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15 glorious pieces of classical music for summertime

Glorious pieces of classical music for summertime. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM

 

Let these brilliant summer melodies take you on a musical journey from the fervent height of summer, to the tranquil sunset at day’s end.

Keep cool and ring in the sun-drenched months ahead with these chilled classical melodies, courtesy of Vivaldi, Albéniz, Gershwin and more.

1. Marquez – Conga del Fuego

2. This fantastically energetic work is a frantic, joyous dance – impossibly catchy in its rhythms, a new classical favourite of the last ten years or so and an immediate reminder of the euphoria of summer.

3. Delius – On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring

   Based on a melody from an old Norwegian folk song ‘In Ola Valley’, this beautiful tone poem is among English composer Delius’ most beloved pieces. Listen out as instruments of the orchestra imitate the natural sounds of the cuckoo – from the strings to the woodwind.

4. Tereso Carreño – Mi Teresita (Little Waltz)

   Here’s a delightful ditty for solo piano, written by 19th-century Venezuelan concert pianist and composer Teresa Carreño for her daughter, Teresita. At her concerts, Carreño often played this charming piece as an encore.

5. Gershwin – Summertime

   It started as an opera aria from Porgy and Bess, and then became a reggae hit, and finally a jazz staple. Gershwin’s sultry writing with a hint of melancholy has lent itself to every genre imaginable, making ‘Summertime’ the most covered song in the world.

6. Respighi – The Pines of Rome

   Glimmering with anticipation from the offset, this delightful orchestral tone poem opens with a musical painting of children playing in the pine groves and closes with trumpet fanfares to depict a marching band.

7. Beethoven – Romance No. 2 in F major

   Warmth practically radiates out of this Romantic violin work – sublime, and yet somewhat sad in its innocence and sweetness, as we remember that Beethoven composed the piece while coming to terms with the tragedy of his deafness, probably for the first time.

8. Debussy – Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

   This delightful symphonic poem tells the tale of the mythical faun who, enchanted by the woods’ nymphs and naiads, drifts off to sleep. Don’t be surprised if Debussy’s famous chromatic opening flute solo and shimmering harp lines send you off into your own slumber, as they emulate the languorous heat of a summer afternoon.

9. Rodrigo – Concierto de Aranjuez

   Journey to Spain’s sweltering capital with this beautiful classical guitar concerto, filled to the brim with swelling melodies and melancholic emotion, all while bringing to life the aristocratic essence of an 18th-century court.

10. Mendelssohn – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

    Within Shakespeare’s tranquil yet playful setting, Mendelssohn places a sweeping Intermezzo, enchanting Nocturne and a rather impish Scherzo. This music is an exquisite listen during the warmer months.

11. Camille Pépin – Apaisé, boisé

    Rising star French composer Camille Pépin’s gently pulsating work for orchestra induces a state of dreamlike musical bliss. It practically sings of summer and new growth, as the woodwind, brass and strings each take it in turns to pierce the earth and find sunlight.

12. Glazunov – The Seasons

    Glazunov’s ballet The Seasons creates four tableaux based on the changing seasons, and ‘Summer’ speaks to a delightfully rural scene. As water is brought to refresh the flowers, which have been basking in the warmth of the sun, the Spirit of the Corn dances in thanksgiving. Is that the picture of summer, or what?

13. William Grant Still – Summerland

    A gentler choice now, this heavenly work by William Grant Still – the first African American composer to conduct a major US symphony orchestra – is the second movement in a three-part solo piano suite, which tells the story of a human soul’s journey after death. If the life has been a good one, the soul may enter ‘Summerland’.

14. Richter – On the Nature of Daylight

    Modern composer Max Richter’s deeply beautiful, reflective ‘On the Nature of Daylight’ has lent perfectly to cinematic use. A calming, contemplative work for gentle reflection, as the sun sets on the day.

Listen here to Classical Summertime, our live playlist on Global Player.

Dolphins behave better after listening to Bach and Beethoven, study finds

Bottlenose dolphins enjoyed listening to Bach as part of the study. Picture: Getty

By Sophia Alexandra Hall, ClassicFM

@sophiassocials

 

Beethoven’s ‘Almost a Fantasy’ and ‘The Swan’ by Saint-Saëns are just some of the pieces of classical music enjoyed by Italian dolphins involved in this latest scientific study. 

Most scientists agree that dolphins are very intelligent creatures. The species have demonstrated in multiple studies that they are quick learners, empathetic, self-aware, and great at problem solving.

But a recent study published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science has now proved that dolphins are also music lovers, and that classical music specifically could improve social behaviours of the aquatic animals.

Researchers at the University of Padua in Italy found that playing classical music resulted in the dolphins showing more interest in each other, giving more gentle touches and swimming in synchrony for longer.

Eight dolphins in the eastern beach-front city of Riccione, Italy, were played 20 minutes of classical music a day via an underwater speaker for seven sessions. The aquatic mammals heard a number of pieces of classical music including Bach’s Prelude BWV 846, Grieg’s ‘Morning Mood’ from Peer Gynt, Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau, Beethoven’s Almost a Fantasy, and ‘The Swan’ from The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns.

Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Caribbean Sea. Picture: Getty

On other days, the dolphins were played the sound of rainfall for 20 minutes (auditory stimulus), given floating toys to play with for 20 minutes (an already known form of enrichment for the animals), or shown natural environments on television screens for 20 minutes (visual stimulus).

The group of dolphins was made up of five female and three male dolphins between the ages of five and 49 years old. Three of these dolphins, which are housed at a dolphinarium in Riccione, were born in the wild.

The researchers found that only the music had a long-lasting positive effect on the dolphins’ behaviour. As only classical music was used, the researchers admitted the results may not be specific to just the classical genre, but that classical music could be particularly useful when improving social behaviours in dolphins.

The use of music was also a particularly useful tool for when the animals were under stress or in situations that could lead to increased conflicts.

 Lead researcher Dr Cécile Guérineau said the way the dolphins acted, suggested they were showing happiness.

“This system is linked to reward, social motivation, pleasure and pain perception,” explained Dr Guérineau. “Activation of opioids receptors is correlated with a feeling of euphoria. [And] we know that in a wide range of animals – from mammals, monkeys, dogs, rats etc, to non-mammals, birds – endorphins, i.e. one type of endogenous opioids, are related to social bonding.

“Dolphins may also be able to perceive rhythm because they are a vocal-learning species. It may be that, similar to how dancing at a party makes us feel good and helps people to bond, when dolphins synchronize to a beat, they also feel good and connect with their fellow swimmers.”

GIRL FROM IPANEMA

The Girl From Ipanema

Antônio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz, ...

Olha que coisa mais linda

Mais cheia de graça

É ela menina

Que vem e que passa

Num doce balanço, a caminho do mar

Moça do corpo dourado

Do sol de Ipanema

O seu balançado é mais que um poema

É a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar

Ah, porque estou tão sozinho

Ah, porque tudo é tão triste

Ah, a beleza que existe

A beleza que não é só minha

Que também passa sozinha

Ah se ela soubesse

Que quando ela passa

O mundo sorrindo

Se enche de graça

E fica mais lindo

Por causa de amor

Tall and tan and young and lovely

The girl from Ipanema goes walking

And when she passes

Each one she passes goes, "Ah"

When she walks, she's like a samba

That swings so cool and sways so gently

That when she passes

Each one she passes goes, "Ah"

Oh, but he watches her so sadly

How can he tell her he loves her?

Yes, he would give his heart gladly

But each day, when she walks to the sea

She looks straight ahead, not at he

Tall, and tan, and young, and lovely

The girl from Ipanema goes walking

And when she passes, he smiles

But she doesn't see

Oh, but he sees her so sadly

How can he tell her he loves her?

Yes, he would give his heart gladly

But each day, when she walks to the sea

She looks straight ahead, not at him

Tall, and tan, and young, and lovely

The girl from Ipanema goes walking

And when she passes, he smiles

But she doesn't see

She just doesn't see

No, she doesn't see

But she doesn't see

She doesn't see

No, she doesn't see

Quelle: Musixmatch

Cole Porter song EVERYTIME WE SAY GOODBYE and his life and music

Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.

Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, Porter defied his grandfather's wishes and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn to musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs. After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early 1940s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920s and 1930s, but in 1948 he made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, Kiss Me, Kate. It won the first Tony Award for Best Musical.

Porter's other musicals include Fifty Million Frenchmen, DuBarry Was a Lady, Anything Goes, Can-Can and Silk Stockings. His numerous hit songs include "Night and Day", "Begin the Beguine", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "Well, Did You Evah!", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "You're the Top". He also composed scores for films from the 1930s to the 1950s, including Born to Dance (1936), which featured the song "You'd Be So Easy to Love"; Rosalie (1937), which featured "In the Still of the Night"; High Society (1956), which included "True Love"; and Les Girls (1957).