Thursday, February 12, 2015
You often hear fine classical music performances led by American conductor JoAnn Falletta on CapRadioMusic. In California, she has served as director of the Long Beach Symphony and The Women’s Philharmonic Orchestra. And Falletta’s excellent recordings with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra have been reviewed for Classical Sound Advice on Insight.
1. You are So Beautiful
Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher - sung by Joe Cocker
Whether you are looking at an adorable puppy or kitten, or your own sweetheart, this is the music of love.
2. Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27
Sergei Rachmaninoff
This is truly the most romantic symphony ever written - the third movement is so gorgeous it has been stolen for pop tunes.
3. The Way You Look Tonight
Jerome Kern
It reminds me that the people we love always stay the "way we first saw them" in our hearts.
4. Se
Ennio Morricone
"If you could see through my eyes for a day, then you would see the beauty I see in you"....and it sounds even more romantic in Italian.
5. Oblivion
Astor Piazzolla
Perhaps the most beautiful tango- unforgettable - filled with the melancholy of lost love.
6. Romeo and Juliet
Piotr Tchaikovsky
No one has crafted a more beautiful setting of the star-crossed lovers - we hear the whole story - without words - in 18 glowing minutes.
7. My Funny Valentine
Rodgers and Hart - sung by Frank Sinatra
Growing up with parents who adored Sinatra, I have to include him on the list - and this is the classic Valentine song to "make you smile with your heart"
8. Someone to Watch Over Me
George Gershwin
When we hear Ella Fitzgerald sing the words that she herself wrote, we know that she so perfectly understands the love that all of us yearn for.
9. Misty
Erroll Garner - sung by Johnny Mathis
This is a classic forever.
10. Adagietto
Gustav Mahler
Mahler's heartbreaking love letter to his wife Alma - a love song never equaled!