Former concert pianist Paul Barton is playing live classical music to soothe elephants in Thailand.
Barton has performed Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin for the mammal residents of Elephant World Sanctuary on the River Kwai.
Pianist Paul Barton performs for elephants in Thailand Photo: Music for Elephants
Among Barton's audience members are some elderly and disabled elephants.
Recently Barton played Prelude no1 in C from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier book 1 for a blind female elephant named Lam Duan.
A video of the performance has amassed more than a million views online.
Barton’s exploits have also been turned into a documentary called Music for Elephants which follows his work with the mammals, including their reactions to the classics.
He’s filmed many of his performances with the elephants, but here are a few of the favourites:
Debussy's Claire de Lune with an 80 year old Elephant
Barton says 80 is quite old for an elephant; usually, they live until 70. Ampan the elephant is blind in one eye and has very limited vision in the other.
Chopin's Raindrop Prelude
Nong Mai is 84 years old, which according to Barton makes her one of the oldest elephants in Thailand. Barton was told Nong Mai wouldn’t be interested in his performance, but this was the result.
Shortened arrangement of Mahler's “Adagietto” 5th Symph.
Chaichana is a 40-year-old bull elephant. Barton says that Chaichana is extremely dangerous and is an alpha-male at the sanctuary. Chaichana is kept away from people for their own safety.
Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata
Beethoven is a favourite of Romasi, a blind, elderly bull elephant. Barton says Romsai prefers the slow movement of the Sonata Pathetique, which is repeated a few times. Watch for Romansi’s interest in the instrument.
Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise
It turns out Romsai also likes Rachmaninov.
Something extra – Baby elephant!!
Here’s your daily intake of cute animals. The little one, named Saiyok, even joins in. Here, Barton performs 'Send in the Clowns' from Stephen Sondheim’s 1973 musical A Little Night Music.
