Classical Albums for Spring

Stravinsky, Strauss, Vivaldi and Copland

Feb 23, 2009

Spring is inspirational to many artists and classical composers are no exception. Here are four classical compositions with Spring in their titles.

Whether spring cleaning or just relaxing at home, listening to the birds sing in the garden and watching the blossoms begin to break open on the greening trees, there are a range of classical music albums just perfect for Spring. The first season of the year seems particularly inspirational to classical composers for the way that it brings renewed energy to the world, leading to a reinvigoration of all forms of rhythms, melodies, tonalities and species.

Famously played by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, this is an enchantingly disruptive ballet that surrounds the enactment of a Russian sacrificial ritual. The piece was written in 1913 and caused a riot when it was first produced with Nijinski dancing the lead. The erratic rhythms and unusual choreography led to its reception as a "primitive" piece of art. This recording reproduces the ecstatic tonalities of the work, Stravinsky himself conducting this version of the ballet.

This piece is a famous waltz composed in 1882 and recorded by many pianists and singers, including Kathleen Battle (1987). It was written to include a soprano solo and later transcribed for piano after its well received debut in Russia.

There are three thematic waltz pairings in the work, beginning with a sweeping melody that harmonized with the other two pairs, one of which sounds pastoral and the other of which is more constrained. The melodic theme is then reintroduced at the end.

Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons

This renowned concerto grossi includes the concerto Spring. It was written in 1723 by this Venecian born priest. Each of the twelve concertos, the first four of which celebrate the seasons, commences with a sonnet describing this time of year's particular characteristics.

The piece about Spring includes the singing of birds, the bubbling of fountains and shepherds piping to their young flocks. The allegro includes a violin solo, followed by the largo.

This ispossibly the most modern classical piece lauding the spring season. Written for Martha Graham's ballet company in 1944, this clarinet concerto narrates the joyousness of the newest time of year in a pioneer household at the end of the nineteenth century.

The season mirrors the young married couple's ecstacy and apprehension at beginning their lives together. The piece was considered to embody the characteristics of the emerging American style at the time and it assisted in the modernization of the ballet in the US.

The copyright of the article Classical Albums for Spring in Classical Music Performances is owned by Catherine Owen. Permission to republish Classical Albums for Spring in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.