The Thai elephants really play in this orchestra. It's to draw attention to their plight.
Elephants play custom-made instruments at a conservation center in northern Thailand.
Their CD has been favorably reviewed. That's not surprising when you're the conductor of the world's first and only elephant orchestra. It's not a gag. Or, for that matter, with the likes of Phangkhawt, a three-ton player warming up with energetic mallet strokes to a gong made of a saw blade confiscated from illegal loggers. While Phangkhawt and her fellow musicians are unlikely to put the Vienna Philharmonic out of business, their 19-track compact disc got a warm review from Robert Halliday, classical music critic for the Bangkok Post.