Your Top Four Brahms Symphonies

[Brahmsian]

2-1-3-4

Favourite orchestral work by far though and from almost since the beginning of my listening to Brahms is the 1st Piano Concerto.

[Brian]

Favourite orchestral work by far though and from almost since the beginning of my listening to Brahms is the 1st Piano Concerto.

You just made this more fun!

4
First Serenade
2
Double Concerto
Tragic Overture
Violin Concerto
3
Second Piano Concerto
Second Serenade
Academic Festival Overture
First Piano Concerto
1
Haydn Variations

[Gurn Blanston]

You just made this more fun!

4
First Serenade
2
Double Concerto
Tragic Overture
Violin Concerto
3
Second Piano Concerto
Second Serenade
Academic Festival Overture
First Piano Concerto
1
Haydn Variations

I  like that better!  Now I would say:

Sym 3
PC 1
V&C Concerto
VC

I  also like the serenades better than the other symphonies,  but hey, that's just me.   

🤠😎

[Karl Henning]

3-2-4-1 for me.  I love them, but the third is magical for me in a way that transcends the others.  Not only do I have a unique rating, but I might also be the only one here that thinks that all four are masterpieces.  I love them all without reservation.

The Third is probably the first I came to love. It gives such a sense of opulence, that I was surprised and additionally impressed when I actually dug into the score and saw how "classical" it is.

[Florestan]

I  also like the serenades better than the other symphonies,  but hey, that's just me.   

It's not just you, it's me as well. 

[LKB]

The Third is probably the first I came to love. It gives such a sense of opulence, that I was surprised and additionally impressed when I actually dug into the score and saw how "classical" it is.

B3 was my introduction to Brahms, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan and Deutsche Grammophon ( from the 1964 cycle ). I was a teenage member of the local youth orchestra, and when the work was programmed l required a recording in case there were percussion parts l needed to memorize, being unable to read music at that time.

Since B3 is scored for no percussion save timpani, l was able to enjoy the orchestra as they rehearsed, as well as the LP at home. Thus it was that the work became the first symphony by someone other than Beethoven that l memorized, and it remains my favorite Brahms composition.

[Karl Henning]

B3 was my introduction to Brahms, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan and Deutsche Grammophon ( from the 1964 cycle ). I was a teenage member of the local youth orchestra, and when the work was programmed l required a recording in case there were percussion parts l needed to memorize, being unable to read music at that time.

Since B3 is scored for no percussion save timpani, l was able to enjoy the orchestra as they rehearsed, as well as the LP at home. Thus it was that the work became the first symphony by someone other than Beethoven that l memorized, and it remains my favorite Brahms composition.

Nice!

[DizzyD]

2-3-1-4. I never could get into the generally-revered Fourth, and I think the Second is a little "underrated"/deserves more attention.

[Karl Henning]

2-3-1-4. I never could get into the generally-revered Fourth, and I think the Second is a little "underrated"/deserves more attention.

2 was the last of the four to win me over, just my journey.

[classicalgeek]

Using all 13 of the Symphonies, Serenades, Concerti, Overtures, and Variations, here's my list, top to bottom:

Symphony no. 2
Serenade no. 1
Symphony no. 3
Piano Concerto no. 1
Haydn Variations
Symphony no. 1
Academic Festival Overture
Serenade no. 2
Double Concerto
Symphony no. 4
Piano Concerto no. 2
Violin Concerto
Tragic Overture

[Jo498]

top tier: symphonies 1,2,4, violin concerto, piano concerto #2
second tier: symphony #3, piano concerto #1, double concerto
3rd tier: Haydn variations, 1st serenade
4th tier: 2nd serenade, ouvertures

[DizzyD]

2 was the last of the four to win me over, just my journey.

Well my favorite Beethoven symphony is the Eighth, so go figure. I'm weird. 

[amw]

The answer to this question depends mostly on which symphony I've listened to lately, so I'm going to call it a four-way tie.

[Mirror Image]

My favorite Brahms symphony is Dvořák's 7th.

[Cato]

But seriously: my most favorite Brahms symphony is the Second Piano Concerto!    

Favourite orchestral work by far though and from almost since the beginning of my listening to Brahms is the 1st Piano Concerto.

You just made this more fun!

...

Double Concerto

Using all 13 of the Symphonies, Serenades, Concerti, Overtures, and Variations, here's my list, top to bottom:
...

Double Concerto

The Double Concerto I would also choose!

My favorite Brahms symphony is Dvořák's 7th.

DUDE!       You are in the club!  Earlier I had advised:

My favorite Brahms symphony is the one by Hans Rott!  

I would also nominate Dvorak's Symphony #8.

[Karl Henning]

Well, this thread seems to have become Nobody really likes the Brahms symphonies, do they? (An observation, not a complaint.)

[DizzyD]

My favorite Brahms symphony is the one by Hans Rott!   
...

I think that one is actually Mahler's #0. 

[Karl Henning]

I think that one is actually Mahler's #0. 

(* chortle *)

[Mirror Image]

DUDE!       You are in the club!  Earlier I had advised:


I would also nominate Dvorak's Symphony #8.

Well, this thread seems to have become Nobody really likes the Brahms symphonies, do they? (An observation, not a complaint.)

And this would be an astute observation.

[Cato]

I think that one is actually Mahler's #0. 

Also a possibility!   

Well, this thread seems to have become Nobody really likes the Brahms symphonies, do they? (An observation, not a complaint.)

I chose 3-4-1-2, but could also have chosen 4-3-1-2.

And that is because of a Boston Symphony/Koussevitzky RCA recording of the Fourth Symphony from the Mono era:


https://www.youtube.com/v/eW1PL0wapuM