Once the Memorial Day weekend rolls in our thoughts turn to vacations and outdoor fun. The summer is the season for outdoor pops concerts and relaxing sounds that are the perfect soundtrack for lazy sunny days. Here’s some light classical and crossover gems that you’ll want add to your summer listening list.
If you like to relax in ¾ time, you can enjoy a touch of old Vienna with waltzes by Johann Strauss Jr. When you are planning a vacation, why not dream about Paris of the Belle Époque and get into the mood with music by Emile Waldteufel? Speaking of Paris, the bubbly music of Jacques Offenbach is the ideal accompaniment to outdoor brunches with champagne.
The pops concert has been a beloved outdoor summer tradition ever since the beloved Arthur Fiedler conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Esplanade beside the Charles River. But you don’t always need a full symphony orchestra to enjoy light classics, because there’s plenty of great music performed by soloists and small ensembles. Keyboard fans who are also rockers will want John Bayless’s Bach Meets the Beatles Revisited and Christopher O’Riley’s famous take on Radiohead tunes, True Love Waits. If one keyboard isn’t enough, the dazzling 5 Browns prove 440 keys can make some great music.
The string quartet has its place in crossover music too. Quatuor Ebène has covered tunes by John Lennon, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bruce Springsteen and others. If that’s not enough, everything you ever thought about a string quartet will be changed when you hear the Vitamin String Quartet’s String Quartet Tribute to Pink Floyd.
Singers have always been leading classical crossover stars. Whether it’s Charlotte Church, Sarah Brightman, Il Divo or the boy’s choir Libera, a good song well sung makes for refreshing summer listening.
With all this great music it looks like it’s going to be a great summer. See you at the beach!
Our featured release is Quatuor Ebène’s Fiction, a genre-bending treat with guest appearances by soprano Natalie Dessay and jazz singer Stacey Kent. Fans of the film Pulp Fiction, brace yourselves for their rousing version of Dick Dale’s “Miserlou.”
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by Craig Zeichner
