Your 10 or top favourite symphonists

[Symphonic Addict]

Especially when composers who wrote a significant number of symphonies are concerned, and that you can identify each symphony very well.

For me, they are (I say 10):

Nielsen
Prokofiev
Tubin
Holmboe
Langgaard
Shostakovich
Mahler
Sibelius
Vaughan Williams
Beethoven

[Mirror Image]

Hasn't this been done before?

[springrite]

Beethoven
Mahler
Brahms
Pettersson
Nielsen
Bruckner
Veinberg
Rubbra
Brian
Shostakovich


Bonus Entry: Bax

[Brian]

Chronologically-ish:

Haydn
Beethoven
Kalliwoda
Dvorak
Tchaikovsky
Sibelius
Nielsen
Shostakovich
Vaughan Williams
Rouse

[Florestan]

Haydn

This violates rule #2 of the OP, namely that you can identify each symphony very well. 

Quick, what's the difference between Haydn's 17 and 34? Or his 26 and 52? 

[amw]

This violates rule #2 of the OP, namely that you can identify each symphony very well. 

Quick, what's the difference between Haydn's 17 and 34? Or his 26 and 52? 

26, 34 and 52 are all fairly memorable minor-key symphonies with easily recogniseable thematic ideas, so this probably wasn't the best choice of random numbers.

[Florestan]

26, 34 and 52 are all fairly memorable minor-key symphonies with easily recogniseable thematic ideas, so this probably wasn't the best choice of random numbers.

The risk of randomization... Okay, how about 11 and 25?   

[amw]

No. 11 starts with a beautiful slow movement vaguely reminiscent of Mozart's piano sonata K282, while No. 25 does not, although I remember not much else about the latter except that it was written earlier than its number suggests.

For me it's definitely harder to distinguish the first ~20 Mozart symphonies from one another than the first ~30 Haydn ones.

[Brian]

This violates rule #2 of the OP, namely that you can identify each symphony very well. 

Quick, what's the difference between Haydn's 17 and 34? Or his 26 and 52? 

Defining "best symphonists" to deliberately exclude Haydn is like defining "best tennis players" to deliberately exclude Federer!

(Agreed with amw on the early Mozart vs. Haydn, by the way.)

[Florestan]

Defining "best symphonists" to deliberately exclude Haydn is like defining "best tennis players" to deliberately exclude Federer Novak Djokovic!

Fixed. 

[Florestan]

No. 11 starts with a beautiful slow movement vaguely reminiscent of Mozart's piano sonata K282, while No. 25 does not, although I remember not much else about the latter except that it was written earlier than its number suggests.

I bow to your excellent memory.

As for myself, I can say with a fairly highh degree of accuracy that "this is a Haydn symphony" when I hear one, but except maybe ten of them, I can't name which one it is.

[Florestan]

Okay, here's my list:

Haydn
Boccherini
Mozart
Schubert
Mendelssohn
Schumann
Dvorak
Tchaikovsky
Mahler
Rachmaninoff
Sibelius

[Brahmsian]

In alphabetical order:

Bruckner
Dvořák
Mahler
Nielsen
Schubert
Schumann
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Taneyev
Tchaikovsky

[Jo498]

Beethoven
Haydn
Mahler
Brahms
Bruckner
Mozart
Dvorak
Nielsen
Schumann
Sibelius

[Brian]

Fixed. 

To be fair, he excluded himself.

[Florestan]

To be fair, he excluded himself.

I beg to differ but let's just agree to disagree and leave it at that.

[Sergeant Rock]

Havergal Brian
George Lloyd
Haydn
Bruckner
Mahler
Sibelius
Elgar
Dvorak
Vaughan Williams
Beethoven

[springrite]

Havergal Brian

Yeah!

[Mirror Image]

I guess I'll thrown my picks into the ring:

In order:

1. Mahler
2. Sibelius
3. Bruckner
4. Shostakovich
5. Tchaikovsky
6. Dvořák
7. Vaughan Williams
8. Nielsen
9. Martinů
10. Ives

[Symphonic Addict]

Hasn't this been done before?

With the aforementioned first indications, it hasn't! 

And thanks for participating!