“Playing for cows is a continuation of what I’ve always done in my solo career. I’m passionate about taking classical music out of the concert hall,” Jacob Shaw said.

The British musician set up a cello school in the rural countryside in Stevns, an hour south of Copenhagen, to perform throughout the region.

“During Covid it wasn’t always possible and we decided to move on to the next best thing – playing for animals,” the 30-year-old said.

He convinced a music-loving farmer to expose his cattle to classical music to improve their welfare.

“When he told me about it, I didn’t think it was crazy but rather exciting. I feel the calming effect of music on my own body, so I thought it would be the same for the cows, and I was right,” the farmer said.

The cows were first introduced to the classical repertoire through loudspeakers installed in their barn in the winter, but it quickly seemed to strike a chord with the bovine audience.

“Everyone could see from the first time that they liked it, so we continued. Now they are getting used to it and the result is that they are fantastically pleasant and healthy animals,” Shaw said.

“I think their voice, their mooing, is actually similar to the sound of a cello, which is why it’s so popular with them.”

The cellist is often accompanied by other musicians. Roberta Verna, a 22-year-old violinist, came to Stevns to “get a different perspective”.

Holding a Stradivarius, Verna and Shaw played pieces by Reinhold Gliere and Bela Bartok for the cows, who were seemingly as moved by the beauty of the melody as they were by the distribution of food.

At the end of the 15-minute concert – the second of the day for the cattle – calves and cows calmly graze the pasture awaiting the next recital.

The animals have their preferences, Shaw argues, even if the subtlety may escape the layman.

“They react differently to different pieces. We played something that was slightly catchier and a bit more modern, and a lot of them didn’t like it and left.”