# Travel Music



## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Hello, Bonjour, Guten Tag, and G'day!

First of all, the bad news: I'm going to Australia next week, which means I will be away from TC for just over a fortnight. I know! How will you all cope without me?! I am so sorry for you all, and am slightly concerned for your pitiable existences. 

Anyway, a flight from London to Melbourne takes a hell of a long time, so I was wondering if you lovely people had some travel-related music suggestions for me! They don't have to be Australian, and they don't have to be about travelling _per se_; I'm just thinking about musical explorations of displacement, exoticism, and things what are foreign. 

Some pieces I already have in mind are Gershwin's _An American in Paris_ and Borodin's _In the Central Steppes of Asia_ (which depicts interaction between Russians and Asians). So, fire away!


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

Well, I'm sure I can think of better, less obvious traveling music than this, but the first thing that came into my head was Vaughan Williams' _Songs of Travel_. A very good song cycle, imo.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Um, for some reason Messiaen's Turangallila(spelled something like that) Symphony shlurped into my mind immediately.

Shortly after that, Hank Snow's "I've Been Everywhere". But Melbourne isn't mentioned.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

At least one Sculthorpe CD to get you in the mood.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Hopefully, I won't get too side-tracked by glorious Russian orientalism, but I suppose I ought to add:

*Korsakov*: _Scheherazade_ and _Antar_ Symphony
*Balakirev*: _Islamey_ and _Tamara_
*Rachmaninov*: _Oriental Sketch_


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

It's not really about traveling, displacement, or exoticism, but I've always found Sibelius 5 to be good flying music. On one very long flight, I was listening to the finale early in the morning as the sun first came up over the clouds and it was wonderful.


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

Meaghan said:


> It's not really about traveling, displacement, or exoticism, but I've always found Sibelius 5 to be good flying music. On one very long flight, I was listening to the finale early in the morning as the sun first came up over the clouds and it was wonderful.


I've also found escape in listening to this piece--as well as _Finlandia--_from the very hot and humid days we've been having here in New York. When I close my eyes and relax, I can almost feel as if I'm swimming in a lake or fjord. Of course, it helps if I have the ac on also!


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

I have a sort of tradition of listening to a new recording of Chopin's 24 Preludes every time I take a plane trip. It's kind of like adventure music, with each prelude telling a different story. I think Chopin makes excellent travelling music, and I strongly second the Sibelius already mentioned.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Wow what a coincidence. I'm going to Australia in one or two weeks as well.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Tobias Picker's _The Encantadas for Speaker and Orchestra_ is quite exotic, but really about The Galapagos Islands or Herman Melville's story about them. (Yeah, I know I'm stuck on the same recommendations over and over.)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/...pd_krex_dp_001_002?ie=UTF8&track=002&disc=001


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Oh, my...this reminds me of my trek to Salzburg about fifteen years ago...I knew I'd be driving from there from Vienna and would spend a long time in the car and took a bunch of really good cd's with me...turns out the car had a tape deck!...probably the last year ever there was a rental with decks but my luck...I bought a Mozart cassette (should still have it) and I honestly don't even remember who performed on it or anything but it was of the 20th and 15th and 9th piano concerti...this, along with the Austrian programming and the music was just fine but I don't think I've ever heard three concerts over and over and over so many times in a single week...have fun on your trip!


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Why are you going to Australia, Polednice? Off to hunt some crocodiles?


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Pound through the Ring Cycle, then take in as many Mahler symphonies as you can fit before you land.
Be sure to pick up some Bose QuietComfort headphones, those things are magical on planes.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I have perfect thing for you. As your plane will take off take a longing look at the scenery becoming more and more distanced while listening to work called Farewell to Homeland.

Original version for piano:






Or in diffrent arrangement:


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

I think The Diabelli Variations would be perfect for travel. Listening to that is like going on a trip anyway!


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Ravellian said:


> Why are you going to Australia, Polednice? Off to hunt some crocodiles?


No, no. Australia is just the first country in a round-the-world reconnaissance mission to determine which nations will fall most easily when I execute my master-plan for world domination. I've always thought that the simple Australian mind is probably the most easily oppressed.


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

How about Harold In Italy?

Don't worry about us. We'll muddle through somehow in our inimitable fashion.

Rob


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

If you want the obvious,l you can't have flying music without Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. If you want obscure, George Antheil's second sonata is titled "The Airplane." 

You can also play John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine several times and make it a long ride.


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)




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