Greatest Tone Poems!!!

[Dr. Dread]

http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best-classic-topo.html

[Bulldog]

That list looks about as good as other lists I've seen over the years.

[Dr. Dread]

Maybe I'll check sometime and see which ones I'm missing.

[Franco]

Delius should be higher.

[Dr. Dread]

Delius seems to be a love him or hate him kind of composer.

[Bulldog]

Delius should be higher.

He's on the list twice.  I wouldn't have been surprised if he wasn't on it at all, given that his general exposure is not strong.

[ChamberNut]

The only problem I have is within the Richard Strauss rankings.  Eine Alpensinfonie should be the highest ranked of the Strauss' tone poems, in my humble opinion. 0:)

[ChamberNut]

Oh, and Sibelius' En Saga should be there too. 

[Tapkaara]

Hmmm, I don't like this list too much. Sibelius seems to be outranked by Strauss, which I don't agree with. In another thread, I put forth the opinion Sibelius was the greatest tone poet and, as such, his ranking on this list should be generally much higher.

And Tapiola all the way down at 35 with works like La Valse at 11? Please!

I could agree that Pictures at an Exhibition be at no. 1, though. It is a great artistic achievement and very, very popular.

These lists are nothing more than great fun, to be sure. But as a final word on the matter, this thing invalidates itself many times.

[karlhenning]

Hmmm, I don't like this list too much. Sibelius seems to be outranked by Strauss, which I don't agree with.

Nor me.

And Tapiola all the way down at 35 with works like La Valse at 11? Please!

Now, wait just the one minute which picks cotton!  La valse is much better than you are giving it credit for!

[karlhenning]

That list looks about as good as other lists I've seen over the years.

Most diplomatically put, mon ami!

[PerfectWagnerite]

Incidental music should not be classified as tone poems. Janacek's Sinfonietta, althought has somewhat of a program, is not a tone poem.

[Tapkaara]

Nor me.

Now, wait just the one minute which picks cotton!  La valse is much better than you are giving it credit for!

It's not that I am putting down La valse, but should it outrank a masterwork like Tapiola...and by such a wide margin to boot?

[Sid]

Great to see Ives, Janacek & Holst on the list...

[Ten thumbs]

I'm surprised that Mendelssohn's Hebrides overture isn't on it somewhere.

[The new erato]

I'm surprised that Mendelssohn's Hebrides overture isn't on it somewhere.

Because he designated it an ouverture?

Granted, the difference between an overture like the Hebrifes, and a tone poem (a form that wasn't thought up or named as such on Mendelssohn's time) may be slight, but still, the name may have something to do with it.

[Dr. Dread]

Yo. Recommend me some good tone poem CDs.

[DFO]

Zdenek Fibich's "At Twilight" op.39. One of the most beautiful symphonic romantic poems I ever heard.

[Sid]

If Holst's The Planets can be classified as a tone poem, should something like Varese's Ameriques be included as well (I know it's probably too radical to be considered on a list of this nature, though...)

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

Tapiola on 35. Blasphemy.