Summer Listening List
As the school year winds down, I am giving my high school students summer listening lists. They are not required to listen to anything on the list, but it serves as a jumping off point for music they are interested in listening to. Here, I share my own list that contains some music that I think everyone should experience. They are categorized by time period and style, enjoy!
Classical Music:
♦ Baroque Era (1600 - 1750):
• The Four Seasons, Antonio Vivaldi
• Literally anything by J.S. Bach, but try: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Vol. I and II and The Brandenburg Concertos
♦ Classical Era (1750 - 1827):
• Symphony No. 40 in G minor and Requiem, W.A. Mozart
• Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 9, L.V. Beethoven
♦ Romantic Era (1827 - 1900):
• Symphony No. 4, J. Brahms
• Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, Franz Liszt
• Nocturnes (all) and Etudes (all), F. Chopin
• Claire de Lune and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, C. Debussy
♦ 20th Century (1900 - Present):
• Carmina Burana, Carl Orff
• Firebird Suite, Igor Stravinsky
• A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Benjamin Britten
Jazz Music:
• "Take the A Train" and "In A Sentimental Mood" Duke Ellington
• Kind of Blue (album), Miles Davis
• Blue Train (album), John Coltrane
• Live at the Village Vanguard (album), Bill Evans
• Head Hunters (album), Herbie Hancock
• Light As A Feather (album), Chick Corea
Rock Music:
• Here's Little Richard, Little Richard
• Are You Experienced?, The Jimmy Hendrix Experience
• Abbey Road, The Beatles (despite the fact that they're really a pop band, they tend to transcend that title)
• A Night At the Opera, Queen
• I (one), Led Zeppelin (The first four albums they didn't really label, so they are titled 1-4, they're all fantastic)
• Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones
• Nevermind, Nirvana
• Siamese Dream, The Smashing Pumpkins
• Is This It, The Strokes
This list could go on forever; for every artist I could think of, 10 more pop into my head. Stay tuned for other genres and happy listening!