[Piano] Piano Pieces to Enjoy in the Hot Summer: A Selection of Refreshing Classical Works
In Japan’s sweltering summer, the oppressive heat wears down both body and mind.
Indoors is muggy, outdoors is scorching, and all motivation seems to vanish.
That’s why we recommend enjoying refreshing piano music for the summer! Here, we’ve carefully selected piano masterpieces from cool, calming classical works that will make you forget the heat.
We can’t control the temperature, but listening to beautiful music can lift your spirits.
Using the pieces we introduce as a guide, pick a few favorites and create a “Beat-the-Heat Summer Playlist” before the hot season arrives!
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[Piano] Piano pieces to enjoy in the hot summer! A curated selection of refreshing classical works (21–30)
Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15, No. 7: DreamingRobert Schumann
Scenes from Childhood by Robert Schumann—one of the leading composers of the German Romantic era—is among his most famous piano works, and the piece introduced here is the especially well-known No.
7, Träumerei.
Rather than virtuosity, it is a work that places greater importance on delicate expressiveness, and, true to its title, it has a dreamy, gentle atmosphere.
Even on a sweltering summer night when sleep won’t come easily, listening to this piece like a lullaby might help you drift off.
As an aside, despite the title referencing children, it is not a work for children; rather, it depicts “scenes of childhood” viewed from an adult’s perspective.
If you play the piano, you might take a cue from Franz Liszt—who praised Scenes from Childhood—and play it for your daughter; or, why not play it for yourself, while savoring memories of your own childhood?
Piano Suite: No. 2 TanabataIfukube Akira
Akira Ifukube is a great figure whom Japan proudly presents to the world: a master composer whose achievements span classical music, countless masterpieces that illuminate the history of Japanese cinema, and film scores including the famous Godzilla series—far too extensive to encapsulate in a short paragraph.
The piece featured here, Tanabata, is one movement from the Piano Suite, a solo piano work Ifukube composed at the young age of 19.
Its main melody—evocative of traditional Japanese scenery and reminiscent in some ways of a children’s song—returns in varied forms throughout, instilling a curious sense of nostalgia as you listen.
If your image of Ifukube is limited to weighty film music, you may be surprised to discover a work like this.
Savor the crystalline beauty and cool clarity of this Tanabata, and revel in the essence of a Japanese summer.
[Piano] Piano Pieces to Enjoy in the Hot Summer! A Curated Selection of Refreshing Classical Works (31–40)
Lyric Pieces, Book X, Op. 71 No. 2: Summer EveningEdvard Grieg
Just from the title “Summer Evening,” this piece perfectly matches the theme of this article, doesn’t it? Known also for works like “Morning” from the Peer Gynt Suite, the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg wrote a collection of 66 piano pieces titled Lyric Pieces.
“Summer Evening,” the second piece of Op.
71 in Book 10, is a gem of lyrical beauty rendered with a delicate, subtle touch, and it even carries that faintly cool, distinctly Nordic quality.
It seems like an ideal piano piece to listen to during a hot summer.
While it may not be widely known, it’s sometimes selected for compilations of classical music recommended for summer.
It’s a hidden masterpiece for piano that I highly recommend!
Midsummer NocturneAaron Copland
Aaron Copland is one of the composers who represent 20th-century America.
Born in 1900, he studied under the renowned composer Rubin Goldmark by the age of 16.
One of Copland’s classical pieces themed around summer is Midsummer Nocturne.
Known in Japanese as “Manatsu no Yasōkyoku,” it is a gently expressive piano work that evokes the atmosphere of a summer night.
A must-hear for those who love dreamy melodies—be sure to check it out.
Years of Pilgrimage, Third Year, S.163/R.10, A283, No. 4: The Fountains of the Villa d’EsteFranz Liszt
Piano pieces that depict the movement of water, both in theme and in the actual sonorities you hear, can bring a touch of coolness to the hot summer, can’t they? The Fountain of the Villa d’Este is the fourth piece in the Third Year of Années de pèlerinage, the solo piano cycle by the Hungarian pianist-composer Franz Liszt, famed for his transcendental virtuosity, and it is known as one of his representative works.
It is a brilliant piece that expresses the motion of water through delicate yet bold arpeggios, and it is said to have directly influenced Maurice Ravel’s Jeux d’eau and Claude Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau.
Throughout the work, the arpeggios and tremolos sound exquisitely beautiful and dramatic, yet never stifling—always refined and romantic—which is truly wonderful.
On hot summer nights when you can’t sleep, I hope you’ll listen while imagining the sparkle of dancing water.
In conclusion
How was it? We introduced refreshing classical piano pieces that help you forget the summer heat.
These cool-sounding works, played with gentle piano tones, will soothe and cool both your overheated body and mind.
Even those who wonder, “Can music alone really lift my spirits?” will surely be surprised by its healing effect.
If you play the piano, you might try performing the selected pieces yourself, and together with these summer-perfect piano works, let’s get through the intense heat!