List favourite symphonies 1-10 by different composers:

[vandermolen]

Symphony 1: Walton
Symphony 2: A London Symphony (1913) by Vaughan Williams
Symphony 3: David Diamond
Symphony 4: Shostakovich
Symphony 5: Bax
Symphony 6: Miaskovsky
Symphony 7: Sibelius
Symphony 8: Havergal Brian
Symphony 9: Mahler
Symphony 10:Rubbra

Therefore Walton's First Symphony is my favourite first symphony, VW's 'A London Symphony' is my favourite second symphony. Get it? Stupid idea I know. 
You can only choose a composer once.

[Todd]

1 - Elgar
2 - Brahms
3 - Beethoven
4 - Schumann
5 - Prokofiev
6 - Tchaikovsky
7 - Sibelius
8 - Bruckner
9 - Mahler
10 - Shostakovich

[vandermolen]

1 - Elgar
2 - Brahms
3 - Beethoven
4 - Schumann
5 - Prokofiev
6 - Tchaikovsky
7 - Sibelius
8 - Bruckner
9 - Mahler
10 - Shostakovich

Thank you - you lean more to the Nineteenth Century (though not exclusively) and we agree about Sibelius. Your choices would, I think, count as 'Great Symphonies' more than mine and, oh yes, I could easily have chosen Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner and Shostakovich.

[Mirror Image]

A difficult thread idea, Jeffrey!

[Mirror Image]

Here goes nothing:

1 -   Martinů
2 -   Rachmaninov
3 -   Nielsen
4 -   Sibelius
5 -   Vaughan Williams
6 -   Mahler
7 -   Rautavaara
8 -   Bruckner
9 -   Dvořák
10 - Shostakovich

[Mirror Image]

I'm surprised by some of your choices, Jeffrey. In the slot for a third symphony, it's interesting to see that Honegger's Liturgique didn't make the cut.

[James]

There are only like 3 or 4 works with the word "symphony" in the title that mean anything to me. If we extend this to music written for a symphony orchestra it'd be a little bit larger.

[Mirror Image]

There are only like 3 or 4 works with the word "symphony" in the title that mean anything to me. If we extend this to music written for a symphony orchestra it'd be a little bit larger.

Thanks for dropping by.

[ahinton]

Thanks for dropping by.

...or maybe without the "by"...

[Sergeant Rock]

1 - Havergal Brian
2 - Ives
3 - Nielsen
4 - Brahms
5 - Sibelius
6 - Atterberg
7 - Dvorak
8 - Bruckner
9 - Vaughan Williams
10 - Mahler

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Ah, things like this are always tricky considering that there are so many symphonies of a certain number that I love as opposed to symphonies of a different number which I would struggle with a bit.........

But here goes nothing!

1. Schnittke
2. Shostakovich
3. Honegger
4. Lutosławski
5. Nørgård
6. Sibelius
7. Mahler
8. Vaughan Williams
9. Henze
10. Davies

[Mirror Image]

...or maybe without the "by"...

That's perfectly acceptable, too.

[Mirror Image]

1 - Havergal Brian
2 - Ives
3 - Nielsen
4 - Brahms
5 - Sibelius
6 - Mahler
7 - Dvorak
8 - Bruckner
9 - Vaughan Williams
10 - Mahler

You can't use Mahler twice, Sarge. Hence...

You can only choose a composer once.

[Sergeant Rock]

You can't use Mahler twice, Sarge. Hence...

I knew I had one too many drams tonight  I'll edit my list.

Sarge

[Mirror Image]

I knew I had one too many drams tonight  I'll edit my list.

Sarge

Will be curious to see if you eliminate either M6 or M10. Coin toss?

[ludwigii]

1.   Walton
2.   Piston
3.   Lutoslawski
4.   Schnittke
5.   Prokofiev
6.   Tchaikovsky
7.   Beethoven
8.   Shostakovich
9.   Dvorak
10.   Mahler

[Sergeant Rock]

Will be curious to see if you eliminate either M6 or M10. Coin toss?

I can't think of another 10 I love like the Mahler but there are quite a few Sixths I love in addition to Mahler's. So M6 got the boot.

Sarge

[Mirror Image]

1.   Walton
2.   Piston
3.   Lutoslawski
4.   Schnittke
5.   Prokofiev
6.   Tchaikovsky
7.   Beethoven
8.   Shostakovich
9.   Dvorak
10.   Mahler

Interesting list, ludwigii. Walton is a composer I plan on revisiting at some juncture. Who's your avatar, btw? A younger Walton?

[Mirror Image]

I can't think of another 10 I love like the Mahler but there are quite a few Sixths I love in addition to Mahler's. So M6 got the boot.

Sarge

I see you substituted the Atterberg. A good choice. For me, I had a lot of favorites, especially #2-8, so I believe on these choices of mine I actually flipped a coin.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I can't think of another 10 I love like the Mahler but there are quite a few Sixths I love in addition to Mahler's. So M6 got the boot.

Sarge

Yeah it is difficult to choose number 10 as there are few that really stand out with the Mahler. Including Mahler 7 on my list—which is my favourite 7th symphony of them all—meant that it was difficult to pick a 10th symphony that wasn't Mahler.................

I like Peter Maxwell Davies' 10th—much more than Shostakovich's 10th—but there are other symphonies I prefer much more.