Your Top 5 Favorite Tchaikovsky Works

[Sergeant Rock]

Symphony No.4
1812
Sleeping Beauty
Piano Concerto
Romeo and Juliet

As a five year-old, the 1812 Overture was my big favorite. I'd act out the whole scenerio .

A five-year-old acting out the battle of Borodino? Both sides? That's some impressive and, mathematically speaking, extensive acting 

Sarge

[Keep Going]

Piano Trio
Pathétique
Symphony No. 5
Piano Concerto No. 2
Violin Concerto

[Karl Henning]

Piano Trio
Pathétique
Symphony No. 5
Piano Concerto No. 2
Violin Concerto

Nice to see the love for the Pf Trio.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Symphony no. 1
Symphony no. 3
Francesca da Rimini
Violin Concerto
Piano Trio

[SymphonicAddict]

Fifth Symphony (of course)
Piano trio (Tchaikovsky's best chamber piece)
Romeo and Juliet
Piano concerto 1
Symphony 1 or Symphony 2 or Francesca da Rimini

[kyjo]

Tchaikovsky's more popular works have lost some of their magic to me due to overexposure, so nowadays I find myself overall preferring his lesser-known works. Here's my current list:

Symphony no. 6
Romeo and Juliet
Piano Concerto no. 2
Souvenir de Florence
Piano Trio

Honorable mentions: Symphony no. 1, Manfred Symphony, Piano Concerto no. 1

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Time for a new list, mostly stage works.

Sleeping Beauty
Nutcracker
Pique dame
Cherevichki
Violin concerto

[Dima]

If you ask me what are his main masterpieces, I will tell that:
1. Nutcracker
2. Pique dame
3. Symphonies 4,6, Manfred.

But my favorite one:
1. Symphony no.1.
2. Piano concerto No.2

I must tell that some compositions of Tchaikovsky that are popular in the west are not well known in Russia. For example Overture 1812 year: it is difficult to find meloman in Russia who know this work. And out of Russia it is very popular.  But operas of Tchaikovsky of course are known better in Russia.

[Brian]

I must tell that some compositions of Tchaikovsky that are popular in the west are not well known in Russia. For example Overture 1812 year: it is difficult to find meloman in Russia who know this work. And out of Russia it is very popular.  But operas of Tchaikovsky of course are known better in Russia.

One year I visited Paris on Bastille Day, and what do I hear walking down the boulevard but someone with their windows open, playing 1812 as loud as possible! I don't think they knew their French history 

Hmmmm.

Serenade for Strings
Symphony No. 4
Symphony No. 5
Piano Concerto No. 2 (original/uncut)
Sleeping Beauty

Honorable mentions: Dumky for solo piano, Souvenir de Florence in the string sextet version

Four years later, the only change I would make to this list of five is replacing Symphony No. 5 with Orchestral Suite No. 3 and changing the second honorable mention to Orchestral Suite No. 2.

[Florestan]

PC 1
VC
Symphonies 1 and 5
SQ 2
Capriccio Italien
Serenade for Strings

Four years later, I'm still perfectly happy with this list.

Just in case, here's an alternative one:

Nutcracker (complete ballet, not the suites)
Swan Lake
Six Pieces for Piano op. 51
Hamlet (overture and incidental music)
Romeo and Juliet overture

[Mandryka]

Here's mine, from 40 years ago, when I used to listen to this stuff.

Symphony 6 (I remember annoying the neighbours playing it very loud on a balcony)
Symphony little Russian (very jolly)
PC 3 played by Gilels (the fast bits would have me dancing round the room)
Roméo and Juliette (I used to play this on loop)
Manfred (except I kept scratching the LP.)

[Florestan]

Here's mine, from 40 years ago, when I used to listen to this stuff.

Some people age badly. 

If one day Tchaikovsky's music will leave me cold then that will be the day I died. 

[ritter]

My 5 favourite Tchaikovsky works 40 years ago: none.
My 5 favourite Tchaikovsky works now: none.

[Florestan]

My 5 favourite Tchaikovsky works 40 years ago: none.
My 5 favourite Tchaikovsky works now: none.

You were already dead 40 years ago. 

[Jo498]

top 5
Souvenir de Florence
6th symphony
1st symphony
1st piano concerto
String Serenade

Today I might replace the 1st symphony with the 3rd string quartet and/or Souvenirs with the 1st string quartet. The string quartets are really underrated pieces. And while I am still not really familiar with the operas (despite having the two famous ones on my shelves) I think one Ballett should be included but I have a hard time deciding between them.

40 years ago I probably knew exactly one piece by PIT, namely the suite or another 1 LP side worth of Nutcracker excerpts that made up the B-side of "Peter and the Wolf". A little later I might even have seen a cartoon nutcracker with a little more music. About 33 years ago, the 1812 Ouverture, the Capriccio Italien, the first piano concerto were among the first classical pieces that really got me interested in classical music. I still like the b flat minor piano concerto but don't care for the shorter potpourri pieces.

[Florestan]

The string quartets are really underrated pieces.

+1.

don't care for the shorter potpourri pieces.

What do you mean by that?

[Symphonic Addict]

Leaving the symphonies out:

Piano Trio
Souvenir de Florence (sextet version)
Piano Concerto no. 2
Swan Lake
The Voyevode

[Total Rafa]

Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 6
Piano Trio
Piano Concerto No. 2
Violin Concerto

[vers la flamme]

I never got all that into Tchaikovsky, something just never clicked with me. Couldn't tell you what it is. That being said I can definitely name 5 pieces of his that I enjoy:

Piano Concerto No.1
Violin Concerto
Rococo Variations
Symphony No.5
Romeo & Juliet

The first piano concerto is a favorite of mine when I go through my "romantic piano" phases, easily several times a year.

[Jo498]

What do you mean by that?

Capriccio italien, Marche Slave, 1812, maybe another one I forgot. (I guess only the Capriccio italien is really a potpourri I loved them at 14 years old but don't care for them anymore. I never really got into the more serious programmatic pieces either although I like Francesca da Rimini and I often think I should give Manfred more serious listening.