Tone Poem Tuesday

Jacques Offenbach might well have been the French equivalent of Franz von Suppe and, later on, Vienna's Strauss family in that he wrote a great deal of very pleasing music of high energy which was often infused with the rhythms and vibrancy of the dance. His most famous work is likely his operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, a scintillating operetta indeed whose tuneful and wonderfully sparkling overture is full of singing melodies that culminate in one of the most famous melodies of all time, the brassy Can-can. Here is that very overture, performed quite wonderfully by a youth orchestra I had never heard of before, the Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra. They have a lot of neat performances available on YouTube, quite a few of which I recommend seeking out.

And now, Jacques Offenbach.