7 favorite Beethoven works

[Todd]

I could go on. I'm not even sure there are 7 works by Beethoven that aren't favourites. 🤷‍♂️

How about:

Wellington's Victory
Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II
Cantata on the Accession of Emperor Leopold II
Der glorreiche Augenblick
Sonatina for mandolin and piano, WoO 43a
Allegro and Minuet in G for Two Flutes, WoO 26
Grenadiermarsch in F

[amw]

I could go on. I'm not even sure there are 7 works by Beethoven that aren't favourites. 🤷‍♂️

I also find that pretty easy to answer:

String Quartet in C minor Op. 18 no. 4—feels clumsy and poorly executed
Piano Sonata in F major Op. 54—seems too long for its material, which is not of much interest in and of itself and also isn't developed in a very interesting way
Piano Concerto in B flat op. 18—charming but mediocre
Symphony in F major op. 68—second and fifth movements suffer from excessive length and insufficient intrinsic interest in the musical material; fourth movement feels underdeveloped; first movement's repetitiveness is often unconvincing; music as a whole lacks tension
Variations on an Original Theme in E-flat major op. 35—I may actually be the only person who dislikes this work. It feels superficial and I was already tired of that theme by the few variations it had in the Sinfonia Eroica
Piano Sonatas (Sonatinas) in G minor and major, Op. 49 nos. 1 and 2—not very interesting; don't deserve to count among the sonatas overall

But these will be somewhat contentious opinions—four people have already named the symphony their favourite, for example. (I also don't know any of the cantatas, to be fair.)

[Todd]

Symphony in F major op. 68...

Piano Sonatas (Sonatinas) in G minor and major, Op. 49 nos. 1 and 2—not very interesting; don't deserve to count among the sonatas overall...

But these will be somewhat contentious opinions

Contentious, outrageous, hurtful.

[amw]

Contentious, outrageous, hurtful.

Indeed. I'm sure if we actually started a thread someone would be along sooner or later to complain that the melodic invention in the "Harp" Quartet is boring and unmemorable, or something equally offensive to my sensibilities. Perhaps it's for the best that the topic remains unexplored.

[LKB]

String Quartet Op. 131
Missa Solemnis
Violin Concerto
Piano Concertos 5
Symphony 5
Symphony 9
Arch Duke Piano Trio

[Karl Henning]

String Quartets:
Op 59 #1, Op 135
Piano Trios:
Archduke, Ghost
Sonatas:
Kreutzer
Symphonies:
3, 7

I was going to try to figure out what my favorite piano sonata was (difficult) but I realized that I was already at 7 works!

I know! How do I keep it down to seven?!

[LKB]

I know! How do I keep it down to seven?!

Just count in dog years. 

[Jo498]

String Quartet in C minor Op. 18 no. 4—feels clumsy and poorly executed

I never cared for this piece, the best movement seems the 2nd but it seems a fairly popular piece, often recorded even outside of complete cycles. It's a bit of a mystery  for me what Beethoven was trying to do here when he had already written a considerably better c minor string *trio*.

Piano Sonata in F major Op. 54—seems too long for its material, which is not of much interest in and of itself and also isn't developed in a very interesting way

I never got this one either, it seems almost like a "neo-classical" experiment to me, although I have met online several amateur? pianists and Beethoven-lovers who are rather fond of it.

Symphony in F major op. 68—second and fifth movements suffer from excessive length and insufficient intrinsic interest in the musical material; fourth movement feels underdeveloped; first movement's repetitiveness is often unconvincing; music as a whole lacks tension

The lack of tension seems the point of a relaxed day in the countryside. I liked it quite a bit as a teenager, not so much anymore and I am also a bit puzzled how frequently it is named as favorite Beethoven symphony/piece.

Variations on an Original Theme in E-flat major op. 35—I may actually be the only person who dislikes this work. It feels superficial and I was already tired of that theme by the few variations it had in the Sinfonia Eroica

I love the piece but obviously the piano variations predate the Eroica by several years. Beethoven must have been really fond of that theme or the "Prometheus" connection had some specific significance. It's hard to believe that he just didn't have any better idea for the finale of what was his largest and most ambitious piece at that time.

[Florestan]

Funny how "Beethovenian" mythology has worked not only against other composers' music but against Beethoven's own music as well. Everything in his oeuvre that is not grand, loud, bold, heroic, tragic, philosophical, in-your-face revolutionary and innovative, in short everything that is not "Beethoven" is of lesser quality or interest.   

FWIW, Beethoven was my very first favorite composers and my favorite symphony was the Seventh --- nowadays I rarely listen to his music (and when I do is mostly solo piano or chamber music) and whenever I overhear the Seventh on car radio I instantly change the station (valid also for 3 and 5). 

[Olias]

Symphony 7
Violin Concerto
Symphony 9
Piano Concerto 5
Opus 18 Quartets
Symphony 1
Symphony 4

[vers la flamme]

Well, let me give it a shot, I guess:

Pathétique Sonata
Symphony No.9
Symphony No.6
op.111 Sonata
Piano Concerto No.4
op.131 Quartet
Missa Solemnis

Yeah, I think that makes sense for the moment.

[Holden]

Funny how "Beethovenian" mythology has worked not only against other composers' music but against Beethoven's own music as well. Everything in his oeuvre that is not grand, loud, bold, heroic, tragic, philosophical, in-your-face revolutionary and innovative, in short everything that is not "Beethoven" is of lesser quality or interest.   

FWIW, Beethoven was my very first favorite composers and my favorite symphony was the Seventh --- nowadays I rarely listen to his music (and when I do is mostly solo piano or chamber music) and whenever I overhear the Seventh on car radio I instantly change the station (valid also for 3 and 5). 

Whereas I like a lot of his lesser known/less popular works which is why I included the Op 77 G minor fantasy, I also rate his 32 variations in C minor as it's great example of Beethoven the improvisor. One of the biographies I read said that at some of his soirees if he was given a tune he could do a set of variations of it off the top of his head.

[kyjo]

Funny how "Beethovenian" mythology has worked not only against other composers' music but against Beethoven's own music as well. Everything in his oeuvre that is not grand, loud, bold, heroic, tragic, philosophical, in-your-face revolutionary and innovative, in short everything that is not "Beethoven" is of lesser quality or interest.   

Yeah, I find this to be annoying as well. I generally prefer Beethoven in his more sunny, lyrical mode - hence my favorites of his including the PC no. 4, Triple Concerto, "Archduke" Trio, etc. I only included one minor-key work on my list (SQ no. 15).

[Jo498]

Except that a bunch of the works mentioned as "worst", i.e. Wellington's victory, the three cantatas, the c minor quartet and the "Eroica variations" are all more heroic than lyrical works, so the charge that Beethoven is not liked unless he writes heroic pieces is not justified in face of these nominations of "bad pieces".

To the contrary one might wonder why so many people nominate the virtuoso superficial showoff Kreutzer when there are so many more beautiful and lyrical smaller scale sonatas... Apparently people ignore lyrical Beethoven

[Holden]

There are also works like the Bagatelles Op 33/119/126. These are seriously under appreciated.

[vers la flamme]

Except that a bunch of the works mentioned as "worst", i.e. Wellington's victory, the three cantatas, the c minor quartet and the "Eroica variations" are all more heroic than lyrical works, so the charge that Beethoven is not liked unless he writes heroic pieces is not justified in face of these nominations of "bad pieces".

To the contrary one might wonder why so many people nominate the virtuoso superficial showoff Kreutzer when there are so many more beautiful and lyrical smaller scale sonatas... Apparently people ignore lyrical Beethoven

I can't be the only one who think that's not fair to the Kreutzer. It's a brilliant work.