Thoughts of snow and cold weather often get me turning to a Louisville First Edition Records disc, LOU-57-1, featuring Paul Nordoff's
Winter Symphony.
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I have two copies on black vinyl. An oldie, but a goodie.
Thing is -- I tend to play this one in mid-summer when the weather is hot and humid. Something to cool off to. Not sure why anyone wants reminded of cold, snow, and blizzardy winds in the middle of winter with its cold, snow, and blizzardly winds. Rather, take a step outside and enjoy the
sounds of the winter storm.
Me, I'll hunt up some summer music, filled with heat and warmth and gentle breezes. Certainly not José Serebrier's Violin Concerto, 'Winter' (1991), or the one by that Vivaldi feller. Of course, that Vivaldi feller did give us a warm-up concerto, too. Good choice for a winter blizzard soundtrack, in my opinion. And certainly not Georgy Sviridov's
The Snowstorm (Musical Sketches To The Story By Alexander Pushkin) or John Rutter's "Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind" from
Five Meditations For Orchestra. I love Tchaikovsky's First Symphony, too, but again it seems more fitting to me for hot summer dreams.
When the winter weather gets too cold and blustery, you may also want to avoid Joachim Raff's Symphony No 11 Op. 214 In A Minor (
Der Winter). I do. I prefer his 9th for such occasions: Symphony No 9 Op. 208 In E Minor (
Im Sommer).
There are plenty of "seasons" works out there from which you can choose to go summer or winter, depending upon the season. I said I prefer warming music during cold spells and cool-off music during hot spells. So the "season" works allow for choices depending on your nature.
Dan Locklair has a recording on NAXOS titled
Symphony of Seasons (Symphony No. 1) dating from 2002 and featuring "Winter" as the second movement and "Summer" as the fourth. Likewise, Rick Sowash, a favorite composer of mine, offers the Piano Trio No. 1:
Four Seasons In Bellville, 1977, with "Winter", an Adagietto as the first movement, and "Summer", Molto Allegro, as the third movement. Thea Musgrave's
The Seasons, a worthwhile composition in many ways, gives us "Winter" as a second movement and "Summer" as a fourth. And Jonathan Leshnoff's String Quartet No. 1, available on NAXOS, is also a
seasonal work, by movements. There are many many such "season" works to pick movements from.
If you are more of a "wishful thinker," you might try "For, Lo, The Winter Is Past...", the
Andante Con Moto from Ralph Vaughan Williams's
Flos Campi.
But I'm content to snuggle up to my fireplace, and my well-heated-up tube amplifier during these cold, stormy, white winter days and enjoy music of sunshine and warmth. So ... what do I have in my collection that fits the bill? After all, it's predicted to be a mite cold where I live, too. Ah ... back to Discogs catalog to see what's lurking in my collection that fits the bill. Storm's a comin'.
