Simply your favourite 30 works

[DavidRoss]

"Simply?"  Which of the 16 Beethoven quartets should I put up for adoption to make room for more of the 32 piano sonatas, or to make way for all of Mahler's symphonies (save the 8th) or all of Sibelius's--not to mention the tone poems and song cycles?

Heck, after thinking about only three of the many composers whose works I love, I've already given up.

[madaboutmahler]

Yeah, I didn't include Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe that time around because, if I'm not mistaken, I wasn't listening to a lot of Ravel at this point. Things come and go in phases with as you've probably figured out. Great list by the way.

I'll rewrite my list over again, because I've got many changes.

I suppose. Works that always remain on my list are the ones I have highlighted, plus such unashamed favourites such as Rimsky Korsakov Sheherezade and the Elgar Enigma Variations. haha Thank you!

Looking forward to seeing your new list!

[Marc]

I do not have 30 favourites. If I had to pick them though, it would be 30xBach I think.

Here's my being-kind-to-some-other-composers-too humbug list, in no particular order. It's mainly humbug because I left far too much early music out. No Desprez, no Lassus, no Victoria .... I'm cheating myself (and the entire board) with this list, really.

And no WTC by a certain Bach?

Humbug!!

Byrd
Mass for 4 voices

Monteverdi
Vespro della Beata Vergine

Purcell
Dido and Aeneas

Bach
Johannes-Passion
Matthäus-Passion
Hohe Messe (Mass in B-minor)
Magnificat
Die Kunst der Fuge
Orgelmesse (3rd Part of the Clavier-Übung)
Leipziger Choräle
Prelude & Fugue in E-minor BWV 548
Toccata & Fugue in F-Major BWV 540
Cantata "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" (Actus Tragicus)

Händel
Messiah
Dixit Dominus
Giulio Cesare
Water Music

Mozart
Le Nozze di Figaro
Don Giovanni
Così fan tutte
Die Zauberflöte
Mass in C-minor
Requiem

Schubert
Winterreise
Symphony 8 in B-minor "Unvollendete"
String Quintet in C-Major

Mahler
Symphony 4
Symphony 9
Das Lied von der Erde

Pärt
Te Deum

[Lisztianwagner]

Excellent question, here's mine:

Wagner
Tristan und Isolde
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung
Beethoven
Symphony No.9
Symphnoy No.3
Liszt
Les Preludes
Études d'exécution trascendante
Mahler
Symphony No.1
Symphony No.6
Symphony No.8
Mozart
Le Nozze di Figaro
J. Strauss
Kaiser-Walzer
Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No.3
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
R. Strauss
Eine Alpensinfonie
Ein Heldenleben
Tod und Verklärung
Tchaikovsky
Symphony No.4
Capriccio Italien
Shostakovich
Symphony No.5
Symphony No.10
Brahms
Symphony No.3
Bruckner
Symphony No.5
Sibelius
Symphony No.5
Nielsen
Symphony No.4
Ravel
Daphnis and Chloe
Prokofiev
Romeo and Juliet
Dvorak
Symphony No.4
Respighi
Roman Trilogy
Holst
The Planets

[madaboutmahler]

Excellent question, here's mine:

Wagner
Tristan und Isolde
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung
Beethoven
Symphony No.9
Symphnoy No.3
Liszt
Les Preludes
Études d'exécution trascendante
Mahler
Symphony No.1
Symphony No.6
Symphony No.8
Mozart
Le Nozze di Figaro
J. Strauss
Kaiser-Walzer
Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No.3
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
R. Strauss
Eine Alpensinfonie
Ein Heldenleben
Tod und Verklärung
Tchaikovsky
Symphony No.4
Capriccio Italien
Shostakovich
Symphony No.5
Symphony No.10
Brahms
Symphony No.3
Bruckner
Symphony No.5
Sibelius
Symphony No.5
Nielsen
Symphony No.4
Ravel
Daphnis and Chloe
Prokofiev
Romeo and Juliet
Dvorak
Symphony No.4
Respighi
Roman Trilogy
Holst
The Planets

Wonderful list Ilaria, I love to see how many favourites we share! Was delighted to see that we also appear to share the same favourite Dvorak symphony, not everyone's favourite is no.4!

[Lisztianwagner]

Wonderful list Ilaria, I love to see how many favourites we share! Was delighted to see that we also appear to share the same favourite Dvorak symphony, not everyone's favourite is no.4!

Thank you Daniel, that's very pleasant for me too, I'm glad to see we have so many tastes in common 

Hahaha, this is even more incredible if you think my favourite of Dvorak's symphonies is one Karajan never performed 

[madaboutmahler]

Thank you Daniel, that's very pleasant for me too, I'm glad to see we have so many tastes in common 

Hahaha, this is even more incredible if you think my favourite of Dvorak's symphonies is one Karajan never performed 

haha I bet you wish Karajan had performed it - it's a shame he didn't I particularly love Pesek's recording of no.4

[Lisztianwagner]

haha I bet you wish Karajan had performed it - it's a shame he didn't I particularly love Pesek's recording of no.4

I've got Pesek's version too, I agree it's extremely ravishing  Hahaha, of course! I would have liked to listen to Karajan Dvorak No.4 so much! Pity he recorded just No.8 & 9

[karlhenning]

I'll join in the fun.

There can be no question of completeness in such a small list, so the first 30 favorite works which came to mind:

1   Shostakovich, Fourth Symphony
2   Shostakovich, Tenth Symphony
3   Shostakovich, Fourteenth Symphony
4   Shostakovich, Four Pushkin Romances
5   Shostakovich, 24 Preludes & Fugues
6   Shostakovich, Seventh String Quartet
7   Shostakovich, Second Trio for Violin, Cello & Piano
8   Shostakovich, Sonata for Viola & Piano
9   Stravinsky, Le sacre du printemps
10   Stravinsky, Symphonies of wind instruments
11   Stravinsky, Concerto for two pianos
12   Stravinsky, Symphony of Psalms
13   Stravinsky, Orpheus
14   Stravinsky, Agon
15   Prokofiev, Second Symphony
16   Prokofiev, Le pas d'acier
17   Prokofiev, L'enfant prodigue
18   Prokofiev, Second Sonata for Violin and Piano
19   Prokofiev, Romeo & Juliet
20   Prokofiev, Seventh Piano Sonata
21   Bartók, Second Piano Concerto
22   Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra
23   Bartók, Third String Quartet
24   Bartók, Fourth String Quartet
25   Bartók, Fifth String Quartet
26   Bartók, Sixth String Quartet
27   Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
28   Ravel, Sonata for Violin & Cello
29   Debussy, Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp
30   Copland, Sextet

Still a list I can happily own, of course.

[Mirror Image]

Now I will give this a shot and revise my own list (in no particular order)...

1. Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe
2. Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
3. Ravel: Piano Trio
4. Ravel: Piano Concerto for the left-hand
5. Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp
6. Debussy: La Mer
7. Debussy: Danse sacrée et profane
8. Bartok: The Wooden Prince
9. Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin
10. Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2
11. Bartok: Piano Concerto No. 2
12. Koechlin: The Jungle Book (if we can count this work as one)
13. Koechlin: Le buisson ardent Parts I & 2
14. Koechlin: Vers la Voûte étoilée
15. Koechlin: Le Docteur Fabricius
16. Koechlin: Trois Melodies
17. Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5
18. Vaughan Williams: Job, A Masque for Dancing
19. Lyadov: Eight Russian Folksongs
20. Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 24
21. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 "The Year 1905"
22. Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1
23. Prokofiev: On the Dnieper
24. Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2
25. Szymanowski: Harnasie
26. Szymanowski: Symphony No. 3 "The Song of the Night"
27. Villa-Lobos: Genesis
28. Ginastera: Estancia
29. Revueltas: Janitzio
30. Chavez: Sinfonia India

[madaboutmahler]

Now I will give this a shot and revise my own list (in no particular order)...

1. Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe
2. Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
3. Ravel: Piano Trio
4. Ravel: Piano Concerto for the left-hand
5. Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp
6. Debussy: La Mer
7. Debussy: [/i]Danse sacrée et profane[/i]
8. Bartok: The Wooden Prince
9. Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin
10. Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2
11. Bartok: Piano Concerto No. 2
12. Koechlin: The Jungle Book (if we can count this work as one)
13. Koechlin: Le buisson ardent Parts I & 2
14. Koechlin: Vers la Voûte étoilée
15. Koechlin: Le Docteur Fabricius
16. Koechlin: Trois Melodies
17. Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5
18. Vaughan Williams: Job, A Masque for Dancing
19. Lyadov: Eight Russian Folksongs
20. Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 24
21. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 "The Year 1905"
22. Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1
23. Prokofiev: On the Dnieper
24. Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2
25. Szymanowski: Harnasie
26. Szymanowski: Symphony No. 3 "The Song of the Night"
27. Villa-Lobos: Genesis
28. Ginastera: Estancia
29. Revueltas: Janitzio
30. Chavez: Sinfonia India

Wonderful list, John! Was surprised to see no Pierne, Bruckner, Mahler (    ), de Falla, and also little Villa Lobos, Prokofiev etc... but it certainly is hard to fit it all into a list of only 30!

[Mirror Image]

Wonderful list, John! Was surprised to see no Pierne, Bruckner, Mahler (    ), de Falla, and also little Villa Lobos, Prokofiev etc... but it certainly is hard to fit it all into a list of only 30!

Thanks Daniel. The list became incredibly difficult towards the end because I slowly started to realize how many works I love were going to be left off. But, as you say, it's tough making a list of only 30 works.

[karlhenning]

Wonderful list, John! Was surprised to see no Pierne, Bruckner, Mahler (    ), de Falla, and also little Villa Lobos, Prokofiev etc...

And of only two Prokofiev pieces . . . On the Dnieper? Certainly a contrarian taste ; )

[Mirror Image]

And of only two Prokofiev pieces . . . On the Dnieper? Certainly a contrarian taste ; )

Hey I like this ballet. Take that back! Please note these are MY favorite works not anyone else's.

[Gaspard de la nuit]

Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
Béla Bartók - Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Alexander Scriabin - Piano Sonata No. 7
Olivier Messiaen - Quatuor pour la fin du temps
György Ligeti - Études
Witold Lutosławski - Cello Concerto
Maurice Ravel - Gaspard de la nuit
Frédéric Chopin - Nocturnes
Henri Dutilleux - Ainsi la nuit
Franz Schubert - Death and the Maiden Quartet
Claudio Monteverdi - L'Orfeo
Johannes Brahms - Clarinet Quintet
Modest Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 20
Alban Berg - Chamber Concerto
Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
Kaija Saariaho - Graal théâtre
Morton Feldman -Rothko Chapel
Charles Ives - Concord Sonata
Arnold Schoenberg - Violin Concerto
Claude Debussy - Jeux
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade
Sofia Gubaidulina - Offertorium
Ludwig van Beethoven - Große Fuge
György Kurtág - Messages of the late R. V. Troussova
Georg Friedrich Haas - In Vain
Franz Liszt - Nuages gris
Leoš Janáček - The Wandering of a Little Soul
Edgard Varèse - Déserts
Luigi Dallapiccola - Canti di prigionia

[EigenUser]

Old thread, but I have no shame in reviving it.

As of now:
1. Bartok -- "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta"
2. Bartok -- "Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra"
3. Bartok -- "Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra"
4. Ravel -- "La Valse"
5. Ligeti -- "Clocks and Clouds"
6. Ravel -- "Daphnis and Chloe"
7. Ligeti -- "Piano Concerto"
8. Ravel -- "Introduction and Allegro"
9. Stravinsky -- "The Rite of Spring"
10. Gershwin -- "Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra"
11. Ligeti -- "San Francisco Polyphony"
12. Gershwin -- "An American in Paris"
13. Ravel -- "Piano Concerto in G"
14. Debussy -- "Jeux"
15. Ligeti -- "Lontano"
16. Debussy -- "La Mer"
17. Bartok -- "The Miraculous Mandarin"
18. Stravinsky -- "Agon"
19. Ades -- "Asyla"
20. Feldman -- "Rothko Chapel"
21. Feldman -- "Piano and String Quartet"
22. Bartok -- "Dance Suite"
23. Debussy -- "Trois Nocturnes"
24. Reich -- "Music for 18 Musicians"
25. Ravel -- "Le Tombeau de Couperin"
26. Mendelssohn -- "Octet"
27. Mendelssohn -- Various (later) string symphonies, no real order
28. Gershwin -- "Cuban Overture"
29. Ligeti -- "Violin Concerto"
30. Bartok -- "Concerto for Orchestra"

[Jay F]

1. Mahler: Symphony No. 6
2. Mahler: Symphony No. 2
3. Mahler: Symphony No. 7
4. Mahler: Symphony No. 3
5. Bach: St. Matthew Passion
6. Mahler: Symphony No. 9
7-9. Beethoven: String Quartets (Razumovsky) (3)
10. Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
11. Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
12-26. Shostakovich: String Quartets (15). I only discovered these last year, in today's Big, Cheap Box Set era, so I don't know one from another well enough to name them individually yet. I find the entire body of work so wonderful, I can spend days listening to nothing but, so at this time, they comprise half of "simply my favorite 30 works."
27. Schubert: Piano Sonata D960
28. Schubert: Winterreise
29. Schubert: Piano Trio D100
30. Verdi: La Traviata

[NJ Joe]

Okay here goes, in no particular order:

Ravel - Daphnis Et Chloe
Debussy - Nocturnes
Debussy - La Mer
Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Bartok - Music for Strings Percussion and Celesta
Bartok - The Wooden Prince
Bartok - The Miraculous Mandarin
Beethoven - 3 (Eroica)
Beethoven - Symphony No. 5
Stravinsky - The Firebird
Stravinsky - Le Sacre
Sibelius - Symphony No. 2
Sibelius - Symphony No. 5
Schubert - 8 (Unfinished)
Dvorak - 9 (New World)
Mussorgsky - Pictures (Orch: Ravel)
Mussorgsky - Pictures (piano)
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade
JS Bach - Brandenburg Concertos (If I have to pick one, No. 4)
JS Bach - Goldberg Variations
Reich - Music for 24 Musicians
Bruckner - Symphony No. 8
Brahms - Symphony No. 1
Brahms - Symphony No. 3
Holst - The Planets
Liszt - Les Preludes
Mozart - 38 (Prague)
Mozart - Symphony No. 40
Haydn - 96 (The Miracle)
Chopin - Nocturnes (If I have to pick one, No. 1)

Alternate list:  Beethoven - The 32 Piano Sonatas

[North Star]

Random order, and would probably look different tomorrow.

1. Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
2. Ravel: Piano Trio
3. Janáček: String Quartet No. 2
4. Janáček: In the Mist
5. Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro
6. Prokofiev: Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80
7. Bach: Clavier Übung III
8. Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet
9. Rachmaninoff: All-night Vigil
10. Chopin: Mazurkas (Op. 30 or a later set)
11. Sibelius: Symphony No. 6
12. Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps
13. Mahler: Symphony No. 9
14. Satie: Socrate
15. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15
16. Bartók: Out of Doors
17. Brahms: Symphony No. 4
18. Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2
19. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10
20. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6
21. Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings
22. Berg: Violin Concerto
23. Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 in G major
24. Varèse: Amériques
25. Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine
26. Berlioz: Les Troyens
27. Copland: Appalachian Spring
28. Martinů: Nonet for wind quintet & string quartet, H. 374
29. Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
30. Debussy: Préludes, Book 1

[kishnevi]

I started to fill out a list, then stopped because it would be downright folly.

There's at least half a dozen Mozart concertos and as many Bach cantatas and Haydn symphonies I'd be putting down,  and that's before we even got out of the 18th century.

So instead, here's a list of sets of works I'd draw from
Bach: Cantatas
Bach: Works for solo keyboard (manualiter)
Vivaldi: Concertos for two or more instruments
Haydn: Symphonies
Mozart: Piano Concertos
Beethoven: String Quartets
Mahler: Symphonies and song cycles
Shostakovich: Symphonies
Shostakovich: String Quartets

Picking two works from each of the above almost at random leaves 12 places.  Let's try that:
Tallis Spem in alium
Handel Messiah
Haydn Creation
Mozart Magic Flute
Beethoven Symphony No. Four
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
Brahms German Requiem
Bruckner Symphony No. Five
Verdi Falstaff
Puccini Turandot
Debussy Preludes
Britten Nocturnes

A lot of obvious warhorses there....let's see, cut down the first set to one representative work each, for nine more slots

Beethoven: Hammerklavier sonata
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4
Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Chopin:  the Nocturnes (in my mind, one single cycle)
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Schonberg: Verklarte Nacht (sextet version)
Ligeti: Etudes for solo piano

Still a lot of obvious warhorses!