Your Top 30 Favorite 20th Century Orchestral Works

[Mirror Image]

Have fun. Oh and to make this a bit challenging please limit your choices to two works per composer. I'll chime in with my list later once I've given it more thought.

[vandermolen]

Shostakovich Symphony 4
Sibelius Tapiola
Vaughan Williams Symphony 6
Shostakovich Symphony 10
Tubin Symphony 3 'Heroic'
Walton Symphony 1
Kabelac Mystery of Time
Sibelius Symphony 4
Prokofiev Symphony 6
Braga Santos Symphony 4
Copland Symphony 3
Vaughan Williams Symphony 9
Klaus Egge Symphony 1
Popov Symphony 1
Kinsella Symphony 3 'Joie de Vivre'
Havergal Brian Symphony 8
William Schuman Symphony 6
Rubbra Symphony 5
Rosenberg Symphony 3
Rosenberg Symphony 2
Norgard Sinfonia Austera
Langgaard Symphony 4
Rawsthorne Symphonic Studies
Bax Symphony 3
Shebalin Symphony 1
Miaskovsky Symphony 6
Miaskovsky Symphony 17
Yoshimatsu Symphony 2
Moeran Symphony
Bantock Hebridean Symphony

Off the top of my head and not in order

[North Star]

Have fun. Oh and to make this a bit challenging please limit your choices to two works per composer. I'll chime in with my list later once I've given it more thought.

I'll go with one per composer. And I presume 'orchestral works' includes concertante works.

Bartók - Dance Suite
Berg - Violin Concerto
Britten - Violin Concerto
Copland - Appalachian Spring
Debussy - Images, L.122

Dutilleux - Timbres, Espace, Mouvement
Elgar - Falstaff
Hartmann - Symphony no. 8
Ives - New England Holidays
Janácek  - Sinfonietta

Langgaard - Sfærernes Musik
Ligeti - Violin Concerto
Lutoslawski - Symphony no. 3
Mahler - Symphony no. 9
Martinů  - Double Concerto for 2 String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani, H. 271

Messiaen - Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Nielsen - Symphony no. 3 ‘Espansiva’
Prokofiev - Romeo & Juliet
Poulenc - Concerto for two pianos & orchestra
Rakhmaninov - Symphonic Dances

Ravel - Concerto for the Left Hand
Schnittke - Symphony no. 4
Schönberg - 5 Orchesterstücke, Op. 16
Shostakovich - Symphony no. 10
Sibelius - Symphony no. 6

Stravinsky - Le Sacre du printemps
Strauss - Four Last Songs
Varèse - Amériques
Vaughan Williams - Symphony no. 5
Villa-Lobos - Chôros no. 6

[Jo498]

Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion, Celesta; Piano concerto #2
Prokofieff: Piano concerto #2, Violin Concerto #1
Berg: 3 pieces op.6, Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Symphony in 3 movements, Petrouchka
Mahler: Symphonies Nr. 6 & Nr.9
Hindemith: Kammermusik Nr.1, Symphony in Es
Ravel: Concerto for the left Hand
Britten: Violin Concerto
Hartmann: Concerto funebre
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto #1, Symphony #8
Nielsen: Symphony #4+ #5
Sibelius: Symphony #4
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra
Carter: Symphony for three Orchestras
Ives: Three places in New England
Schönberg: Chamber symphony Nr.1
Webern: Orchestral pieces op.6
Martinu: Double Concerto with piano and timpani
Martin: Petite Symphonie Concertante
Roussel: Symphony #3
Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony
Debussy: La Mer

[Brian]

Off my head-top without any serious thought. Arranged geographically:

Ravel: Left-hand concerto
Ravel: La valse
Roussel: Bacchus et Ariane
Ibert: Divertissement
Poulenc: Gloria

Falla: El Sombrero de Tres Picos

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5

Strauss: Four Last Songs

Martinu: Symphony No. 2
Martinu: Symphony No. 4
Janacek: Sinfonietta
Janacek: Glagolitic Mass
Kodaly: Dances of Galanta
Bartok: Piano Concerto No. 3
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra
Szymanowski: Symphony No. 4 "Concertante"

Nielsen: Symphony No. 4
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Atterberg: Symphony No. 8

Stravinsky: Petrushka
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7 (original ending)
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10

Gershwin: An American in Paris*
R. Thompson: Symphony No. 2
Bernstein: On the Waterfront
Rouse: Flute Concerto

Castellanos: Santa Cruz de Pacairigua

*Rhapsody in Blue is excluded because I prefer the jazz band version, not the full orchestra version.

Honorable Mentions (things I deleted to get the list down to 30)
Kodaly: Psalmus Hungaricus
Kabelac: Mystery of Time
Ives: Symphony No. 2
K.A. Hartmann: Symphony No. 6

[Mirror Image]

Okay, after some thoughtful consideration, here's my list (in on particular order):

Delius: Song of the High Hills
RVW: Symphony No. 5
Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin
Ravel: Piano Concerto for the left-hand
Stravinsky: Dumbarton Oaks
Koechlin: Le livre de la jungle (I consider this work to be one piece even though it's a collection of symphonic poems, but I may be cheating here)
Britten: Diversions
Tippett: Double Concerto
Elgar: Symphony No. 2
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8
Honegger: Symphony No. 3 'Symphonie Liturgique'
Part: Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Schnittke: Cello Concerto No. 1
Pettersson: Symphony No. 7
Respighi: Church Windows
Sibelius: Symphony No. 4
Barber: Violin Concerto
Berg: Violin Concerto
Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra
Diamond: Symphony No. 4
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
Sculthorpe: Memento mori
Messiaen: L'ascension
Copland: Clarinet Concerto
W. Schuman: Symphony No. 3
Villa-Lobos: Genesis
Feldman: Rothko Chapel
Martin: Cello Concerto
Milhaud: Symphony No. 6

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Man, I forgot Sibelius' 4th. Oh well, I'm still happy with this list. I can't include everything.

Edit: I cut Hartmann to include Sibelius' 4th. Now, I'm really happy.

[Karl Henning]

I like the lists . . . my happy challenge will gladly be, to find 30 favorites of mine which do not duplicate what have already been cited:

(Alphabetically by composer)

Bernstein, Symphony № 2, The Age of Anxiety
Bernstein, Serenade After Plato's Symposium
Braga Santos, Encruzilhada
Britten, Sinfonia da requiem
Carter, Double Concerto for Piano, Harpsichord & Two Chamber Orchestras

de Falla, Harpsichord Concerto
Debussy, Images pour orchestre
Debussy, Jeux
Hindemith, Konzertmusik für Klavier, Blechbläser und Harfen, Op.49
Hindemith, Konzertmusik für Streichorchester und Blechbläser, Op.50

Koechlin, Vers la voûte étoilée
Markevich, Cantique d'amour
Markevich, Icare
Martinů, Harpsichord Concerto
Mennin, Symphony № 7, Variations Symphony

Nielsen, Helios Overture
Nielsen, Clarinet Concerto
Prokofiev, L'enfant prodigue
Prokofiev, Symphony № 2
Schnittke, Concerto for Three

Schnittke, Symphony № 1, The Wild Ride
Schoenberg, Pelleas und Melisande
Schuller, Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee
Schuman, Symphony № 9, Le fosse Ardeatine
Shostakovich, Symphony № 7, Leningrad

Shostakovich, Symphony № 15
Sibelius, Öinen ratsastus ja auringonnousu
Stravinsky, Le baiser de la fée
Stravinsky, ΑΓΩΝ
Wuorinen, Dante Trilogy

[Karl Henning]

Edit: I cut Hartmann to include Sibelius' 4th. Now, I'm really happy.

No Koechlin? 

[Jubal Slate]

Oh, I don't know...

Is there a list somewhere I can check against?

[North Star]

I like the lists . . . my happy challenge will gladly be, to find 30 favorites of mine which do not duplicate what have already been cited:

(Alphabetically by composer)

Schnittke, Concerto for Three
Schnittke, Symphony № 1, The Wild Ride

Schuman, Symphony № 9, Le fosse Ardeatine

Sibelius, Öinen ratsastus ja auringonnousu

Regarding the Schnittke picks: a) I'll need to listen to that b) hah!
That Schuman was on my first draft - I actually started to write that you missed it on my list.   
And I know which Sibelius piece that is. 

No Koechlin? 

I noticed you added that one, perhaps not just because John had no room for him.  0:)

[Karl Henning]

Glad you like the Schuman, too, Karlo!

[Karl Henning]

Oh, I don't know...

Is there a list somewhere I can check against?

Oh, you want me to build you a spreadsheet, don't you? 

[Jubal Slate]

Oh, you want me to build you a spreadsheet, don't you? 

If you can find one on the internet, I'll take a look at it.

[Karl Henning]

Sibelius, Öinen ratsastus ja auringonnousu

For the Finnish-challenged: Night-Ride & Sunrise 

[Mirror Image]

No Koechlin? 

I know, I was disappointed by not being able to include one of his works, but your choice was a good one and I fully concur with it.

[Karl Henning]

I've been enjoying the Antheil I've been getting acquainted with, but none of it quite breaks into this list.  The Ballet mécanique comes closest, but it is not an orchestral work.

A little repentant that I included no Langgaard, but Karlo claimed The Obvious Suspect, the Sfærernes Musik.

[Karl Henning]

Similarly, wish there had been room for RVW & Hartmann, but nothing on my present list really wants to budge (and for the most part, the works for which they might budge, were already cited).

[North Star]

Similarly, wish there had been room for RVW & Hartmann, but nothing on my present list really wants to budge (and for the most part, the works for which they might budge, were already cited).

And no Bartók either. 

[Karl Henning]

And no Bartók either. 

Aye.  Perhaps subconsciously I am bristling at his (horse race-like) outpacing the pack in the Greatest 20^th-c. Composer poll 

[vandermolen]

Interesting lists. John's (MI) could have been chosen by me and I feel bad about leaving out Pettersson, Honegger and Church Windows. I also like Karl's inspired choice of 'The Flight of Icarus' by Markevitch - a great work.