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The Kennedy Center's Hall of Nations

Listening Activity: Introduction

Introducing the Orchestra

Adolph von Menzel - "A Flute Concert of Frederick the Great at Sanssouci"

Hundreds of years ago, the world was introduced to the orchestra. It was love at first sound. Everyone was captivated by the never-before-heard sounds of some 20 to 100 musicians playing together. Before the orchestra, classical music was for groups of three (trios) or four (quartets)—tops! The invention of this much bigger musical group meant bigger musical possibilities, and the world’s imagination went wild. Composers all across Europe were inspired to try their hand at creating symphonies for the orchestra and pushing classical music to new limits.

Composers, Orchestras, and Music!

Who are composers? Composers are people who write or “compose” music. Composers get musical ideas come from many sources. Some composers create music that captures a specific time or place. Others are inspired by an emotion—or they might want to tell a story or paint a picture with music.

The Composer’s Toolbox

Every composer uses basic tools to write music. One is pitch (high notes and low notes). Another is rhythm (long notes and short notes.) Once you mix the high and low notes with the long and short notes, you’ve written a melody!

Some other tools in a composer’s toolbox are tempo, major and minor keys, and dynamics. Composers might also adjust the speed at which the music is played using tools with Italian names, like andante for “slow,” allegro for “fast” and accelerando, meaning to accelerate or “get faster.” Through our Listening Activities (above), you’ll learn more about these tools while you hear the music of composers from many different countries across Europe. Listen carefully and you’re sure to hear the international language of music.

Bon Voyage!

Just Passing Through: Spain

DeFalla: Danza

First Stop... Austria

The waltz! The Alps! Apple strudel! For a small country, Austria has had a huge impact on European culture and on classical music.

Listening Activity: Austria and Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) was a child prodigy—someone with extraordinary ability or talent at a young age. He could play the piano beautifully when he was only four years old and completed his first symphony at age eight!

Mozart (pronounced MO-tzart) was an ambitious young composer who wanted to write music like no one else in the world. He did it by writing music that was perfectly constructed—and by capturing his own playful personality in the melodies.

The Composer's Toolbox

When composers work with pitch, they have many notes to choose from: high notes, low notes, and all the notes in-between. To travel from one note to another, composers might take small steps or giant leaps. They might even climb, crawl, hop, scoop, wiggle, or drop to get from one note to another.

The Composer's Challenge

Mozart challenged himself to write music that sounded different from anything that came before it. He selected his notes very carefully, and he chose how to get from one note to another even more carefully. The Listening Activity (above) introduces Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 and listen for how Mozart uses high notes, low notes, and all the notes in-between.

When you are done with the Listening Activity (above), listen to just the music (below):

Mozart: Symphony 29, I. Allegro Moderato

Just Passing Through: Italy

Rossini: The William Tell Overture

Just Passing Through: The Czech Republic

Smetana: Vitava (Moldeau)

Next Stop... Norway

Vikings! Fjords! Trolls! Located on the northernmost border of Europe, Norway is famous for its cold weather, skiing, beautiful scenery, and the Norse myths handed down from the early Vikings.

Listening Activity: Norway and Grieg

Raised in a musical home, Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was “discovered” when he was 15 years old by a famous violinist who persuaded his family to send him to music school.

Grieg (GREEG) wanted his music to sound like all his favorite Norwegian folk tunes and dances. His most famous work tells the story of a folk hero named “Peer Gynt” (ghint). Peer is a mischievous boy whose adventures include an attempt to steal a princess from a mountain filled with trolls.

The Composer's Toolbox

Composers decide on the rhythm of their melodies by combining long notes and short notes into patterns. Rhythms happen at the same time as the steady beat. (You can clap along to the steady beat!) Sometimes they match, and sometimes they don’t. The tempo refers to the speed at which the music is played. Some songs are played quickly. Some are played very slowly. And some get faster all the time.

The Composer’s Challenge

Grieg’s challenge was to write music that told a clear story without using any words. Grieg used rhythm to help tell the story of Peer Gynt tiptoeing through the mountain and being chased by trolls. The Listening Activity (above) introduces Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” and listen carefully to hear how rhythm, steady beat, and tempo help to tell the young boy’s story.

When you are done with the Listening Activity (above), listen to just the music (below):

Grieg: Peer Gynt, IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King

Just Passing Through: France

Debussy: Suite Bergamasque, III. Clair de Lune

Next Stop... England

Big Ben! The Beatles! Fish and chips! England sits inside the United Kingdom, an island off the northwest coast of Europe.

Listening Activity: England and Britten

Benjamin Britten (1913–76) was another child prodigy who played the piano and viola and composed music when he was only five years old.

Everyone knows what it feels like to be sad, but what if you wanted to write music that expressed emotions without using words? Benjamin Britten’s “Sentimental Saraband” from his Simple Symphony, is based on melodies sketched in his childhood notebooks.

The Composer's Toolbox

Another tool in the composer’s toolbox is mood. Britten wrote his melody in a minor key. Songs in a major key sound bright, hopeful, and happy. Music composed in a minor key can sound dark, sad, and even scary sometimes.

The Composer’s Challenge

Britten wanted to compose music that expressed emotion without using words. The Listening Activity (above) asks you to compare the sound of familiar melodies in a major key and a minor key. Then, you’ll listen to Britten’s “sad tune” and try to identify what makes it seem sad. Is it only the minor key? What instruments did he choose for his melody? How did he use the other tools in his composer’s toolbox?

When you are done with the Listening Activity (above), listen to just the music (below):

Britten: Simple Symphony: Sentimental Saraband

Just Passing Through: Hungary

Bartok: Romanian Dances I. Jocul cu Bata

Bartok: Romanian Dances V. Poarga Romanesca

Bartok: Romanian Dances VI. Maruntel

Our Final Stop... Russia

The Kremlin! Troikas! Snow, snow, and more snow! Russia is the largest country in the world and is the birthplace of many of the world’s most beloved writers, painters, and composers.

Listening Activity: Russia and Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–75) began piano lessons when he was eight years old and entered music school at age 13.

Shostakovich (duh-MEE-tree Shaw-stuh-KOH-vitch) used his music to paint a picture of his war-torn homeland. As a boy, Shostakovich watched as rulers fought for control of Russia. His Symphony No. 10 recalls his memories of the tanks and soldiers he saw in the streets of his homeland, and the determination of the Russian people to find freedom.

The Composer's Toolbox

One more tool in the composer’s toolbox is dynamics, where the composer tells the musicians how loudly or softly to play the music. Small changes and big, sudden changes can be very effective. Shostakovich liked to go from loud to even louder, and from very loud to incredibly quiet. This helps make his music very exciting for the audience.

The Composer’s Challenge

Shostakovich's challenge was to compose music that sounded as if you were living through a war. Make sure you watch your ears when you go to the Listening Activity (above). Examine what happens when sound changes its dynamic from soft to loud--and from loud to louder--while listening to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10.

When you are done with the Listening Activity (above), listen to just the music (below):

Shostakovich: Symphony 10, II. Allegro

Welcome Home: A Listening Game