To round off two weeks of Spring-related music, we’re returning to Glazunov, whose ballet “The Seasons” we heard last Monday. Besides that ballet, he wrote another Spring-themed piece earlier in his career. It’s lush, it’s green, it’s sweet, it’s warm, and it’s imperial Russian!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goick97CYIU

There must be something magical about springtime in Scandinavia. Maybe it’s because the winters are so damn long. Maybe it’s because some parts of Scandinavia go without seeing the sun for part of the winter. Whatever the reason, there is much to celebrate when the frozen, dead world comes back to life.

So, we’ve heard from Grieg, and Sinding, and their friend. Why not add Sibelius to the mix?

Edward MacDowell was an American romantic composer who wrote symphonic music on par with the European tone poem masters of his time. However, as he was an American, most American audiences today don’t know his music. Time to bring him back!

His most famous piece is a short little “ditty”, akin to many of the short pieces by Grieg that were popular at the time. It doesn’t represent the depth of his musical vision, which is akin to the great works of Richard Strauss. Anyway, here is “To a Wild Rose” – since we all know what April showers bring …