# Classical Works that conjure up images of Winter...or Music for Cold, Snowy Days?



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Since we got our 1st Snowfall that actually stuck to the ground this morning...

Are there any works that conjure up "Winter" for you?

Any works that make you picture, snow capped mountains or icy tundras or a cold, wind blowing snow outside your window?

As a side note...I may have to listen to An Alpine Symphony today


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Vaughan Williams - Symphony 7.
Schubert - Winterreise (duh).


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Congratulations! It's been snowing almost ceaselessly for the last four days here. Anyway, my first two choices would be Sibelius' 2nd symphony and the Tannhaeuser prelude. The first one makes me think of snowy Finnish forests, and the second conveys a feeling of... purity I guess. The Alpensinnfonie is a great one too.


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

"Ferruccio Busoni stated that this is the greatest, most accurate example of program music, or 'poetised music.' He described the work as "a sublime and steady fall of snow which gradually buries landscape and people"."

That being said, I hope a snow-storm is not a part of your winter.


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## Cnote11 (Jul 17, 2010)

SiegendesLicht said:


> Congratulations! It's been snowing almost ceaselessly for the last four days here. Anyway, my first two choices would be Sibelius' 2nd symphony and the Tannhaeuser prelude. The first one makes me think of snowy Finnish forests, and the second conveys a feeling of... purity I guess. The Alpensinnfonie is a great one too.


Would that be _racial_ purity?


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Prokofiev - Battle on the Ice from Alexander Nevsky
A few years ago the Grant Park Symphony played it as a live accompaniment to the Eisenstein film at an outdoor concert on Chicago's lakefront. So effective were the music and the film that I still felt a chill on a 90 deg F summer evening.

And of course...
Tchaikovsky - Journey Through the Pine Forest from the Nutcracker


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

Art Rock said:


> Vaughan Williams - Symphony 7




Also Debussy's "Snow is dancing" from Children's Corner. I'll think of some more. 

Best regards, Dr


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## Norse (May 10, 2010)

I think I mentioned this somewhere else too, but Geirr Tveitt's probably most well known piece "Velkomne med Æra" (Welcome with Honours) usually gives me associatons to a winter's night. It's just a personal thing, there's no reference to winter in the folk song it's based on or anything like that.

Original piano version (feel free to ignore the completely unrelated picture of Megan Fox the uploader decided to use.)






Later orchestral version


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2012)

Tchaikovsky's 1st Symphony, "Winter Dreams."

"Winter" from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.

"Winter" from Haydn's "Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons)."

But for me, I also associate Winter with Christmas, and so Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" always makes me think of winter, but the warm, inviting side of winter.


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

Sibelius - Anything


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Cnote11 said:


> Would that be _racial_ purity?


No that would be the purity of newly fallen snow. However you are free to attach whatever meaning you like, to that piece


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

bax - winter legends
delius - winter landscape (from north country sketches), and eventyr
terry jennings - "winter trees" and "short sweet"


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## Cnote11 (Jul 17, 2010)

Mykola Leontovych's Carol of the Bells ho ho ho


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

Dangit someone beat me to Vivaldi ADN Wintereisse (the most obvious ones of course lol). Now I'll have to think if I want to come up with an example


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Glazunov's 3rd symphony, though the 3rd movement is stormy!


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

A few more:
Bax - Winter waters
Britten - Winterwords
Musgrave - Song for a winter's evening


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

What about Winter from Tchaikovsky's Seasons and Troika Ride from Prokofievs's Lieutenant Kije not to mention Leopold Mozart's Schlittenfahrt (Sleigh Ride) also another Winter from Glazunov's Seasons.


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)




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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

A few more:

Nystroem: Ishavet/The Arctic Ocean
Prokofiev: A Winter Bonfire
Waldteufel: Skater´s Waltz
Leifs: Hafis / Drift Ice
Sviridov: The Snowstorm, after Pushkin, 1-9
Debussy: Des Pas sur la Neige, from Preludes
Delius: Sleigh Ride
Stenhammar: Midvinter / Midwinter


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Mahler's 4th and Sibelius' 2nd, though any Mahler, really, since winter is the time I discovered Mahler.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Arsakes said:


> Glazunov's 3rd symphony, though the 3rd movement is stormy!




Do you mean another symphony? I can't agree that the 3rd movement is stormy, that's the slow movement. Maybe the scherzo of his 2nd symphony could be wintery.

But otherwise:

Prokofiev's 1st violin concerto, mostly because I bought (downloaded) a recording of it one winter when we had a ginormous snowstorm. The last movement, particularly the ending, makes me think of wind and flurries.

Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, 1st mvmt. depicts a trek in a lonely winter wasteland, with a blizzard to hit and then subside.

Glazunov's Winter Scene from the Seasons. 4 Variations: Frost, Ice, Hail, Snow.

Raff's Symphony No. 11 "Winter" is wonderfully vivid.

Tchaikovsky's 3 winter month Seasons: December, January, February. Maybe November slides in.


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## Chrythes (Oct 13, 2011)

This little piece piece by Debussy from Children's Corner -






Though the first time I heard it it made the impression of cold industrial machines working in a freezing night.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Lots of choices. Lots of works I've never heard of that I will have to check out this Winter. 

I listened to Vaughan Williams Symphony #7 today for what may have been my first time and that one definitely had some cold, wind blowing throughout.

Unlike many people, I love winter. I love the snow and the wind and the cold. There's nothing like looking out the window at a white wasteland with that sudden onset feeling of total isolation. Nothing but snow and trees. If Michigan only had some "Alpine Style Mountains" I'd truly be content.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Schubert's "Winterabend" so evocative and his "Nachtstueck" equally so and so sad !


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Do you mean another symphony? I can't agree that the 3rd movement is stormy, that's the slow movement. Maybe the scherzo of his 2nd symphony could be wintery.
> 
> But otherwise:
> 
> ...


Ah I should have written the first movement instead ... It suits resting on lots of snow, listening to it and slowly die!

I hope this thread isn't about classic works with 'winter title'. The feeling is more important.


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## Aecio (Jul 27, 2012)

Miaskovsky cello concert
Sibelius Tapiola and 7th symphony
Rachmaninov Symphonic dances


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Moody's first mention of _Troika_ from *Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije suite* reminds me that this Prokofiev was on one of the first of three records I was given, along with a record player, when I was age four or so. The Prokofiev (and Kodaly's Harry Janos Suite) a goodly part of my introduction to classical music....

Many have not heard this suite with its 'original' songs sung, 'Romance' and 'Troika' - here are links to the entire suite. with Baritone voice. Spoiler alert: you may never want to hear the orchestral versions of these two segments again 




_*Romance*_








_*Troika*_









My choices, of late, have no direct connection by title or intent, but seem 'to suit.'

*Berio ~ Concertino* (Clarinet, Violin; strings, harp, and celesta.) The piece has a magical quality, a distilled emotion, suspended, which reminds me of one of those shake-up snow globe toys, those from childhood memory were always winter snow scenes 





*Irving Fine ~ Notturno*, for Strings and Harp. Something with the harmony and the very clear and effective spare quality of the writing reminds me of the quality of winter light, those bright days when there is snow on the ground.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Cool. I will check those out. 

Yeah, I wasn't necessarily looking for works with Winter in the title. I'm more interested in what works others relate to Winter or Snow or Wind or Cold. 

Whether it's something that someone listened too or discovered during a long cold winter, or whether it's something that reminds you of that blinding light when snow on the ground is being reflect into your eyes or that cold, lonely isolation of a being trapped inside during a snow storm.

Even an album cover that has a winter scene that now is all you can think about when you listen to a certain recording.

I like that human element. It makes it far more interesting.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

realdealblues said:


> Cool. I will check those out.
> 
> Yeah, I wasn't necessarily looking for works with Winter in the title. I'm more interested in what works others relate to Winter or Snow or Wind or Cold.
> 
> ...


.... and diosyncratic, miles from pedantic. ...and miles from pedantic I've never had a problem with


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Chopin - Etude No. 11, Op. 25 "Winter-wind"
Grieg - Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 - "... a bracing north wind blows through [this work], and when the piano enters in the second movement, you'd think you could hear a bird singing from the top of a tall pine tree..." - Richter
Schumann - Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54 - I know many of you will not associate this with winter and while I feel it doesn't really matter when or where you listen to a particular work this piece reminds me of winter because of the purities of that time. The clearness and crystalline beauty of winter is reflected in this concertos ability to express great emotion very clearly and the very pure, clean feel of the work.

Anyway, I probably posted this at the wrong time.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

I would also include the more sombre numbers out of Grieg's _Peer Gynt_ Suite, like 'Aase's Death' or 'Solveig's Song'. Some of the minor mode Beethoven sonatas, like the Appassionata, the Pathétique or the Moonlight, fit as well.


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## Dimitri (Jun 27, 2013)

John Williams' "Jazz Autographs" from The Terminal. Maybe this is a better "autumn" piece than winter.

https://play.spotify.com/track/24ZnHIwK7Qf1P653OieAV8

Sorry about the spotify link--can't find it on YouTube for some reason.


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

The slow mvt in Shostakovich's 5th symphony conjures up images of falling snow.
And of course Prokofiev's Lt Kije, particularly Troika. Can't get more wintry without actually singing Jingle Bells in season.


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## jim prideaux (May 30, 2013)

frequent visitor to Helsinki for holidays during the last few years-always in summer-walked round islands with Sibelius on I-pod. and my son and I went to Ainola, the house of Sibelius on a gloriously hot day and since then I appear to have discarded that association between his music and winter-are these associations a matter of 'received wisdom'? However might I recommend Prokofiev 7th as an instance where the association continues!


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