A Little Traveling Music, Please...

You've finally decided to start on that journey by car to discover America that you've been talking about for years.  But, unless you really enjoy talk radio for six hours straight or a succession of oldies stations, now is the time to start thinking about some music to take along.  If for no other reason--learn from my painful experience of starting out on a New York City to LA car trip in the late 80s with only Eric Clapton's Just One Night on CD, and whatever FM stations I could pick up along the way.



What follows are some suggestions that might inspire some creative listening this summer...even if you are just sitting in a lawn chair in your own backyard.

My first overall suggestion is to avoid the obvious and experiment a little.  Really... Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite while in the Grand Canyon?  Come on, you can do better than that.  And oddly, I avoid Aaron Copland, who wrote with America in mind.  I guess that's just me.

OK...You've gotten an early start and the sun is just about to rise over those infamous amber waves of grain somewhere in the midwest.  Mendelssohn is a bit obvious, but so what?  Pop in the Incidental Music from A Midsummer Night's Dream and, with any luck, the sun will rise right on cue.  However, if you find yourself watching the sunrise on the foggy Maine coastline, I suggest the overture that was inspired by Fingal's Cave on the isle of Staffa, Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture.

It's probably the product of unconscious associations, but I gravitate toward Baroque music while in Manhattan.  To prepare yourself for the diversity of New York City, whether entering by bridge or by tunnel, give a listen to Vivaldi's Concerto in C Major for Diverse Instruments, RV 558.  In a more obvious vein, go for Bach's Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor.  Georg Philipp Telemann, a younger contemporary of J.S. Bach, is worth exploring.  Try the Sinfonia spirituosa in D Major, TWV 44:1.

While in the city, take the iPod and head over to Central Park for a park bench picnic.  I'd take Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat Major, Op. 84 or maybe his Violin Concerto in A Major.  Handel's organ concertos seem to work nicely, too.  The Cloisters, overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park, are a good match for Handel's Organ Concerto in B flat, Opus 4, No. 6.  Or you could get bold and try a Baroque opera; maybe Raymond Leppard's realized version of Cavalli's La Calisto.  Take in the sun setting across the Hudson River with George Gershwin's Lullaby for string quartet.

Everyone seems to have a lot of different ideas about what to listen to in the western U.S.  A friend once insisted I listen to Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 because it reminded her of tall trees in northern California, but I don't know.  I'd go with Saint-Saens "Organ Symphony" or Elgar's "Enigma Variations" if you decide to drive through Monument Valley.  If you find yourself on that stretch of I-40 through the Mojave, I suggest Rachmaninoff's symphonic poem Isle of the Dead.  In an odd pairing, follow Bizet's Te Deum with Philip Glass' The Photographer--but please, say no to that second cup of coffee.

Venturing out on some picturesque New England roads, I would try Respighi's The Birds, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 ("The Emperor"), and Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Of course, if you are staying at home, put on Samuel Barber's Knoxville, Summer of 1915 and try to imagine what our city once was like.