Name Your Favorite Symphony!

[Nossa]

So I'm still a beginner in classical music..so I pretty much listen to what everybody listens to...the famous people mostly..I'm not even that good in remembering the names of the symphonies..lol
But I was wondering, do you guys have a favorite symphony that you like the most?! Maybe more than one..it doesn't matter!
Maybe you can share it with us!
Just name your favorite symphony :D

[Virgil]

My favorites are in no particular order: Beethoven's Third, Fifth, and Nineth. And Mozart's 40th and 41st.

There are others as well, and I'm sure I'll come back and post tthem, but I could not live without those five. :)

[papayahed]

Symphony of Destruction.:p






What? I like Megadeath.

[Nossa]

Symphony of Destruction.:p



:lol: :lol:

@Virgil: I envy you..lol..I wish I can actually know and remember the names of the symphonies that I like..problem is *blushes* I normaly listen to them and don't bother to know what thier names are..lol

[Virgil]

:lol: :lol:

@Virgil: I envy you..lol..I wish I can actually know and remember the names of the symphonies that I like..problem is *blushes* I normaly listen to them and don't bother to know what thier names are..lol

Nossa, you forget I'm 45 years old. At your age I had no idea of any symphony. I started learning about classical music about a five or six years ago, maybe a little longer. I read up and listened to the important works. I'm no expert by any means, but I enjoy it immensly. I think the understanding of structure of classical music has led me to understand the structure of novels much better.

[Nossa]

lol...well, I've only started getting interested in classical music like..2 years ago or so. I remember my mother used to play Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake A LOT when I was little...so these are probably the two that I know..lol..but yeah, I guess it comes by time...hopefully it'll help me with lit. the way it did with you :D

[AimusSage]

Dvorak's 9th symphony of the new world is one of my favourites. Beethoven's ninth is another one. Mahler's 5th is very good too, although considered to be one of the saddest classical pieces ever produced. (Not unlike Adagio for Strings, by S.O. Barber.)

There is actually a 'curse of the ninth' for symponies, saying that any composer will die soon after finishing his 9th. Gustav Mahler was obsessed about this curse, and not surprisingly, never completed his 10th symphony.

[Lambert]

Bruckner's 7th Symphony
Sibelius' 2nd Symphony.
Beethoven's 7th Symphony (though my favourite Beethoven piece is the third movement from his string quartet No.15.)



Can't stand Mahler's work, just a load of sentimental muck.

[the silent x]

i don't listne to any symphonies very much, but if your looking for some good classical music, i suggest gustav holst.

[AimusSage]

Can't stand Mahler's work, just a load of sentimental muck.
His music reflected his own life and personallity, but even so, it is more than just sentimental muck, as you so eloquently put it. There is a very strong composition in the 5th as well as much of his other works, Often with clever use of instrumentation.

[Lambert]

His music reflected his own life and personallity, but even so, it is more than just sentimental muck, as you so eloquently put it. There is a very strong composition in the 5th as well as much of his other works, Often with clever use of instrumentation.

Ah yes, I see we have stumbled along that old Mahlerian divide: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler#Legacy

I still think his work (including the symphonies) is horrifically schmaltzy. It's the musical equivalent of cheese.

[AimusSage]

Ah yes, I see we have stumbled along that old Mahlerian divide: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler#Legacy

I still think his work (including the symphonies) is horrifically schmaltzy. It's the musical equivalent of cheese.
Let's agree to disagree on this then.

[CrazyDiamond]

Symphony of Destruction.:p






What? I like Megadeath.

HELL YEAH! Thats possibly my favourite too. Rofl.

[CrazyDiamond]

Bruckner's 7th Symphony
Sibelius' 2nd Symphony.
Beethoven's 7th Symphony (though my favourite Beethoven piece is the third movement from his string quartet No.15.)



Can't stand Mahler's work, just a load of sentimental muck.

Second That.

[Lambert]

I'll leave my Mahler bashing for another day....

[CrazyDiamond]

x] Haha.
Personally, I find him far too frivolous. His work seriously lacks depth and the fact that his entire works (with the exception of Das Klagende Lied) consists of only two genres.

Give me Sibelius or Beethoven anyday.

[Lambert]

x] Haha.
Personally, I find him far too frivolous. His work seriously lacks depth and the fact that his entire works (with the exception of Das Klagende Lied) consists of only two genres.

Give me Sibelius or Beethoven anyday.

What's odd is that when I talk to Mahler lovers we tend to enjoy alot of same composers.


But of course when it comes to Mahler....well, it just goes downhill from there...

[CrazyDiamond]

Indeed. Never a truer statement.

I prefer concerto's/concerti (being a pianist) - Lets start a concerto thread!

[Lambert]

Indeed. Never a truer statement.

I prefer concerto's/concerti (being a pianist) - Lets start a concerto thread!

No love for the piano sonata? For shame! :lol:

BTW: I love Liszt's piano transcriptions of Beethoven's Symphonies No. 5,7 & 9. They're a pianists dream!

[CrazyDiamond]

No love for the piano sonata? For shame! :lol:

BTW: I love Liszt's piano transcriptions of Beethoven's Symphonies No. 5,7 & 9. They're a pianists dream!

Second that again!! I had to play the piano transcription of Beethoven's 9th for my Grade Eight.

What do you think of Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini?

[Lambert]

Heard some of musica noctturna which was wonderful.

Currently I'm listening to some movements from mendelssohn's symphonies. can't decide which symphony of his is the best though.

[Nossa]

Wow!! I feel totally clueless here, but I'm happy I started the thread, even though some names and terms are totally new to me..lol

[CrazyDiamond]

=] La Musica Notturna is amazing! Also, his String Quintet in E, Op. 13, No. 5, and the Cello Concerto in B flat major (G 482).

Ooh, he has twelve symphonies, right? Symphony number one in C minor is bloody amazing - considering he was only 15 when he composed it. It showed characteristics of works by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart!

What did you think of his Chamber Music?


Wow!! I feel totally clueless here, but I'm happy I started the thread, even though some names and terms are totally new to me..lol

You should look some of these composers up :)

[Nossa]

Yeah...I will :D
But what's really interesting isn't just the naming of people...but the terms. I mean I might know Chamber Music, but I don't even know what it means..lol..I guess I got a lot of 'googling' to do, to understand these terms. But you guys seem to be really into these stuff...it's quite impressive actually!

[Lambert]

Haven't gotten around to mendelssohn's chamber music yet. What pieces do you recomend?

Nossa, yes i'm sorry, we got a little carried away. But as you can see, classical music means alot to us. If you have any questions about it, we'd be glad to help.

[CrazyDiamond]

Yeah...I will :D
But what's really interesting isn't just the naming of people...but the terms. I mean I might know Chamber Music, but I don't even know what it means..lol..I guess I got a lot of 'googling' to do, to understand these terms. But you guys seem to be really into these stuff...it's quite impressive actually!

Chamber music is basically a form of Classical music, which is written for a small group of instruments and is traditionally preformed in a palace chamber.

:P I wouldn't say it's impressive. I guess if you are passionate about music then you tend to talk of it with a hint of enthusiasm. It's great that you're getting into it though. It's really relaxing :thumbs_up


Haven't gotten around to mendelssohn's chamber music yet. What pieces do you recomend?

Nossa, yes i'm sorry, we got a little carried away. But as you can see, classical music means alot to us. If you have any questions about it, we'd be glad to help.

Mendelssohn's Chamber Music displays so much emotional intensity. (You MUST check it out!) - I'd recommend listening to his string quartet op. 80 in F minor. Written after the death of his sister, it is both powerful and eloquent.

Ooh, Sorry Nossa!! Indeed, if you have question, both Lambert and I (Emma) would be more than happy to help =]

[Nossa]

Actually, I'd love to know about classical music, that's pretty much why I started this thread, cuz I know some of you would be really into these kinda things. And it's perfectly fine that you got carried away, this way I got to know certain things I've never known before.
As for the questions, well, lets just say I don't exactly know what to ask about, since I know almost nothing, excpet for the symphonies I hear, and the names I know..which isn't that much after seeing your conversation here..lol
but basically, maybe I can start by asking, what are the kinds of classical music?! Like what else besides Chamber Music?!

[CrazyDiamond]

=] Wow, what a question.

As with many forms of fine art, classical music often aspires to communicate a transcendent quality of emotion, which expresses something universal about the human condition. While emotional expression is not a property exclusive to classical music, this deeper exploration of emotion arguably allows the best classical music to reach what has been called the "sublime" in art.

There are many variations of classical music, (we have already established symphonies, concerto and chamber music).
Oratorios are another worth mentioning.

An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists.

The best way to learn about music is to listen to it. Research the music you are listening to, and of course, the composer.

[Nossa]

I suppose I can search for more on the topic, as it's impossible to discuss is fully here..lol
So out of your experience, can you recommend certain musical pieces for every kind of music. Because at the moment, I don't have access to my music library...technical problems..lol..but if you recommend some names, I can get them.
Also, another question, what are the numbers that are said. Like, I understand the number of the symphony, but sometimes in the description of the symphony, there are certain things said about its note...dunnow if that makes sense though.

[stlukesguild]

Beethoven's 3rd (I'm actually listening to Klemperer's recording of the 3rd right now), 5th, 6th, and 9th
Brahms' 1st
Schubert's 8th and 9th
Bruckner's 4th... and hell, everything after that
Mozart's last 6 or 7... especially 40 and 41
Haydn's "London Symphonies"
Tchaikovski's 5th
Shostakovich' 10th
Dvorak' 8th and 9th
Rachmaninoff's 2nd
and a few other stragglers (Sibelius... Schumann?)

As for Mahler... Can't stand Mahler's work, just a load of sentimental muck.
Lambert... them's fighting words:flare::crash::smash::rage::goof: You obviously haven't heard the right recordings. Try Barbirolli's 5th and 9th or Simon Rattle's 2nd, Kubelik's or Bernstein's 1st.

[CrazyDiamond]

I suppose I can search for more on the topic, as it's impossible to discuss is fully here..lol
So out of your experience, can you recommend certain musical pieces for every kind of music. Because at the moment, I don't have access to my music library...technical problems..lol..but if you recommend some names, I can get them.
Also, another question, what are the numbers that are said. Like, I understand the number of the symphony, but sometimes in the description of the symphony, there are certain things said about its note...dunnow if that makes sense though.

Well, of course, you have the obvious one's - Beethoven, Mozart, Bach.

I'll recommend a few (in no particular order)

Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Mendelssohn)
Jean Sibelius (Hell yeah to the Finnish!!)
Antonín Leopold Dvořák
Anton Bruckner
Frédéric Chopin
Franz Joseph Haydn ("Father Of The Symphonies")
And maybe you should check out Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Uhm, what do you mean when you say the "description of the symphony"?

[CrazyDiamond]

Beethoven's 3rd (I'm actually listening to Klemperer's recording of the 3rd right now), 5th, 6th, and 9th
Brahms' 1st
Schubert's 8th and 9th
Bruckner's 4th... and hell, everything after that
Mozart's last 6 or 7... especially 40 and 41
Haydn's "London Symphonies"
Tchaikovski's 5th
Shostakovich' 10th
Dvorak' 8th and 9th
Rachmaninoff's 2nd
and a few other stragglers (Sibelius... Schumann?)

As for Mahler... Can't stand Mahler's work, just a load of sentimental muck.
Lambert... them's fighting words:flare::crash::smash::rage::goof: You obviously haven't heard the right recordings. Try Barbirolli's 5th and 9th or Simon Rattle's 2nd, Kubelik's or Bernstein's 1st.

I love you x] Lol.

[Lauren81492]

Although I like it, I don't listen to classical music that much. One of my favorite symphonys is Mozart's 25th. LOVE Mozart.

[Nossa]

Uhm, what do you mean when you say the "description of the symphony"?

I knew that didn't make sense..lol
Well, I suppose it's got to do with the key...I guess! It's either minor or major...that's all I know..I might be mistaken. I'm sorry about the nonesense explanation, but I obviously don't even know what I'm talking about..:lol:

[CrazyDiamond]

I knew that didn't make sense..lol
Well, I suppose it's got to do with the key...I guess! It's either minor or major...that's all I know..I might be mistaken. I'm sorry about the nonesense explanation, but I obviously don't even know what I'm talking about..:lol:

Ahh, no no, it was me who misinterpreted it! You did make sense! Yeah, the other numbers signify the key =].

Is everything beginning to make sense, or is it not sinking in yet? I mean, it took me ages to learn about Classical Music, as it has so many layers! But I began to learn piano when I was six, which is why i developed a deep love and respect for Classical music.

[Nossa]

Well..I'm starting to understand certain things...still, I'm not totally informed in this matter, but I'm getting there.
I played piano for a short period of my life. Right now, I'm learning the Violin actually, and it helped me understand many things too. Some people tell me I'm a little old for these kinda knowledge, you usually start these things when you're...well six like you did, but I suppose I gotta do extra effort to understand. But it is sinking in...thank you for your help :D

[stlukesguild]

of course, you have the obvious one's - Beethoven, Mozart, Bach.

Well... maybe not so obvious. After all there are no Bach symphonies... at least none by J.S. Bach... and he's the only one who counts, isn't he.;) If we break out of the realm of symphonies, however, well there's so many others: Bach, certainly, and Chopin, Ravel, Handel, Schubert's lieder, Debussy, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Rossini, Richard Strauss... Opera! Come on! Pavarotti just died! Where is the opera?! and choral music! I just love Bach's cantatas, Mozart's Great Mass in C and the Requiem, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Brahms' Deutsches Requiem, Haydn's Creation, Handel's Messiah... perhaps overplayed... over-recorded... but never over-rated...

[CrazyDiamond]

I hate the saying - "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". If you want to learn the violin, then "WOOHOO" for you!! Everyone, in my opinion, should learn a musical instrument, no matter what age they are. I swear to God, it's hours of entertainment in the bag!

No problem at all, just ask here if you need help on anything. I love a good chat/debate about music. =)

Take it easy, Good luck with the violin!!

[CrazyDiamond]

of course, you have the obvious one's - Beethoven, Mozart, Bach.

Well... maybe not so obvious. After all there are no Bach symphonies... at least none by J.S. Bach... and he's the only one who counts, isn't he.;) If we break out of the realm of symphonies, however, well there's so many others: Bach, certainly, and Chopin, Ravel, Handel, Schubert's lieder, Debussy, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Rossini, Richard Strauss... Opera! Come on! Pavarotti just died! Where is the opera?! and choral music! I just love Bach's cantatas, Mozart's Great Mass in C and the Requiem, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Brahms' Deutsches Requiem, Haydn's Creation, Handel's Messiah... perhaps overplayed... over-recorded... but never over-rated...

Well, maybe "obvious" was the wrong choice of word :p . Maybe I should have said "Well-known"

[jon1jt]

Beethoven's No. 4
but i'll take George Winston's piano for autumn any day over the best classical. :)

[CrazyDiamond]

Beethoven's No. 4
but i'll take George Winston's piano for autumn any day over the best classical. :)

I couldn't pick just one. That would be like asking me to choose my favorite book. That's just insane, that is :sick:

[Virgil]

I got a kick out of the Mahler bashing. I'm somewhere in between. I like Mahler's 9th, but I can't say I'm overwhelmed with any others. There's a movement here or there I enjoy but other than the Nineth I don't think there are any others I enjoy as a comprehensive whole. Last spring I was at a NY Philharmonic concert where the Seventh was performed. I thought I might like that one, because of the Nactmuzik movements, but I was incredibly bored. I even listened and studied up on it before the concert, and that was boring.

[CrazyDiamond]

Yeah, as I said, he is very frivolous!! Well...thats my opinion.

[Virgil]

Yeah, as I said, he is very frivolous!! Well...thats my opinion.

I would not call it frivilous, actually just the opposite. He is very pondering and melacholy and over intellectualized. So much so that it seems to drag the music down.

[jon1jt]

I couldn't pick just one. That would be like asking me to choose my favorite book. That's just insane, that is :sick:


it's the right musical chemistry that matters. a chordal improvisation, sequencing, style and texture, shape of sounds; how in the end one is genuinely "effected" that matters. to suppose an artist's music has a relative effect on the human soul is to trivialize one's listening experience altogether. i love robert frost's poetry but i'm not moved by every poem. classical music is not above the law of the soul. maybe just your soul. :)

[jon1jt]

I would not call it frivilous, actually just the opposite. He is very pondering and melacholy and over intellectualized. So much so that it seems to drag the music down.

there was Mahler, then there was God. :thumbs_up

[stlukesguild]

i'll take George Winston's piano for autumn any day over the best classical.

George Winston??!! :eek2::confused: If you're going that direction at least pick someone with some modicum of originality... Keith Jarrett, perhaps... or Thelonious Monk.

[stlukesguild]

there was Mahler, then there was God.

Ummm... No. That would be "First there was Bach, then there was God.:D

[jon1jt]

i'll take George Winston's piano for autumn any day over the best classical.

George Winston??!! :eek2::confused: If you're going that direction at least pick someone with some modicum of originality... Keith Jarrett, perhaps... or Thelonious Monk.

fair point about Winston. i'm a big thelonious fan actually. i admit that i haven't listened to much Bach, maybe it's time i do. i'll give jarrett a listen to as well. thanks.


---

i just listened to jarrett and you're right, much better! i ordered the Vienna and Carnegie concerts.

[Virgil]

Aaron Copeland's Symphony #3. That fourth movement, titled "Fanfare for the Common Man," is magnificent. This might be the best symphony by an American composer ever.

[stlukesguild]

Aaron Copeland's Symphony #3. That fourth movement, titled "Fanfare for the Common Man," is magnificent. This might be the best symphony by an American composer ever.

Not much competition, is there? Series classical buffs seem to lean toward Charles Ives, but I haven't heard much and what I have didn't grab me. Hanson? Surely not Philip Glass. America has produced some truly world class writers and painters... so much so that one can imagine that the US was among the leaders in the literature and painting for a good period of the 20th century. Composers on the other hand...?

[LadyWentworth]

Aaron Copeland's Symphony #3. That fourth movement, titled "Fanfare for the Common Man," is magnificent. This might be the best symphony by an American composer ever.

So true!

For me it would have to be the 4th movement of Mozart's No. 41. I have no real reason for it except that whenever I hear it, time stops for me. I just like to soak the music in. I find the composition to be outstanding. A perfect ending to an already perfect symphony.

I am a dancer, and I tend to imagine ballets that could be performed to different music. I imagine a ballet for this piece of music more than any other. I think it would be just wonderful.

I am also quite a sucker for Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia and the 5th movement of his Petite Suite (which was adapted as "Night of My Nights" from the musical "Kismet" - I consider that to be one of the most enjoyable songs from musical theatre and it is all due to his music).

[stlukesguild]

After work I spent the afternoon in photographing the landscape... especially on Lake Erie... as reference materials for future paintings:

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k255/Stlukesguild/DSC01670.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k255/Stlukesguild/DSC01667.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k255/Stlukesguild/DSC01694.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k255/Stlukesguild/DSC01687.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k255/Stlukesguild/DSC01684.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k255/Stlukesguild/DSC01664.jpg

The only proper music to listen to following this time spent in nature is Beethoven's great "pastoral" symphony (No. 6)... which I'm listening to right now... perhaps a little Debussy (La Mer) afterwards?

[AuntShecky]

Everybody immediately thinks of Beethoven, especially the
Fifth and Ninth. I have a soft spot for the first symphony by Brahms. The last movement is the best in which you can almost "hear" the footsteps of Beethoven, with whom Herr Brahms thought (mistakenly) that he couldn't measure up. The coda knocks me out -- just when you think it's going to finish, it picks up again.
I think I like the "Three Bs" the best of all the classical musicians, although the more modern ones --Prokoviev are
just wonderful! And when you listen to a fugue by Bach, you might be reminded of . . .jazz! Talk about being ahead of one's time!
I really do prefer American jazz to classical music, I won't lie to you.
But you can keep your "Megadeath"!

[stlukesguild]

I always need to smile when listening to Brahms' first. The composer put off writing a symphony for years... afraid of how his work would be seen in comparison to his great predecessor, Beethoven. Then... as a sort of self-fulfilling prophesy... he goes and churns out a symphony that for all its brilliance... could not but help be compared to Beethoven. That brilliant last movement with its grand hymn-like theme could not help but recall the final movement of Beethoven's 9th... the very tune... even the manner in which Brahms includes a sort of pause in the momentum might have led many to imagine it was but a pastiche... if it wasn't just so good.

Speaking of symphonic "fears"... I've long been fascinated with Mahler's neurotic relationships to his great symphonic predecessors. Where Brahms feared that he walked in the footsteps of a giant... Mahler feared for his very mortality. After Beethoven, no major symphonic composer had been able to compose more than 9 symphonies. Beethoven, of course, wrote only 9. Schubert wrote but 9 and died while sketching out the 10th. Brahms wrote but 4. Bruckner composed on 9. As Mahler approached the portentous number
he veered away from further true symphonies. Works like the "Song of the Earth" were not far removed from his true symphonic compositions except in name... but they kept that number 9 at bay. Eventually Mahler did compose number 9... and then began a 10th... and sure enough::sick: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[AuntShecky]

The number "nine" is a mystical number. James Merrill, theAmerican poet, mined much from "9"

[Demian]

Carmina Burana and Thus Sprach Zarathustra. I love the melancholy bombast of it all.

[stlukesguild]

I love 'em both... although they're not actually symphonies. Richard Strauss is probably my favorite 20th century classical composer in spite of the fact that there is no true symphony (except, perhaps, the Alpine Symphony) among his major works.

[stlukesguild]

Dvorak wrote only 9 symphonies as well... and the 9th may just be his best as it probably was of Beethoven... and arguably Schubert, Bruckner, and Mahler as well. Then again... Mozart wrote 41, Haydn 102 (or was it 104?), and Shostakovich wrote 15 symphonies... post-Beethoven. Of course he was Russian so maybe the "curse" didn't apply.:lol:

[Klingsor]

Brahms' 2nd symphony - if it must be a symphony.
Otherwise I would say: Brahms' Violin Concerto.

[bakestewah]

You know what you might want to give a listen to, The Brandenburg Concerto, there are three movments and i really think the second movment is the most moving. It has the most emotion in it.

[aeroport]

The NINTH!

[stlukesguild]

J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos were my first serious foray into classical music. There are actually six concertos, each having three movements (except for the first which has 4). If we are speaking of concertos that opens up a whole new ballgame... although I'd probably have to start with Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 20:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_33zTtiWPA

[stlukesguild]

The NINTH!

Whose?:D

[Dori]

Beethoven's 5th! :D

[Anza]

We're playing one of the Brandenburgs in Orchestra!

[stlukesguild]

I just attended the Cleveland Orchestra's magnificent performance of Dvorak's Ninth last week (four curtain calls!) and it was fabulous. Certainly one of the great symphonies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l3iio-Nju0

[stlukesguild]

Going outside of the limitations of the symphony I just got a great deal that ended up being a great recording: Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's (now there's a name!) Missa Christi Resurgentis by Andrew Manze and the English Consort. I'd had the disc on my Amazon "wish list" where it was priced at $22+... but I came across it at Half Price Books yesterday for $6! Of course I bought it... and it is certainly worth it. Looking up Biber a bit on line I found that he was a Baroque composer (of J.S. Bach's time) who is currently undergoing a bit of a resurgence/rediscovery. Biber left Moravia (in what is now the Czech Republic) for Salzburg where he became Kapellmeister and eventually the leading coposer of this important musical center. Anyway... the music is quite fabulous

[aeroport]

The NINTH!

Whose?:D

Need you ask?! :D

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k190/Trevor87_2006/beethoven1.jpg

[byquist]

Shostakovich's 8th

[Annamariah]

I love Beethoven's 9th, too :D

Though I must say that most of my favourite classical music aren't symphonies but something else.

I love Sibelius's music (of course, I am a Finn, so do I have any choice? :lol: Especially Finlandia is just absolutely wonderful piece of music).

Then Mozart's Requiem is something great... And The Four Seasons by Vivaldi... Tchaikovsky's ballet music and 1812 Overture... Bach's suite No. 2 in B minor... Corelli's Christmas Concerto... Grieg's Peer Gynt... and many others.

[Dori]

Then Mozart's Requiem is something great... And The Four Seasons by Vivaldi... Tchaikovsky's ballet music and 1812 Overture... Bach's suite No. 2 in B minor... Corelli's Christmas Concerto... Grieg's Peer Gynt... and many others.

I love Mozart's Requiem and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. :)

Wait a sec; I'm listening to Beethoven's 9th right now...

(:banana:)

I think I agree with Jamesian and Annamariah. Beethoven's 9th is awesome! :D

[ex ponto]

Beethoven's Fifth
Dvorak's Ninth
Rachmaninov's First , although it seems that few of them liked it when it first appeared. And I love that enormously sad movement of, I think, 2nd symphony, heh.

[JBI]

Paris, Haffner,(Mozart), Eroica, 9th Symphony (Beethoven),Tchaikovsky's 4th, Bruckner's second, Dvorak's From the New World, Symphony 9, Symphony Fantastique (Berlioz).

[Prole]

I still have a liking for Rachmaninov prelude 23-5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D8hIeTwmck). Not a full score but its just been burned into my head by a friend who was trying to perfect it. Its worth a listen though, to anyone who hasnt listened to any from said dude.

[stlukesguild]

I love a good deal of Rachmaninov's work myself. He and Puccini both have a reputation that is less than stellar among critics, who prefer the far more innovative (and difficult) work of composers like Stravinsky, Shostakovitch, Schoenberg, etc... and yet they remain beloved among the music-loving public. As I believe that the reputation of any artist owes as much to the continued opinions of the art-loving public as it does to the critical opinions of the "experts" and the continued interest of and influence upon later artists, I would not underestimate either composer. As much as I like the Firebird and The Rite of Spring and Verklärte Nacht, I would much rather listen to Rachmaninov's piano concertos or preludes or Puccini's Madame Butterfly, Tosca, or La Boheme most days.

[stlukesguild]

When it comes to Mozart I prefer the final two: the great 40th and the Jupiter. Mozart should have written more symphonies in a minor key. Oh well. I prefer his piano concertos, operas, and other chamber music (including the string quartets) in most instances. Its really Haydn who defines both the symphony and the string quartet as the central compositional forms of classical music... and Beethoven who elevates them to their unsurpassable summit.

[Nossa]

I'm currently hooked on Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Especially the first movement in the Winter. Simply amazing.

[EricP]

Mahler's 9th
Shostakovich's 10th
Beethoven's 9th

[jgweed]

Given the vast repertoire of great symphonies, and adding good symphonies, one might think it a difficult choice; but not really.
Beethoven's Ninth is in a place apart from the others.

[Emil Miller]

I am pleased to have found this thread because I can never speak about great music without emotion and it is easier to write about it.
Over many years I have been listening to the music of the great composers. When I discovered Beethoven I went to Germany to see the house where he was born, and later to visit his grave in Vienna. By that time I had moved on to the Romantics and had, to some extent left the Classics behind; then it was Brahms, Dvorak,Tchaikovsky etc. who were my idols. I attended concerts regularly and built up a record collection; I also read a good deal about music. However, if there is one symphony that expresses the symphonic form more clearly than any other, for me it has to be the Sibelius second. Not only is the construction so brilliantly worked out, but this music takes the listener to somewhere beyond time and space and the finale is overwhelming.
I have other versions on disc but there is one that surpasses them.
It may sound silly to say this, but Serge Koussevitzky's 1935 recording with the Boston Symphony orchestra is not only the best performance of this music but, in my view, the greatest recording of any orchestral work ever made.

[Virgil]

Brian, you may then want to join our social group on music appreciation. Go to social groups and you will find it. I just started a discussion of Beethoven's Fifth, but I think I interfered with someone else's proposed discussion. Nonetheless you may find it interesting.

[Emil Miller]

Brian, you may then want to join our social group on music appreciation. Go to social groups and you will find it. I just started a discussion of Beethoven's Fifth, but I think I interfered with someone else's proposed discussion. Nonetheless you may find it interesting.

Thanks Virgil,

I've got to go now, so I will check it out later.

[islandclimber]

i love beethoven's 7th and 9th, Dvorak's 9th, Mahler's 6th, Mozart's Jupiter, Schubert's No. 4, and Shostakovich's No 7... but my favourite piece of classical music is Mozart's unfinished requiem,.. so dark and melancholy and overwhelmingly beautiful...

[Scorpio Ascendant]

Beethoven - Moon Light Sonata
Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings

[stlukesguild]

I'm wondering if anyone here is familiar with or listens to more recent "classical" music? I think as an visual artist clearly impacted by Modernist art innovations I have felt something of an obligation to explore what was done in the field of music in the Modern era and what continues to be done. Of course I enjoy Elgar ( love The Dream of Gerontius), Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Dellius, Debussy, Ravel, Respighi, Mahler, Orff, Richard Strauss, Puccini, Sibelius, etc... I must admit to not really liking Stravinsky (outside of the Rite of Spring and the Firebird) although I greatly admire Prokofiev and Shostakovich (especially his Bach-inspired Preludes and Fugues). I even enjoy Schoenberg's earlier work, Verklärte Nacht but what about composers even more recent... post-WWII shall we say? Of course there are any number of strong pieces written by Shostakovich and Prokofiev after the war. Benjamin Britten's War Requiem is particularly powerful. I greatly admire Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps ("Quartet for the end of time") and later works... especially his compositions for organ.

Of the Post-War music beyond these and a few outstanding examples (Orff's Carmina Burana) the style that seems to speak to me most consistently is that of the Minimalists: Steve Reich, Terry Reilly, John Adams, and Phillip Glass. In the visual arts Minimalism was but a short-lived movement, but in music it has seemed to have far greater resonance. Perhaps I appreciate it due to the manner in which it builds upon structures of far earlier music such as Gregorian Chant or the rigorously structured, almost mathematical music of J.S. Bach. Beyond the American Minimalists there are the so-called "Holy (or Mystical) Minimalists" such as Arvo Pärt, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, and John Tavener whose work I find even more fascinating. A few even more recent composers who have caught my attention include John Zorn, who merges elements of jazz, pop and rock, klezmer, and Jewish/Middle-Eastern influences. Even more fascinating is the quite prolific Osvaldo Golijov, who was born and raised in Argentina to a family of Romanian Jews, later moved to Israel and then the US. He speaks of growing up with Jewish liturgical music, klezmer and the tango. His compositions meld a world of influences: klezmer, Bach, Middle-Eastern, Spanish, the tango, even Mexican rock. I am especially impressed with a recent recording, Oceana. Tan Dun is another composer bringing various influences into the world of classical music. In his case, Asian/Chinese merged with that of Western classical music. He is perhaps best known for his score to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but the piece which most impressed me was his Water Passion after Saint Matthew which engages in an East-West dialog inspired by J.S. Bach's great St. Matthew Passion. As I have brought up film composers, I should note that film may certainly be one of the genres where classical music has been able to thrive. Although he may be obvious, John Williams cannot be underestimated. And then there's Enrico Morricone, Elmer Bernstein (The Ten Commandments, Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird), Bernard Hermann (Cape Fear, Taxi Driver, Vertigo, Psycho)... and even Danny Elfman or Tim Burton fame.

Any others?

[Niamh]

I love Beethovens pastoral.