The place: A produce market in Valencia, Spain. The day: Just a day like any other. But then suddenly Verdi’s La traviata booms out over the speakers, and opera singers, initially masquerading as shopkeepers, take center stage. Stick with it until the end. The customer reaction is precious. We’ve added this one to our YouTube favorites. Thanks Charlie for the tip …

Opera in the Fruit & Veggie Market is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

The BBC brings you Folk America, a three-part documentary series on American folk music, “tracing its history from the recording boom of the 1920s to the folk revival of the 1960s.” We feature above the third segment, Blowin’ in the Wind, which takes you straight to the 1960s, when Bob Dylan and Joan Baez hit the stage. The other two segments that make up Folk America include Birth of a Nation and This Land is Your Land.

via Metafilter

Blowin’ in the Wind is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

In the mid-1950s, the American composer Leonard Bernstein made several appearances on Omnibus, a television show dedicated to covering the sciences, arts and humanities. During his visits, Bernstein walked audiences through the art of making music. Take for example the clip above where he breaks down the making of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Just how did Beethoven craft it? And what decisions did he need to make along the way? What parts to include? And not to include? (You can see the full program here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, & Part 4). Other episodes focus on the work of Bach, and also the worlds of Jazz, Opera, American Musicals, and the conductor’s craft. Happily, all seven of Bernstein’s appearances have been collected in a newly released DVD collection, which you can find on Amazon. Hat tip to Mike.

via The New York Times

Bernstein Breaks Down Beethoven is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

• ArsAntiguaPresents.com offers a series of free audio programs of music from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras, all performed on period instruments. This month’s edition focuses on Mozart’s Salzburg Symphonies. You can start listening via mp3 right here.
• Art of the States features work by American composers that can be otherwise hard to find. To get a quick taste, you can start listening to works by John Cage right here.
• Finally, the Petrucci Music Library is the largest and most active site dedicated to offering free, downloadable classical music scores. Want the complete score for Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos? You can start here.

Classical Bits is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Django Reinhardt, one of Europe’s finest jazz guitar players, would have turned 100 on January 24. It’s fairly astonishing to think that he mastered the guitar as he did, elevating it to a lead jazz instrument, despite being self taught, and having lost the use of two fingers in a fire. (More on that in the LA Times.) Above, we feature Django and his group, Quintette du Hot Club de France, performing “J’Attendrai” (I Will Wait) in 1939. As you’ll note, he only has two fingers moving on the frets.

Django at 100 is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

The Notre Dame Marching Band hit the field (a real field), where they performed OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass.” The performance was arranged by Notre Dame’s director of bands, Dr. Ken Dye. And it was all recorded live on the spot. You can watch the video in a larger format here. Incidentally, if you’re not familiar with OK Go’s music, you can watch them perform an acoustic version here.

via @mwesch

Notre Dame Marching Band Performs “This Too Shall Pass” is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Once they were part of the counter culture. Now they’re getting the red carpet treatment in the establishment. (Not that I have a problem with that!) Last night, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others performed in the East Room of the White House. It was all part a program called “A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement,” which will air on PBS on Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. ET. Above we have an audio recording of Dylan performing the timeless “The Times They Are A-Changin.” You can also watch a sample of the other performances here.

Bob Dylan at the White House is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Great find by Robert B., who captions this clip: “the teenage Glenn Gould at his Canadian home.” Gould is playing here J.S.Bach’s Partita #2. Give this a minute to get going. It’s a pretty awesome display of Gould’s talents. Thanks for sharing Robert…

A Young Glenn Gould Plays Bach is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

via BoingBoing

Dewey Music: Putting a Friendly Face on Public Domain Music is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

The Beatles as Teens (1957) is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com