Six Musical Works That Capture the Essence of Summer Heat

Key facts

• Antonio Vivaldi's 'Summer' is the second concerto in The Four Seasons, composed in the early 1720s and published in Amsterdam in 1725 as part of Opus 8.
• Claude Debussy's 'Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune' premiered in Paris on December 22, 1894, conducted by Gustave Doret, with Georges Barrère as flute soloist.
• George Gershwin's 'Summertime' is the opening aria of the 1935 opera 'Porgy and Bess,' with lyrics by DuBose Heyward, and premiered at Broadway's Alvin Theatre on October 10, 1935.
• The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Summer in the City' reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966, staying for three weeks.
• Sly and the Family Stone's 'Hot Fun in the Summertime' peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1969.
• Bananarama's 'Cruel Summer' was written during a real heat wave in London in 1983 and became a hit in the U.S. after being featured in 'The Karate Kid' (1984).
• Vivaldi's 'Summer' includes a sonnet likely written by Vivaldi himself, mapping specific lines to musical passages.
• Debussy's prelude is based on Stéphane Mallarmé's 1876 poem and is considered a turning point toward musical Impressionism.