Mendelssohn hiked through the Scottish Highlands. Saint-Saens favored Algiers. Debussy spent a quiet summer on the English coast, while Gershwin enjoyed the cosmopolitan charms of Paris. And Dvorak chose a farm town in Iowa.
Very different vacations, to be sure--but each inspired some extraordinary music.
In this hour, a tuneful travelogue with composers who just wanted to get away from it all.
FEATURED RECORDINGS
Title | Group/Artist | Catalog # | UPC |
Dvorak String Quartets Op. 106 & 96 [for “American” String Quartet] | Pavel Haas Quartet | Supraphon SU-4038-2 | 099925403829 |
Saint-Saens: Javotte, Rapsodie Bretonne, etc., [forAlgerian Suite] | Monte Carlo Philharmonic, David Robertson | Auvidis V 4688 | 3298490046883 |
Saint-Saens: Orchestral Works [for Algerian Suite] | Basque National Orchestra, Jun Markl | Naxos 8.573732 | 747313373277 |
Elgar: Wand of Youth, etc [for Three Bavarian Dances] | London Philharmonic, Adrian Boult | EMI CDM 7 69207 2 | 07777692072 |
Mendelssohn: Symphonies 1-5 [for “Scottish” Symphony] | Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin | Deutsche Grammophon 00289 479 7337 | 028947973379 |
Debussy Orchestral Music [for La Mer] | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink | Philips 438 742-2 | 028943874229 |
Serenade [for Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir of Florence] | Metamorphosen Berlin, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt | Sony 88985422242 | 889854222420 |
Gershwin: An American In Paris | Harmonie Ensemble New York, Steven Richman | Harmonia Mundi HMU 907658 | 093046765828
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