Ibragimova Vladimir-Jurowski-Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Hyperion 2012). She’s not only a real cutie; she gets around the fingerboard with remarkable fluidity and precision, and exemplary tone.
Tchaik: Not my fave concerto, sorry. At all. IMHO it’s a Tone Poem of a bunch of drunk peasants doing start-and-stop circle dances at a county fair—and that’s how the first critics reacted to it.
Funny, my Pedagogical Lineage is such that there are only three people shaking hands between Tchaikovsky and me. I think that’s amazing, seeing as Ol’ Pete was poisoned by his former law school classmates back in 1893.
So it’s Tchaik—Leopold Auer—Student of Leopold Auer—my violin teacher. Tchaikovsky dedicated his Violin Concerto to Auer, and a teacher of my teacher was one of Heifetz’s classmates in Auer’s famous pre-Revolution master class.
OK, gotta pick a couple regardless. Gidon Kremer—Lorin Maazel—Berliner Philharmoniker (DG 1980). Kremer brings astonishing virtuosity and pitch accuracy to a rough-hewn, very dynamic, and, in my opinion, very true and authentic reading of the score. You can almost smell the vodka on the peasants’ breaths. “Silk Underwear Music,” this is not.
For a less turbocharged performance, there’s a rarity, Erika Morini (1904-1995) recorded live in France in 1957, Jascha Horenstein conducting (mono). Her pedagogical lineage and the musical environment she grew up in make for a very multifaceted interpretation. Forgotten now, Morini was one of the top violinists of the mid-20th-c. And Horenstein remains one of the best conductors very few people today have heard of.
For a modern Tchaik, give a listen to: Sayaka Shoji—Myung-Whun Chung—Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (DG 2006). The business just ain’t fair…
Here are some things you did not ask about, but I urge you to check them out:
Max Bruch: Violin Concerto in g and Scottish Fantasy.
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1.
Elgar: Violin Concerto.
Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto.
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Mozart: All the Violin Concerti, plus the Sinfonia Concertante for viola and violin.
Sorry, I don’t have the time to compile recommendations for those.
I have been listening to a lot of classical music lately but unfortunately have little knowledge of it. Looking forward to working through this post listening and learning.
Speaking of music in the public domain; what little I know about classical, which is pretty much nothing, I learned from Warner Brothers.
I think it is a strong indicator of how today, Opera has pretty much fallen off the larger US cultural radar screen, that in 1957 Warner did a Bugs Bunny cartoon short wherein Elmer Fudd dresses up as a character from a Wagner Opera, while Bugs cross-dresses as a Valkyrie. Could Warner Brothers get away with that today? I doubt it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_Opera,_Doc%3F
I am personally convinced that "What's Opera, Doc?" marks the zenith of Western civilization, pretty much for the reasons you give. And I'm not even an opera fan, having been repulsed by opera as a child (thanks, Mom).
Thank you for a hearty chuckle! Yes, you are right!
What a pity that the Voyager Golden Records, which after all, used mechanical means to encode and play back analog information, could not carry a cartoon movie to another galaxy!
ciao,
john
Anthony Daniels, better known by his pen name, Theodore Dalrymple, worked as a prison psychiatrist in the UK. A while back he said that, formerly, popular culture included a healthy dose of high culture. Opera and ballet were on the Ed Sullivan show more often than the Beatles and Rolling Stones. The Longines Symphonette sold LPs of stuff like "the world's most familiar operatic arias" or "the world's best loved symphonic overtures."
Daniels makes the point that all that high culture has all but disappeared from pop culture, replaced by low culture, which is cheek by jowl with prison culture - bad tats and waistbands below the cracks of they asses.
There's a great story about Aretha Franklin stepping in to sing Nessun Dorma at the Grammy awards when Pavarotti got sick. Do you think Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga even know what Turandot is or who Puccini was?
But Carl Stallings and the orchestra did a great job didn’t they. If you close your eyes and listen to the music you know exactly what the characters are doing. Just like Peter and the Wolf.
Wonderful. Thank you for not only the selection but the education. Learning more about the selections in the previous posts has been great and will enjoy listening to these as well.
My pleasure. BTW, I hope that everybody saw the post about Hyperion Knight's Hillsdale College free online Music History course. https://www.avoidablecontact.com/p/guest-post-a-free-online-college
Thanks, john
Ok
I’m a sucker. Enrolled and bought the discs.
A “C” on the quizzes equals a passing grade correct?
Insert Bluto Blutarski gif with college sweatshirt here.
Second! Not to be deliberately repetitious, but if you keep writing these, I'll keep thanking you.
I sampled a bit of the Idagio app last year, but I didn't end up keeping it past the trial running out because I just don't have the knowledge of classical music to justify it every month. But if this is a regular feature I may have to rethink that. Fantastic article, thank you.
I am aware of Idagio, but I have a Qobuz subscription that I am happy with. Qobuz charges differently depending upon the resolution of the files that are streamed, so if you don't need Greater-than-CD-Quality resolution, that might be a less expensive option.
Thanks for your kind words,
john
To have the rhythmic talent for just one night and bang on those kettle drums....
Well, nobody else has volunteered, so, before the next installment goes up, let me share a stray thought.
Many colleges have student orchestras of varying levels of accomplishment. Perhaps there is a college near you with a student orchestra and a music program that includes (usually non-tenure-track "adjunct instructors") instruction in percussion. Or, at the very least, a college that owns a set of tympani.
Get in touch and say that you have always wanted to bang the kettles for the Also Sprach opening, and how much would a coaching session not to exceed one hour cost? I'd guess (depending on various factors) the answer would be between $75 and $125.
Bring a boom box and have a friend with a tripod video the occasion. The boom box so you can play a CD of Also Sprach to play along with.
Have fun!
john
I might need a crash course on the bare minimum for listening quality headphones or speakers, I can't imagine computer speakers will do these any justice, and I have yet to re-foam my old Cerwin Vegas in the living room.
Hi. As Jack would say, "En toutes choses, je suis votre esclave." ("In all matters, I am your slave.")
Please hit me with your budget targets both for headphones and for loudspeakers.
Oh, and for headphones, are Old School Plug-In headphones OK, or do you want WiFi and/or Noise Cancelling?
ciao,
john
John,
We've had a few threads on this in the past. (If we were not on Substack I'd point to them here, but that is just about impossible.) I've done my best to answer them, but I think there is enough interest on ACF in the topic that your input would be very much appreciated.
seconded
music is so much more enjoyable when you can hear it properly
Until John can answer, maybe this will hold you: bare minimum is a phone, CD-quality streaming (or rip your own digital files), and these:
https://www.linsoul.com/products/7hz-x-crinacle-zero-2?variant=44313801195737
Unfortunately they are not only wired but have to be stuck into your ears. As far as In-Ear Monitors go, they are fairly comfortable, but people have varying tolerances for sticking things into their orifices. But, after you choose the right eartip from the many supplied with the IEMs to give yourself a good seal, you will get good sound.
For speakers, we will have to know more about your budget, size of the room, how far your listening position is from the speakers, how loud you listen, and any other requirements you may have.
Thanks. I've been waiting to hear about the Original Poster (Danny's) target price ranges.
And, in view of the Dead Sea Scrolls Length of my answer to Ronnie's discographic inquiries, I have to have a chat with Jack about how it is best to get this organized.
john
I may have taken the "bare minimum" spec too literally. And, without counting the no doubt considerable value of your time, the longer your answers the better, from this subscriber's perspective.
How about a target of under $600? Also, I'm not averse to buying things secondhand. The space where I have my current sound system is a room of about 300 sq ft, but eventually I'd also like to have a decent set up in the garage, which is 30'x40' and insulated.
OK. I don't think that you have to spend $600 to get good headphones.
Assuming that you are OK with Old School plug-ins w/no Noise Cancelling or Wifi, my go-to "the studio owner will not cry if someone takes them home with them" headphones are https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86/ at $150. The fact that there are 25,000+ customer ratings indicates very favorable word-of-mouth.
Here's a list of headphone reviews from a website that values value-for-money greatly:
https://futureaudiophile.com/headphones/
Just buy from Amazon and get a MBG. But here are two other shopping hints. One, pro audio powerhouse Sweetwater Sound is going to have a more "curated" selection, by which I mean you don't have to sift through a lot of cheap junk. Also, if you are within driving distance of a Guitar Center store, that is probably your best chance to "try before you buy."
If I had to blindly recommend an "Aspirational-Class" headphone, it would be Sennheiser's HD-650, with the proviso that it is open-backed, and so if you need to shut out noise or prevent sonic leakage out, these will not do:
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-650-Professional-Headphone/dp/B00018MSNI?th=1
My metier, to use that French word, is planning out systems that are not affordable. Here's an article about a famous listening room I helped design and build--we went past the original budget, which was $1 million.
https://futureaudiophile.com/university-of-the-south-brings-a-million-dollar-audiophile-experience-to-its-students-and-you-too/
So, it's a challenge to suggest loudspeakers at $600 or under, especially trying to make them "future-proof" for your circumstances.
"Nothing up my sleeve!" I now pull a rabbit out of my hat.
Here's a pair of loudspeakers at $299 the pair, direct from the makers, but with an MBG. I design loudspeakers and it's not a hobby, I have been paid for it, and I can't imagine how they deliver the value proposition they do:
https://verafiaudiollc.com/products/vanguard-scout
Even better, when you relocate to your garage, they have a 10" active subwoofer designed for those satellite monitors, at $199 each.
Chinese company Edifier delivers a lot for the money. If you want powered speakers, wifi, and all that, browse their offerings by searching on amazon "Edifier Bookshelf Loudspeakers."
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=edifier+bookshelf+loudspeakers&s=price-desc-rank&crid=260WWKKVAGJ0Q&qid=1714659344&sprefix=edifier+bookshelf+loudspeakers%2Caps%2C80&ref=sr_st_price-desc-rank&ds=v1%3Ar47uwxPGeBk0eympnSRFtlNmPTrNh7CbENl%2FzW09V08
Best of luck!
john
Thank you this is a great reference!
Those Verifi speakers look like quite a value, good to know about. Real rosewood veneer for $299 a pair? Too bad the rosewood 12" sub for $399 is sold out, it is quite impressive-looking. I do not recognize the drivers - any idea what they are using?
If you know the company, any chance of having them send a speaker to Audio Science Review or Erinsaudiocorner for measurement? They should be quite a hit over there, which would do their business no harm. From the engineer's notes, they appear well-designed and measure well on-axis. I would expect good, smooth directivity with the low crossover point and 5" woofer. The only caution I would note is that the commendably low distortion is measured at quite a low level, equivalent to 81.5dB at 1m, but one has to limit expectations from such a small speaker. (To most here other than John, apologies for the technobabble.)
I am getting a loaner pair for subjective evaluation by me. I will mention the measurement options to my contact there.
I have no idea where they source their drivers. The world's largest OEM driver company designs in Denmark and manufactures in Indonesia: SB Acoustics. But there are factories I have never heard of in China pushing out "good-enough" affordable drivers.
When I built an LS3/5A-sized speaker, the carbon-fiber woofer was $183 each and the gold-plated Titanium tweeter was $137 each. So, that's $640 per pair before crossovers and cabinets!!! Let's say I could get cabinets at $100 each, crossovers $50 each that is still a $5000/pr. loudspeaker in an audio salon.
ciao,
john
John,
I frequently listen to the violin concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelsohn, and Tchaikovsky. Recommended versions?
Dear Ronnie,
Re: Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelsohn, and Tchaikovsky
With the usual caveats that I have not heard every recording, and de gustibus, etc. And, these days I rarely play CDs or SACDs; Qobuz (or even YouTube) is where I get most of my music these days.
For both the Beethoven and the Brahms, although because of the age of the recordings (1949) they are not likely to be anyone’s prime choices, Yehudi Menuhin-Furtwangler-Lucerne Festival Orchestra should be required listening.
First, for the monumental (but still congenial) conception of the works that soloist and conductor share. But most of all, for the “Divine Frenzy” of Menuhin’s solo cadenzas, which in both concerti are by Fritz Kreisler. Viennese bon-bons, those cadenzas are not. They are more challenging technically than either of the concerti, although of course in both those monumental concerti, interpretation is as important as technique.
Here's an audio YT of the Kreisler Brahms 1st mvmt Cadenza, in all Menuhin’s Divine Frenzy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6e5P1RvZOI
My go-to Beethoven has long been David Oistrakh’s Paris 1958 Cluytens ORTF Orchestra (EMI). I might be projecting, but to me it seems that the orchestra is in awe of the soloist, instead of just putting up with him, which seems to me to happen from time to time.
That said, I probably should declare a tie with Josef Suk-Sir Adrian Boult-New Philharmonia (EMI 1971). Suk was the great-grandson of Dvorak. Problem is, I can’t find a digital stream of it, but I have not looked everywhere.
All that said, going from a mono tape recorder or 16-inch radio transcription acetates in 1949 to the second decade of the 21st century, the improvement in sound quality is impossible not to be impressed by. Veronika Eberle-London Symphony Orchestra-Sir Simon Rattle (LSO Live 2023) is a truly remarkable recording in terms of sound quality, easy to find on Qobuz. The 21st-century “moderne” cadenzas will either work for you, or they won’t.
Mendelssohn: Henryk Szeryng 1965 London Symphony Orchestra-Antal Dorati (Mercury) has recorded sound that has held up well. As always the case with this lawyer and diplomat and part-time violinist (that was a joke), the name of the game is “elegance.” For a 21st-century recording, I like Alina Ibragimova Vladimir-Jurowski-Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Hyperion 2012). She’s not only a real cutie; she gets around the fingerboard with remarkable fluidity and precision, and exemplary tone.
Tchaik: Not my fave concerto, sorry. At all. IMHO it’s a Tone Poem of a bunch of drunk peasants doing start-and-stop circle dances at a county fair—and that’s how the first critics reacted to it.
Funny, my Pedagogical Lineage is such that there are only three people shaking hands between Tchaikovsky and me. I think that’s amazing, seeing as Ol’ Pete was poisoned by his former law school classmates back in 1893.
So it’s Tchaik—Leopold Auer—Student of Leopold Auer—my violin teacher. Tchaikovsky dedicated his Violin Concerto to Auer, and a teacher of my teacher was one of Heifetz’s classmates in Auer’s famous pre-Revolution master class.
OK, gotta pick a couple regardless. Gidon Kremer—Lorin Maazel—Berliner Philharmoniker (DG 1980). Kremer brings astonishing virtuosity and pitch accuracy to a rough-hewn, very dynamic, and, in my opinion, very true and authentic reading of the score. You can almost smell the vodka on the peasants’ breaths. “Silk Underwear Music,” this is not.
For a less turbocharged performance, there’s a rarity, Erika Morini (1904-1995) recorded live in France in 1957, Jascha Horenstein conducting (mono). Her pedagogical lineage and the musical environment she grew up in make for a very multifaceted interpretation. Forgotten now, Morini was one of the top violinists of the mid-20th-c. And Horenstein remains one of the best conductors very few people today have heard of.
For a modern Tchaik, give a listen to: Sayaka Shoji—Myung-Whun Chung—Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (DG 2006). The business just ain’t fair…
Here are some things you did not ask about, but I urge you to check them out:
Max Bruch: Violin Concerto in g and Scottish Fantasy.
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1.
Elgar: Violin Concerto.
Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto.
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Mozart: All the Violin Concerti, plus the Sinfonia Concertante for viola and violin.
Sorry, I don’t have the time to compile recommendations for those.
john
Speaking of tunes, has anyone else come across "Now You A Single Mom" by a guy named Brandon Jamal? Dude is a promotional whiz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LV9oYFJ2YI
He's done a Spanish version too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY1eVP5vrsw
Gone so viral there are a bunch of folks knocking off his merch on Etsy. I'm partial to the t-shirt graphic in the style of the NBA logo.
https://www.etsy.com/search?q=now%20you%20a%20single%20mom&ref=search_bar