Classical Music for Summer: A Selection of Cool and Refreshing Masterpieces

Serenade No. 13 in G major, K. 525Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525 “A Little Night Music” : IV. Rondo. Allegro

Japanese summers are just so stifling.

Because of the high humidity, summers in Japan are harder to get through than in many other countries, and I think many people don’t have a great impression of them.

In times like that, why not cool off with some music? Mozart’s famous Serenade No.

13 in G major, K.

525, is an extremely well-known work, with a brilliant and elegant tone throughout.

Since it’s often used in media for cooking shows and gourmet report segments, it would probably be a great fit for barbecues and the like.

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Symphony No. 40, First MovementWolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart “Symphony No. 40,” First Movement

Symphony No.

40 was completed in Vienna in July 1788, when Mozart was 32 years old.

He produced three famous symphonies in a short span: Symphony No.

39 in June, Symphony No.

41 in August.

Of Mozart’s symphonies, only two are in a minor key, and both are in G minor; thus Symphony No.

40 is called the “Great G minor,” while the other, Symphony No.

25, is referred to as the “Little G minor.”

Symphonic Poem “Summer Pastorale”Arthur Honegger

Honegger: Summer Pastoral Conducted by Honegger

This piece is said to have been composed under the inspiration of the epigraph to Arthur Rimbaud’s book A Season in Hell.

Although it begins like a gentle pastoral and lacks the later, characteristically Honegger-like, inorganic sharpness, it has instead become a well-loved work for its warmth and lyricism.

Two Legends, S.175 No. 2: St. Francis of Paola Walking on the WavesFranz Liszt

Hayato Sumino / Liszt: “St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves” from Legends (2018 PTNA Special Grade Semifinal)

Franz Liszt, celebrated for his dazzling and passionate performances, devoted himself deeply to religious themes in his late works.

This piece is a mystical portrayal in music of the legend of Saint Francis of Paola crossing the sea by miracle.

It features quintessential Lisztian dramatic writing throughout, such as tremolos evoking a raging sea and a sublime principal theme.

Composed between 1862 and 1863, it belongs to a period when Liszt’s faith had grown stronger.

Highly recommended for those who wish to savor a quiet sense of religious awe.

Why not listen to it on a tranquil summer night, feeling a cool breeze?

Piano Quintet “The Trout,” Fourth MovementFranz Schubert

Schubert Ensemble: Schubert “Trout” Quintet, 4th Movement.

In the summer of 1819, while visiting northern Austria, I was asked by an amateur musician to compose a quintet based on my 1817 song “Die Forelle” (The Trout).

I quickly began working on the idea and completed the “Trout” Quintet within the same year.

The piece vividly depicts a trout playing in a brook and its dramatic capture by an angler.

Heroic PolonaiseFrederic Chopin

(Bunin)Chopin Polonaise Op.53

From 1839 to 1846, Chopin spent his winters in Paris and his summers in Nohant (in central France), where his lover George Sand had a country house.

He produced many works during this period, and the “Heroic” Polonaise was composed in the summer of 1842 in Nohant.

“The Pearl Fishers” Act 1: “Your Voice Remains in My Heart”Georges Bizet

Placido Domingo in Pearl fishes

This is an opera by Bizet, famous for Carmen, depicting the love and friendship of pearl fishers on the shores of Ceylon.

It features beautiful melodies characteristic of Bizet, such as the duet of friendship for tenor and baritone and the aria “Your voice I can still hear,” which recalls a memory of love.