Favourite symphonies 1,2,3 etc...

[vandermolen]

1 - Walton
2 - Vaughan Williams
3 - Beethoven
4 - Brahms
5 - Rubbra
6 - Brian
7 - Lloyd
8 - Bruckner
9 - Arnold
10 - Mahler

We agree on our first two Olivier and I like all your other choices, especially Rubbra's 5th Symphony - a score which means a lot to me. I need to listen to more Brahms. I have a boxed set of his symphonies and really enjoyed No.3 on the car radio the other day.

[vandermolen]

Here we go, pretty boring selection -

No 1 - Berlioz
No 2 - Vaughan Williams
No 3 - Beethoven
No 4 - Brahms
No 5 - Nielsen
No 6 - Tchaikovsky
No 7 - Sibelius
No 8 - Dvorak
No 9 - Mahler
No 10 - Shostakovich

Not boring at all! I nearly chose the Nielsen myself - my favourite of his works and one of the greatest 20th Century symphonies IMO.

[vandermolen]

I am not a huge symphony fan but probably can come up with ten favorites.  I will try to use each composer just once:

1. Brahms
2. Bernstein
3. Copland
4. Shostakovich
5. Mahler
6. Wellesz
7. Beethoven
8. Frankel
9. Schubert
10. Weinberg

Could have chosen the Copland myself and encouraged me to listen to the Frankel No.8 again (instead of his 'Curse of the Werewolf' soundtrack, which is great) and Weinberg No.10. Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' is a work I've come to enjoy more and more over this year. I'm tempted by the new DGG release.

[vandermolen]

0 Bruckner
1 Shostakovich
2 Mahler
3 Beethoven
4 Shostakovich
5 Mahler
6 Tchaikovsky
7 Beethoven
8 RVW
9 Mahler

Great list Jeffrey and I like the way that you sneaked in Bruckner's Symphony No. '0'. 

[Maestro267]

No. 1: Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony"
No. 2: Mahler "Resurrection"
No. 3: Tchaikovsky "Polish"
No. 4: Villa-Lobos "Victory"
No. 5: Prokofiev
No. 6: Bax
No. 7: Shostakovich "Leningrad"
No. 8: Mahler
No. 9: Dvorak
No. 10: Brian

11 or above: Lloyd: Symphony No. 12
Un-numbered: Bantock: A Hebridean Symphony

[Mirror Image]

Cool thread, Jeffrey. It does look rather familiar. Anyway, I don't listen to symphonies much these days (or really that much for the past few years), but I guess I'll have a go at it and keeping things one per composer to make it more challenging for myself:

Symphony No. 1 - Martinů
Symphony No. 2 - Rachmaninov
Symphony No. 3 - Nielsen
Symphony No. 4 - Sibelius
Symphony No. 5 - Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 6 - Prokofiev
Symphony No. 7 - Pettersson
Symphony No. 8 - Schnittke
Symphony No. 9 - Bruckner
Symphony No. 10 - Shostakovich

[Christo]

Second attempt (after hearing Shosta 10 under Petrenko, last night 
1: Moeran
2: Andreae
3: Braga Santos
4: Englund
5: Arnold
6: Vaughan Williams
7: Holmboe
8: Shostakovich
9: Simpson
10: Rubbra

[vandermolen]

Cool thread, Jeffrey. It does look rather familiar. Anyway, I don't listen to symphonies much these days (or really that much for the past few years), but I guess I'll have a go at it and keeping things one per composer to make it more challenging for myself:

Symphony No. 1 - Martinů
Symphony No. 2 - Rachmaninov
Symphony No. 3 - Nielsen
Symphony No. 4 - Sibelius
Symphony No. 5 - Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 6 - Prokofiev
Symphony No. 7 - Pettersson
Symphony No. 8 - Schnittke
Symphony No. 9 - Bruckner
Symphony No. 10 - Shostakovich

Yes, I 'nicked' your thread John  but I did confess once I'd realised my theft  I think that I must have been suffering from 'List Deprivation at the time!'
Great choices. Martinu's First Symphony is very engaging. I need to listen to the Schnittke.

[vandermolen]

Second attempt (after hearing Shosta 10 under Petrenko, last night 
1: Moeran
2: Andreae
3: Braga Santos
4: Englund
5: Arnold
6: Vaughan Williams
7: Holmboe
8: Shostakovich
9: Simpson
10: Rubbra

So, why have you chosen No.8?
What was the Petrenk performance of No.10 like Johan?

[Madiel]

I tried doing this, and then only came up with 8 composers where I felt I had a clear idea of the works and wouldn't be being arbitrary/cheating horribly.

And so I threw in a couple of others anyway.

And then I still found there were certain numbers I couldn't fill to my satisfaction. Sure, there are some nice 2nd symphonies about, but could I find a composer where I could persuade myself I thought their 2nd was really right up there? Eventually yes, but only by stuffing up another part of my planned sequence.

So yeah, failed. This might be easier once I finish listening to the whole Mahler cycle. Or when I get around to buying Tubin's cycle which I've heard once. Or finally listen to Vaughan Williams. Or feel like I actually know the difference between all the Rachmaninov ones...

[Mirror Image]

Yes, I 'nicked' your thread John  but I did confess once I'd realised my theft  I think that I must have been suffering from 'List Deprivation at the time!'
Great choices. Martinu's First Symphony is very engaging. I need to listen to the Schnittke.

Schnittke's Symphony No. 8 is really quite the spectacle to behold. There's a good bit of 'doom & gloom' and bleakness that permeates much of his late music, but there's still a light that shines through the music. The standout moment in this symphony, for me, is the nearly 18 minute third movement, Lento. There's not much going on musically in this movement and it's rather minimal in expression, but it is what's actually stated and the space that left that I find especially telling and eerie. Top-drawer Schnittke, IMHO.

[vandermolen]

Schnittke's Symphony No. 8 is really quite the spectacle to behold. There's a good bit of 'doom & gloom' and bleakness that permeates much of his late music, but there's still a light that shines through the music. The standout moment in this symphony, for me, is the nearly 18 minute third movement, Lento. There's not much going on musically in this movement and it's rather minimal in expression, but it is what's actually stated and the space that left that I find especially telling and eerie. Top-drawer Schnittke, IMHO.

'Doom, gloom' and 'bleakness' sounds right up my street John!

[vandermolen]

I tried doing this, and then only came up with 8 composers where I felt I had a clear idea of the works and wouldn't be being arbitrary/cheating horribly.

And so I threw in a couple of others anyway.

And then I still found there were certain numbers I couldn't fill to my satisfaction. Sure, there are some nice 2nd symphonies about, but could I find a composer where I could persuade myself I thought their 2nd was really right up there? Eventually yes, but only by stuffing up another part of my planned sequence.

So yeah, failed. This might be easier once I finish listening to the whole Mahler cycle. Or when I get around to buying Tubin's cycle which I've heard once. Or finally listen to Vaughan Williams. Or feel like I actually know the difference between all the Rachmaninov ones...

Thanks for giving it so much thought anyway. I'd be curious to see your list of 8 composers.

[Mirror Image]

'Doom, gloom' and 'bleakness' sounds right up my street John!

I'm sure you'll enjoy it, Jeffrey. If you have the Rozhdestvensky recording on Chandos please give that performance a listen as it's the best of the three I've heard.

[Cato]

Can I do it this way?

19th-Century List (trying hard not to write BRUCKNER or MAHLER more than once)

Symphony I - Hans Rott 
Symphony II - Rimsky-Korsakov
Symphony III - Schumann
Symphony IV - Dvorak
Symphony V - Tchaikovsky
Symphony VI - Kalliwoda      
Symphony VII - Beethoven
Symphony VIII - Schubert
Symphony IX - Bruckner

20th-Century List

Symphony I - Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
Symphony II - Charles Ives
Symphony III - Prokofiev
Symphony IV - Fartein Valen         
Symphony V - Ernst Toch
Symphony VI - Scriabin (Prefatory Action)  0:)
Symphony VII - Sibelius
Symphony VIII - Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Symphony IX - Mahler
Symphony X - Shostakovich

[vandermolen]

No. 1: Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony"
No. 2: Mahler "Resurrection"
No. 3: Tchaikovsky "Polish"
No. 4: Villa-Lobos "Victory"
No. 5: Prokofiev
No. 6: Bax
No. 7: Shostakovich "Leningrad"
No. 8: Mahler
No. 9: Dvorak
No. 10: Brian

11 or above: Lloyd: Symphony No. 12
Un-numbered: Bantock: A Hebridean Symphony

Following your list I'm listening to this now with considerable pleasure:

The slow movement of Symphony 4 has a hauntingly beautiful proto-minimalist section. Thank you for reminding me of it.

[Madiel]

Thanks for giving it so much thought anyway. I'd be curious to see your list of 8 composers.

Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Nielsen, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Holmboe, Nørgård.

These are basically the composers where I can think of a number and, in most or all cases, recall something of what that Symphony sounds like. Though some are firmer than others.

Whereas I couldn't, say, mentally pick the character of one Schumann symphony from another as yet.

[vandermolen]

Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Nielsen, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Holmboe, Nørgård.

These are basically the composers where I can think of a number and, in most or all cases, recall something of what that Symphony sounds like. Though some are firmer than others.

Whereas I couldn't, say, mentally pick the character of one Schumann symphony from another as yet.

Interesting. Thanks. Which Nørgard symphony did you have in mind? I especially like the 'Austera' No.1 but have heard great things about No.3. Some of the others I find a bit 'difficult'. Sibelius, Shostakovich and Nielsen are the here of my favourite composers.

[Madiel]

Interesting. Thanks. Which Nørgard symphony did you have in mind? I especially like the 'Austera' No.1 but have heard great things about No.3. Some of the others I find a bit 'difficult'. Sibelius, Shostakovich and Nielsen are the here of my favourite composers.

Well I'm fond of 2, 3 and 7. And also 4 in a way, and 5 fascinates me though it also feels completely mad.

[Cato]

Can I do it this way?

19th-Century List (trying hard not to write BRUCKNER or MAHLER more than once)

Symphony I - Hans Rott 
Symphony II - Rimsky-Korsakov
Symphony III - Schumann
Symphony IV - Dvorak
Symphony V - Tchaikovsky
Symphony VI - Kalliwoda      
Symphony VII - Beethoven
Symphony VIII - Schubert
Symphony IX - Bruckner

20th-Century List

Symphony I - Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
Symphony II - Charles Ives
Symphony III - Prokofiev
Symphony IV - Fartein Valen         
Symphony V - Ernst Toch
Symphony VI - Scriabin (Prefatory Action)  0:)
Symphony VII - Sibelius
Symphony VIII - Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Symphony IX - Mahler
Symphony X - Shostakovich

Concerning Fartein Valen: I became interested in his works some years ago, after reading a review by a music critic whose review of the Valen symphonies was an admission of complete incomprehension.  He wrote that he could not offer a review per se, other than to admit that he had not the slightest grasp of the works.

So I thought: "Okay, I absolutely must hear those works!"   

Not so forbidding at all!

e.g.

https://www.youtube.com/v/Lx7TWogGvFg