Greatest 20th Century Symphonies

[71 dB]

Elgar #2
Elgar #1
C. Nielsen #4

[springrite]

Nielsen 5
Sibelius 7
Shostakovich 11


It is ashame that Mahler can not be included per rules introduced here. Otherwise he would have swept the field.  

[Lethevich]

Elgar #2
Elgar #1
C. Nielsen #4

I totally forgot about Elgar! He is another that I could not reasonably pick a single work from - his 1st and 2nd are quite different in feel, and equally successful towards those differing aims.

[karlhenning]

I totally forgot about Elgar!

Many of us do.

That's why, there's Poju 

[vandermolen]

:: bills CDs to vandermolen's Amazon account ::

You'll never hack into it as there is very strict security to prevent my wife from accessing it 

[vandermolen]

Nielsen 5
Sibelius 7
Shostakovich 11


It is ashame that Mahler can not be included per rules introduced here. Otherwise he would have swept the field.  

That's why I excluded him (although he has been included by some) - Interesting choices - all favourites of mine. Shostakovich's 11th perhaps the most controversial but I agree that it is an underrated work and great to see in concert.

[owlice]

You'll never hack into it as there is very strict security to prevent my wife from accessing it  

Not so she will not use it to buy things, I suspect, but rather, so that she cannot see the extent of your recording purchases, yes? I have found that keeping CDs tidy and nicely shelved makes purchases less noticeable... until a new bookcase/shelving unit is required. Keeping books all over makes the need for a new bookcase/shelving unit obvious, so as long as one buys something to accommodate the messy books AND the new recordings, one's buying habits may remain a mystery!  

[Brian]

My list...

"The A+ List"
Rachmaninov No. 2
Sibelius No. 5
Sibelius No. 7
Shostakovich No. 5
Shostakovich No. 7
Shostakovich No. 9 (!) - vastly underrated, but sly humor can be the hardest thing to pull off!
Shostakovich No. 10 - my pick for the single best symphony of the century. And not because I like it the most (I like the Rach 2 and Shosty 9 more, actually). Mahler said a symphony should capture the entire universe, and this is one of those classics that just has everything. Plus, I blew a couple fuses in my brain when I realized just how brilliantly Shostakovich had woven a "motto" theme into this symphony [not the DSCH theme, though that appears for the first time here] - making the previous "motto theme poster child," Rachmaninov's Second, utterly obsolete (and invoking some pretty direct comparisons). In that respect this is the culmination of the entire Russian symphonic tradition ... I think ...

"The A List"
Prokofiev No. 5
Gorecki No. 3 - I don't care if it's overly popular. That's actually a remarkable accomplishment. So is the incredible orchestral writing in the first movement!
Sibelius No. 2
Atterberg No. 3

"The A- List [Honorable Mentions]"
Atterberg No. 6
Atterberg No. 8
Glass No. 3 (!)
Shostakovich No. 6

"Disqualified for Not Actually Being a Symphony"
Strauss, An Alpine Tone Poem in Disguise

Here are some works I have not listened to yet, which may make my list suspect in your eyes, but on the other hand which I might add once I hear them:
Martinu [all of 'em], Prokofiev [3, 4, 6, 7], Shostakovich [2, 3, 4, 8, 12-15], Rachmaninov [3], Sibelius [3, 4], Elgar [2], Vaughan Williams [all except the London symphony], Bax [all but Nos. 3 and 7], Hartmann [all]

[DavidRoss]

Sibelius [3, 4]

Ack!  Don't waste a minute more!  Not that most of the others you listed lack merit, but I'm astonished that one who regards Sibelius's 2nd, 5th, & 7th as such great works has wasted so much of his life hearing trifles when Sibelius's 3rd & 4th await! 

[Joe Barron]

Going over my original choices (which I did not post), I was struck by just how few 20th century symphonies I really know. I don't like Shostakovich, so I'm not really acquainted with all of his symphonies. I have only passing acquaintance with Allan Pettersson and Robert Simpson. No one has mentioned Honneger yet, either, and I don't know his work well to judge whether it belongs here or not. I must go back and listen to some of the recordings that have been sitting in the CD tower for years.

Some of my automatic choices, like Nielsen and Ives, have already been mentioned, so I'll just add my favorite symphony of the postwar era: Elliott Carter's Symphony of Three Orchestras, which counts because it has the word Symphony in the title.

I'm also fond of the Copland Short Symphony. Then there's Stravinsky's great Symphony in Three Movements, and Webern's Symphony Op. 21.

[Joe Barron]

Oh, and Piston 2. Maybe not a "great" symphony, but I like it very much.

[jochanaan]

I have no argument with any "nominations from the floor" (although I'd probably pick Rach 3 over Rach 2), but I'd like to add a few:

Hindemith: Symphony in Eb
Howard Hanson: Symphonies #2 "Romantic", #6
Hovhaness: Symphonies #2 "Mysterious Mountain", #50 "Mount Saint Helens"
William Schuman: Symphony #8

...No one has mentioned Honneger yet, either, and I don't know his work well enough to add it here...

I've got Honegger's Symphony #3 "Liturgique", in the composer's own recording.  Not sure if it's a "greatest" or not, but it's very fine.

[Opus106]

I kindly request those participating in this, um, opinion poll or sorts to tell the rest us why you think the symphonies are "great." Only listing the symphonies -- and somehow most of you have restricted yourselves to only three even though Jeffrey didn't explicitly mention a limit -- seems to make this yet another "favourites thread." One is not required to provide justification to name a bunch of symphonies as one's favourites, but the same cannot be said about calling a work "great" or "greatest." [This, of course, doesn't apply to those who have said something about their choices. ]

Being an outsider to 20th century music, your views might help me understand the music better. Even a little a bit will be good. Thanks.

[Brian]

Ack!  Don't waste a minute more!  Not that most of the others you listed lack merit, but I'm astonished that one who regards Sibelius's 2nd, 5th, & 7th as such great works has wasted so much of his life hearing trifles when Sibelius's 3rd & 4th await! 

I'm savoring them. 

[Cato]

Not so she will not use it to buy things, I suspect, but rather, so that she cannot see the extent of your recording purchases, yes? I have found that keeping CDs tidy and nicely shelved makes purchases less noticeable... until a new bookcase/shelving unit is required. Keeping books all over makes the need for a new bookcase/shelving unit obvious, so as long as one buys something to accommodate the messy books AND the new recordings, one's buying habits may remain a mystery!  

My wife - about 20 years ago - said my bibliomania needed to be cured, as it was also expanding into C-Discomania.  I demurred, preferring the term bibliophilia, which is not a disease.

She begged to differ, except she didn't beg!   

So these days my school shelves and cupboards contain a large portion of the vast Cato Archives, and the good woman is happy!   0:)

On topic: add the Hindemith Symphonie Harmonie der Welt.

And, after hearing it 4 times in one day last week, I am willing to add the Elliot Carter Symphonia Sum Fluxae Pretium Spe to the list!   

More than just a curiosity!   

[karlhenning]

And, after hearing it 4 times in one day last week, I am willing to add the Elliot Carter Symphonia Sum Fluxae Pretium Spe to the list!   

And in the company of youngsters!  What a great way to pass the day!

[Todd]

As almost always with such lists, it's more a list of favorites as opposed to greatest per se, at least for me.  Below are some I rather fancy.  There are quite a few, as it turns out.  They're in no particular order.

Hartmann – 4-8
Mahler – 6, 7, & 9 definitely, and probably 5 & 8
Szymanowski – 3, 4
Nielsen – 4, 5, 6
Zemlinsky – Lyric Symphony
Sibelius – 5, 6, & 7 definitely, and almost certainly 2, 3, & 4
Rautavaara – 3, 7, 8
Prokofiev – 5, 6
Ives - 2
Martinu – All
Shostakovich – 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15
Honegger – 3
Carter – Symphonia
Vaughn Williams – 3, 4, 5
Messiaen – Turangalila Symphonie
Enescu – 3 definitely, possibly 2
Stravinsky – Symphony in Three Movements
Lutoslawski – 3 & 4

I'm in the midst of exploring Tubin's symphonic output, and it's extremely good.  I need some more time with all of the works before deciding for myself how relatively good or great they are.

[DavidRoss]

I would include Mahler's 9th and Sibelius's 7th as the summations of their art for these two composers whose aesthetic principles were so opposed, yet who--for me--were not only the greatest symphonists of the Century, but the only composers of any time who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Beethoven as symphonists.

Ives's 4th is a contender, for pushing the envelope as no other.

Despite liking many other symphonies, several of which have already been mentioned here, I cannot at this time think of any other candidates for "Greatest of the 20th Century" -- but then I apply terms like "great" more sparingly than most these days.

[Franco]

Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Stravinsky (don't know if this actually qualifies, but I like it anyway)

Milhaud, Symphony #3 (but 5 or 6 are not far behind)

Edouard Lalo's Symphony in G minor

[karlhenning]

I haven't 'bellied up' to the thread, because . . . Jeffrey set a precedent of three, and I don't believe I could endorse only a set of three as "the greatest";  nor am I sure where to stop, once I removed the brake from five three.