The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: It’s Valentine’s Day 2016. What do you think is the most romantic piece of music ever written? Plus, this afternoon is the last performance of the Valentine program by the Madison Symphony Orchestra
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ALERT: This afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall is your last chance to hear the Valentine’s Day program of works by Peter Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel and Ludwig van Beethoven performed by the Madison Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor Daniel Hegge and guest soloist violinist Alina Ibragimova. The opening night performance received fine reviews.
Here is a link to the review by Jessica Courtier for The Capital Times:
By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Valentine’s Day.
That makes it a good occasion to talk about romantic music – not necessarily Romantic music (with a capital R) since there is plenty of Baroque, Classical era and modern music that fits the bill.
Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Frideric Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvorak, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Gabriel Faure, Maurice Ravel, Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev – all of them, and many other composers, wrote some deeply moving romantic music.
And it comes in so many different forms: symphonies and concerto; sonatas and suites; orchestral music; choral music and songs; solo works for piano; chamber music for strings, winds and brass.
The Ear loves listening to and also playing romantic music. He thinks probably the most consistently romantic composer was the German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856, below with his wife). So many of his greatest pieces — in so many different genres — were inspired by his steadfast and often thwarted, but finally victorious, love of his wife Clara Wieck Schumann.
An outstanding concert pianist, the much younger Clara outlived the mentally troubled Robert, and edited the publication of his works and popularized them through performing them.
But if you asked The Ear to pick the single most romantic piece of music he knows, it would have to be the opening arias from the opera “La Bohème” by Giacomo Puccini.
Every time he hears Rodolfo and Mimi sing to each other and fall in love at first sight, the little hairs on his neck stand up and often his eyes tear up.
You can hear that sung in the YouTube video at the bottom. It features the late superstar tenor Luciano Pavarotti. He could not read music, but he sure could sing. And his voice has a special quality that adds to the romance and poignancy.
What do you think is the most romantic piece of music? What romantic music would you play for someone special or have played for yourself on Valentine’s Day?
Leave your choice – preferably with some personal background or commentary or even a dedication to your Valentine plus, if possible, a link to a YouTube performance – in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Alina Ibragimova, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Brahms, brass, Cello, Chamber music, Chopin, choral music, Classical era, Classical music, concerto, Dvorak, Early music, Faure, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Giuseppe Verdi, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, La bohème, Luciano Pavarotti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mahler, modern music, Mozart, Music, opera, Orchestra, Piano, Prokofiev, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Romantic, solo, Sonata, song, Suite, symphony, Tchaikovsky, The Capital Times, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valentine's Day, Verdi, Viola, Violin, vocal music, winds, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
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