Classical Music for Summer: A Selection of Cool and Refreshing Masterpieces
What scenes come to mind when you think of summer?
A sparkling blue sea, dazzling white sands under the blazing sun, mountains dressed in vivid green…
Even in sticky, sweltering heat, doesn’t picturing a refreshing landscape make the heat feel just a little more bearable?
In this article, we’ll introduce classic works that are perfect for summer and will help expand those images even further.
Let’s spend this summer feeling refreshed, accompanied by exquisite classical music that creates a cool, breezy atmosphere.
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Classical Music for Summer: A Selection of Cool and Refreshing Masterpieces (71–80)
A summer eveningKodály Zoltán
Summer evenings are wonderful, aren’t they? It’s still bright and hot, yet you can feel that night is drawing near—that’s the scene depicted in “Summer Evening.” This piece is by Zoltán Kodály, a Hungarian composer who also had a major influence on music education.
Although he worked across many musical genres, this one is an instrumental.
Listen for the modulation that shifts from a slightly lonely melody to a suddenly brilliant impression.
And at about 17 minutes long, it also makes great background music when you want to take your time and relax.
Summer SkiesLeroy Anderson
This is a piece called “Summer Skies” by the American composer Leroy Anderson.
It features a melody mainly carried by the strings, and it beautifully captures that distinctly American classical vibe—urban and romantic.
You can really get swept up in its cheerful mood.
It’s the perfect track to listen to when you want to sink into an elegant frame of mind.
12 Études d’exécution transcendante, Op. 11: No. 5. Summer NightLouis Kentner
This is “12 Études d’exécution transcendante, Op.
11: No.
5.
Summer Night” by Louis Kentner, a pianist and composer active in the 20th century.
The piano melody is unhurried and warmly expressive, making it a very beautiful piece.
I highly recommend playing it during a leisurely nap on a day off.
Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50, for Violin and OrchestraLudwig van Beethoven
This piece, with its striking violin melody, was composed by Beethoven.
It’s said to have been written when he was around 28 years old.
Even if you don’t know the title, many people have probably heard it.
While it has Beethoven’s characteristic, crisp, earnest construction, it’s also a refreshing piece that conjures up images of landscapes vibrant with green.
Put this on for a drive or a trip, and it feels like the journey would become all the more enjoyable—such is this song.
Play of WaterMaurice Ravel
Composed in 1901 by French composer Maurice Ravel, this piano piece is a cool, refreshing work that makes you forget the summer heat.
It is characterized by delicate expressions that depict the movement of water and the reflection of light through music.
Ravel prefaced the piece with a line of poetry about “a river god tickled by water, laughing,” aiming to fuse natural imagery with musical expression.
It includes innovative elements for its time, such as complex harmonies and the use of seventh and ninth chords.
Portraying flowing water, dripping, and the motion of waves, this piece is perfect as background music for a summer drive or reading.
Enjoy its refreshing sonorities.
Memories of summer nights in MadridMikhail Glinka
Mikhail Glinka, who left behind numerous masterpieces and is even hailed as the “father of modern Russian music.” The work he composed while envisioning the refreshing summer scenes of Madrid is A Night in Madrid in the Summer.
This piece corresponds to the Second Spanish Overture and is notable for its powerful sound.
Its structure is also a major attraction: the first half features deep, resonant tones centered on the strings, while the second half brings in percussion and accelerates the tempo.
En sommerdag paa landet (A Summer’s Day in the Country), Op. 55: I. Early: Allegro vivoNiels Gade
This is the piece “En sommerdag paa landet (A Summer’s Day in the Country), Op.
55: I.
Early: Allegro vivo” by the Danish composer Niels Gade, who was active from the mid to late 19th century.
It is a serene work, yet it also carries a certain shadow, rather like the changeable weather of summer.