Top 10 most beautiful pieces you've heard

Started by EigenUser, February 28, 2015, 03:29:43 PM

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EigenUser

1. Ligeti's Clocks and Clouds
2. Debussy's Trois Nocturnes: III. Sirenes
3. Ravel's Introduction and Allegro
4. Messiaen's Des Canyons aux Etoiles...: VIII. Les Ressuscités et le Chant de l'Etoile Aldébaran
5. Haydn's Symphony No. 93, movement II (even if it weren't for the bassoon joke at the end, it would be my favorite Haydn slow movement)
6. Feldman's Rothko Chapel
7. Ockeghem's Missa Prolationum
8. Bartok's Piano Concerto No. 2, movement II
9. Faure's Requiem
10. Ravel's Miroirs
Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

amw

Beauty you say?

1. Brahms Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 78 - I. Vivace ma non troppo

2-6 in some order
Chopin Nocturne in A-flat Op. 32 no. 2
Brahms String Sextet No. 2, Op. 36 - I. Allegro non troppo
Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5 in D - III. Romanza
Schubert Quintet D956 - II. Adagio
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27, K. 595 (complete)

I can't think of anything else that deserves to be considered on the same level.

Ken B

1 The Swan from Swan Lake

A few other random ones that spring to mind include Nymphes des Bois by Josquin, A couple short bits by Palestrina, Jack ( I think I have the right section) by Nyman, and the slow movement of PC 21.

Let me add Nate is a very lucky man. There is so much beautiful music for him to discover. Amw is less lucky: he has done an excellent job finding much of it already.

Brian

"beautiful"

What a loaded adjective.

Smetana - Moldau
Chopin - Berceuse
Chopin - Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op. posth.
Bill Evans - Peace Piece (improvisation)
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 5, III. Romanza
Grieg - Last Spring
R. Strauss - Four Last Songs
Mahler (arr. somebody) - the adagietto of Symphony No. 5 turned into a choral work (recorded by Accentus and Laurence Equilbey)
JS Bach - Slow movement from the Violin Concerto in E Major
Beethoven - variations, Op. 109

That's just off the top of my head right now, without looking at anybody else's lists. I'm sure tomorrow my list would be different.

Jo498

Handel: What passion cannot music rise and quell (from Ode to St Cecilia)
Bach: Mache Dich, mein Herze, rein (from St Matthew)
Haydn: slow movement of the quartet op.76/5
Mozart: Piano concerto K 453, especially the slow mvtm
Beethoven: "Dankgesang" from op.132
Schubert: An die Musik
Chopin: Trio section from 2nd movement of b flat minor Sonata
Schumann: The last two or three pieces from Davidsbündlertänze (starting with "wie aus der Ferne")
Wagner: Wotan's farewell from Walküre
Brahms, Intermezzo op.117/1
Bruckner: Slow mvtm of 8th symphony
Mahler: Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

EigenUser

Quote from: James on February 28, 2015, 05:17:38 PM
Six quick ones off the top of my head ..

JS Bach, Dona nobis pacem
Webern, Symphonie op.21
Bartók, String Quartet No. 6
Fauré, Piano Nocturne No. 13
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde Prelude
Strauss, Four Last Songs

I've heard everything on that list except the Faure nocturne.

Really? Webern's Symphonie? Don't get me wrong -- I love it -- but it is filled with so much tension! Of course, I recognize that we all hear different things in music, so it isn't a criticism. Just a surprise.
Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

Christo

'Beautiful' tends towards the lyrical side for me. Not so much music one admires for its architecture, but that moves and is associated with the effect of sun light. In that case:

Khatchatur Avetisyan, Oratorio in memoriam 1915
Samuel Barber, Second Essay for orchestra
Joly Braga Santos, Symphony No. 3
Claude Debussy, La Mer
Manuel de Falla   , El Sombrero de Tres Picos
Arvo Pärt, Te Deum
Gabriel Pierné, Divertissements sur un thème pastoral
Manuel Ponce, Concierto del sur
Maurice Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ottorino Respighi, Lauda per la Nativitá del Signore
Veljo Tormis, Unustatud rahvad (Forgotten Peoples)
Eduard Tubin, Symphony No. 4 `Lirica'
Ralph Vaughan Williams, A Pastoral Symphony & Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Sergeant Rock

#7
Fauré Pavane
Fauré Sicilienne from Pelléas et Mélisande
Kats-Chernin Green Leaf from Wild Swans
Brahms Symphony No.3 third movement Poco allegretto
Beethoven Piano Sonata No.8 "Pathétique" second movement Adagio cantabile
Mahler Symphony No.2 second movement Andante moderato
Mahler Symphony No.6 third movement Andante moderato
Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 K.467 second movement Andante
Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola K.364
Schubert Der Leiermann from Winterreise
Wagner Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond and Du bist der Lenz from Die Walküre
Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker Pas de deux

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

springrite

Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

ritter

#9
The first that come to mind (I really couldn't reduce it to less than 15  :-[ ):

Bach: "Zerfliesse, mein Herze" from Johannes-Passion
Beethoven: Second movement, "Scene by the brook",  from the Sixth symphony
Boulez: Mémoriale
Debussy: Reflets dans l'eau from Images pour piano, first series
Enescu: Second movement, andantino cantabile, from Piano sonata Op. 24, No.3
Lully: "Dormons, dormons tous" (scène du someil) from Act 3 of Atys
Mahler: "Ich bin der Welt abanden gekommen" from the Rückert-Lieder
Monteverdi: "Pur ti miro, pur ti godo" (final duet) from Act 3 of L'Incoronazione di Poppea
Mozart: "Giunse al fin il momento"..."Deh vieni, non tardar" (Susanna's Act 4 aria) from Le Nozze di Figaro
Mozart: "Soave sia il vento" (Act 1 trio) from Così fan tutte
Ravel: Le Jardin féerique from Ma Mère l'Oye
Strauss: Finale (trio and duet) from  Act 3 of Der Rosenkavalier
Stravinsky: Tempo di minuetto ("Pupillette, fiammette d'amore") and Finale: allegro assai from Pulcinella
Wagner: Quintet from Act 3 of Die Meistersinger.
Wagner: Good Friday spell from Act 3 of Parsifal


Ken B

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on March 01, 2015, 03:34:53 AM
Fauré Pavane
Fauré Sicilienne from Pelléas et Mélisande
Kats-Chernin Green Leaf from Wild Swans
Brahms Symphony No.3 third movement Poco allegretto
Beethoven Piano Sonata No.8 "Pathétique" second movement Adagio cantabile
Mahler Symphony No.2 second movement Andante moderato
Mahler Symphony No.6 third movement Andante moderato
Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 K.467 second movement Andante
Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola K.364
Schubert Der Leiermann from Winterreise
Wagner Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond and Du bist der Lenz from Die Walküre


Sarge

Plus 1 on K364, especially the first mvmt.

Ken B

Quote from: springrite on March 01, 2015, 03:36:14 AM
It is indeed beautiful when you can arrange it. Your duration may vary.

As  abonus you can play it at the same tiime as Nun wondre Maria by Hugo Wolf.

Mirror Image

I'll try to make a list here of my Top 10 Most Beautiful Pieces, but it's going to be difficult. (In no particular order and limited it to one composer per work)

1. Elgar: Symphony No. 2
2. RVW: Flos Campi
3. Delius: Songs of Sunset
4. Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe
5. Sibelius: The Oceanides
6. Harrison: Seven Pastorales
7. R. Strauss: Four Last Songs
8. Bartok: Piano Concerto No. 3
9. Lydaov: Eight Russian Folksongs
10. Barber: Violin Concerto

...And I'm still not happy with only 10 choices! :)

Brian

Quote from: Jo498 on March 01, 2015, 12:08:31 AM
Brahms, Intermezzo op.117/1
Quote from: ritter on March 01, 2015, 04:29:28 AM
Debussy: Reflets dans l'eau from Images pour piano, first series

I feel silly for not remembering these. And the slow movement from Ravel's Piano Concerto in G! And Shostakovich's prelude and fugue, Op. 87 No. 7 in A major.

Corey

Ravel - "Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis" from Trois Chansons
Koechlin - Vers la voûte étoilée (Towards the Starry Vault)
Bruckner - Symphony No. 5, 2nd movement
Cristobal de Morales - the Invitatorium from Officium Defunctorum
Mahler - Symphony No. 9, 4th movement
Bach - Sinfonia from BWV 106 "Actus Tragicus"
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7
Brahms - Ballades Op. 10, No. 4
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132
Fauré - Piano Quintet No. 1

TheGSMoeller

Ask me again in a month and I'm sure this list could change. But these are the pieces that came immediately to mind. I've even linked some YouTube performances of these pieces.
Enjoy!

Berlioz: Angus Dei from Requiem
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 in E Flat, K 482 - 3rd Mvt
Strauss: Metamorphosen
Wagner: Prelude to Parsifal

Biber: Violin Sonata No. 3
https://www.youtube.com/v/Dl9371sYxXo

Britten: Interlude for Harp from Ceremony of Carols
https://www.youtube.com/v/fOErlb9PO68


Glass: Knee Play No. 5 from Einstein on the Beach
https://www.youtube.com/v/BpoWWnR348M

des Prez: Deploratio Sur La Mort De Johannes Ockeghem
https://www.youtube.com/v/aJ_3horj9Gs


Preisner: Requiem for my Friendm Part 2 - Meeting
https://www.youtube.com/v/O7tiI65QXpo


Rameau: Entree de Polymnie from Les Boreades
https://www.youtube.com/v/dADCwS5jR9Q


EigenUser

Quote from: James on March 01, 2015, 07:13:30 AM
Perhaps your definition of beauty is a cliché or narrow one?
Not a chance. :)
Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

Wanderer

#17
Here's 20, off the top of my head, not in order of preference and without seeing previous posts:

Ravel: the opening of Daphnis & Chloé
Schreker: Prelude to Die Gezeichneten
Szymanowski: the opening of Król Roger
R.Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder
Zemlinsky: Eine florentinische Tragödie
Berlioz: Grande messe des morts (esp. Sanctus & Agnus Dei)
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis (esp. Sanctus, Benedictus & Agnus Dei)
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem
Debussy: Le martyre de Saint Sébastien
Alkan: Grand duo concertant for violin & piano
Medtner: Violin Sonata No.2
Vaughan Williams: The Pilgrim's Progress (esp. The House Beautiful & Act IV-Scene 3)
Sibelius: Symphony No.7
Schumann: Introduction & allegro concertante op.134
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante K.364(320d)
Wagner: Prelude to Lohengrin
Bantock: A Celtic Symphony
Britten: Festival Te Deum
Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix"
Dohnányi: Piano Quintet No.1


Edit: substituted Korngold's Prelude to Violanta with Zemlinsky's Florentine Tragedy.

Wanderer

Quote from: amw on February 28, 2015, 04:44:53 PM
Beauty you say?

1. Brahms Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 78 - I. Vivace ma non troppo

Yes!

Ken B

Quote from: TheGSMoeller on March 01, 2015, 07:32:10 AM
Ask me again in a month and I'm sure this list could change. But these are the pieces that came immediately to mind. I've even linked some YouTube performances of these pieces.
Enjoy!

Berlioz: Angus Dei from Requiem
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 in E Flat, K 482 - 3rd Mvt
Strauss: Metamorphosen
Wagner: Prelude to Parsifal

Biber: Violin Sonata No. 3
https://www.youtube.com/v/Dl9371sYxXo

Britten: Interlude for Harp from Ceremony of Carols
https://www.youtube.com/v/fOErlb9PO68


Glass: Knee Play No. 5 from Einstein on the Beach
https://www.youtube.com/v/BpoWWnR348M

des Prez: Deploratio Sur La Mort De Johannes Ockeghem
https://www.youtube.com/v/aJ_3horj9Gs


Preisner: Requiem for my Friendm Part 2 - Meeting
https://www.youtube.com/v/O7tiI65QXpo


Rameau: Entree de Polymnie from Les Boreades
https://www.youtube.com/v/dADCwS5jR9Q

that's two votes for Nymphes des bois. Where's Sarge??