ChsBt0ne Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 1. Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 4 2. Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 3. Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 4. Mozart - Symphony No. 40 5. de Meij - Symphony No. 1 Tchaik 1 gets a special mention because,though I am not terribly fond the finale, I adore the first three movements. But I love all the pieces of the symphonies I've listed above. Furthermore, Bukvich 1 gets a special mention as being the most... unique symphony I've ever heard or played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojar Voglar Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 It's hard to specify 5 favourite symphonies, but I will name 5 for each period: Classical style: 1. Beethoven's 3rd "Eroica" 2. Mozart's 40th in g minor - especially second movement 3. Mozart's 25th in g minor - massively underrated 4. Beethoven's 8th - so unique 5. Beethoven's 7th Romantic style: 1. Tchaikovsky's 6th - amazing work in every aspect 2. Franck's symphony in d minor 3. Mahler's 4th - so simple in easy to follow 4. Brahms' 4th - one of his rare symphonic masterpieces, I don't really like german romantic symphonies 5. Nielsen's 1st - nice to hear good Danish symphonies. Early 20th century: 1. Shostakovich's 5th - one of the fines neo-Mahlerian works 2. Prokofiev's 1st - so cute, however, awfully orchestrated. ;) 3. Shostakovich's 1st - amazing work for 19 year old composer, slightly weak in form though. 4. Rousell's 3rd - very unique work 5. Skerjanc's 5th - one of the finest Slovenian symphonies, check it on youtube. Modern style: 1. Duttilleux's 1st - I just love the orchestration, strange harmonies and good formal approach. 2. Lutoslawski's 3rd - this exciting stylistic hybrid never gets boring in 30 minutes. 3. Rautavaara's 5th - cosmic and magical music 4. Rautavaara's 7th - simply beautiful 5. Sulek's 6th - a Croatian symphonic masterpiece. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 OK, it’s difficult to name the top 5, but I have a clear top 3: 1. Mahler 6 2. Rachmaninov 2 3. Prokofiev 5 There are some others that I like very much, in no particular order: Haydn 102+103 Mozart 36 (Linz) Brahms 1-3 Nielsen 2+3 Martinů 1+2 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra (no symphony, but as close as you can get with Bartók) Lutosławski 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtfreestyle224 Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 In no particular order: 1. Mozart 41 (I've yet to hear anything written in C major that is as exciting as the last movement, plus I love the second movement) 2. Tchaikovsky 6 (Beautiful and emotional) 3. Mahler 8 (Perhaps the most powerful finale ever written) 4. Dvorak 9 (Fantastic overall work) 5. Beethoven 3 (I love the development section of the first movement, also very musically revolutionary) I also like Schubert 8, Mahler 2, Tchaikovsky 2 (mainly the finale), Mozart 35 and 40, and Beethoven 5, 6, and 9. I'm also trying to explore newer symphonic works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Brooks Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Mahler's 5th is my all-time favourite, but here's the rest of them. ;-) 1. Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5 2. Ralph Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 5 3. Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 4. Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 6 5. Sibelius - Symphony No. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretchen Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Symphony no.2 - Jean Sibelius Symphony no.4 - Pyotor Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony no.5 - Gustav Mahler Symphony no.10 - Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony no.40 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRKulus Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 [Eek... double post. See below] :headwall: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRKulus Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I feel like this is a good topic to revive... I've already discovered some great pieces by "lurking" on this thread, and I think it would be nice to hear some new members' favourites. So, here are my top 5: 1. Mahler - Symphony no. 9 For all the hype some of his earlier symphonies get, I think this is Mahler's most mature and profound work. The sprawling 1st movement is quite possibly my favourite musical experience of all time, and the 3rd movement contains some of Mahler's best contrapuntal writing and most adventurous harmonies (in a bitterly sarcastic scherzo, no less!) 2. John Adams - Harmonielehre It is too a symphony! 3. Debussy - La Mer Even though the movements stand well on their own, this is--unlike Debussy's other orchestral collections--closer to a symphony than an orchestral suite, in my opinion. Semantics aside, it's a fantastic piece. 4. Ives - Symphony no. 4 This piece combines everything wonderful about Ives--from comforting, New Englandy hymns to chaotic collages to ethereal, otherworldly experiments in orchestration--into a delightfully messy commentary on life, the universe, and everything. 5. Kurt Atterberg - Symphony no. 3 It's probably a bit strange to include this piece but nothing by Sibelius (since Atterberg's output largely consists of mediocre Sibelius imitations), but for some reason, I find myself frequently re-listening to this one. In his 3rd symphony (especially the last movement), Atterberg seemed to achieve just the right balance between Romantic gushing and a more stark, primal, Scandinavian sound. Schnittke and Rautavaara are also some of my favourite symphonists, but it's difficult to choose a really outstanding symphony from either of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stirling_Radliff Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Incredibly difficult to pick from a few century's worth of symphonic development. But after hard scrutiny :shiftyninja: : 1. Beethoven: Symphony 3 'Eroica' - The piece that first got me excited about classical music. 2. Mahler: Symphony 9 3. R. Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie 4. Prokofiev: Symphony 5 5. Shostakovitch: Symphony 11 'The Year 1905' This list should really be way longer <_< . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notenarbeit Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 In no particular order: Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony Brahms 3rd and 4th Symphony Dvorak 9th "From the new World" Prokofiev's 5th Symphony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJMusic Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Mahler 1 Mahler 5 Shostakovich 5 Brahms 1 Beethoven 7 Honorable mentions: Dvorak 8, Tchik 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pateceramics Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 There should be a spreadsheet for this thread so we can see who is coming up tops. Who will win the ULTIMATE SYMPHONY SHOWDOWN...!!!? Who needs to procrastinate and tally up what we've got so far? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin123 Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I don't listen to a whole lot of symphonies, but i'd say:Stravinsky - Symphony of PsalmsMessiaen - Turangalila Symphonie John Adams - Chamber Symphony Prokofiev - Symphony No. 1 (Classical Symphony) Britten - Sinfonia da Requiem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.fseventsd Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 how can i possibly choose only 5 favourite symphonies when Philip Glass wrote 10???? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatguy v2.0 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Shostakovich 10, Sibelius 7, and 3 other random Beethoven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siegfried Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) 1. R. Strauss - Alpine Symphony 2. Beethoven - Symphony no.5 3. Tchaikovsky - Symphony no.6 4. Mahler - Symphony no.2 5. Mendelssohn - Symphony n.3 "Scottish" Edited August 14, 2013 by siegfried Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreignwords Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 (edited) There should be a spreadsheet for this thread so we can see who is coming up tops. Who will win the ULTIMATE SYMPHONY SHOWDOWN...!!!? Who needs to procrastinate and tally up what we've got so far? Funny You should say that. That's immediately what I started doing when I started reading this thread. Haven't finished yet, so if anyone else has done it, I didn't see. When I wake up in the morning I will tally results. There are some clear favorites. Oh, well I guess that is the end. I love excel, so I'll do averages and totals based on composers, but here are the winners to date: At ten votes: Beethoven 7 Beethoven 9 Dvorak 9 At nine votes: Beethoven 5 Mahler 5 Mahler 6 8 votes: Tchaikovsky 6 7 Votes: Mozart 40 6 Votes: Mozart 41 Beethoven 3 Sibelius 2 Sibelius 7 Mahler 8 Prokofiev 5 5 votes: Tchaikovsky 4 Messiaen Turangalila Webern Symphony Brahms 3 Bruckner 9 Mahler 2 Mahler came in first place with 43 total votes, Beethoven in second with 41, Tchaikovsky third with 22, and Mozart and Sibelius tied for 19 total votes. Edited August 31, 2013 by foreignwords 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
António Capela Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 It is almost impossible to do these kind of lists, but I will give it a try, but I will only comtemplate symphonies after Beethoven: 1 - Brahms 3rd 2 - Beethoven 7th 3 - Brahms 4th 4 - Rachmaninov 2nd 5 - Bruckner 6th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccled Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Hi all. My current top 5 in no particular order. 1.Mahler 10 (Deryck Cooke performing version) 2.Beethoven 9 3.Bax 3 4.Tchaikovsky 'Manfred' Symphony (shamefully neglected masterpiece this one) 5.Bruckner 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkho Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Beethoven 7 and 9 Mahler 5 Mozart 40 Brahms 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozartinspiration Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 1) Beethoven Symphony 9 "Choral" 2) Beethoven Symphony 5 "Fate" 3) Mendelssohn Symphony 4 "Italian" 4) Schubert Symphony 8 "Unfinished" 5) Mozart Symphony 29 So hard to choose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulez25 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 more or less in order... Berio - Sinfonia (Mahler 2?) Webern - Chamber Symphony Lutoslawski - Fourth Symphony (eats the third for breakfast) Messiaen - Turangalila Symphonie Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms Honorable mentions: Mozart 41, Mahler 4 & 9, Tchaikovsky 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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