SUMMER MUSIC

posted by James Reel

Tuesday, June 21 is the first day of summer, and we've lined up a full day of classical music for the season. It all starts after the 6 a.m. news with Gershwin's "Summertime," and concludes in the 6 p.m. hour with Mendelssohn's music for A Midsummer Night's Dream. In between will be summer favorites by Vivaldi, Berlioz, Barber, Honegger and Delius (it seems like half his pieces have the word "summer" in their titles). There will also be lots of lesser-known items by the likes of Copland, Rodrigo, Higdon and Prokofiev. And just so you don't feel oppressed by the summer musical heat, we'll survey all four seasons via compositions by Verdi, Tchaikovsky and Piazzolla. Turn up the air conditioning and join us.