Romance, it’s no secret, fuels many a piece of music, from pop songs to opera arias and solo piano works. For Valentine’s Day, the focus is on the emotions evoked by the music.
Here are five of the most romantic pieces of music in the classical repertoire. Light the candles, pour a favourite beverage, and enjoy with the people you love the most.
Franz Liszt: Liebestraum
Franz Liszt wrote his Liebesträume (or dreams of love) in 1850. A set of three pieces for solo piano, he wrote them as lieder to the poems of Ludwig Uhland and Ferdinand Freiligrath, and published them in two forms — one for high voice and piano, and another for piano two-hands. The poems in question examine love in three different forms. There is “Hohe Liebe”, or exalted love, which is an otherworldly religious devotion. “Seliger Tod” or blessed death, talks about erotic love. The third nocturne, Freiligrath’s, talks about unconditional, everlasting love.
Léo Delibes: The Flower Duet from Lakmé
Now known indelibly as The Flower Duet, composer Delibes’ original title was “Sous le dôme épais”, and it comes from his tragic opera Lakmé. The duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano occurs during the first act of the opera that premiered in Paris in 1883. In the story, the duet is sung by Lakmé, who is the daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika, as they go gathering flowers by the river. The inescapable beauty of the piece has transcended the world of opera, and it’s become one of the most familiar opera works in general because of its frequent use in advertisements, notably for British Airways, as well as in TV and films. But, leave the hype behind, and you can simply enjoy its gorgeous tones.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet
Tragic romance seems to elicit the most exquisitely expressive music. Tchaikovsky was a composer with a strong sense of drama, and he was drawn to the classic Shakespearean drama, even though his letters reveal his distaste for England. However, the story won him over. “Nothing is more suitable to my musical character,” he writes, “No kings, no marches, no boring old grand opera. Just love, love, love!” The Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy has come to be one of the best known love-themes in the world.
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 ‘Moonlight’
Certainly, Beethoven wrote a piece titled Romance, and his Fur Elise is often touted as a romantically inspired work, however no one truly knows who Elise was. Beethoven was notably passed over by two of the women he’d been infatuated with, so at best the effect seems bittersweet. Critics through the centuries have argued whether it’s appropriate to consider his Piano Sonata No. 14 as a work that’s romantic in tone. Its ‘Moonlight’ moniker was not part of the composer’s original intentions. With its lovely and distinctive melody, however, it fits the playlist. In its three movements — I. Adagio sostenuto; II. Allegretto; III. Presto agitato — it did not follow the fast-slow-fast pattern of the Classical period, and is considered one of the first works to usher in the Romantic era.
Edward Elgar: Salut d’Amour
Elgar was in love with Caroline Alice Roberts when he wrote Salut d’Amour in 1888. His original title was Liebesgruss, in German, because she spoke the language. Caroline had given him a poem she’d written, titled The Wind at Dawn. He set it to music, and gave her Salut d’Amour as an engagement present. It has since become a much beloved work. It premiered in its orchestral version, but there have been many arrangements produced for a wide array of instruments due to its popularity.
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