On Air Now
David Mellor's Light Music Masters 9pm - 10pm
The best classical music for Mother's Day
What's the best classical music for Mother's Day? Whether it's a gentle tribute or a song from a mother to her child, we select the finest classical pieces for you and your mum.
-
1. Antonin Dvořák - Songs My Mother Taught Me
This beautiful little song features a slightly sad rhyme about a mother who often cried (" Seldom from her eyelids were the teardrops banished") but still passed her songs onto her children.
-
2. Robert Schumann - Fraunliebe und -leben
Translating as 'a woman's love and life', this song cycle from Robert Schumann details the whole life of a woman as she meets her suitor and has children of her own.
-
3. Johannes Brahms - Lullaby
Perhaps the most recognisable piece associated with mothers, this gentle little piece has been soothing babies to sleep for hundreds of years now.
-
4. Edvard Grieg - Grandmother's Minuet
Don't forget Grandma! Grieg certainly didn't with this piano piece. It's unclear whether it was written for his grandmother in particular, but we still love it anyway.
-
5. John Tavener - Hymn to the Mother of God
Written in memory of his own Mother, Tavener's ethereal choral work "speaks of the almost cosmic power attributed to the Mother of God by the Orthodox Church."
-
6. Leopold Mozart - Toy Symphony
Perhaps one to remind your mum the reason they are a mum (i.e. you), this jovial symphony by Mozart's dad is full of child-like themes. And here's the whole Mozart family, sitting around the piano with mum looking on.
-
7. Leo Delibes - Flower Duet
A bunch of flowers is a fairly standard Mother's Day gift, but what about this instead? An aural bunch of flowers from Delibes' opera Lakmé.
-
8. Richard Strauss - Muttertändelei
A perky little tune for proud mums everywhere, this comic song sees a mother telling everyone just how precious her baby is - and it's a bit of a tongue-twister as well.
-
9. Anton Webern - Six Pieces For Orchestra
We can't guarantee that this is going to be the perfect lazy Mothering Sunday soundtrack, but Webern's Six Pieces For Orchestra were written partly as a tribute to his late mother, who died before he wrote them.
-
10. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn
This aria from Mozart's The Magic Flute is The Queen Of The Night's first. While it's not as well known as the other big aria for that character, "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen", it is a comforting song from mother to son that translates as "Tremble not, my dear son / You are innocent, wise, pious."
