As the CFA exam approaches and our fellow intern, Harley, buckles down, I am reminded of the stresses of cramming for final exams in university. Over the years I learned a couple of tricks to help me stay focused without getting bored. One of them was to listen to elevator music so that I wouldn't get caught up in the words of a song but my brain could still subconsciously enjoy the distraction. It's perfect timing that the album that inspired this week's review is also one without words.

 

Swan Lake is a ballet composed by Peotyr Tchaikovsky in 1876. It tells the story of a Russian princess who is cursed and turned into a swan. In order to illustrate the story he is trying to convey through his music, Tchaikovsky used a technique called 'Leitmotif' which associates certain themes with specific characters or moods. The use of this method was inspired by one of Peotyr's favourite composers Adolphe Adam who also used the technique in his own work titled Giselle. Of the other now-popular pieces that Tchaikovsky composed (the Nutcracker, the Tempest), he expressed the most regret about Swan Lake. When it was initially made public, it did not receive much praise and was not widely appreciated until much later. Today, Swan Lake is one of the most well-known ballets in history.

 

 

Based on the other classical music that I have heard in the last couple of weeks, this ballet is by far my favourite and earns 5/5 stars. The music is very engaging and technical in a way that is underappreciated and cannot be heard in modern music. This piece is long, sitting at a little over 2.5 hours but it can be listened to while doing any task. I have already listened to it in full 3 times. I urge everyone to listen and explore the classical music genre as it possesses so much quality and detail that will never be played on the radio but yet is so enlightening.

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