At WNED Classical, we’re looking for the perfect musical get away, a piece of music that carries you to your fantasy island paradise.
Feeling stressed? We’d like to land you on that island fantasy where you can breathe deeply and feel the soothing breeze against your skin. You ask: how will we get you there? Music will transport you. If you think about it, you already know what music will get you to your own special island. Just let us know what 3 pieces of music will take you there, so we can schedule your trip during our Fall Membership Drive.
If you cannot access the submission form, please click here.
Having trouble deciding on your three pieces? Here are some suggestions of great “get-away” pieces you hear regularly on WNED Classical:
Musical getaways via ocean, sea, water
Beethoven: Calm Sea & Prosperous Voyage
Debussy: La Mer/En bateau
Delius: By The River from Florida Suite
Grofe: Mississippi Suite/Niagara Falls Suite/Hudson River Suite
Handel: Water Music
Offenbach: Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffmann
Schubert: The Trout (Think peaceful fishing trip)
Musical getaways in this world
Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia
Coates: A London Suite
Copland: El Salon Mexico/Appalachian Spring
Debussy: L’isle Joyeuse/Iberia
De Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Dvorak: New World Symphony/ “Goin’ Home”
Gershwin: An American in Paris/Cuban Overture
Glass: “The Island” from Glassworks
Gottschalk: A Night in the Tropics
Grofe: The Grand Canyon Suite
Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 “Mysterious Mountain”
Ibert: Escales (Ports of Call)
Mendelssohn: Italian Symphony/Herbrides Overture
Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
Respighi: The Roma Triptych (Pines, Fountains, Festivals)/Brazilian Impressions
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol
Saint-Saens: Havanaise
Sibelius: Finlandia/Karelia
Strauss, J. Jr.: Blue Danube Waltz
Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien
Musical getaways out of this world
Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata
Debussy: Clair de lune
Delius: A Walk to the Paradise Garden
Dvorak: “O Silver Moon” from Rusalka
Holst: The Planets
Mozart: “Jupiter” Symphony No 41
Neilson: Helios Overture
Offenbach: Le voyage dans la lune (Overture)
RVW: The Lark Ascending & Serenade to Music
Strauss, R.: Sunrise from Also sprach Zarathustra
Williams: Star Wars/Close Encounters
WNED Classical Staff Picks
Richie English
- Rachmaninoff's 3rd Concerto (Kissin/Ozawa)
- Charles Valentin Alkan's Grande Sonata (Marc-Andre Hamelin)
- Schubert's A Minor Piano Sonata D.784 (Radu Lupu)
Peter Hall
- The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky
- Horn Trio in E-flat by Brahms
- Dvorak String Quartet No. 12 "American”
Rachel Keirn-Fairchild
- Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie’s and Gnossiennes, specifically Gymnopedie 1. Soothing, relaxing, takes me away from the stressors of life.
- Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, the Young Prince and Young Princess. Feels outside of time and space, whisks me away to a different place. Was also my wedding party’s entrance music.
- Respighi’s Fountains of Rome.
Genevieve Randall
- Kronos Quartet plays Philip Glass
- “Ahn-Plugged” from the Ahn Trio
- “Ola Gjeilo – Voices-Piano-Strings”, Gjeilo’s Decca label debut including Tenebrae and Voces8
Ed. Simone
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 (Grimaud/Masur)
- Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition (Slatkin/Lyon)
- Copland Appalachian Spring (complete version) MTT/Santa Francisco
Marc Smith
- Holst: The Planets [Jupiter, specifically] (Los Angeles Philharmonic, John Williams
- Saint-Saens: Danse Macabre (Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy)
- Tchaikovsky: Marche Slave (Berlin Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado)