The weather is turning milder, days are longer, and the first buds of spring blossoms are starting to show. To celebrate, we take a look at some of the best music inspired by spring.
Best classical music for spring
1. Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 1, 'Spring'
The month of March, they say, comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Appropriately, Schumann’s ‘Spring’ Symphony No. 1 introduces itself with something of an icy blast – the composer himself originally subtitled the first movement ‘The beginning of Spring’.
Things then warm up over the next three movements of this wonderfully life-affirming work, first performed under the baton of Schumann's friend Felix Mendelssohn in March 1841. After a gentle Larghetto second movement and energetic Scherzo, the buoyant finale celebrates a world in which all is now truly green. One of the most vivid evocations of spring in classical music.
2. Antonio Vivaldi: 'Spring' from The Four Seasons
In The Four Seasons, Antonio Vivaldi's vivid set of four violin concertos, ‘Spring’ is joyful, energetic and optimistic. The famous opening movement – full of imitations of birdsong, murmuring brooks, and soft breezes – gives way to a sleepier Largo, in which a goat-herd sleeps next to his faithful dog, represented by a barking viola line, before the final rustic dance of nymphs and shepherds leads the concerto to a harrumphing conclusion.
3. Frederick Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
Take a springtime woodland walk and you may be lucky enough to hear the distinctive call of a cuckoo. Delius incorporates the bird’s distinctive sound in his delightful tone poem, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring. Premiered in Leipzig in 1913, it’s the first of his Two Pieces for Small Orchestra. He introduces the bird’s call on the oboe, before it is taken up by strings and then clarinet.
4. Amy Beach: The Year’s at the Spring
Of Amy Beach’s 150 or so songs, The Year’s at the Spring is possibly the best known. Written in 1899, this soaring and optimistic work is one of three texts by the English poet Robert Browning that Beach set to music.
More of the best classical music for spring
5. Benjamin Britten: The Succession of the Four Sweet Months
In Britten’s setting of this poem by Robert Herrick, each of the ‘four sweet months’ is represented by a different voice. First, April, sung by the sopranos ‘opens the way for early flowers’. May is represented ‘in more rich and sweet array’ by the altos, June and the tenors ‘bring us more gems than the two that went before’ and, finally, July arrives in the bass line.
6. Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring
With its fresh colours, clean lines and dancing rhythms, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring has become one of his most popular pieces – primarily in the orchestral suite version of the original ballet.
It tells the tale of a young American pioneer couple who celebrate their springtime wedding and contemplate the joys and challenges of their new life together. The piece culminates in the uplifting variations on the Shaker hymn ‘Simple Gifts’ (which we named one of the best American folk songs in the repertoire), and ends in serenity.
7. Felix Mendelssohn: Spring Song
A light and joyful piano piece, this classic is full of gentle melodies that capture the essence of spring. It forms part of Mendelssohn's song collection Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte), Op. 62. Romantic, lyrical, and delicate, Spring Song evokes the season through an ingenious mix of effects.
The flowing right-hand melody mimics birdsong and a gentle spring breeze. The light, rippling accompaniment in the left hand produces an impression of warmth and freshness. And the graceful, song-like structure captures the joy of spring’s arrival. Pianists including Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Horowitz and Radu Lupu have given us memorable readings of the delightful Spring Song.
8. Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
A dramatic, revolutionary work, Stravinsky's extraordinary ballet The Rite of Spring depicts ancient rituals associated with the coming of spring and the associated rebirth of the natural world after the sleep of winter. It delivers this sense of renewal through powerful rhythms and harmonies.
9. Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, 'Pastoral'
Composed soon after his taut, gripping Fifth Symphony (and premiered at the same concert), Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, also known as the 'Pastoral', couldn't be more different from its predecessor. A tribute to nature, this symphony’s first movement conveys the joy of arriving in the countryside in springtime.
The following movement, 'Scene by the Brook', also evokes the vivid, optimistic atmosphere of spring. This serene movement uses murmuring strings to imitate the gentle flow of water. It also features several bird calls likely to be heard in spring, including those of the nightingale (flute), quail (oboe), and cuckoo (clarinet).