Your favourite composer of orchestral music

[amw]

Just for balance

Haydn is an easy top pick for me due to the sheer wealth of variety and invention in his symphonic output, but Dvořák runs him a close second in spite of some weaker early works.

[North Star]

Sibelius

[prémont]

Just for balance

You have to make the definition more clear.
What is orchestral music?

[amw]

Anything for a large (relative to the time period) number of instrumentalists, usually involving more than one player to a part.

[Lisztianwagner]

Beethoven; Mahler immediately afterwards.

[prémont]

Anything for a large (relative to the time period) number of instrumentalists, usually involving more than one player to a part.

Which time period?

And even in late romantic and modern music the "wind supply" is usually meant to be one player per part.

[amw]

Which time period?

Any time period, though I don't know that there would be many qualifying instances before the 17th century.

And even in late romantic and modern music the "wind supply" is usually meant to be one player per part.

Yes it's typically the strings that have more than one player to a part. However there are also wind orchestras (concert bands, etc) with multiple players to each part and I like to be inclusive.

[EigenUser]

Give me a break!

Right now:
1. Bartok (never changes!)
2/3. Ligeti/Ravel (they are both 2 AND 3 -- no order!)
4. Messiaen -- some of his music makes me almost literally jump for joy, particularly Trois Petites Liturgies, the Turangalila-Symphonie, and many parts of Des Canyons aux Etoiles.
5. Hmmmm... could go a few ways, here. Seems to alternate between Haydn, Schumann, Debussy, sometimes Mahler...

If you asked me who I am currently listening to the most, Bartok wouldn't be on this list. I've heard enough Bartok to last quite a while. But, most of my musical tastes seem to be based off of elements in his writing, which explains why he is always going to remain 1st. "Top listening" for orchestral would be Messiaen, then probably Ligeti. Then maybe Haydn, but I haven't listened to a Haydn symphony in a few weeks. I think I'll change that later today.

[Sergeant Rock]

Mahler/Bruckner. They've been paired in my mind for 50 years. I refuse to split them up now 


Sarge

[Mirror Image]

Sibelius

+1

Jean gets my vote as well!



The symphonies and tone poems alone are perfection in orchestral music. Not a duff moment in any of these works.

[Florestan]

Favourite composer of symphonies

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Rachmaninoff

overtures

Mozart, Weber, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Wagner

concertos

Mozart, Beethoven, John Field, Paganini, Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Shostakovitch, Khatchaturian

tone poems

Mendelssohn, Liszt, Dvorak, Smetana, Sibelius, Richard Strauss

etc.

Karl Henning

[Madiel]

Tricky. Right now I'm going to say Sibelius and Holmboe.

Although, as I observed recently on another thread, no-one can outdo Haydn when it comes to an Andante.

[Florestan]

no-one can outdo Haydn when it comes to an Andante.

Really?

Mozart KV 467
Schubert D 944
Beethoven op. 67

[Gurn Blanston]

Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Dvorak, Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov   
More or less in that order.

[Brahmsian]

Symphonies

Bruckner
Shostakovich
Sibelius

Overtures

Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Wagner

Concertos

Brahms
Schumann
Mozart

Tone Poems

Strauss, R.
Dvorak
Tchaikovsky/Rimsky-Korsakov/Sibelius

[NorthNYMark]

Surprised not to see Brahms on this list--he (and therefore "other") gets my vote (though on another day I could easily have opted for Beethoven).

[Jay F]

Mahler

[Madiel]

Really?

Mozart KV 467
Schubert D 944
Beethoven op. 67

I missed the part where my opinion had to match yours.

[springrite]

Mahler

[ritter]

Unfortunately, none of my (current) top choices are on the lsit  :

• Debussy
• Ravel
• Stravinsky

Feeling a bit etsranged from the Austro-German symphonic tradition these days (it's just a temporary thing, I suppose)...