--- description: A zoo in Belgium got their elephants swaying to classical music title: Here's How Elephants React When You Play Classical Music for Them image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's How Elephants React When You Play Classical Music for Them by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 15, 2015 9:24 PM CUT by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 15, 2015 9:24 PM CUT While preparing for their upcoming “[Magical Nights](http://www.pairidaiza.eu/en/magical-nights-in-pairi-daiza "undefined"),” staff members at Belgium’s Pairi Daiza zoo invited some skilled violinists to rehearse in front of a few elephants. The animals really seem to appreciate the performance and they totally sway their trunks in time with the music. The violinists in that clip are Jean-François Chamberlan and Anne Pingen, two “well-known members of Belgium’s Royal Chamber Orchestra,” Nico Vanhee, a spokesperson for the zoo, [told](http://www.buzzfeed.com/laurasilver/what-happens-if-you-play-classical-music-to-elephants?utm%5Fterm=4ldqpia#.gxO1zrrazE "undefined") BuzzFeed. Sadly, though, not all the animals were as appreciative of high culture. “The lions didn’t appreciate it,” Vanhee said, “and one monkey climbed on the instruments to stop the musician playing.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3921977/elephants-classical-music-violin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3921977/elephants-classical-music-violin/"},"headline":"Here's How Elephants React When You Play Classical Music for Them","datePublished":"2015-06-15T21:24:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:21:09.444Z","description":"These particular animals really appreciate Belgium's Royal Chamber Orchestra","url":"https://time.com/3921977/elephants-classical-music-violin/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3921977/elephants-classical-music-violin/","name":"Here's How Elephants React When You Play Classical Music for Them"}}]}] ```