They all start somewhere and here is Ella playing the Grieg masterpiece before her weekly piano lesson:

It is so fun to watch them learn a song and get good at it. They enjoy it so much when they play well.

If you love this piece, you should check out this duet version. I told Ben that this was him and Ella in 10 years playing In the Hall of the Mountain King together.

In the process of completing this post, I came across a few other interesting takes on the Mountain King. The Electric Light Orchestra’s version is, in retrospect, kind of fun (and it comes complete with stretchy polyester pants and big hair). But I’m not sure about the descent into Great Balls of Fire at the end.

Then, there is the Apocalyptica metal version. (I know what you are saying – who the heck is Apocalyptica?) It is fascinating to me that metal heads seem to love this jacked up classical theme. It sure says something that Grieg’s composition is still echoing through contemporary music.

Finally, this post would be incomplete without the version by David Ramos playing the Mountain King on four of his ocarinas simultaneously. I kid you not. Check it out.