Your Favorite 50-Year-Period in Music History

[flyingdutchman]

1842-1892

[nodogen]

As a newbie ignoramus, this was an interesting little exercise for me. After some gnashing of teeth I settled on 1907-1957. 1907 starts the period with Scriabin's Piano Sonata No.5 and 1957 gives me Vaughan William's Symphony No.9. So I get the later sonatas and all the symphonies, and a goodly chunk of Ravel.
I am content. I shall have to see what else this time period gives me. 🙂

[Florestan]

1801 -1850

If hardpressed, I could replace that with 1701-1750, 1780-1830 (with a good deal of overlapping), or 1850-1900, or even 1880-1930. All these periods contain much of the music I like.

Now that I think of it, 90% of the music I listen to was composed within the 1700 - 1950 timeframe, give and take a decade or two. Maybe I should have asked Your Favorite Quarter Millenium? 

[71 dB]

One of my great discoveries of recent years is Purcell.

Purcell is great. 

[Ten thumbs]

Difficult to pin down but probably 1830-1880, a period that contains a great deal of under-appreciated music.

[Madiel]

Hmm.

For now I'm going to say 1875-1924, as it gets me all of Dvorak's good stuff up until the end of Faure, while picking up a decent amount of Brahms, the most crucial Ravel, scrapes in Sibelius' 7th symphony... we may need to argue about Nielsen's 6th.

And of course Debussy, early Stravinsky, Mahler is quite interesting so I'll take it, a swathe of Rachmaninov though not the BEST stuff, similarly with Frank Bridge... in fact there's a bit of material from the 1930s I'll be sad to lose. But my concern on the other end is losing too much Brahms.

[Sergeant Rock]

Hmm.

For now I'm going to say 1875-1924

Really close to my 1878-1927.

Sarge

[Madiel]

Really close to my 1878-1927.

Sarge

Yes, I saw yours and very nearly just copied it. But then thought I better try to think it through myself and came up with my Dvorak-Faure boundary.

EDIT: Plus I get the premiere of Brahms' 1st symphony and a couple of extra chamber works!

[Sergeant Rock]

Yes, I saw yours and very nearly just copied it. But then thought I better try to think it through myself and came up with my Dvorak-Faure boundary.

I initially thought along your lines. Going a few years earlier, I could have included more Dvorak (like 4 and 5, symphonies I dearly love)...but would have missed Brian's Gothic, which would have been intolerable 

Sarge

[Daverz]

1913-1963

[vandermolen]

1908-1958

Unfortunately excludes Tchaikovsky's Pathetique and Bruckner's 9th but allows for Mahler's 9th at one end and VW's 9th at the other and all Miaskovsky, Bax etcetera   

[Christo]

1908-1958

Unfortunately excludes Tchaikovsky's Pathetique and Bruckner's 9th but allows for Mahler's 9th at one end and VW's 9th at the other and all Miaskovsky, Bax etcetera   

That's it: including about the whole creative span of Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). 

[bwv 1080]

1942-1992

gets the end of Bartok and Schoenberg;s output, all of post-war modernism and a good chunk of Ferneyhough and Schnittke


or 1820-1870

late Beethoven, all the early Romantics plus some of Brahms and Wagner