Your Top Ten Symphonies

[Thom]

In no particular order:

Mahler 3
Mahler 9
Bruckner 7
Vaughan Williams 5
Beethoven 5
Arnold 9
Pettersson 7
Pettersson 8
Shostakovich 10
Diamond 2

[Steve]

In no particular order:

Mahler 3
Mahler 9
Bruckner 7
Vaughan Williams 5
Beethoven 5
Arnold 9
Pettersson 7
Pettersson 8
Shostakovich 10
Diamond 2

No Sibelius? 

[Thom]

No Sibelius? 

Indeed, he deserves to be in the list as well but there were only 10 slots available. His 2 is great.

[hautbois]

sibelius 2
beethoven 4 (in fact, i think any of the 9 deserves a place on the list)
mozart 40
bruckner 5 (i like 4 too but favour 5)
mahler 4
mendelssohn 1
schubert unfinished (i love 2 , 5 and 9 though)
dvorak 8
brahms 4 (wow! how does someone write 4 wish such consistent quality?)
jc bach op18 no 1

[karlhenning]

Indeed, he deserves to be in the list as well but there were only 10 slots available. His 2 is great.

Let me re-phrase:

No Sibelius, but two Pettersson? 

[Steve]

Let me re-phrase:

No Sibelius, but two Pettersson? 

Your setiments are echoed, Sir

Perhaps we can allow Pawn an 11th. 

[Haffner]

1- Mahler 9
2- Mahler 2
3- Gorecki 3
4- Mahler 10
5- Mahler 6
6- Mahler 3
7- Brahms 1
8- Brahms 4
9-  Brahms 2
10- Mahler 7 (just for the 1st movement)

Yeah Greg I had a very tough time not making 3/4 of my list Mahler.

[Steve]

Yeah Greg I had a very tough time not making 3/4 of my list Mahler.

I know that feeling... 

[Bonehelm]

1. Mahler 8
2. Mahler 2
3. Mahler 5
4. Mahler 1
5. Mahler 9
6. Mahler 3
7. Mahler 6
8. Mahler 7
9. Mahler 4
10. Mahler 10

For a moment this has turned into a "Rank the Mahler symphonies!!!!" thread. 

[PerfectWagnerite]

1. Mahler 8
2. Mahler 2
3. Mahler 5
4. Mahler 1
5. Mahler 9
6. Mahler 3
7. Mahler 6
8. Mahler 7
9. Mahler 4
10. Mahler 10

If you spend some time listening to the 10th you will find it just as remarkable as anything Mahler wrote. The first movement is totally spooky, almost sounds like it is from another world. The orchestration is so lean at first you don't even think it's Mahler at all. And the final Adagio yields nothing to the one that closes the 3rd or 9th.

For a moment this has turned into a "Rank the Mahler symphonies!!!!" thread. 

[Thom]

Perhaps we can allow Pawn an 11th. 

Thank you Steve. Then it would be Sibelius 2 indeed. And yes, 2 Petterssons. I find these among the most moving compositions that i know.

How fun these 10-item lists are, it is virtually impossible to do it right. I feel it also depends on the mood of the moment. Today I might be inclined to add a symphony by Mozart, tomorrow one by Rubbra, another day one by Tippett (his 2nd!) etc.

[btpaul674]

Ralph Vaughan Williams 8
Braga Santos 2
Norgard 3
Rautavaara 5
Sibelius 7
Tubin 2
Aho 8
Atterberg 8
Ruders 1
Pettersson 7

[Steve]

Thank you Steve. Then it would be Sibelius 2 indeed. And yes, 2 Petterssons. I find these among the most moving compositions that i know.

How fun these 10-item lists are, it is virtually impossible to do it right. I feel it also depends on the mood of the moment. Today I might be inclined to add a symphony by Mozart, tomorrow one by Rubbra, another day one by Tippett (his 2nd!) etc.

Glad to see that you've spent your 11th choice wisely. Any recommendations on the two Petterssons symphonies you've noted? I could always use a fresh recording. 

[PSmith08]

1. Mahler's 2nd
2. Beethoven's 9th
3. Bruckner's 8th
4. Nielsen's 4th
5. Dvořák's 9th
6. Mahler's 6th
7. Mahler's 9th
8. Bruckner's 4th
9. Schumann's 4th
10. Mozart's 41st
---

Eh. I like Mahler, and Beethoven's just on there for sentimental reasons, but reason enough for me.

[karlhenning]

How fun these 10-item lists are, it is virtually impossible to do it right.

Indeed.

So, for today:

Sibelius: Symphony No. 7, Opus 105
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3, Sinfonia espansiva
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4, Opus 60
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4, Opus 43
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10, Opus 93
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7, Opus 131
Dutilleux: Symphony No. 2, Le double
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7, Opus 60
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15, Opus 141
Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette, Dramatic Symphony, Opus 17

[Steve]

Indeed.

We could always differentiate these lists by mood.... 

Pensive, Joyful....

[Thom]

Any recommendations on the two Petterssons symphonies you've noted? I could always use a fresh recording. 

You probably know these already, Steve:

[Christo]

We could always differentiate these lists by mood....  Pensive, Joyful....

Good idea. Which makes that today's list, ranging from from peaceful to more aggressive or warlike, could read as folows

1. Vaughan Williams, A Pastoral Symphony (the Third)
2. Tubin, Symphony 4 ('Lirica')
3. Holmboe, Symphony 8
4. Honegger, Symphony 4 ('Deliciae Basilienses')
5. Braga Santos, Symphony 4
6. Brian, Symphony 1 ('Gothic')
7. Shostakovich, Symphony 10
8. Vaughan Williams, Symphony 6
9. Tubin, Symphony 6
10. Vermeulen, ('Prelude à la nouvelle journée')

[Bonehelm]

Good idea. Which makes that today's list, ranging from from peaceful to more aggressive or warlike, could read as folows

1. Vaughan Williams, A Pastoral Symphony (the Third)
2. Tubin, Symphony 4 ('Lirica')
3. Holmboe, Symphony 8
4. Honegger, Symphony 4 ('Deliciae Basilienses')
5. Braga Santos, Symphony 4
6. Brian, Symphony 1 ('Gothic')
7. Shostakovich, Symphony 10
8. Vaughan Williams, Symphony 6
9. Tubin, Symphony 6
10. Vermeulen, ('Prelude à la nouvelle journée')

How's Vaughan Williams like? Is he difficult to understand like Mahler/Bruckner?

[Christo]

How's Vaughan Williams like? Is he difficult to understand like Mahler/Bruckner?

There's a Vaughan Williams thread in the composers page, perhaps you could try and read the discussion there. I cannot say whether he's a difficult composer, as I grew up with his music when still a child, so for me he's one of the most natural voices of them all.

More or less easy listening (that is: much easier than Mahler or Bruckner) is provided by his smaller orchestral pieces, e.g. his English Folk Song Suite, or Dives and Lazarus, or Lark Ascending, or of course the Greensleeves Fantasia.

His symphonies are a different affair. The most accessible is probably the Second ('A London Symphony') and also the Fifth. More 'difficult' will be his Sixth and Ninth, the others are somewhere in between, imo. My personal favourites are the Third (A Pastoral Symphony), Fifth, Sixth, Eight and Ninth.

If you really want to invest in his symphonies, try both no. 5 and no. 6 - a perfect couple, strongly contrasted, representing two almost opposite sides of his highly personal style. But please opt for a good performance: e.g. those conducted by Handley, Boult, or Previn.