Music and romance have long gone hand in hand like, well, like lovers.
Most of us will have a song or a score that reminds us of a special someone, a special moment or a special place. With this in mind, and with Valentine’s Day 2021 approaching, we asked our Head of Classical Music, Toks Dada, to put together a playlist of classical pieces with a romantic flavour, which he introduces below.
‘When it comes to love and romance, classical music has much to offer. With matters of the heart often the centre-piece for many an opera, there is no shortage of love-struck protagonists singing their hearts out. Begging for a parent’s approval of marriage in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi or longing for one’s beloved in Tosca, these arias prove that opera is the most powerful love letter.
‘In addition to opera, I’ve added quintessentially beautiful orchestral and chamber music to get you in the mood. Be it Vaughan Williams’ Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon, the third movement of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 as the ultimate romantic indulgence, or the slow movement of Dvorák’s Piano Quintet, Op. 81 as a relaxing end to the evening, this specially curated playlist is the perfect backdrop to Valentine’s Day.’
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