Favorite Overture

[jochanaan]

I find it hard to believe nobody's mentioned Tristan und Isolde before me!

[Lisztianwagner]

I find it hard to believe nobody's mentioned Tristan und Isolde before me!

Well, I didn't mention the prelude directly, though I chose all Wagner's overtures; that included Tristan too......

[jochanaan]

Well, I didn't mention the prelude directly, though I chose all Wagner's overtures; that included Tristan too......

Point conceded, although Tristan is definitely my favorite of all the Wagner preludes.

[Sergeant Rock]

A Favorite 10

Dvorak Othello Overture
Suppé Light Cavalry Overture
Reznicek Donna Diana Overture
Wagner Rienzi Overture
Wagner Die Meistersinger Prelude to Act I
Brahms Academic Festival Overture
Lalo Les Roi D'Ys Overture
Bruckner Overture in G minor
Arnold Tam O'Shanter Overture
John Williams The Cowboys Overture

Sarge

[Karl Henning]

Someday, White Nights will be in there.

Not today, though.

[Sergeant Rock]

Someday, White Nights will be in there.

Not today, though.

I left out several overtures by Havergal Brian too...so don't feel too sad, Karl.

Sarge

[Karl Henning]

Oh, not sad.  My own doesn't really belong, until we hear a proper orchestra play it!

[Sergeant Rock]

Oh, not sad.  My own doesn't really belong, until we hear a proper orchestra play it!

I was going to say that in my previous comment...that it's not easy to judge your work at the moment. I pray we get a real performance someday.

Sarge

[Brahmsian]

Bruckner Overture in G minor


Sarge

Didn't even know this existed! 

[EigenUser]

A Favorite 10

Dvorak Othello Overture
Suppé Light Cavalry Overture
Reznicek Donna Diana Overture
Wagner Rienzi Overture
Wagner Die Meistersinger Prelude to Act I
Brahms Academic Festival Overture
Lalo Les Roi D'Ys Overture
Bruckner Overture in G minor
Arnold Tam O'Shanter Overture
John Williams The Cowboys Overture

Sarge

How could I forget the Brahms "Academic Festival Overture"? I love that piece even though the rest of Brahms hasn't clicked yet.

Also, same with Hebrides.

[Wanderer]

Two of my absolute favourites:

Beethoven: "Die Weihe des Hauses" Overture, op.124
Mendelssohn: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, op.27

"The Consecration of the House" is a splendid homage to Händel (a companion piece/homage to Bach was alas never to materialize) and a superb overture in its own right.
The Mendelssohnian treatment of Goethe's Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (memorably set by Beethoven as a short cantata) is also superb: alluring, fervent, joyful, uplifting, triumphant. They both deserve to be much better known.


Other favourites:

The Sinfonia that opens Haydn's Orlando Paladino (splendid work!)
Mozart's overtures to Die Zauberflöte and Le nozze di Figaro (who doesn't love those?)
all the Beethoven overtures, with special affinity to Leonore II (again, who doesn't love those)
Mendelssohn's Hebrides and Midsummer Night's Dream
Rossini (William Tell, anyone?)
most Wagner preludes (Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger, etc.)
Korngold: Schauspiel Overture and the - stunning! - prelude to Violanta
Schreker: preludes to Die Gezeichneten act I (superbly decadent, chromaticism to its limits) and III

Honorary mention: the R.Strauss sonic blast weapon that is the op.61 Festliches Präludium.

[Wanderer]

Arnold Tam O'Shanter Overture

Yes! 

[Wanderer]

Since nobody mandated that an orchestra was required, I'll go with Bach's Overture in the French style.

Great idea. I'll go with Alkan's Ouverture, op.39/11.

[Orpheus]

Bach: Ouvertures (Suites) Nos. 1-4
Mozart: All
Beethoven: All
Mendelssohn: Fingal's Cave - Trumpet Ouverture
Berlioz: Roman Carnival
Schumann: Manfred
Herold: Zampa
Weber: Oberon
Brahms: Both Ouvertures
Dvorak: Nature, Life and Love cycle
Smetana: The Batered Bride
Kabalevsky: Colas Breugnon
Shostakovich: Festive Ouverture
Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet
Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter
Reznicek: Donna Diana
Strauss: Fledermaus
Suppé: all
Strauss R: Festive Prelude
Bernstein: Candide
Wagner: Meistersinger
Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes
Rossini: Italiana in Algeri - La Gazza Ladra
Verdi: La Forza del Destino
Bizet: Carmen
Nielsen: Helios
Cherubini: Medea
Cimarosa: Il Matrimonio Segreto
Nicolai: Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor

[Brahmsian]

A Favorite 10

Dvorak Othello Overture

Sarge

That's a dandy, Sarge! 

[Xenophanes]

So many have been mentioned.

The Auber and Suppe overturnes are splendid works.

http://www.amazon.com/Supp%C3%A9-Overtures-Auber-Bronze-Horse/dp/B000V6MRRC/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1405557315&sr=1-3&keywords=auber+paray

Now for some off the beaten track.

I have a fondness for J. M. Kraus's Olympie Overture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzEf8nAm4MM

A few years ago, I picked up a CD of overtures by Samuel Arnold (1740-1802), a composer I had never heard of before, which are quite delightful.

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=126910

[vandermolen]

Beethoven Leonore No 3
Beethoven Egmont
Frederic Austin The Sea Venturers
Douglas Lilburn Aotearoa
Moeran Overture to a Masque
Bax Festival Overture
Prokofiev Russian Overture
Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes
Copland An Outdoor Overture
Rimsky Korsakov Russian Easter Festival Overture

[Brahmsian]

Beethoven Leonore No 3
Rimsky Korsakov Russian Easter Festival Overture

Oh yah!!

[vandermolen]

Oh yah!!

Pleased by your restrained approval! 

[DaveF]

Berwald: The Queen of Golconda

(also a candidate for "The most laid-back composer" thread).

Which leads me to ask: has anyone ever heard/seen the rest of Berwald's Drottningen av Golconda?  If it's all as good as the overture, it ought to be recorded.  Although, sadly, it probably isn't.