Please list your favorite Beethoven symphonies. Every time I come on this forum I learn something new. Thanks to all in advance, as always.
Let's face it, within about a day or two, you will have gotten a rec for all nine! There really is no bad one. The sixth is my personal favorite. I like it, because it matches how I often listen to music, which is with the idea of visual elements and stories in mind. Each movement has a clear origin in terms of what nature event/element is being referenced. Beyond that, it is just wonderful music...
#3, #7, #4, #6, #5, #9, #1, #8, #2.
Although the order (Except for the last one) can change every day.
Quote from: USMC1960s on September 20, 2015, 05:25:32 PM
Please list your favorite Beethoven symphonies. Every time I come on this forum I learn something new. Thanks to all in advance, as always.
7 is my favorite of the bunch. I sometime think the critics were right about 9. But ya know, apart from that one, they aren't that long, and there are many excellent complete sets.
The set I have now I've had for a couple of years. Bernard Haitink, London Symphony Orchestra, Box Set, 2006. LSO Live (label).
6 & 7.
4 and 7.
9,3,7,5,8,4,2,6,1
For some strange reason I read this as 'funny Beethoven symphonies'. :D Would've been a new idea for a thread anyway.
4,8,7,2,6,3,5,9,1
(Order changes every hour).... :D
Quote from: starrynight on September 21, 2015, 01:17:45 AM
For some strange reason I read this as 'funny Beethoven symphonies'. :D Would've been a new idea for a thread anyway.
The funniest for me is clearly the 8th, probably followed by the 6th with the birds at the end of the 2nd mvmt and the rustic musicians missing their cue in the 3rd mvmt., and the 1st (the beginning of the finale is basically a joke)
No. 7 is my firm favourite, and has been for pretty much all the time I've known the complete symphonies. My current order:
7, 5, 9, 6, 3, 2, 1, 4, 8
But it must be said that I still like the lower-ranked symphonies in that list. Just not as much as the others.
Past few years I've been listening mostly to 3, 6 and 8.
No. 6 & No. 7 in that order.
For the last few years, # 3 stands as my favourite - and by quite a margin.
After this, it varies quite a bit, but this is kind of the order:
6, 7, 5, 9, 4, 8, 1, 2
Love them all, regardless of order. :)
3, 7, 6, 5, 9, 2, 1, 8, 4. Or something of that kind. :)
Mostest favoritest: 3, 5, 7, 8
Treasured favorites: 4, 6
In the right mood, it's a favorite: 9
Pretty great: 2
Not my favorite, but I still like it: 1
Quote from: Jo498 on September 21, 2015, 01:51:12 AM
The funniest for me is clearly the 8th, probably followed by the 6th with the birds at the end of the 2nd mvmt and the rustic musicians missing their cue in the 3rd mvmt., and the 1st (the beginning of the finale is basically a joke)
I can see why you mention 8, but but what about the 2nd (last two movements)? The outer movements of the 4th may have some humour too. Maybe the earlier ones are more down to earth jokey, the 8th though relatively small is quite epic still and elegant.
For me, the 4th has more humorous bits (like several subsidiary themes in the first movement or the bassoon solo at the end of the finale) than the 2nd. I think the 2nd was meant to be fairly dramatic at its time.
But the two funniest movements for me are 2nd - the metronome joke - and 3rd - mock serious menuet with confusing entries etc. - of the 8th
Hard choices, but in the long run;
9
3
4
8
5
1
7
2
6
8)
Quote from: Gurn Blanston on September 21, 2015, 11:40:13 AM
Hard choices, but in the long run;
9
3
4
8
5
1
7
2
6
8)
:( Why is the 6th so low? Sarge, we need your bazooka. >:D ;)
Quote from: ChamberNut on September 21, 2015, 11:42:08 AM
:( Why is the 6th so low? Sarge, we need your bazooka. >:D ;)
Nothing personal, Ray, it just never rang my bell, I guess. :o
I am very keen on #4, though.... 0:)
8)
Usually 7, 8, 3. Sometimes 8,7,3, or 3, 7, 8, or 3,8,7, or 8,3,7 or 7,3,8
Then 6, the rest, 9.
Only #9 doesn't ever make a top 8 list.
Quote from: ChamberNut on September 21, 2015, 11:42:08 AM
:( Why is the 6th so low? Sarge, we need your bazooka. >:D ;)
I do not particularly like 6 either. In part due to being overexposed to it early on. It just kind of bores me now.
Quote from: ChamberNut on September 21, 2015, 11:42:08 AM
:( Why is the 6th so low? Sarge, we need your bazooka. >:D ;)
On the one hand, it tells you who can trust! :) On the other hand, it's still in the top 10! >:D
The 6th for me, any day.
I'm with the Kenster in preferring the 7th above all. But after that our symphonic solidarity is rent asunder : 7 6 3 9 8 5 4 2 1, for me, in that order.
BTW: the seventh was Sartre's favorite, if that's a recommend.
Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on September 21, 2015, 12:05:28 PM
I do not particularly like 6 either. In part due to being overexposed to it early on. It just kind of bores me now.
Overall, the 6th is one of the least dramatic pieces by Beethoven (and the thunderstorm does get old after a while) I still like the first movement and the last quite a bit but the scene at the brook also tends to bore me.
Of course, my least favorite Beethoven symphonies are still pieces I like and estimate highly.
Quote from: ChamberNut on September 21, 2015, 11:42:08 AM
:( Why is the 6th so low? Sarge, we need your bazooka. >:D ;)
Normally, Nut, I'd loan it to you but I fear you might turn it on me! The Sixth is actually my least favorite, too. (Notice though that it's still ranked as a favorite...it's Beethoven after all 8)
My favorite Beethoven Symphonies: 3, 8, 7, 9, 4, 1, 5, 2, 6
Sarge
3 9 8 2 5 7 4 1 6
3 or 9 always in first place.
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on September 21, 2015, 03:12:02 PM
Normally, Nut, I'd loan it to you but I fear you might turn it on me! The Sixth is actually my least favorite, too. (Notice though that it's still ranked as a favorite...it's Beethoven after all 8)
My favorite Beethoven Symphonies: 3, 8, 7, 9, 4, 1, 5, 2, 6
Sarge
Yes!
Quote from: amw on September 21, 2015, 03:52:19 PM
3 9 8 2 5 7 4 1 6
3 or 9 always in first place.
and Yes!
These 2 lists are more similar to mine than any others are.
Quote from: Gurn Blanston on September 21, 2015, 11:40:13 AM
Hard choices, but in the long run;
9 3 4 8 5 1 7 2 6
It goes without saying there are other composers ahead of many of these, though. But that wasn't the question... >:D
8)
Something like this: 9 3 7 5 8 6 4 1 2
If we are doing full lists
4 7 8 3 9 5 2 1 6
5 and 9 also suffer from Heard It Too Often Syndrome
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on September 21, 2015, 03:12:02 PM
Normally, Nut, I'd loan it to you but I fear you might turn it on me! The Sixth is actually my least favorite, too. (Notice though that it's still ranked as a favorite...it's Beethoven after all 8)
My favorite Beethoven Symphonies: 3, 8, 7, 9, 4, 1, 5, 2, 6
Sarge
*Don Adams voice* Missed it by
that much.
I hope it's not a cop out to say that I admire these works too much to rank them in this fashion. I believe the charm of LvB's symphonic output is that his nine symphonies, while having that same vigorous voice behind them, all sound unique and different. They emotionally impact me in ways that are different but equally affecting. Which is better...the tragic grandeur of the Eroica or the frantic frivolity of the 4th? It depends on what mood I'm in.
The one I'm listening to. Or the one I played last. ;D
9, 7, 6, 5, 8
For me the Beethoven 6 reaches the summit in musical/human communication-the greatest of the 9.
I'll be super-unfashionable and throw in a vote for the Fifth. While it's obviously anything but underrated in the overall scheme of things, I wonder if its very ubiquity in popular culture tends to cause it to be somewhat underrated among more serious classical listeners. Admittedly, my perspective is probably different from that of a lot of folks here in that I've only been listening much to classical music (broadly speaking) for the past few years, so what may be tiresome to many may still be somewhat fresh to me. In my case, though I grew up hearing the "fate knocking" theme everywhere, I never heard the full symphony until a few years ago, and it knocked me out--especially the exquisite slow movement. The finale can be a little over the top at times, but I find that few symphonies set the stage for such a finale quite so effectively.
Unsurprisingly, the Ninth is another favorite, though its length sets practical limitations on the number of times one can listen through its entirety. I love the first three movements unreservedly, but have to be in the right mood for the big choral finale. I have more mixed feelings about the 6th and 7th symphonies, which sometimes (in their very different ways) feel cloying to me, but other times completely hit the spot. I think those two may be more performance dependent (to me) than some of the others.
I still need more time with the lesser known symphonies before I can share any thoughts about them.
Quote from: NorthNYMark on September 17, 2016, 01:14:09 PM
I'll be super-unfashionable and throw in a vote for the Fifth. While it's obviously anything but underrated in the overall scheme of things, I wonder if its very ubiquity in popular culture tends to cause it to be somewhat underrated among more serious classical listeners. Admittedly, my perspective is probably different from that of a lot of folks here in that I've only been listening much to classical music (broadly speaking) for the past few years, so what may be tiresome to many may still be somewhat fresh to me. In my case, though I grew up hearing the "fate knocking" theme everywhere, I never heard the full symphony until a few years ago, and it knocked me out--especially the exquisite slow movement. The finale can be a little over the top at times, but I find that few symphonies set the stage for such a finale quite so effectively.
Unsurprisingly, the Ninth is another favorite, though its length sets practical limitations on the number of times one can listen through its entirety. I love the first three movements unreservedly, but have to be in the right mood for the big choral finale. I have more mixed feelings about the 6th and 7th symphonies, which sometimes (in their very different ways) feel cloying to me, but other times completely hit the spot. I think those two may be more performance dependent (to me) than some of the others.
I still need more time with the lesser known symphonies before I can share any thoughts about them.
Nice post. :)
Still 6 and 7 for me with honourable mention for 9 [especially the slow movement].
Quote from: aligreto on September 17, 2016, 02:49:21 PM
Still 6 and 7 for me with honourable mention for 9 [especially the slow movement].
What
aligreto sez works for me. I remember well senior year in high school spinning the sixth for my best bud, who loved LvB's VC more than any other sound on earth. He disliked the Pastoral for several reasons, not the least of which was the storm which he regarded as insufficiently stormy - he could not be convinced it was just a quick summer shower.
Of course, one likes all of them. Practically any of them is my favorite, while I'm listening to it.
When I was studying with Judith Shatin in Charlottesville, she had me study the B-flat symphony. There's something about that process, studying a score and discussing it with a master composer, that makes the object of study a part of you.
So, I'll say the Fourth.
4
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on September 17, 2016, 04:18:33 PM
Of course, one likes all of them. Practically any of them is my favorite, while I'm listening to it.
Ditto.
In order of preference:
3
7
5
9
6
1
2
4
8
The Eroica always comes first, Nos. 5, 7 and 9 communally hold second place, Nos. 1 & 6 follow (very) closely behind, followed by Nos. 2, 4 & 8, with No. 8 holding the arrière-garde most of the time.
After the Sixth, the Fourth as my two favorite Beethoven Symphonies.
Especially as both performed by Gunther Wand. So warm....never rushed. :)