Composer must have written at least three symphonies:
Honegger: Symphony 5 'Three Ds' (favourite recording Igor Markevitch on DGG)
Vaughan Williams: Symphony 9 (Stokowski, Cala)
Miaskovsky: Symphony 27 (Gauk - not available)
Bainton: Symphony 3 (Handley, Chandos)
Shostakovich: Symphony 15 (Maxim Shostakovich USSR SO EMI/Melodiya LP)
Shebalin: Symphony 5 (Svetlanov, Olympia)
Note it says 'favourite'. Had it been 'greatest' the list would be different for me (Bruckner and Mahler, for example, would have featured - Shostakovich and Vaughan Williams would have featured on both lists).
Some obvious choices for me but heres my list:
Beethoven #9
Bruckner #9
Mahler #9
Shostakovich #15
Sibelius #7
Tchaikovsky #6
I think Karajan on DG is my favourite version for all of these apart from Shostakovich where I like Maxim Shostakovich's performance on Melodiya.
Brahms 4
Bruckner 9
Mendelssohn 3 Scottish (was in fact his last completed symphony)
Prokofiev 7
Sibelius 7
Tchaikovsky 6 Pathetique
Quote from: Keep Going on December 02, 2016, 01:45:57 AM
This wasn't his last symphony. :P
Sure its his last completed one - I wouldn't list the 10th as his final Symphony.
Edit: Oh and before you jump on me with but Bruckner's 9th wasn't completed either - he finished 3 of the movments so that's close enough in my book :P :D
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Mahler: Symphony No. 10
Schubert: Symphony No. 9
Thanks very much for the interesting replies already. Silly me, forgetting to include Tchaikovsky and Sibelius ::) - both favourites and greatest in my view.
In no particular order:
Shostakovich 15 (Haitink/LPO)
Bruckner 9 (Giulini/Wiener Phil.)
Rachmaninov 3 (Stokowski/National Phil.)
Mahler 9 (Chailly/RCO)
Sibelius 7 (Vanska/Lahti SO)
Nielsen 6 (Oramo/Royal Stockholm Phil.)
Shostakovich 15 (Sanderling/Cleveland)
Brahms 4 (Kleiber/Vienna)
Schmidt 4 (Mehta/Vienna)
Vaughan Williams 9 (Haitink/LPO)
Mahler 10 (Levine/Philadelphia)
Saint-Saens 3 "Organ" (Barenboim/Chicago)
Mozart #41
Haydn #104
Tchaikovsky #6
Prokofiev #7
Sibelius #7
and of course
Beethoven #9
(Since there is some question about whether Bruckner #9 and Mahler #10 count as "completed symphonies," I had to leave them out, despite my love for both, to make room for other undisputed masterpieces, in particular the Mozart and Haydn which we often forget in such lists.)
Tchaikovsky 6
Arnold 9
Beethoven 9
Lloyd 12
Shostakovich 15
Dvorak 9
Mahler 10
Bruckner 9
Schubert 9
Scriabin 3
Tchaikovsky 6
Sibelius 7
Sibelius 7
Schubert C+
Bruckner 9
Brahms 4
Schmidt 4
Stravinsky 3 Mvmts
Simpson 9
Arnold: Symphony No. 9
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 9
...damn you No. 9 curse!
Shostakovitch: Symphony No. 15
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Quote from: Keep Going on December 02, 2016, 01:43:56 AM
Brahms 4
Bruckner 9
Mendelssohn 3 Scottish (was in fact his last completed symphony)
Prokofiev 7
Sibelius 7
Tchaikovsky 6 Pathetique
Ah, I did not know that about the Scottish. Interesting.
Beethoven 9
Mahler 10
Sibelius 7
Tchaikovsky 6
Ives 4
Bruch 3
Quote from: Ken B on December 02, 2016, 02:56:20 PM
Simpson 9
Robert Simpson? He wrote two more after the 9th. :)
Quote from: Keep Going on December 03, 2016, 12:54:18 AM
Robert Simpson? He wrote two more after the 9th. :)
Maybe composers are officially declared dead after their 9th symphony. Would explain why some people have chosen Mahler's 9th too.
Quote from: SharpEleventh on December 03, 2016, 01:01:02 AM
Maybe composers are officially declared dead after their 9th symphony. Would explain why some people have chosen Mahler's 9th too.
Indeed. :-\ Of course some people argue that the 9th and Das Lied are 'unfinished' also since Mahler didn't get the opportunity to hear them and make refinements!
There's also the curious case of Schnittke's 9th, which some people argue has no credibility since his score was barely legible (written with his wrong hand after his final stroke) but has been 'realised' by A. Raskatov.
Quote from: Trout on December 02, 2016, 06:20:55 PM
Bruch 3
Interesting. Will require investigation.
Quote from: Keep Going on December 03, 2016, 07:50:14 AM
Indeed. :-\ Of course some people argue that the 9th and Das Lied are 'unfinished' also since Mahler didn't get the opportunity to hear them and make refinements!
There's also the curious case of Schnittke's 9th, which some people argue has no credibility since his score was barely legible (written with his wrong hand after his final stroke) but has been 'realised' by A. Raskatov.
I don't yet know what to make of Schnittke's 9th. It's interesting indeed, but I'm not sure how much of it is Schnittke and how much of it is Raskatov.
Quote from: Mirror Image on December 03, 2016, 07:53:36 AM
I don't yet know what to make of Schnittke's 9th. It's interesting indeed, but I'm not sure how much of it is Schnittke and how much of it is Raskatov.
Yup. I've been meaning to survey his 'late' symphonies again, i.e. No. 6 through No. 9.
However the allmusic review basically said that the 9th is likely pure Schnittke on the basis of the weakness of Raskatov's
Nunc dimittis:
http://www.allmusic.com/album/alfred-schnittke-symphony-no-9-alexander-raskatov-nunc-dimittis-mw0001424851
Schnittke's Ninth may or may not be judged the equal or even the superior of his Eighth, but it is vastly better than Raskatov's own Nunc dimittis that accompanies it here. Scored for mezzo-soprano, men's voices, and orchestra and intended as a Tombeau pour M. Schnittke, the Nunc dimittis is extremely loud and exceedingly abrasive. Though effectively performed by Davies and the Dresdner Philharmonie with mezzo-soprano Elena Vassilieva and the Hilliard Ensemble, Raskatov's tribute implicitly diminishes the man it explicitly admires. But after hearing it, the listener can be certain that its composer added nothing of his own music to the score of Schnittke's Ninth.
Quote from: Mirror Image on December 02, 2016, 06:26:18 AM
In no particular order:
Shostakovich 15 (Haitink/LPO)
Bruckner 9 (Giulini/Wiener Phil.)
Rachmaninov 3 (Stokowski/National Phil.)
Mahler 9 (Chailly/RCO)
Sibelius 7 (Vanska/Lahti SO)
Nielsen 6 (Oramo/Royal Stockholm Phil.)
Nielsen No.6 is a great choice - a tragic and eloquent work. Glad to see Oramo as the preferred recording. :)
Actually I like all your choices.
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on December 02, 2016, 06:55:50 AM
Shostakovich 15 (Sanderling/Cleveland)
Brahms 4 (Kleiber/Vienna)
Schmidt 4 (Mehta/Vienna)
Vaughan Williams 9 (Haitink/LPO)
Mahler 10 (Levine/Philadelphia)
Saint-Saens 3 "Organ" (Barenboim/Chicago)
Terrific choices. Maybe I should have included Copland No.3 as, like Saint-Saens, he only wrote three. Hang on a minute. Symphony for Organ etc, Short Symph., Dance Symph, No.3. Maybe he wrote four but isn't the short one the same as the organ one without the organ!
Quote from: vandermolen on December 03, 2016, 08:06:12 AM
Terrific choices. Maybe I should have included Copland No.3 as, like Saint-Saens, he only wrote three. Hang on a minute. Symphony for Organ etc, Short Symph., Dance Symph, No.3. Maybe he wrote four but isn't the short one the same as the organ one without the organ!
Saint-Saens actually wrote five. Besides the three numbered, there are two unnumbered: Symphony in A major and Symphony in F major "Urbs Roma".
Sarge
Shostakovich 15
Dvorak 9
Tchaikovsky 6
Beethoven 9
Brahms 4
Saint-Saens 3
There are many, but a good deal of variation would at least be supplied by
Beethoven 9
Bruckner 9
Mahler 10 complete (or 9)
Stravinsky Symphony in 3 Movements
Martinu 6
Shostakovich 15
Schubert 9
Bruckner 9
Mahler 9
Brahms 4
Arnold 9
Shostakovich 15
It's really hard to leave out obvious favourites like Haydn 104, Beethoven 9, Schumann 4 (actually not his last symphony), Tchaikovsky 6 and Sibelius 7. But that's just a game, so no harm done :D
Brahms 4
Ives 4
Bax 7
Beethoven 9
Copland 3 (is this his last?)
Mahler 9
What about Cesar Franck's d minor?
Quote from: The new erato on December 03, 2016, 11:41:43 PM
What about Cesar Franck's d minor?
Last symphony from a composer who composed at least three
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on December 03, 2016, 08:50:54 AM
Saint-Saens actually wrote five. Besides the three numbered, there are two unnumbered: Symphony in A major and Symphony in F major "Urbs Roma".
Sarge
Oh dear, I'm getting it all wrong. I'll have to opt for Bruckner's 10th Symphony instead. 8)
Quote from: André on December 03, 2016, 11:59:14 AM
Schubert 9
Bruckner 9
Mahler 9
Brahms 4
Arnold 9
Shostakovich 15
It's really hard to leave out obvious favourites like Haydn 104, Beethoven 9, Schumann 4 (actually not his last symphony), Tchaikovsky 6 and Sibelius 7. But that's just a game, so no harm done :D
The Arnold is an inspired choice.
Quote from: springrite on December 03, 2016, 11:37:15 PM
Brahms 4
Ives 4
Bax 7
Beethoven 9
Copland 3 (is this his last?)
Mahler 9
I think that the Copland is his last. I thought of including the Bax myself. An under appreciated work. Raymond Leppard's recording on Lyrita is the best version I think. Which is your preferred recording for the Copland Symphony 3 Paul?
Quote from: vandermolen on December 04, 2016, 12:11:29 AM
I think that the Copland is his last. I thought of including the Bax myself. An under appreciated work. Raymond Leppard's recording on Lyrita is the best version I think. Which is your preferred recording for the Copland Symphony 3 Paul?
I am glad I am not completely alone in loving the Bax 7!
For the Copland 3, I am very happy with the Lenny recording on DG.
Quote from: springrite on December 04, 2016, 12:16:32 AM
I am glad I am not completely alone in loving the Bax 7!
For the Copland 3, I am very happy with the Lenny recording on DG.
That was a very quick reply - I had only just typed the question! :)
No, I love that valedictory Bax symphony. The epilogue is outstandingly beautiful and poignant - a musical 'farewell' from Bax I think. I have always liked symphonies 4 and 7 which are seen by many as the weakest.
Right, I shall get out my DGG recording of Copland's Third Symphony with Lenny on the podium. I recall thinking it was better than his Sony recording, which I thought was not as good as Copland's fine old Everest recording - one of the first classical works I came to appreciate as my older brother had the LP.
Let me see...
Brahms 4
Glière 3
Bantock Celtic Symphony
Tchaikovsky 6
Magnard 4
The last one is difficult... I would choice: Prokofiev 7, VW 9, Sibelius 7 or Copland 3
Tchaikovsky 6
Elgar 2 (or Elgar/Payne 3)
Vaughan Williams 9
Shostakovich 15
Bax 7
Arnold 9
I like the Maestro267 and SymphonicAddict choices v much.
Shostakovich 15
Sibelius 7
Mahler 9
Brahms 4
Beethoven 9
Mozart 41
Here is my cliche list:
Beethoven 9
Nothing wrong with loving the mighty Op.125.
Beethoven 9
Brahms 4
Bruckner 9
Mozart 41
Mahler 10
Schoenberg Chamber Symphony 2
Schubert 9
I need to update my list big time:
Ives: Symphony No. 4
Copland: Symphony No. 3
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Schnittke: Symphony No. 8 (his 9th may be numerically speaking his last, but the composer himself wanted the score of the 9th destroyed)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 13, 2017, 11:42:47 AM
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
It's not his last symphony. It's bizarre that so many here are under the impression that the Tenth is not a real Mahler work.
Quote from: Mahlerian on March 13, 2017, 11:48:07 AM
It's not his last symphony. It's bizarre that so many here are under the impression that the Tenth is not a real Mahler work.
Fake news! 8)
Beethoven 9
Bruckner 9
Mahler 10
Stravinsky 3 Movements
Martinu 6
Shostakovich 15
Ives - 4
Berlioz - Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale
Bruckner - 9
Prokofiev - 7
Dvorak - 9
Shostakovich - 15
This is harder than i was expecting, already modified my list three times. :'(
Quote from: Mahlerian on March 13, 2017, 11:48:07 AM
It's not his last symphony. It's bizarre that so many here are under the impression that the Tenth is not a real Mahler work.
It's actually even more bizarre to me that you would believe Mahler's 10th is his last symphony considering it was never actually 'completed' to Mahler's standards.
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 13, 2017, 12:13:17 PM
It's actually even more bizarre to me that you would believe Mahler's 10th is his last symphony considering it was never actually 'completed' to Mahler's standards.
By that measure, neither Das Lied nor the Ninth were completed. Neither is in a state at which Mahler would have authorized performance or publication.
The Tenth is, aside from some details of orchestration, fully complete, unlike Bruckner's Ninth, for example, and the structure of the work is on the same level of excellence of any of the other symphonies. Anyone who loves Mahler should take the time to know his last work, because it adds so much more to our understanding of his music.
Quote from: Mahlerian on March 13, 2017, 01:01:29 PMAnyone who loves Mahler should take the time to know his last work, because it adds so much more to our understanding of his music.
Absolutely!
Sarge
Quote from: Mahlerian on March 13, 2017, 01:01:29 PM
By that measure, neither Das Lied nor the Ninth were completed. Neither is in a state at which Mahler would have authorized performance or publication.
The Tenth is, aside from some details of orchestration, fully complete, unlike Bruckner's Ninth, for example, and the structure of the work is on the same level of excellence of any of the other symphonies. Anyone who loves Mahler should take the time to know his last work, because it adds so much more to our understanding of his music.
I love Mahler, but I don't think much of his 10th and I also feel it's not fully complete. If Lenny never bothered recording the 10th, that's a good enough indication of it's worth and Lenny is my go-to Mahlerian. That's all I'm going to say and I'm sure you won't let this go because you never let anything go, so go ahead and tell me I'm a moron or roll your eyes at the computer screen. Your opinion isn't the only one in existence.
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 13, 2017, 01:16:16 PM
I love Mahler, but I don't think much of his 10th
We are no longer friends.
Sarge
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on March 13, 2017, 01:17:08 PM
We are no longer friends.
Sarge
::) I see no smiley face, so I'm going to take your post as you were being serious. That's fine if that's how you want to be about it. There's a lot of music you like that don't and vice versa.
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 13, 2017, 01:19:21 PM
::) I see no smiley face, so I'm going to take your post as you were being serious. That's fine if that's how you want to be about it. There's a lot of music you like that don't and vice versa.
It was a joke of course. I thought a smiley would be superfluous. But I do pray you'll finally come to love the 10th too. It's a great symphony, and the last symphony we have from of this composer. To dismiss it, as though he never wrote it, is a profound disservice to him.
Sarge
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on March 13, 2017, 01:42:16 PM
It was a joke of course. I thought a smiley would be superfluous. But I do pray you'll finally come to love the 10th too. It's a great symphony, and the last symphony we have from of this composer. To dismiss it, as though he never wrote it, is a profound disservice to him.
Sarge
Ah okay, no problem, Sarge. I'm not sure
why I don't enjoy it as much as say his 9th or
Das Lied von der Erde for example, but I suppose I should revisit it and give a clear-headed listen.
Edit: Let me add that I never dismissed the 10th as if Mahler never wrote it. I fully acknowledge that he wrote it, what I object to is it being viewed as his last 'completed' work. It's not and there's proof that it's not.
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 13, 2017, 01:16:16 PM
I love Mahler, but I don't think much of his 10th and I also feel it's not fully complete. If Lenny never bothered recording the 10th, that's a good enough indication of it's worth and Lenny is my go-to Mahlerian. That's all I'm going to say and I'm sure you won't let this go because you never let anything go, so go ahead and tell me I'm a moron or roll your eyes at the computer screen. Your opinion isn't the only one in existence.
I wasn't asking you to take my opinion for anything other than that. I've never called anyone a moron either. But you are offering reasons for your opinion that do not hold up. It is true that Mahler's 10th is a complete work in terms of structure, and it is true that Mahler's 9th and Das Lied are also not in a form which Mahler would have authorized for performance. None of that is in the least related to my opinion.
While, unlike those two works, the 10th was not completed in terms of orchestration, my opinion is that that shouldn't prevent us from recognizing it as a substantial addition to Mahler's oeuvre.
Quote from: Mahlerian on March 13, 2017, 01:51:03 PM
I wasn't asking you to take my opinion for anything other than that. I've never called anyone a moron either. But you are offering reasons for your opinion that do not hold up. It is true that Mahler's 10th is a complete work in terms of structure, and it is true that Mahler's 9th and Das Lied are also not in a form which Mahler would have authorized for performance. None of that is in the least related to my opinion.
While, unlike those two works, the 10th was not completed in terms of orchestration, my opinion is that that shouldn't prevent us from recognizing it as a substantial addition to Mahler's oeuvre.
Okay, that's fine that you feel that way. I do not. So moving along...
Note to self: NEVER mention you feel Mahler's 10th is not a complete work. This should be my new mantra. :)
Sibelius 7
Mahler 10
Brahms 4
Tchaikovsky 6
Bruckner 9
Schubert 10 (D. 936a)
Question: Mahler had orchestrated the first movement and most of the 2nd, however did complete the short score of the 10th in its entirety. I take this that the symphony was musically complete, similar to the final act of Berg's Lulu, just not orchestrated, correct?
I admit I haven't read much about the work, but do love my 2 recordings of it Rattle/BPO, Slatkin/StL SO.
Quote from: TheGSMoeller on March 13, 2017, 03:06:04 PM
Question: Mahler had orchestrated the first movement and most of the 2nd, however did complete the short score of the 10th in its entirety. I take this that the symphony was musically complete, similar to the final act of Berg's Lulu, just not orchestrated, correct?
I admit I haven't read much about the work, but do love my 2 recordings of it.
Yes. The short score is a complete draft. Mahler never began orchestration until after he had drafted a work in full, and after that point the structure of the work would never change (assuming that he followed his usual practice here). He also began on the full score of the third movement and left indications of instrumentation in the other two. In addition to orchestration, there are a few (but only a few!) details of counterpoint and harmony that have not been filled in, but the Cooke score is very light on additions of any kind, and it is the most widely accepted performing version of the work. Versions like Carpenter's that are more interventionist strike me as much less true to Mahler's style.
The whole short score is available online, so anyone can look at it for themselves:
Mahler: Symphony No. 10 (http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.10_(Mahler,_Gustav))
Quote from: Mahlerian on March 13, 2017, 03:11:06 PM
Yes. The short score is a complete draft. Mahler never began orchestration until after he had drafted a work in full, and after that point the structure of the work would never change (assuming that he followed his usual practice here). He also began on the full score of the third movement and left indications of instrumentation in the other two. In addition to orchestration, there are a few (but only a few!) details of counterpoint and harmony that have not been filled in, but the Cooke score is very light on additions of any kind, and it is the most widely accepted performing version of the work. Versions like Carpenter's that are more interventionist strike me as much less true to Mahler's style.
The whole short score is available online, so anyone can look at it for themselves:
http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.10_(Mahler,_Gustav)
Thanks for the info,
mahlerian. Listening to the final mvt now while reading along with the short score. Fascinating. I download scores all the time but never knew the short score for the 10th was available.
Some so-called composers have tried to finish Schubert which is a real disaster. Schubert actually started a third movement, did not like it himself and thank God left it unfinished. Some people do not seem to know when they are well off in music sometimes. As far as Mahler's Tenth, I think there was enough of a full symphony left so it was worth a try and a listen. As usual. everybody has the right to disagree. This makes life and music more interesting.
Quote from: JRJoseph on March 13, 2017, 03:52:43 PM
Some so-called composers have tried to finish Schubert which is a real disaster. Schubert actually started a third movement, did not like it himself and thank God left it unfinished. Some people do not seem to know when they are well off in music sometimes. As far as Mahler's Tenth, I think there was enough of a full symphony left so it was worth a try and a listen. As usual. everybody has the right to disagree. This makes life and music more interesting.
Debating is healthy. :)
I for one cannot get into a finale for Bruckner's 9th. Not saying whether I consider it "completed", but I just have a difficult time audibly accepting it. I guess it's been so long that I've been used to the beautiful
Adagio closing the piece.
Quote from: JRJoseph on March 13, 2017, 03:52:43 PM
Some so-called composers have tried to finish Schubert which is a real disaster. Schubert actually started a third movement, did not like it himself and thank God left it unfinished.
The best known finishing attempt by Newbould involves not much composing. It is the completion and instrumentation of the Scherzo of which Schubert had sketched the main part. As finale is taken the Entracte from Rosamunde which is complete and pure Schubert. So except for the completion of the trio and the instrumentation of the scherzo there is very little in the b minor completion that is not basically by Schubert. And it seems a little unfair to claim that the instrumentation and the trio are so disastrous that the ruin the whole piece.
Most people seem to agree (which means nothing to people who disagree) that Rosamunde does not belong in the Unfinished which is a very dramatic and completely different work from anything Schubert had ever written. If this opinion is unfair, so be it.
Quote from: TheGSMoeller on March 13, 2017, 04:04:51 PM
Debating is healthy. :)
I for one cannot get into a finale for Bruckner's 9th. Not saying whether I consider it "completed", but I just have a difficult time audibly accepting it. I guess it's been so long that I've been used to the beautiful Adagio closing the piece.
That's one of the reasons (having been exposed to the 3 movement structure for so long); the other one is that by the time Bruckner got to work on that finale, his own musical language had changed perceptibly. It looks (sounds) like he couldn't connect the dots in terms of linking that movement to the other ones. And
that is certainly audible. It's like being familiar with someone's face and meeting him/her after some plastic surgery.
Well, we accept the pastiche that is the completed Mozart Requiem (KV626)...
Tchaikovsky: Symphonie Pathetique
Nielsen: Sinfonia semplice
Honegger: Symphony No. 5 'Di tre re'
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 9
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15
Holmboe: Symphony No. 13
Quote from: Christo on July 17, 2017, 11:35:28 PM
Tchaikovsky: Symphonie Pathetique
Nielsen: Sinfonia semplice
Honegger: Symphony No. 5 'Di tre re'
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 9
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15
Holmboe: Symphony No. 13
Very much agree with these although I know the Holmboe less well than the others.
Following some of the suggestions here is my new list, which is probably more or less the same as my old list. ::)
Franz Schmidt: Symphony 4
VW: Symphony 9
Gliere: Symphony 3
Honegger: Symphony 5
Arnold: Symphony 9
Miaskovsky: Symphony 27
Quote from: vandermolen on July 18, 2017, 04:05:41 AM
Very much agree with these although I know the Holmboe less well than the others.
Following some of the suggestions here is my new list, which is probably more or less the same as my old list. ::)
Franz Schmidt: Symphony 4
VW: Symphony 9
Gliere: Symphony 3
Honegger: Symphony 5
Arnold: Symphony 9
Miaskovsky: Symphony 27
Could have been my list, too. Without any exception. :-)
I'm a bit late to this party but I'll give it a shot regardless.
Schnittke #8
Schmitt #2
Mozart #41
Vaughan Williams #9
Shostakovich #15
Myaskovsky #27
S̶e̶g̶e̶r̶s̶t̶a̶m̶ ̶#̶3̶0̶9̶
Quote from: schnittkease on July 18, 2017, 07:04:19 AM
I'm a bit late to this party but I'll give it a shot regardless.
Schnittke #8
Schmitt #2
Mozart #41
Vaughan Williams #9
Shostakovich #15
Myaskovsky #27
S̶e̶g̶e̶r̶s̶t̶a̶m̶ ̶#̶3̶0̶9̶
You don't think Schnittke's 9th is legit? I know it was finished by another composer, but like it quite a bit
Mozart 41
LvB 9
Schubert 9
Schumann 4
Brahms 4
Mahler 9 (or 10 if you want to count it)
Lutoslawski 4
Quote from: schnittkease on July 18, 2017, 07:04:19 AM
S̶e̶g̶e̶r̶s̶t̶a̶m̶ ̶#̶3̶0̶9̶
Finished looooong ago, in 2016; this Summer vacation no doubt inspired another dozen.
Quote from: Christo on July 18, 2017, 04:18:38 AM
Could have been my list, too. Without any exception. :-)
:)
Quote from: schnittkease on July 18, 2017, 07:04:19 AM
I'm a bit late to this party but I'll give it a shot regardless.
Schnittke #8
Schmitt #2
Mozart #41
Vaughan Williams #9
Shostakovich #15
Myaskovsky #27
S̶e̶g̶e̶r̶s̶t̶a̶m̶ ̶#̶3̶0̶9̶
Nice to see another vote for NM. :)
Shostakovich 15
Tchaikovsky 6
Lloyd 12
Vaughan Williams 9
Arnold 9
Dvorak 9
Quote from: Maestro267 on July 22, 2017, 12:23:22 PM
Shostakovich 15
Tchaikovsky 6
Lloyd 12
Vaughan Williams 9
Arnold 9
Dvorak 9
All absolute personal favourites, except for the Lloyd - that I don't even now. Was it my mistake not to play him after a superficial encounter about fourty years ago, already an admirer of RVW, when I found Lloyd an outdated Romantic and didn't bother to hear more? Please tell me how wrong I've been. ???
Yes it was definitely your mistake. You've missed out on one of the most enjoyable, life-affirming symphony cycles ever written. I don't get this despicable, ridiculous idea that people have of dismissing a composer because, to them, they sound like another composer they've already heard. What if fate had it that you discovered Lloyd's music before RVW's? You're not going to be able to give the correct answer there, because your brain's already been tuned to give the wrong answer, based on what, sadly, has actually happened.
Music would be a much healthier place if there were more composers to choose from. But sadly, some buffoons at the BBC (the Controllers of The Standard Repertoire™) decided otherwise.
Quote from: Christo on July 22, 2017, 12:37:14 PM
All absolute personal favourites, except for the Lloyd - that I don't even now. Was it my mistake not to play him after a superficial encounter about fourty years ago, already an admirer of RVW, when I found Lloyd an outdated Romantic and didn't bother to hear more? Please tell me how wrong I've been. ???
I enjoyed the Lyrita LPs. Symphony 8 was the first. I even saw Lloyd conduct Symphony 11 in London and exchanged some correspondence with him (not as impressive I know as your weekly tea party with Vagn Holmboe 8)). My recommendations for Lloyd are the epic Symphony 4 and the poetic No.7. I also like 5, 8,11 and 12.
Quote from: vandermolen on July 24, 2017, 05:15:01 AM
I enjoyed the Lyrita LPs. Symphony 8 was the first. I even saw Lloyd conduct Symphony 11 in London and exchanged some correspondence with him (not as impressive I know as your weekly tea party with Vagn Holmboe 8)). My recommendations for Lloyd are the epic Symphony 4 and the poetic No.7. I also like 5, 8,11 and 12.
I agree with you about those symphonies by Lloyd, yet the 7th symphony didn't impress me so much, but it's enjoyable.
My new list - with reasons:
Miaskovsky: Symphony 27 - the composer was terminally ill and in disgrace along with Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Shebalin and Popov following the denouncement of their music in 1948. And yet, the last movement is a kind of inspiriting paen to life as if, knowing that he would not live to see it, Miaskovsky welcomes the return of Spring after the Winter. He was posthumously awarded the Stalin Prize for the 27th Symphony. I find that last movement and the valedictory (IMO) slow movement intensely moving.
Vaughan Williams: Symphony 9 - defiantly staring death in the face. Those final looming chords and the harps at the end are very moving.
Shostakovich: Symphony 15. The final return, against a darkening background, of the tik-too percussion pattern from the withdrawn 4th Symphony at the end is (IMO) a final act of defiance from Shostakovich against those forces who had oppressed him throughout his life as he moved beyond their reach.
Bruckner: Symphony 9 - 'complete in its incompleteness' maybe a cliched comment on this work but true I think.
Bax: Symphony 7 (especially as conducted by Raymond Leppard) contains a most heartbreakingly beautiful 'Epilogue' bringing Bax's cycle of seven symphonies to a tranquil close. The 7th along with the 4th is often seen as the weakest of the Bax symphonies, but I prefer both to the more highly regarded No.6.
Glazunov: Symphony 9 (fragment). Only one movement exists of this work and that was completed by someone else. However, I find its sadness and melancholy very touching and characteristic and with that Glazunov had been able to complete the work.
Feel bad about leaving out Tchaikovsky's 'Pathetique' but there you go.
Sibelius 7
RVW 9
Mahler 9
Mahler 10
Shostakovich 15
Prokofiev 7
My commentary on the above list is one of things that makes a great last symphony isn't the symphony, it's the culmination of all that comes before. So my list can also be called my favorite symphony cycles.
Quote from: relm1 on April 10, 2019, 06:09:20 AM
Sibelius 7
RVW 9
Mahler 9
Mahler 10
Shostakovich 15
Prokofiev 7
My commentary on the above list is one of things that makes a great last symphony isn't the symphony, it's the culmination of all that comes before. So my list can also be called my favorite symphony cycles.
Thank you Karim for the list and for your interesting comment. Also, at least, count me in as an admirer of Prokofiev's Symphony 7 (especially the 'quiet ending' version) and both Mahler symphonies, as well as, of course, VW. Much as I like Sibelius's 7th Symphony it is Tapiola which has an even greater effect on me.
A fairly predictable line-up but these are the 'last symphonies' I have listened to most over the years.
Mozart 41
Beethoven 9
Brahms 4
Mahler 9
Tchaikovsky 6
Dvorak 9
Quote from: Biffo on April 10, 2019, 08:02:37 AM
A fairly predictable line-up but these are the 'last symphonies' I have listened to most over the years.
Mozart 41
Beethoven 9
Brahms 4
Mahler 9
Tchaikovsky 6
Dvorak 9
Thanks For the list Biffo. Count me in for Tchaikovsky and Mahler. I don't listen to much Brahms but really enjoyed the Second Piano Concerto ( or at least the last movement) on the radio yesterday.
Quote from: Christo on July 17, 2017, 11:35:28 PM
Tchaikovsky: Symphonie Pathetique
Nielsen: Sinfonia semplice
Honegger: Symphony No. 5 'Di tre re'
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 9
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15
Holmboe: Symphony No. 13
Forgot Arnold: Symphony No. 9 and should add now the
Symphonie concertante (1962) by Hendrik Andriessen.
Quote from: vandermolen on April 10, 2019, 05:58:45 AM
My new list - with reasons:
Miaskovsky: Symphony 27 - the composer was terminally ill and in disgrace along with Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Shebalin and Popov following the denouncement of their music in 1948. And yet, the last movement is a kind of inspiriting paen to life as if, knowing that he would not live to see it, Miaskovsky welcomes the return of Spring after the Winter. He was posthumously awarded the Stalin Prize for the 27th Symphony. I find that last movement and the valedictory (IMO) slow movement intensely moving.
Vaughan Williams: Symphony 9 - defiantly staring death in the face. Those final looming chords and the harps at the end are very moving.
Shostakovich: Symphony 15. The final return, against a darkening background, of the tik-too percussion pattern from the withdrawn 4th Symphony at the end is (IMO) a final act of defiance from Shostakovich against those forces who had oppressed him throughout his life as he moved beyond their reach.
Bruckner: Symphony 9 - 'complete in its incompleteness' maybe a cliched comment on this work but true I think.
Bax: Symphony 7 (especially as conducted by Raymond Leppard) contains a most heartbreakingly beautiful 'Epilogue' bringing Bax's cycle of seven symphonies to a tranquil close. The 7th along with the 4th is often seen as the weakest of the Bax symphonies, but I prefer both to the more highly regarded No.6.
Glazunov: Symphony 9 (fragment). Only one movement exists of this work and that was completed by someone else. However, I find its sadness and melancholy very touching and characteristic and with that Glazunov had been able to complete the work.
Feel bad about leaving out Tchaikovsky's 'Pathetique' but there you go.
Very interesting to read, Jeffrey. The Bax is the work I'm familiar with the least. You mentioned some cycles I should revisit in the future time (except the Bruckner and the Glazunov, which I did some months ago).
An update is needed:
Nielsen 6
Martinu 6
Mahler 9+10 1st mov. (I'm cheating here)
Brahms 4
VW 9
As before, the last choice is the most difficult one: It could be either Bruckner 9 or Shostakovich 15
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on April 10, 2019, 11:22:30 AM
An update is needed:
Nielsen 6
Martinu 6
Mahler 9+10 1st mov. (I'm cheating here)
Brahms 4
VW 9
As before, the last choice is the most difficult one: It could be either Bruckner 9 or Shostakovich 15
Interesting choices Cesar. I like all those works and good to see the Martinu and Nielsen mentioned. Honegger's 5th Symphony 'The Three D's' is another one I relate to.
Here's 6 more not on my first list:
Davies 10
Henze 10
Lajtha 9
Lutosławski 4
Nørgård 8
Toch 7
Dvorak 9
Elgar 2 (or 3.....!)
DSCH 15
Tchaik 6
Arnold 9
Quote from: Roasted Swan on April 14, 2019, 08:52:06 AM
Dvorak 9
Elgar 2 (or 3.....!)
DSCH 15
Tchaik 6
Arnold 9
I really like Elgar 3
Quote from: vandermolen on April 14, 2019, 12:27:01 PM
I really like Elgar 3
I went to the 1st performance at London's RFH. It was really rather wonderful to hear a premiere of a major score by a major composer who'd been dead for 80 years. The debate will rumble on about how "authentic" or not it is - frankly I don't care - for me it stands up as a rather wonderful piece all on its own whether its by Elgar, Anthony Payne or both!
Quote from: Roasted Swan on April 14, 2019, 11:46:49 PM
I went to the 1st performance at London's RFH. It was really rather wonderful to hear a premiere of a major score by a major composer who'd been dead for 80 years. The debate will rumble on about how "authentic" or not it is - frankly I don't care - for me it stands up as a rather wonderful piece all on its own whether its by Elgar, Anthony Payne or both!
Very much my view as well and an inspired choice to use 'The Waggon Passes' from the Nursery Suite for the conclusion.
Limiting myself to composers who wrote 4 or more complete symphonies:
Bruckner 9
Magnard 4
Prokofiev 7
Schmidt 4
Sibelius 7
Taneyev 4
Quote from: André on December 03, 2016, 11:59:14 AM
Schubert 9
Bruckner 9
Mahler 9
Brahms 4
Arnold 9
Shostakovich 15
Tchaikovsky 6
It's really hard to leave out obvious favourites like Haydn 104, Beethoven 9, Schumann 4 (actually not his last symphony), Tchaikovsky 6 and Sibelius 7. But that's just a game, so no harm done :D
I'll replace Arnold 9 by Tchaikovsky 6. I think Arnold is best represented by his 5th and 7th symphonies.
Quote from: vandermolen on April 10, 2019, 05:58:45 AM
Bax: Symphony 7 (especially as conducted by Raymond Leppard) contains a most heartbreakingly beautiful 'Epilogue' bringing Bax's cycle of seven symphonies to a tranquil close. The 7th along with the 4th is often seen as the weakest of the Bax symphonies, but I prefer both to the more highly regarded No.6.
Oh I love the Bax 7! You are not alone in this!
Most of the time when I see one of these lists I have trouble coming up with just the number of works requested.
For this list I could only come up with three:
Beethoven Ninth
Dvorak Ninth
Tchaikovsky Sixth
For all three of these composers their last symphonies are my favorite.
Oops. I forgot the Schubert Ninth.
Today's picks...
Shostakovich 15
Sibelius 7
Myaskovsky 27
Martinů 6
Copland 3
Schmidt 4
Mahler 10
Shostakovitch 15
Bruckner 9
Vaughan Williams 9
Sibelius 7
Prokofiev 7
Glière
Mahler (9)
Nielsen
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Tubin (10)
Mahler 10
Sibelius 7
Bruckner 9
Brahms 4
Prokofiev 7
Beethoven 9
Today:
Shostakovich 15
Vaughan Williams 9
Arnold 9
Bruckner 9
Nielsen 6
Schmidt 4
Quote from: Christo on June 03, 2020, 01:16:41 PM
Today:
Shostakovich 15
Vaughan Williams 9
Arnold 9
Bruckner 9
Nielsen 6
Schmidt 4
This could be my list as well. I've noted how popular the Shostakovich is on this thread, also Sibelius Symphony No.7 although I note that you are not a Sibelius fan (Kullervo being an exception?)
OK, let's have another go:
VW No.9
Bax No.7
Miaskovsky No.27
Shebalin No.5
Bruckner No.9
Kabalevsky No.4
Quote from: Wanderer on December 02, 2016, 02:06:24 AM
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Mahler: Symphony No. 10
Schubert: Symphony No. 9
Same choices, but I think ten is a more appropriate number. Not in order:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (with finale - always!)
Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Mahler: Symphony No. 10
Schubert: Symphony No. 9
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 9
Schumann: Symphony No. 3 (1850) or No. 4 (1841, revised in 1851)
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3,
"Scottish"Mozart: Symphony No. 41