This week, we've taken some inspiration from the Indiana University College of Arts and Science 2016 Themester subject and are exploring musical "Beauty." What makes a piece of musical beautiful? That's what we're looking at this week!

Did you know...

• The opus 39 Waltzes for piano by Johannes Brahms were dedicated to critic Eduard Hanslick, who laid the groundwork for the study of musical aesthetics with his 1854 book On The Beautiful In Music.
• The music for the Academy-award-winning film American Beauty was written by Thomas Newman, whose family includes other film composers Alfred, Randy, David, Lionel and Emil!
• Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera Paride ed Elena, an opera about the most beautiful woman from mythology Helen of Troy, helped bring about opera reforms, including simpler melodies and more dance.

See the full playlist below.

And listen to this week's podcast!