Evening Music's Valentine

Commissioned by Charles Wadsworth for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center—and performed here by its members—Ned Rorem's "Winter Pages" uses an unprecedented combination of clarinet, bassoon, violin, cello, and piano. Rorem calls the 12-piece suite "a diary of the season" in which the entries "shift their mood according to the weather." The second section evokes a Whittier poem, "Snowbound":

The sun that brief December day
Rose cheerless over hills of grey,
and, darkly circled, gave at noon
A sadder light than waning moon.

Other evocative movement titles: "Around the house the flakes fly faster," Moments fly by like a snowstorm," and "Stone Snowballs." Curl up by our virtual fire and listen to ever-changing wintry moods.
» Evening Music playlist