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 (81–90)
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.
2 Nocturnes: Sommers sovn (Summer Sleep)Per Nørgård
“Sommers sovn,” composed by Danish contemporary composer Per Nørgård.
He developed his own compositional technique called the Infinity Series and focused primarily on symphonies.
The distinctive atmosphere of this piece is largely due to his method.
Be sure to pay attention to the mixed choir Ars Nova’s vocals as well!
“Summer Tunes” String Quartet No.2: II. BirdsPēteris Vasks
This is a piece by the contemporary Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, “Summer Tunes String Quartet No.
2: II.
Birds.” It’s performed by the Riga String Quartet.
It feels like a horror movie soundtrack.
Rather than focusing on melody, it uses distinctive playing techniques and centers on sound effects.
I’m in awe of its creativity.
The Roman festival “Circenses”Respighi
“Roman Festivals” is a work that portrays the history of Rome’s festivals from four perspectives: Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the modern era.
Part I, “Circenses,” depicts the festival held in the amphitheater by the tyrant Emperor Nero, famous even in ancient history.
It is said that there were also brutal shows in which Christians were made to fight lions.
Symphony No. 4, Movement IRobert Schumann
Schumann completed his Symphony No.
1 between January and February 1841, and in March he composed works including an overture and the piece that would become the first movement of his Piano Concerto.
Furthermore, starting in June, he began composing the symphony later designated as No.
4, which he presented as a gift to his wife Clara on her birthday, September 13.
String Quartet No. 4, BVN 215, “Sommerdage” (Summer Days): III. Sostenuto – Allegro, scherzosoRued Langgaard
This piece is “String Quartet No.
4, BVN 215, ‘Sommerdage’ (Summer Days): III.
Sostenuto – Allegro, scherzoso” by Rued Langgaard, a composer and organist active in the 20th century.
He was a tragic composer who only began to be recognized by the public 16 years after his death.
The lustrous strings are beautiful, weaving a bittersweet, melancholic harmony.
Symphony No. 2, First MovementSibelius
After taking an extended several-month trip to Italy with his family, Sibelius began composing his Symphony No.
2 in the summer of 1901.
The brilliant sonorities found throughout the symphony are thought to reflect sketches he made during that journey, capturing the atmosphere of Italy and the Mediterranean and incorporating it into the work.
2 Pieces: Summer NocturneThe Chamber Players of Canada
This is a piece titled “Summer Nocturn,” composed by Canadian film composer Eldon Rathburn and performed by the music ensemble Chamber Players of Canada.
It fully showcases the wide expressive range characteristic of a film composer.
The dynamics across the piece unfold like the narrative arc of a film—with a clear beginning, development, twist, and conclusion—drawing the listener in.
6 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 61: Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in G Major, “A Summer Morning On The Lawn”Dmitri Kabalevsky
Dmitry Kabalevsky was a Russian pianist and composer who left many outstanding works and passed away in 1987.
You might recognize him as the composer of “Galop” from The Comedians, a piece often played as background music at school sports festivals.
The work mentioned here was composed between 1958 and 1959; its form is a prelude and fugue, but each piece bears a title related to landscapes, making it a collection that invites listeners to imagine beautiful scenery.
If you play the piano, you may find it enjoyable to give it a try.
Symphonic Poem “Summer Pastorale”Arthur 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.