Favourite Top Ten Symphonies ... with a difference

Started by Mark, October 25, 2007, 04:15:10 PM

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Wendell_E

#20
Quote from: erato on October 25, 2007, 10:11:11 PM
The thread title says symphonies, not symphonists,

I think people are trying to save a few keystrokes, so instead of typing:

1. Sibelius Symphony No. 1
2. Brahms Symphony No. 2, etc.

they just put:

1. Sibelius
2. Brahms, etc.

My list:

1. Mahler, Symphony No. 1
2. Mahler, Symphony No. 2
3. Mahler, Symphony No. 3
4. Mahler, Symphony No. 4
5. Mahler, Symphony No. 5
6. Mahler, Symphony No. 6
7. Mahler, Symphony No. 7
8. Mahler, Symphony No. 8
9. Mahler, Symphony No. 9
10. Mahler/Cooke, Symphony No. 10

I'm kidding, but somebody had to do it.  And it's not that far from my real list. 
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Lethevich

This is fun :) I only want to mention each name once:

1: Beethoven
2: Brahms
3: Sibelius
4: Shostakovich
5: Tchaikovsky
6: Vaughan Williams
7: Dvořák/Pettersson (tie)
8: Bruckner
9: Arnold
10: Simpson
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

sidoze

1-Popov
2-Sibelius/Krenek
3-Prokofiev
4-Shostakovich
5-Nielsen
6-Tchaikovsky/Hartmann
7-Mahler/Bruckner/Sibelius
8-Shostakovich
9-Bruckner
10-Shostakovich

The new erato

Beethoven 3.
Brahms 1.
Mahler 6.
Mahler: "Lied von der Erde".
Nielsen 4.
Vaughan Williams 4.
Vaughan Williams 6.
Sibelius 7.
Shostakovich 4.
Allan Petterson 7.

karlhenning

♪ Vaughan Williams, A Sea Symphony
♪ Prokofiev Second, Opus 40
♪ Nielsen Third, Sinfonia espansiva, Opus 27
♪ Shostakovich Fourth, Opus 43
♪ Tchaikovsky Fifth, Opus 64
♪ Sibelius Sixth, Opus 104
♪ Dvořák Seventh, Opus 70
♪ Shostakovich Eighth, Opus 65
♪ Shostakovich Ninth, Opus 70
♪ Shostakovich Tenth, Opus 93
Unnumbered:: Berlioz, Roméo et Juliette, Opus 17
Latin name:: Britten, Sinfonia da requiem, Opus 20

Don

Sym. 1 - Shostakovich
Sym. 2 - Mahler
Sym. 3 - Mahler
Sym. 4 - Mahler
Sym. 5 - Mahler
Sym. 6 - Mahler
Sym. 7 - Bruckner
Sym. 8 - Shostakovich
Sym. 9 - Beethoven
Sym. 10 - Beethoven

matti

One each:

1. Kalinnikov
2. Brahms
3. Sibelius
4. Schumann
5. Tchaikovsky
6. Prokofiev
7. Aho
8. Beethoven
9. Schubert
10. Shostakovich

Kullervo

Oh... this is too tempting, but there are so many symphonies I haven't heard. I respectfully abstain. :)

Keemun

Quote from: Lethe on October 26, 2007, 03:29:57 AM
9: Arnold

Wow, Arnold Symphony No. 9 must be one great symphony to beat out the likes of Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvorak and Mahler, to name a few.  I'll have to check it out.


Here's my list:

Brahms 1
Mahler 2
Beethoven 3
Brahms 4
Sibelius 5
Tchaikovsky 6
Pettersson 7
Bruckner 8
Beethoven 9
Mahler 10

Numbers 1 and 10 were hard for me because I have yet to hear a symphony no. 1 or 10 that I would include on a "normal" top 10 list. 
Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. - Ludwig van Beethoven

Sergeant Rock

Symphony #1 D minor Havergal Brian

Symphony #2 Charles Ives

Symphony #3 "Sinfonia Espansiva" Carl Nielsen

Symphony #4 C sharp minor Albéric Magnard

Symphony #5 E flat Jean Sibelius

Symphony #6 A minor Gustav Mahler

Symphony #7 Alan Pettersson

Symphony #8 C minor Anton Bruckner

Symphony #9 Ralph Vaughan Williams

Symphony #10 "Yon Hall of Thunder" Rued Langgaard


Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Sergeant Rock

the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

karlhenning

And I tip my hat to your no. 10, Sarge, which is a brilliant piece!

Cato

This topic disses Mozart,  Haydn, Brian, Miaskovsky, and Hovhaness!   0:)

But okay!

Again, like with Fritos, you can't pick just one!  Bold-type indicates my special recommendation of a composer who might not readily come to mind.

1. Bruckner, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Ives, Hartmann, Ernst Chausson (!),  Hans Rott (!!!)
2. Mahler, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Ives, Schumann Ernst Krenek,
3. Schumann, Scriabin, Bruckner, Prokofiev, Gliere, Alexander Tcherepnin
4. Bruckner, Beethoven, Brahms, Scriabin, Ives, Ernst Toch
5. Mahler, Bruckner, Sibelius, Scriabin, Ernst Krenek
6. Mahler, Bruckner, Prokofiev, Dvorak, Karl Amadeus Hartmann
7. Beethoven, Bruckner, Mahler, Sibelius, Karl Amadeus Hartmann
8. Bruckner, Mahler, Schubert, Karl Amadeus Hartmann
9. Bruckner, Beethoven, Mahler, Dvorak, Shostakovich
10. Mahler, Mahler, Mahler, Mahler, Shostakovich
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Lethevich

Quote from: Keemun on October 26, 2007, 06:00:38 AM
Wow, Arnold Symphony No. 9 must be one great symphony to beat out the likes of Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvorak and Mahler, to name a few.  I'll have to check it out.

I would be more objective (or not bother posting) if it was a list of greatest ones :P :P It's objectively vastly inferior to Beet's 9th, but Arnold's cycle is fun, and the later symphonies connect with me.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

BachQ

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on October 26, 2007, 06:02:53 AM
Symphony #1 D minor Havergal Brian

Symphony #2 Charles Ives

Symphony #3 "Sinfonia Espansiva" Carl Nielsen

Symphony #4 C sharp minor Albéric Magnard

Symphony #5 E flat Jean Sibelius

Symphony #6 A minor Gustav Mahler

Symphony #7 Alan Pettersson

Symphony #8 C minor Anton Bruckner

Symphony #9 Ralph Vaughan Williams

Symphony #10 "Yon Hall of Thunder" Rued Langgaard

very cool list.

How could the rest of us forget  "Yon Hall of Thunder" ?

Lethevich

Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

greg

#36
i hate be this simple

1- Brahms
2- Mahler
3- Mahler
4- Brahms
5- Prokofiev/Mahler (tie)
6- Mahler
7- Prokofiev/Mahler (tie)
8- Schubert
9- Mahler
10- Mahler

can we go over?
11- Shostakovich
12- Shostakovich
13- Shostakovich
14- Shostakovich
15- Shostakovich  ;D

Keemun

Quote from: Lethe on October 26, 2007, 06:31:52 AM
I would be more objective (or not bother posting) if it was a list of greatest ones :P :P It's objectively vastly inferior to Beet's 9th, but Arnold's cycle is fun, and the later symphonies connect with me.

I'm listening to excerpts of it right now on Naxos' website.  :)   I like discovering music by composers I've never heard before.  I figure if it's someone's favorite (and they aren't a complete idiot about classical music), then it's worth looking into.  This thread is a great resource for me. 
Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. - Ludwig van Beethoven

Kullervo

Quote from: karlhenning on October 26, 2007, 05:34:19 AM

♪ Sibelius Sixth, Opus 104


Nice. I would have a hard choice choosing between that and the 7th.

Lethevich

Quote from: Keemun on October 26, 2007, 06:46:28 AM
I'm listening to excerpts of it right now on Naxos' website.  :)   I like discovering music by composers I've never heard before.  I figure if it's someone's favorite (and they aren't a complete idiot about classical music), then it's worth looking into.  This thread is a great resource for me. 

Me too :) I hadn't even heard of Robert Simpson before this forum, but came to enjoy his symphonies and quartets (despite them being rather hard going) after a few people on this forum mentioned him. If there was space for a symphony no.11 on the list, his would be there :D

My favourite Arnold symphony is #7, but that area has far too much competition for him to survive on this list :P His style is neat, a little more snappy and sarcastic than most British composers - slightly reminicent of Shostakovich.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.