No. 6, the Pastoral Symphony, is my favorite of Beethoven’s symphonies. This often-tear-inducing musical ode to country life and nature brings daydream smiles that stay plastered on my face for hours. I could wax poetic about #6 for a long, uninterrupted time, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll post these wonderful sequences from Disney’s 1940 animated masterpiece Fantasia– scenes which brilliantly make use of Beethoven’s evocative music. At risk of sounding like a valley girl, it’s quite possibly the cutest thing ever…

1st movement: Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country

2nd movement: Scene by the Brook

3rd and 4th movements: Merry Gathering of Country Folk; Thunderstorm

5th movement: Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm