Simply your favourite 30 works

[Maciek]

It's just that I think this thread should be bumped every once in a while.

[Christo]

It's just that I think this thread should be bumped every once in a while.

If once in a while means about once a year, we won't complain. 

[Maciek]

 

[Mirror Image]

My favorite 30 works? Oh goodness...can I come back to this question in a year?

[Guido]

Today my list:

Strauss Capriccio
Strauss Ariadne Auf Naxos
Strauss Don Quixote
Schoeck Elegie
Barber Cello Concerto
Barber Piano Concerto
Barber Capricorn Concerto
Ives Symphony No.4
Ives Fugue in four keys on the Shining Shore
Ives The Celestial Railroad
Ives Three Places in New England
Rossini Armida
Berg Seven Early Songs
Shostakovich cello concerto no.2
Bruckner 9
Mahler 10
Williams Heartwood
Janacek Makropulos Case
Janacek String Quartet no.2
Janacek Cunning Little Vixen
Bartok Divertimento
Goldschmidt Cello Concerto
Englund Cello Concerto
Mozart Don Giovanni
Mozart Figaro
Messiaen Vingt Regards
Feldman Cello and orchestra
Bernstein Clarinet Sonata
Bridge Cello Sonata
Finzi Dies Natalis
Gruber Cello Concerto

Interesting to compare it to that from a year ago. Again, there's some which are just token inclusions as a work by that composer, someone who I love and want to include more, and might pick a different favourite piece another day.

[Guido]

Each year it just gets harder, as there's more pieces that I know!

[MishaK]

Each year it just gets harder, as there's more pieces that I know!

Ditto

Maybe for now, in no particular order:

La cathédrale engloutie
Jeux d'eau
Ondine (Ravel)
Symphonie fantastique
Saint Saens Organ Symphony

Brahms 1
Brahms 4
Brahms PC 2
Brahms Piano Sonata 3
Brahms Ballade Op.10 No.4

La Mèr
Zauberflöte
Janacek Glagolitic Mass
Lohengrin
Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria

Bruckner 4
Bruckner 9
Bruckner 8
Mahler 5
Mahler 2

Strauss Vier letzte Lieder
Till Eulenspiegel
Alpensinfonie
Brandenburg Concerto No.1
Partita No.3 for solo violin

Beethoven Piano Sonata No.27
Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4
Symphony No.6
Mozart piano concerto No.25
Mozart piano concerto No.24

[schweitzeralan]

It's just that I think this thread should be bumped every once in a while.

Sibelius
Bax
Scriabin
Debussy
Ravel
Raitio
Krein
Gliere
Klami
Rachmaninof
Marx
Madetoja
Bridge
Lloyd
Suk
Karamanov
Barber
Hanson
Reichel
Martin
Martinu
Alexandrov
Frank
Creston
Mennin
Takemitsu
Wiren
Rosenberg
Egge
Merikanto
Khachaturian
Farwell
Griffis
Mompou

Just a couple more than 30.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

"Ein saures Amt, und heut' zumal!"

1. Wagner: Ring (Solti)
2. Wagner: Parsifal (Solti)
3. Wagner: Meistersinger (Karajan)
4. Wagner: Tristan (Furtwängler)
5. Beethoven: Eroica symphony, no 3
6. Beethoven: 7th symphony
7. Beethoven: Violin concerto
8. Beethoven: String quartet no 14
9. Beethoven: Grosse Fuge
10. Brahms: Violin concerto
11. Brahms: String quartet no 3
12. Brahms: Symphony no 1
13. Bruckner: Romantic symphony, no 4
14. Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty
15. Tchaikovsky: Violin concerto
16. Uematsu: FF VI OST
17. Kondo: Ocarina of time OST
18. John Williams: Empire Strikes Back OST
19. Morricone: Dollar trilogy OST
20. Mozart: Don Giovanni
21. Sibelius: Voces Intimae quartet
22. Sibelius: Symphony no 6
23. Sibelius: Violin concerto
24. Verdi: Aida
25. Verdi: Rigoletto
26. Grieg: Violin sonata no 3
27. Grieg: String quartet
28. Grieg: Peer Gynt
29. Debussy: La Mer
30. Dvorak: Symphony no 9

Note: Not necessarily in any particular order and my favorites change all the time, and listing only 30 works is extremely hard.

//Interesting. All Sibelius compositions I picked are in D minor. Hmm...

[Mirror Image]

Here are 30 current favorites of mine in no particular order...

1. Stravinsky: Dumbarton Oaks
2. Ravel: Piano Concerto for the left-hand
3. Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin
4. Villa-Lobos: Forest of the Amazon
5. Revueltas: Itinerarios
6. Dutilleux: Symphony No. 2
7. Feldman: Rothko Chapel
8. Prokofiev: Scythian Suite
9. Vaughan Williams: Partita for double string orchestra
10. Martinu: Symphony No. 5
11. Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp
12. Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem
13. Poulenc: Oboe Sonata
14. Shostakovich: The Golden Age
15. Janacek: Glagolitic Mass
16. Bruckner: Symphony No. 6
17. Vine: Oboe Concerto
18. Tippett: Piano Concerto
19. Ligeti: Atmospheres
20. Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No. 2
21. Adams: Naive and Sentimental Music
22. Part: Te Deum
23. Szymanowski: Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia Concertante"
24. Berg: Lulu Suite
25. Delius: Appalachia
26. Pettersson: Symphony No. 8
27. Takemitsu: A String Around Autumn "Viola Concerto"
28. Rubbra: Symphony No. 4
29. Honegger: Symphony No. 3 "Liturgique"
30. Milhaud: Symphony No. 6

[Bulldog]

Bach:
Well-Tempered Clavier
Goldberg Variations
Clavier-Ubung III
Leipzig Chorales
French Suites
Keyboard Partitas
St. Matthew Passion
Mass in B minor

Handel - Messiah
Keyboard Suite, HWV 430

Beethoven - Hammerklavier Sonata
Mozart - Great Mass in C minor & Requiem

Chopin:
Preludes, Op. 28
Fantaisie in F minor
Barcarolle

Schumann:
Kinderszenen
Kreisleriana
Humoreske
Davidsbundlertanze

Shostakovich:
Preludes, Op. 34
Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87

Scriabin - Preludes, Op. 11

Berlioz - Sym. Fantastique
Brahms - Variations on a Theme by Handel
Mahler - Sym. 4 & Das Lied
Weinberg - Violin Concerto
Miaskovsky - Cello Concerto
Zemlinsky - Lyric Symphony

[MDL]

I reserve the right to wake up one night screaming, "Oh, my God, how did I forget <insert name of unjustly neglected piece here>!" before frantically firing up the computer to amend this list.

In which case, I'll have to work out what to ditch. Possibly the Xenakis.


Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin
Berg: Three Pieces for Orchestra
Berg: Wozzeck
Berio: Sinfonia
Berio: Allelujah II
Boulez: Pli selon Pli
Ligeti: Atmospheres
Ligeti: Lontano
Ligeti: Requiem
Mahler: Symphony 2
Mahler: Symphony 6
Mahler: Symyphony 9
Messiaen: La Transfiguration
Nielsen: Symphony 5
Nordheim: Epitaffio
Penderecki: The Devils of Loudun
Penderecki: St Luke Passion
Prokofiev: Symphony 3
Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra
Schoenberg: Moses und Aron
Sibelius: Symphony 4
Sibelius: Tapiola
Stockhausen: Carré
Stockhausen: Momente (Europa Version)
Stockhausen: Trans
Strauss: Salome
Stravinsky: The Firebird
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
Varèse: Arcana
Xenakis: Antikthon

[MDL]

ARGH!

How could I forget:

Debussy: La Mer
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe

?

[madaboutmahler]

Here are 30 current favorites of mine in no particular order...

1. Stravinsky: Dumbarton Oaks
2. Ravel: Piano Concerto for the left-hand
3. Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin
4. Villa-Lobos: Forest of the Amazon
5. Revueltas: Itinerarios
6. Dutilleux: Symphony No. 2
7. Feldman: Rothko Chapel
8. Prokofiev: Scythian Suite
9. Vaughan Williams: Partita for double string orchestra
10. Martinu: Symphony No. 5
11. Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp
12. Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem
13. Poulenc: Oboe Sonata
14. Shostakovich: The Golden Age
15. Janacek: Glagolitic Mass
16. Bruckner: Symphony No. 6
17. Vine: Oboe Concerto
18. Tippett: Piano Concerto
19. Ligeti: Atmospheres
20. Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No. 2
21. Adams: Naive and Sentimental Music
22. Part: Te Deum
23. Szymanowski: Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia Concertante"
24. Berg: Lulu Suite
25. Delius: Appalachia
26. Pettersson: Symphony No. 8
27. Takemitsu: A String Around Autumn "Viola Concerto"
28. Rubbra: Symphony No. 4
29. Honegger: Symphony No. 3 "Liturgique"
30. Milhaud: Symphony No. 6

Amazed to see you left out Ravel Daphnis, John!!!! 
I'd be interested to see your new current list, I imagine you'd have the Ginastera and Prokofiev ballets added, and Koechlin of course!

OK, my current list.... (composers mentioned in alphabetical order. I would not be able to put these all in an order, but I have highlighted my absolute top 5!)

Beethoven
Symphony no.6
Brahms
Symphony no.1
Symphony no.4
Bruckner
Symphony no.5
Elgar
Symphony no.1
Symphony no.2
Enigma Variations
In The South Overture "Alassio"
Glazunov
Symphony no.4
Mahler
Symphony no.1
Symphony no.6
Symphony no.8
Symphony no.9
Nielsen
Symphony no.4
Prokofiev
Romeo and Juliet
Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto no.3
Ravel
Daphnis et Chloe
La Valse
Respighi
Roman Trilogy
Rimsky Korsakov
Sheherezade
Schubert
Symphony no.9
Scriabin
Symphony no.3
Shostakovich
Symphony no.10
R.Strauss
Eine Alpensinfonie
Ein Heldenleben
Tod und Verklarung
Don Juan
Der Rosenkavalier Suite
Tchaikovsky
Symphony no.6
Francesca da Rimini

Obviously had to leave many favourites out Such a hard list to make, but this is what I believe to be correct, for now at least!

[ibanezmonster]

1. Mahler 9
2. Gorecki 3
3. Schoenberg- Book of Hanging Gardens
4. Mahler 2
5. Mahler 10
6. Prokofiev- Cello Sinfonia Concertante
7. Webern- Passacaglia for Orchestra
8. Berg- 3 Pieces for Orchestra
9. Prokofiev- Piano Sonata #6
10. Prokofiev- Piano Sonata #2
11. Mahler 3
12. Mahler 7
13. Stravinsky- Rite of Spring
14. Prokofiev- Piano Concerto #2
15. Prokofiev- Piano Concerto #3
16. Schoenberg- 5 Pieces for Orchestra
17. Xenakis- Ata
18. Penderecki- Fluorescences
19. Penderecki- De Natura Sonoris #2
20. Penderecki- Threnody
21. Penderecki- De Natura Sonoris #1
22. Xenakis- Hibiki Hana Ma
23. Xenakis- Orient-Occident
24. Bartok- 1st Piano Concerto
25. Prokofiev- Symphony #5
26. Xenakis- La Legende d'eer
27. Prokofiev- Symphony #5
28. Brahms- Symphony #1
29. Brahms- Symphony #4
30. Brahms- Piano Concerto #1 and 2

Oh, this list is due to change... #2 and #3 might either drop to the bottom or come off the list completely, and there will be some Shostakovich and Bruckner on here- maybe even some Beethoven.

[Brian]

30. Mozart, Clarinet Concerto
29. Glazunov, String Quintet
28. Bernstein, West Side Story*
27. Prokofiev, Alexander Nevsky Cantata
26. Shostakovich, Symphony No 9
25. Dvorak, String Quintet Op. 77
24. Dvorak, Piano Quintet Op. 81
23. Sibelius, Symphony No 3
22. Chopin, Nocturne op. post. in C sharp minor
21. Tchaikovsky, Symphony No 1 "Winter Daydreams"
20. Atterberg, Symphony No 8
19. Sibelius, Symphony No 6
18. Beethoven, Piano Concerto No 5 "Emperor"
17. Ravel, Piano Concerto in G
16. Beethoven, piano sonatas opp. 109-111
15. Brahms, Symphony No 4
14. Chopin, Ballade No 4
13. Dvorak, Cello Concerto
12. Atterberg, Symphony No 3, finale
11. Beethoven, Symphony No 5
10. Beethoven, Symphony No 4
9. Shostakovich, Symphony No 10
8. Beethoven, piano sonata Op 90
7. Janacek, Sinfonietta
6. Sibelius, Symphony No 5
5. Dvorak, Symphony No 8
4. Janacek, Glagolitic Mass
3. Sibelius, Symphony No 7
2. Beethoven, Symphony No 7
1. Smetana, "Vltava" (The Moldau)

Now I would never be so silly as to try to put them in order!

Atterberg | Symphony No 8
Beethoven | Piano Sonata No 30
Beethoven | Piano Sonata No 31
Beethoven | String Quartet Op 95
Beethoven | String Quartet Op 127
Beethoven | Symphony No 7
Brahms | Symphony No 4
Bruckner | Symphony No 7
Dvořák | Cello Concerto
Dvořák | String Quartet No 13
Dvořák | Symphony No 8
Dvořák | Te Deum
Haydn | String Quartet No 63, "Sunrise"
Janáček | Glagolitic Mass
Janáček | Sinfonietta
A. Koppel | Saxophone Concerto No 2
Lutoslawski | Concerto for Orchestra
Mozart | Symphony No 39
Ravel | La valse
Ravel | Piano Concerto in G
Roussel | Suite in F
Roussel | Le marchand de sable qui passe
Schubert | String Quintet D956
Sibelius | Symphony No 5
Sibelius | Symphony No 6
Sibelius | Symphony No 7
Smetana | Ma Vlast
Shostakovich | Piano Concerto No 2
Shostakovich | Symphony No 10
Weinberg | Cello Concerto

Only half my list from 2010 made it onto this one, with the most attrition (unsurprisingly) among those previously ranked 21-30 - all of which are gone.

EDIT: Things I'm already feeling bad about leaving out: Beethoven's Fifth, Strauss' Four Last Songs, Ravel's left-hand concerto, Schumann's Fantasy in C, Vaughan Williams' Symphony No 5, Janacek's Taras Bulba, Chopin's ballades, Ravel's Daphnis, Shostakovich's Ninth, Shostakovich's Sixth, Debussy's La mer, Gershwin's American in Paris, Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, Beethoven's string quartet Op 59 No 1, Kodaly's Hary Janos suite, Dvorak's dumky trio, Mozart's 41st symphony, Mozart piano concertos 20, 21, 24, and Vivaldi's cello concertos.

[Mirror Image]

Amazed to see you left out Ravel Daphnis, John!!!! 
I'd be interested to see your new current list, I imagine you'd have the Ginastera and Prokofiev ballets added, and Koechlin of course!

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.

[ibanezmonster]

My updated list:

1. Mahler 9
2. Mahler 6
3. Mahler 2
4. Mahler 3
5. Mahler 10
6. Stravinsky- The Rite of Spring
7. Prokofiev- Piano Concerto 2
8. Prokofiev- Piano Concerto 3
9. Bruckner 4
10. Bruckner 7
11. Bruckner 8
12. Brahms- Symphony 1
13. Brahms- Piano Concerto 1
14. Brahms- Piano Concerto 2
15. Brahms- Symphony 2
16. Shostakovich- Symphony 4
17. Shostakovich- Symphony 10
18. Webern- op.1 Passacaglia
19. Berg- 3 Pieces for Orchestra
20. Brahms- Paganini Variations
21. Prokofiev- Piano Sonata 6
22. Prokofiev- Piano Sonata 2
23. Beethoven- op.109 Piano Sonata 30
24. Bartok- Piano Concerto 1
25. Schnittke- Symphony 1
26. Rachmaninoff- Piano Concerto 2
27. Prokofiev- Cello Sinfonia Concertante
28. Mahler- Das Klagende Lied
29. Mahler 5
30. Penderecki- Threnody

[DieNacht]

Very much on top of my head and in a somewhat random order ...

1. Bruckner Symphony 8
2. Mahler Symphony 10
3. Medtner Concerto 3/Ponti (faster than other recordings)
4. Martinu Symphony 6/Neumann
5. Pettersson 2nd V Cto/Haendel (not Keulen)
6. Prokofiev Piano Cto 4/Krainev
7. Mozart Entführung
8. Beethoven Sonata 29
9. Beethoven Sonata 32
10. Elgar Violin Cto/I.Oistrakh

11. Nielsen Symphony 5/Bernstein
12. Sibelius Symphony 6/Karajan or Rozhdestvensky
13. Bruckner Symphony 4
14. Mahler Das Lied/Bernstein
15. Liszt Sonata
16. Nørgård Piano Cto
17. Scriabin Sonata 10
18. Pettersson Symphony 8/Sanderling
19. Schnittke Viola Cto/Bashmet,Rozhdestvensky
20. Janacek Taras Bulba

21. Händel Dixit Dominus/Öhrwall
22. Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht
23. V-Williams Tallis Fantasia
24. Bach Wohltemperiertes /Feinberg and Richter
25. Brahms Piano Concerto 1
26. Shostakovich Cello Cto 1
27. Debussy Preludes
28. Ravel Daphnis & Chloe
29. Schumann Piano Cto
30. Janacek Quartet 1

30.b Messiaen Des Canyons ...
...
87.x Feinberg Sonata 9 ...

[North Star]

In no particular order, and some items here change on a daily basis

1. Bach: Solo violin sonata 2
2. Bach: Solo violin partita 1
3. Bach: Solo violin partita 2
4. Bach: Solo cello suite 6
5. Bach: Double Violin Concerto
6. Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
7. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 7
8. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 8
9. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14
10. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15
11. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 21
12. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23
13. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29   
14. Brahms: Violin Concerto
15. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2
16. Brahms: Piano Quintet
17. Schubert: String Quartet No. 15
18. Sibelius: Symphony No. 3
19. Sibelius: Symphony No. 5
20. Sibelius: Tapiola
21. Sibelius: Violin Concerto
22. Ravel: String Quartet
23. Ravel: Piano Trio
24. Stravinsky: Firebird
25. Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 1
26. Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet
27. Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 6
28. Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7
29. Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 8
30. Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 9