Now 88, my dad is a classical music aficionado. He did not grow up knowing this music, but he was exposed to it on the campus radio station and fell in love with it. This genre of music became the background track for his life and my childhood.
The music video links on this page are a fruit of his lifetime of listening. During a recent visit, he and I worked together to collect links to peaceful classical music that we both enjoy. If you are not familiar with this genre of music, the following can provide a gentle introduction.
Don Reynolds – my dad.
1. BACH: Orchestral Suite #3 in D Major (BWV 1068), “Air”
2. BEETHOVEN: Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2, “Moonlight Sonata”
3. BEETHOVEN: Sixth Symphony, “Pastoral”
4. BEETHOVEN: Ninth Symphony, Movement IV: “Ode to Joy” (and here’s an upbeat version from the movie Sister Act, featuring Lauryn Hill)
5. BEETHOVEN: Pathetique Sonata, Second Movement
8. GRIEG: Peer Gynt Suite no. 1, op. 46 – “Morning Mood”
9. GEORGE FRIDERICH HANDEL: Happy We
10. GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: The Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus
11. GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Water Music: Suite No. 2 in D Major, HWV 349, “Allegro”
12. MENDELSSOHN: Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
13. MOZART: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik – Allegro
14. MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition
15. RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2
16. RAVEL: Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte
17. ERIC SATIE: Trois Gymnopedies
18. FRANZ SCHUBERT: Trout Quintet
19. TCHAIKOVSKY: Nutcracker Suite
20. ANTONIO VIVALDI: The Four Seasons
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Afternote: Dad lived another year after we composed this page together. Now I return to this music and feel his presence in everything that I hear.
For still more classical music recommendations, here is a longer list (four pages!) that resulted when I asked him to list all of his classical music favorites. The recall and passion that he brought to this task were a delight to witness and share in. At his memorial, we made this list available to attendees. Dad would have been so pleased.
