But the past two years have been different, and thanks to the generosity of my family I’ve spent two consecutive Christmases in the Dominican Republic.   I could go on and on about how fun my family is to spend time with, and how incredibly funny and loving they all are.  They really understand that life is about having a good time and enjoying each other’s company.  That’s not a very difficult thing to do at a place like the Sanctuary resort in Cap Cana, where our daily regimen consisted of a lavish breakfast buffet, hours lying in the sun on a beachside lounge, lunch and afternoon drinks by the pool, a brief pre-dinner cocktail party, and then a big family meal either at one of the restaurants at the resort or at the nearby beach club or marina.  The Cap Cana area is one of the “up and coming” resort areas of the D.R., and the resort itself is breathtaking in every way.  The landscaping was impeccable and lavish, the buildings meant to capture high colonial Spanish style.  And of course, there’s the beach itself and that brilliant, shimmering blue of the Caribbean Sea.  The picture here can only hint at the overwhelming sensation of warmth that envelops you as you look out over the water to the horizon.

The view from the beach at the Sanctuary in the Dominican Republic

In the old days I would always travel with a bag of CDs or even cassettes (yes, I’m THAT old) because having the right music around when you’re on the road is crucial to setting the mood.  You really can’t fully comprehend the eloquence of Elgar until you hear the finale of his mighty First Symphony blazing in your ears as you stand at the center of a buzzing Trafalgar Square.  But oh, the iPod – how did we live without it?  After loading a few special Christmas selections beforehand, I was fully ready this time for a week on a tropical island.  Along with jazz classics like Getz/Gilberto, I had a handful of classical titles on my playlist, which I list here for those either lucky enough to be heading to a beach in the coming weeks, or cold enough to be looking for a little (and virtual) escape to a tropical paradise.

Debussy: La Mer and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (Bernard Haitink with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Philips Classics)

La Mer is the most beautiful musical depiction of the sea ever written. The light reflecting on the water, the wind whipping up the surf, the awesome power of the ocean – all of this comes to life in this three-movement masterpiece.  And if there’s a more relaxing way to spend ten minutes than listening to the Prelude of a Faun under a gently swaying palm tree I would like to know what it is!

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And here is something to whet your appetite (this is from a performance of by Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra).

Ravel:  Daphnis et Chloé (Myung-Whun Chung conducting on DG)

This “ballet for orchestra” is Ravel’s most lavish score, a love story between a Shephard (Daphnis) and a Shephardess (Chloé) set in the Greek Isles, complete with a  kidnapping by Pirates, an appeal to the God Pan, and a final ecstatic dance of celebration.  The stunning “Daybreak,” featuring chirping birds and glistening waterfalls, is one of the most glorious and rapturous moments in all of music.

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Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade (Charles Mackerras conducting the London Symphony Orchestra on Telarc)

This five-movement symphonic suite is a musical magic carpet ride to Arabia and the world of the 1001 Nights.  It’s a dazzling score with beguiling Oriental flavorings, depicting episodes from the tales of adventure related by Sherharazade,as she uses her master story-telling skills to save her life from the the bitter Persian King whom she beguiles and ultimately marries.

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As is evidenced above, seasonal words sometimes sneak into the titles of certain works, but those aren’t the only works I connect with particular seasons. Mahler’s Fourth Symphony doesn’t have a seasonal subtitle or a nickname, but for me it’s definitely summer music, the slow movement passing like high clouds against a bright blue sky as you gaze at them from a hammock. Ravel’s Dapnhis and Chloe ballet is summer muic for me as well, conjuring up sunlit Greek Isles and brilliant white-sand beaches. On the other hand, Sibelius’s seven symphonies are mostly winter fare for me: I’m sure Finland (the composer’s homeland) has perfectly beautiful summers, but for me much of his music has a bracing, wintry quality that’s both awesome and imposing.

Spring is a rich time for musical associations. In churches and concert halls around the world throngs are performing and listening to Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s epic Passions in celebration of Easter season. But there’s also plenty of other, “non-religious” music that conjures up spring, both as natural phenomenon and as a symbol of hope and renewed vitality. I haven’t done a count, but it seems like spring finds its way into more titles of works than any of the other seasons: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring; Beethoven’s Spring sonata for violin and piano; Schumann’s Spring Symphony (his first); Copland’s Appalachian Spring; Britten’s Spring Symphony; Richard Strauss’s Voices of Spring; and Delius’s On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring; the “Spring” concerto from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, to name but a few examples that come to mind. But there are also other works without the seasonal word in their titles that seem to have Spring written all over them, like Mahler’s First Symphony.

So as winter finally loosens its grip in the Northern Hemisphere and you get ready for your own springtime rituals – from taking out that baseball mitt or tennis racquet to planting your garden – here’s a list of five of my favorite works for spring listening.

1. Igor Stravinsky: Rite of Spring. So you’ve felt cooped up all winter and really want to let loose? Start with Stravinsky’s most famous (and riot-inducing) ballet. Stravinsky used the phrase “Pictures from Pagan Russia” in a subtitle, a reference to the work’s story line, which ends in nothing less than human sacrifice (oh, that!). In conductor Valery Gergiev’s version with the Kirov Orchestra you can feel previously sleeping life bursting through the long-frozen Russian earth with savage force.  Buy on iTunes

Here’s a video clip of Mo. Gergiev conducting the first part of the Rite of Spring:

2. Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring. Compared to Stravinsky’s ballet, Copland’s spring celebration is a much more civilized affair, as 19^th century pioneers celebrate the raising of a new farmhouse. But the innocence and joy of the new season light up every bar of the work, and the famous hymn-like melody in the finale, from the Shaker tune “Tis a Gift to Be Simple,” leaves a lump in your throat as it builds to a noble climax. Bernstein’s recording with the Los Angeles Philharmonic is as authentic as it gets. Buy on iTunes

3. Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1. The quiet, shimmering strings that open this symphony conjure up the awakening of spring like no other work. Repeated cuckoo calls and brass fanfare from afar confirm that the new season is here to stay, beginning a romantic adventure that includes young love, a broken heart and, in the final movement, a triumph of renewed hope. There are many wonderful recorded performances of this symphony to choose from. Leonard Bernstein recorded it twice, in the 1960’s with the New York Philharmonic, and three decades later with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw. Both are classics.

Buy Bernstein’s recording with the New York Phil on iTunes
Buy Bernstein’s recording with the Royal Concertgebouw on iTunes

4. Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2, Resurrection. Despite the subtitle, this work features song lyrics that are taken from romantic poetry and not the New Testament of the Bible. In ways, the symphony continues the epic story that began with Mahler’s previous symphony. It’s a huge, sprawling work that is by turns terrifying and awe-inspiring as it charts the journey of the human soul from death to its reunion with the eternal spirit. If you’ve had a particularly rough winter, this work will lift your spirits like few others. Simon Rattle’s performance with the City of Birmingham Orchestra won a Gramophone Award and is justifiably famous.  Buy on iTunes

5. Schumann: Symphony No. 1, Spring. Bright brass fanfares and boisterous timpani strokes give the first movement a jolt of joyous energy that lights up the whole symphony. From the blazing opening to the giddy spirits in the finale, Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic have plenty of fun and make the music dazzle. Buy on iTunes