Top 10 Favorite Symphonies of the 20th Century

[vandermolen]

Let's see... only ten?  I think I could easily name fifty

So... in rough order (and trying not to repeat composers):

Shostakovich: Symphony no. 4
Suk: 'Asrael' Symphony
Copland: Symphony no. 3
Mahler: Symphony no. 9
Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 4
Nielsen: Symphony no. 5
Schuman: Symphony no. 3
Prokofiev: Symphony no. 6
Martinu: Symphony no. 4
Walton: Symphony no. 1

Great list - totally agree.

[vandermolen]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony 6
Copland: Symphony 3
Bax: Symphony 3
Sibelius: Symphony 7
Tubin: Symphony 4
Rosenberg: Symphony 3
Shostakovich: Symphony 4
Walton: Symphony 1
Miaskovsky: Symphony 6
Suk: Asrael Symphony

(In random order)

[eyeresist]

I like symphonies by Elgar, Nielsen, Taneyev and Saint-Saëns the most.

That's an, erm, interesting mix. No wonder I'm having trouble with recommendations

With Vaughan Williams I find his 8th symphony a solid work, less dependant on atmosphere than some others.  The only thing is to find a performance that is convincing with the first movement, some conductors don't make that movement flow as I feel it should.

Have you tried the Bryden Thomson recording?

[Karl Henning]

Have you tried the Bryden Thomson recording?

I still need to finish listening to those....

[eyeresist]

I still need to finish listening to those....

I think 5 and 8 are the key ones from that set. Not wanting to influence your opinion or anything...

[71 dB]

That's an, erm, interesting mix. No wonder I'm having trouble with recommendations

Really? For the "mix" is completely natural since I enjoy the music of all these composers. I have kind of re-discovered Taneyev lately. If Shostakovich's String Quartets (have been exploring nos. 4, 7 and 8 ) leave me a bit cold (8 is the best of these), Taneyev's just blow me away! 

Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony is a great great firework and Elgar and Nielsen just RULE!

[Karl Henning]

Just a point of information viz. the thread: Of course, Saint-Saëns's symphonies are not of the 20^th century.

Carry on . . . .

[71 dB]

Just a point of information viz. the thread: Of course, Saint-Saëns's symphonies are not of the 20^th century.

Carry on . . . .

O f   c o u r s e   n o t .   e y e r e s i s t   a s k e d   w h a t   I   l i k e   a n d   I   t o l d .   C a r r y   o n   .   .   .   .

[starrynight]

Have you tried the Bryden Thomson recording?

I don't remember, I did try some famous recordings but they don't always please me even if they are famous.

[cliftwood]

In no particular order..

Wm.Schuman..3rd
Hindemith..Symphony in E Flat
Shostakovich..5th and 8th
Mahler..3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th
Nielsen..5th
Roy Harris..3rd


Hi Karl!

[springrite]

In no particular order..

Wm.Schuman..3rd
Hindemith..Symphony in E Flat
Shostakovich..5th and 8th
Mahler..3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th
Nielsen..5th
Roy Harris..3rd


Hi Karl!

Good to see you back! Just for that, I will give you a thumbs up to your list (while using an entirely different digit in private...)

[Karl Henning]

Hoy, there, cliftwood!

[Lilas Pastia]

Too difficult. Selecting just one per composer, I feel compelled to include Mahler 9, Sibelius 7, Strauss' Alpine, Sohstakovich 4, Vaughan-Williams 1, Elgar 1, Rachmaninoff 2, Walton 1,  Honegger 3 and maybe Prokofieff 2.  But then my favourites sleepers are just too many to fit in. They're my B list, but on any given day I could place at least half of them in the top 10.

In no particular order :

Langgard 2
Tournemire 1
Magnard 3
Pettersson 9
Eliasson 1
Norholm 2
Kancheli 7
Silvestrov 5
Arnold 5
Popov 1
Nosyrev (any of the 4, I can't choose).

I'm not slighting Alwyn, Bax, Diamond, Wellesz, Orthel, De Lange, Koppel and a dozen others, ma basta! This is torture...

[rw1883]

In no particular order...

Vaughan Williams 1
Vaughan Williams 4
Braga Santos 4
Atterberg 3
Pettersson 7
Sibelius 2
Mahler 5
Suk "Asrael"
Arnold 9
Harris 3

[Mirror Image]

Suk "Asrael"
Arnold 9

Both of these symphonies are extremely underrated IMHO. Very good choices. Arnold's 9th is quite enigmatic. It's got a lot of hidden details within that it definitely rewards the listener many times and the same applies with Suk's Asrael. A turbulent work, but incredibly beautiful nevertheless.

[jlaurson]

Bax : Symphony No.1
Gillis : Symphony No.5.5
Gorecki : Symphony No.3 'Sorrowful Songs' - [Is there only myself on the forum who loves this work]? 
Sauguet : Symphony No.2 'Allegorique' - [Long in length, but quality assured, a 20th Century Gem]
Shostakovich : Symphony No.5
Shostakovich : Symphony No.11
Sibelius : Symphony No.2
Suk : Asrael
Truscott : Symphony in E - [Short but desirable]
Walton : Symphony No.1

So hoping that C. V. Stanford's Symphony No.1 was 190- but alas 1870's....shame as that's a lovely work. 

Disclaimer: List compiled without the aid of Rachmaninov, Elgar and even Mahler 

I'll have to check out Truscott (only one recording available - the one on Marco Polo??).
Love Suk's Asrael (http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2012/07/dip-your-ears-no-120-suks-asrael.html), and I found out about the fascinating Sauguet only when I was doing research on spring-themed music. Awesome work, indeed. (http://www.listenmusicmag.com/feature/for-winters-rains-and-ruins-are-over.php). The Gillis I don't think I've heard yet, either... darn. Walton I heard live last night, in a surprisingly good performance under Semyon Bychkov. And Sibelius 2 has been a favorite ever since I first consciously heard it in concert that a former professor took me along to. He enjoyed the Dvorak Cello Concerto, but I was in love with Sibelius. In my own list, I'd probably have to be careful not just to plunk down Sibelius 2, 5, 6, 7 and squeeze other deserving composers out.

[jhudock]

That's a very tough list to put together. How about my ten favorite 20th century symphony composers:

Shostakovich
Mahler
Sibelius
Vaughan Williams
Stravinsky
Prokofiev
Nielsen
Atterberg
Hovhannes
Hanson

And even here, I can't possibly keep it to ten, so...

+ Langaard
Bax
Walton
Petterson
Simpson
Arnold
Harris
Piston
Brian
Glass
Kancheli
Rautavaara
Schmidt

[Lilas Pastia]

Maybe because it's unnumbered, I forgot to include Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements in my list. it definitely belongs there.

[Christo]

At the moment, they include (as it appears I never filled in this list, probably missing the thread  ) in chronological order:

1922  Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 5
1940  Stanley Bate: Symphony No. 3
1945  Herman D. Koppel: Symphony No. 3
1947  Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6
1947  Arnold Cooke: Symphony No. 1
1948  William Wordsworth: Symphony No. 2
1949  Joly Braga Santos: Symphony No. 3
1951  Vagn Holmboe: Symphony No. 8 'Sinfonia boreale'
1952  Camargo Guarnieri: Symphony No. 3
1954  Eduard Tubin: Symphony No. 6

[Daverz]

At the moment, they include (as it appears I never filled in this list, probably missing the thread  ) in chronological order:

1922  Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 5
1940  Stanley Bate: Symphony No. 3
1945  Herman D. Koppel: Symphony No. 3
1947  Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6
1947  Arnold Cooke: Symphony No. 1
1948  William Wordsworth: Symphony No. 2
1949  Joly Braga Santos: Symphony No. 3
1951  Vagn Holmboe: Symphony No. 8 'Sinfonia boreale'
1952  Camargo Guarnieri: Symphony No. 3
1954  Eduard Tubin: Symphony No. 6

I'm still new to Mr. Bate and have never heard the Wordsworth.  I'd have picked the Braga Santos 4th, but I do like the 3rd as well.  I like all the other works very much (though I do wonder if the Bis Holmboe recordings could be bettered.)