Greatest Tone Poems!!!

[MN Dave]

That's an obvious statement. Every composer is a love him/hate him composer. It all depends on the listener. You should change your name to Dr. Obvious.

No, it's not. There is also indifference (among the whole range of affection). Duh.

[Xenophanes]

Cool.  I don't know the Mayuzumi or Deems Taylor, but the rest are good to great, so I look forward to getting to know them.  Thanks! 

Many people may not like Toshiro Mayuzumi's Samsara as it sounds rather dark and clangy but I do.

Deems Taylor, composer, critic, and broadcaster, was the narrator for Disney's Fantasia. Through the Looking Glass is often quite clever, my favorite of the five suites being Jabberwocky.

I thought I would put in the whole of Sibelius Lemminkainen Suites rather than just The Swan of Tuonela.

[quintett op.57]

This kind of ranking is absurd obviously.

Nevertheless, once again liszt is underrated.
I would have chosen more of his poems and 2 Episodes from Lenau's Faust

But not Mazeppa!
Do you all think Mazeppa is one of his best tone poems?

[abidoful]

again liszt is underrated.
I would have chosen more of his poems and 2 Episodes from Lenau's Faust

But not Mazeppa!
Do you all think Mazeppa is one of his best tone poems?

I don't know the Mazeppa---but Les Preludes is a classic

[DavidRoss]

No, it's not. There is also indifference (among the whole range of affection). Duh.

Not to mention sort-of-like, doesn't-do-much-for-me, better-than-a-poke-in-the-eye-with-a-sharp-stick, and pretty-good-even-if-he's-no-Mozart.  And maybe one or two other scenic outlooks along the grand continuum.

I thought I would put in the whole of Sibelius Lemminkainen Suites rather than just The Swan of Tuonela.

And so would I. 

[Teresa]

i think that is a silly list and much of it's contents are not tone poems.

dj

Agreed, however many of the non-tone poems on the list are excellent!  Perhaps a new title should be chosen for the list, such as "The Greatest Classical Program Music"?

Like a lot of other posters many of my favorites Tone/Symphonic poems were missing from the list as well.  For example only one symphonic poem was chosen by Tchaikovsky, the truely wonderful Francesca da Rimini which is one of my favorites by him but not my favorite, that honor would go to the much neglected  Fatum "Fate": Symphonic Poem, Op. 77.   

[Teresa]

Yes - it is.

I agree completely Richard Strauss's Don Juan really is that great. 

[Teresa]

  Yes.  Which reminds me, I've not seen Teresa's list for some time. 

I don't remember making a list of Tone Poems, could it be my list of Power Orchestra Music?  It includes lots of tone poems, most of the list of 350 works is program music.

Or possibly Delightful Classical compositions I have discovered.

Happy listening,
Teresa 

[Sid]

I notice Barber's Medea's Dance of Vengeance is on your list of Delightful Classical compositions, Teresa - do you realise that there is a fair bit of atonality in that piece?

[Teresa]

I notice Barber's Medea's Dance of Vengeance is on your list of Delightful Classical compositions, Teresa - do you realise that there is a fair bit of atonality in that piece?

I'm playing it right now, I have the version on a Telarc MP3 with Yoel Levi conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and it is quite lovely.  Sure there is "some" dissonance used for excitement, but it is never grossly atonal as the structure of the piece is quite tonal.  The little bit of dissonance is used as a tool for dramatic effect NEVER with the intent to make the music ugly.  There is absolutely no ugliness in this piece.

Slight dissonance can be used in basically tonal works, Barber is great at it as is Stravinsky, Bartok, Prokofiev and many others.

In short I find the Medea's Dance of Vengeance a very exciting almost entirely tonal composition that is quite lovely, a real joy ride.   

[karlhenning]

You are funny, Teresa! [ tonal ] = [ Teresa finds it acceptable ]

[Sid]

She should listen to some Dutilleux or Thomas Ades - it's even harder than in the Barber to untangle what's "atonal" or "tonal" in many of their pieces. I personally don't care about the distinctions (which are often spurious at best). I agree with Varese's definition - music is just "organised sound." But even that doesn't cover everything - what about the chance elements in someone like John Cage's music, where the organisation is much freer? The atonality/tonality debate is probably over, people who just stick to one side or the other are not able to experience the full gamut of what composers today have to offer.

[Mirror Image]

She should listen to some Dutilleux or Thomas Ades - it's even harder than in the Barber to untangle what's "atonal" or "tonal" in many of their pieces. I personally don't care about the distinctions (which are often spurious at best). I agree with Varese's definition - music is just "organised sound." But even that doesn't cover everything - what about the chance elements in someone like John Cage's music, where the organisation is much freer? The atonality/tonality debate is probably over, people who just stick to one side or the other are not able to experience the full gamut of what composers today have to offer.

Love Dutilleux and would love to hear Teresa's reactions to his music. I haven't heard any of Ades' music, so I can't talk about his music, but Dutilleux's music is really rewarding for the listener who is at least open-minded.

[DavidRoss]

Love Dutilleux and would love to hear Teresa's reactions to his music. I haven't heard any of Ades' music, so I can't talk about his music, but Dutilleux's music is really rewarding for the listener who is at least open-minded.

Teresa seems to have checked out.  I'm surprised she lasted as long as the did, given how reluctant some of us have been to acknowledge her superior taste, wit, wisdom, political acumen, moral hygiene, good looks, and fresh breath.  Either that or the GMG dating service finally hooked her up with Robert Newman.

[RJR]

Till Eulenspiegel.

[abidoful]

Teresa seems to have checked out.  I'm surprised she lasted as long as the did, given how reluctant some of us have been to acknowledge her superior taste, wit, wisdom, political acumen, moral hygiene, good looks, and fresh breath.  Either that or the GMG dating service finally hooked her up with Robert Newman.

That is mean!

Do you guys usually talk like that about people after they have  left GMG?

[Jaakko Keskinen]

No Pohjola's daughter, en Saga, Oceanides or other parts of Lemminkainen? Not single tone poem from Dvorak? 

[DavidRoss]

That is mean!

Do you guys usually talk like that about people after they have  left GMG?

Mean?     I suspect you don't know the half of it...or even the tenth of it.  That's a good-natured jibe at someone who showed up initially to promote her own site, stuck around to admonish us regarding our inferior taste, presumed to lecture us on everything from musical history to political theory to morality, and throughout remained astonishingly unaware of how much she might learn here if she were just willing to suspend her arrogant presumption of superiority.  Poor gal might have been offensive if she weren't so painfully out of her depths, and so sadly unaware of her own limitations.  Seems to me she was treated with kindness here, rather than the contempt she might have suffered on some other CM sites.

Also, if you feel compelled to make moral judgments about my comments in the future, please limit them to me, personally, instead of tarring other GMG members ("you guys") with your disapproval.  No one else here is responsible for my comments. 

[mjwal]

My favourite tone poems are:
1.Mendelssohn: Die schöne Melusine -
2.Liszt: Orpheus
3.Tchaikovsky: Hamlet
4.Elgar: Falstaff
5.Richard Strauss: Don Quixote
6.Sibelius: Pohjola's daughter
7.Delius: Song of the High Hills
8.Bax: The Garden of Fand
9.Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht
Of course this list is not exclusive and other works by the same and other composers come to mind, but these are my favourites. There are wonderful recordings of the first 2 by Beecham, Stokowski for 3, Barbirolli for 4, Szell/RCO ( live) for 5, Bernstein for 6, I only know Fenby for 7 (I can imagine a more powerful interpretation), Barbirolli for 8, Klemperer/RCO for 9 (or Mitropoulos) ...Are there any great post Schoenberg works that come under this heading?

[abidoful]

Also, if you feel compelled to make moral judgments about my comments in the future, please limit them to me, personally, instead of tarring other GMG members ("you guys") with your disapproval.  No one else here is responsible for my comments.

Is that an order...?