Your Favorite 50-Year-Period in Music History

[bwv 1080]

(Present Minus 50) - (Present)

They didn't even have audio recording in half of y'alls answers!

Or modern dentistry for that matter

[Florestan]

If pressed, I'd probably also go with ca. 1780-1830 as it has the highest number of favorite works and composer.

That was my criterion, too. Within 1810-1850 I get Beethoven, Weber, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Berlioz, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, to name but the greatest ones.

1775-1824.

Frankly, I'm surprised. From you I expected 1760-1810. 

They didn't even have audio recording in half of y'alls answers!

Or modern dentistry for that matter

You misunderstood my question. It was not "when would you rather live?" but simply "your favorite 50 years in music history?". Most posters got it right. 

In my period of choice, dentistry was indeed a big problem, but lack of recordings not so much --- that was the golden age of Hausmusik, where people made music themselves, which I think is a much more engaging and exciting thing than passively listening to recordings.

[Spineur]

The classical era lasted about 50 years - roughly 1750-1800, although this varies from country to country.

[bwv 1080]

1775-1824. If the world has to end, Beethoven's 9th symphony is as good a place for it as any, and better than most.

Dude! you miss all the late string quartets

[nathanb]

You misunderstood my question. It was not "when would you rather live?" but simply "your favorite 50 years in music history?". Most posters got it right. 

I understood your question perfectly. Maybe you didn't.

[Florestan]

I understood your question perfectly.

Then what relevance does this rejoinder

They didn't even have audio recording in half of y'alls answers!

have?

[Gurn Blanston]

Dude! you miss all the late string quartets

Gotta make sacrifices. The 1770's were the first big flowering of Viennese Classicism, I have to tell you honestly, that is more important to me, even though I like the hell out of the Late Quartets. And latest Schubert, and early Mendelssohn... 50 years sucks anyway, that must be a Florestan thing. I would have picked 75 and given up nothing. 

[Florestan]

50 years sucks anyway, that must be a Florestan thing. I would have picked 75 and given up nothing. 

Initially I thought about 100 years, but that would have made things too easy. 

[Ken B]

Do they have to be consecutive years?

[Florestan]

Do they have to be consecutive years?

Yes. 

[bwv 1080]

How about favorite 50 year period of CD pressings?

[Gurn Blanston]

Initially I thought about 100 years, but that would have made things too easy. 

Then we could have compromised on 75. I would have picked 1755 (professional emergence of Haydn) to 1829 (death of Schubert, and been relatively happy. But would you ask me? Oh, noooooo...

[DaveF]

1575-1625.  Byrd's entire creative life, late Tallis, Palestrina, Victoria, Lassus, Gibbons.  And most of Monteverdi.  And early Schütz.

[Christo]

1900 - 1950

1904-1954

[ritter]

Do they have to be consecutive years?

Yes. 

Damn! I was already quite advanced with a list of 50 isolated years (spanning from 1607 to 2006) that would be my favourites...

[prémont]

Initially I thought about 100 years, but that would have made things too easy. 

Or perhaps more difficult.

[some guy]

Q: What is your favorite 1,000-Year-Period in Music History?

A: Yes.

[Ken B]

Probably the 50 years starting from Bach writing Actus Tragicus (to sneak in a few post Bach years), but maybe the 50 years ending 1630, per 71dB.

Any choice would omit 1897-1922, which is the sparsest 25 year stretch ever. 

[bwv 1080]

1897-22 is the meat of Mahler, all of Debussy, the early 2nd Vienesse school, early Stravinsky - would be about the last period I would give up


I would easily skip 1609-1703, from the death of Gesualdo to the start of Bach's career

Or 1750-1775

Those would be the only significant periods from the 14h century to present

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Many of Sibelius's mature works are also from period 1897-1922, as well as Richard Strauss's Salome, Elektra, Alpensinfonie, etc.