I remember watching a kids science show on public tv. They were talking about sending messages into space to see if any other life form might be out there. There were two media for the messages that the scientists presumed any culture sophisticated enough to communicate would understand - mathematics and music.
The power of music
I found the reaction of the atendees of the The New York Philharmonic performance in Pyongyang, North Korea rather profound. Maybe it won't have any meaning in the long run, but for me, it was a ray of hope in a dark place.