GMG Classical Music Forum

... showing the mastery of an accomplished symphonist:

Havergal Brian 1926
Kaljo Raid 1944
Joly Braga Santos 1947
Arnold Cooke 1947
Ahmet Adnan Saygun 1953

Quote from: Christo on July 21, 2017, 12:31:45 AM
... showing the mastery of an accomplished symphonist:

Havergal Brian 1926
Kaljo Raid 1944
Joly Braga Santos 1947
Arnold Cooke 1947
Ahmet Adnan Saygun 1953

Once again we are largely in agreement but here goes. I'll include some alternatives:

Walton
Tubin
Shostakovich
Mahler
Klaus Egge

I've left out Rootham out of respect for yourself.  8)

My list would likely be:

Haydn
Berlioz (cheating?)
Schumann (if Berlioz is cheating)
Mahler
Roussel
H. Brian

Honorable mention: Niels W. Gade

I can't believe I'm the first one to mention Brahms. That just may be the greatest symphony 1 ever written (well, Beethoven's, Sibelius's and Mahler's are very good too).

Quote from: Alberich on July 21, 2017, 10:53:44 AMI can't believe I'm the first one

Well, yes, you are.  ;)

Shostakovich
Mahler
Brahms
Barber
Prokofiev

Haydn
Schumann
Tchaikovsky
Mahler
Sibelius

Brahms
Rachmaninov
Elgar
Vaughan Williams
Langgaard

Perhaps Arensky is a sympathetic sixth man...

Speaking of Brahms. and Mahler...


Bruckner

Hans Rott

Others not yet mentioned (I think) from more recent years...

Karl Amadeus Hartmann

Bernard Herrmann

Zoltan Kodaly

Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov

Karl Henning

Oooh, Langgaard, Elgar, and Prokofiev are excellent choices.

I'm still not 100% convinced by the Brahms  :(

I have some quibbles about the Brahms 1st but even so it still beats all others 1sts I know.

Quote from: Jo498 on July 21, 2017, 01:23:06 PMI have some quibbles about the Brahms 1st but even so it still beats all others 1sts I know.

Well, but not, now that I came to think of them:
Sauguet
Goossens
Irgens-Jensen
Moeran
Walton

Quote from: Christo on July 21, 2017, 01:33:11 PM
Well, but not, now that I came to think of them:
Sauguet
Goossens
Irgens-Jensen
Moeran
Walton

Well, this could be my list too - all of them. I even now have two recordings of Sauguet's fine 'Expiatoire' Symphony.
List No.2

Khachaturian ) his graduation exercise)
Robert Simpson - my favourite of his cycle (also his graduation exercise)
Samuel Barber
Blomdahl
Bloch Symphony in C ( think it's his first one)

Quote from: Cato on July 21, 2017, 11:44:28 AM
Speaking of Brahms. and Mahler...


Bruckner

Hans Rott

Others not yet mentioned (I think) from more recent years...

Karl Amadeus Hartmann

Bernard Herrmann

Zoltan Kodaly

Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov

Karl Henning

Thanks to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/v/nfemhSHDlrY&t=657s

and

https://www.youtube.com/v/MUZuhU87yiU

How difficult this is, but it doesn't matter:

Khachaturian
Brahms
Tchaikovsky
Brian
Penderecki

Honorable mentions (5 more):

Barber
Walton
Bax
Langgaard
Lyatoshinsky

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on July 21, 2017, 03:30:17 PM
How difficult this is, but it doesn't matter:

Khachaturian
Brahms
Tchaikovsky
Brian
Penderecki

Honorable mentions (5 more):

Barber
Walton
Bax
Langgaard
Lyatoshinsky

Good to see a vote for Lyatoshinsky.

I would question whether a first symphony, by definition, could be the work of an accomplished symphonist ;) Generally—although there are exceptions (Mahler's four student symphonies, etc)—a composer hasn't accomplished any symphonies prior to writing that first one!

Quote from: Jo498 on July 21, 2017, 01:23:06 PM
I have some quibbles about the Brahms 1st but even so it still beats all others 1sts I know.

Brahms 1 is quite lonely in the position of first symphonies that are also indisputably great works of the orchestral repertoire, with only the Berlioz Fantastique for company.

There are also numerous "near greats", either seen as lacking some special quality of later works by their composer (Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich) or considered to have structural or musical flaws (Schumann, Mahler, Franck) or only popular in their home countries (Elgar).... etc.

A personal top five list is much more about which pieces connect with you in certain ways not relevant to their musical quality though. Mine would be fairly basic:

Brahms
Berlioz
Beethoven
Schoenberg
Martinů

Probably the runners-up are what people are really interested in though:

Webern
Bizet
Voříšek
Nielsen
Berwald
Enescu
Goldmark

Or.... maybe not. I'm not totally sure the symphonies I like are serious enough to qualify me for GMG membership. Need to listen to more Ture Rangström and Karl Amadeus Hartmann, presumably. >.>

Quote from: Brian on July 21, 2017, 12:44:41 PM
Oooh, Langgaard, Elgar, and Prokofiev are excellent choices.

I'm still not 100% convinced by the Brahms  :(

It's a bold experiment.  In a way which was probably one of the ways in which he admired Dvořák, it is a bit lavish with material.  I'll say I am convinced by the piece, but it is hard not to "judge" it against the standard of his later admirable economy of expression and material.  By the same token, that "benchmark" underscores my appreciation of the first point (bold experiment, above).

Nice to see so much love for the Gothic here. I shall include it in my list too.

Brian
Vaughan Williams
Alwyn
Schnittke
Walton

Schoenberg is the first Kammersymphonie?

(I have to check Martinu, Enescu, Goldmark, don't think I ever heard their first symhonies.)

There are certainly also differences among the pieces that are comparably early (Beethoven, Berlioz) or actually youthful (Bizet, also Arriaga or Weill) and "late early symphonies" by otherwise quite experienced and accomplished composers (Brahms, Franck, Elgar).
(Again there are some still hard to classify along such lines: Bruckner was 40 when he wrote the f minor, 43 when he wrote the first symphony but compared to Brahms or Franck he had not composed all that much (publishable) before that time.)

What I have against the Brahms are really quibbles; in another forum it turned out to be many people's favorite Brahms symphony. I think the finale is a little problematic and shows some of its history and Beethoven's shadow. The first movement is thoroughly great and gripping but it tonally and emotionally resolves at the end. So the finale needs the intro to get back to the dark mood and while impressive at the moment that turning point with Alphorn melody and brass chorale seems a little overdone. And afterwards Brahms is not really the guy for 10 min of triumph so he has to do "work" with the hymn-like theme to get another triumphal return and coda all of which do not quite have the emotional impact for that first turning point (Alphorn) has.

Brahms seems to be aware that he cannot do an "through darkness to light" in the straightforward way Beethoven did (for all kinds of musical and emotional reasons) but he still tries it in some fashion. And so while everything is musically exceptionally fine on its own, it does not really work for me all taken together. The comparably light character of the inner movement is also an aspect. I absolutely love the 3rd movement but it seems like an intermezzo that has almost nothing to do with a large arc going from drama to triumph. (Why should it? Because the outer movements seems to imply such an arc.)

Quote from: Maestro267 on July 22, 2017, 12:26:28 PM
Nice to see so much love for the Gothic here. I shall include it in my list too.

Brian
Vaughan Williams
Alwyn
Schnittke
Walton

As all the others are works that I greatly admire I clearly need to listen to the one by Schnittke. In recent years I've come to appreciate 'A Sea Symphony', especially in Haitink's recording. For a long time the work was a blind spot for me.

Quote from: vandermolen on July 21, 2017, 02:30:02 PM
Bloch Symphony in C ( think it's his first one)

Your endless plea for the great Bloch in C made me buy all the Bloch symphonies over the years - there are more than a handful - always looking for the one in the right key.  :D

Quote from: Christo on July 23, 2017, 02:31:59 AM
Your endless plea for the great Bloch in C made me buy all the Bloch symphonies over the years - there are more than a handful - always looking for the one in the right key.  :D

It has a wonderfully doom-laden yet paradoxically redemptive ending - reminding me of Maximilian Steinberg's No.2 which I'm sure influenced the young Shostakovich in its use of the orchestral piano.

I can't leave out the magnificent A Hebridean Symphony by Bantock. Extremely poetic and evocative.

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on July 24, 2017, 05:17:59 PM
I can't leave out the magnificent A Hebridean Symphony by Bantock. Extremely poetic and evocative.

+1

I think most of us can agree that the first symphonies of Brahms, Beethoven, Mahler, Elgar, Sibelius, Walton, Barber, and Nielsen are highly accomplished. I'll add five lesser-known examples:

Martinu
Atterberg
Berwald
Bernstein (well-represented on record but hardly ever played in the concert hall)
Casella

Honorable mentions: Roussel, Tippett, Scriabin, Kalinnikov, Rorem, Gordon Jacob

My five favorite Firsts:

Havergal Brian
Mahler
Elgar
Schmidt
Sibelius

Quote from: Jo498 on July 21, 2017, 01:23:06 PM
I have some quibbles about the Brahms 1st but even so it still beats all others 1sts I know.

Aye, except for the Berlioz.

Quote from: Brian on July 21, 2017, 08:49:12 AM
Schumann (if Berlioz is cheating)

Berlioz never cheated. He was always faithful to his beloved Harriet.

Brian
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Rachmaninov
Mendelssohn, if the string symphonies don't disqualify his first full orchestra symphony--if they do the slot goes to Berlioz.

I have to confess I could do completely without Beethoven's first two symphonies.

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on September 11, 2017, 06:24:22 PM
Mendelssohn, if the string symphonies don't disqualify his first full orchestra symphony--if they do the slot goes to Berlioz.

I should've included Mendelssohn's First; it's a great, easily overlooked work. It's a similar situation with Enescu's fine First Symphony - there are in fact four "Study Symphonies" that preceded it.

How stupid of me to forget one of my all-time favorite Firsts - Rachmaninoff's! I'm a big fan of Tchaikovsky's as well.

Quote from: kyjo on September 11, 2017, 06:40:02 PM
I should've included Mendelssohn's First; it's a great, easily overlooked work. It's a similar situation with Enescu's fine First Symphony

+ 1.

Quote from: kyjo on September 11, 2017, 06:43:13 PM
How stupid of me to forget one of my all-time favorite Firsts - Rachmaninoff's! I'm a big fan of Tchaikovsky's as well.

A great score! That magnificent 'toppling into the abyss' conclusion is one of my all time favourites.

Somebody ought to at least mention Kalinnikov and Franck and Bizet

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on September 11, 2017, 06:24:22 PM
I have to confess I could do completely without Beethoven's first two symphonies.

+ 1

Quote from: Ken B on September 12, 2017, 06:26:11 AM
Somebody ought to at least mention Kalinnikov and Franck and Bizet

Well, and then someone might say Henning.

Brahms
Elgar
Langgaard
Vaughan Williams
and, last but not least, Korngold's Sinfonietta, written when he was 16. The diminutive title refers to the sunny character of the work, not its size, orchestration, length or ambitions. Listen and be awed.

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on September 11, 2017, 06:24:22 PM
Brian
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Rachmaninov
Mendelssohn, if the string symphonies don't disqualify his first full orchestra symphony--if they do the slot goes to Berlioz.

I have to confess I could do completely without Beethoven's first two symphonies.

I probably prefer the larghetto from Beethoven's second symphony to most works mentioned in this thread, but it is not a first symphony by any stretch.

Quote from: Ken B on September 12, 2017, 06:26:11 AM
Somebody ought to at least mention Kalinnikov and Franck and Bizet

I mentioned Kalinnikov - an exceptional work. While we're on the topic of Russians, Balakirev and Borodin also wrote some really fine first symphonies.

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on September 12, 2017, 06:39:22 AM
Well, and then someone might say Henning.

A certain affluent duck did just that back at reply 9.

Henze
Elgar
Sibelius
Brian
Schnittke "no.1"

2nd line of choices maybe:
Walton
Bruckner no.1
Holmboe no.1 'Rustica'
Nørgård
Berio

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on September 12, 2017, 11:22:16 AM
A certain affluent duck did just that back at reply 9.

Well, shame on me for not noticing the compliment!

Quote from: Cato on July 21, 2017, 11:44:28 AM
Speaking of Brahms. and Mahler...


Bruckner

Hans Rott

Others not yet mentioned (I think) from more recent years...

Karl Amadeus Hartmann

Bernard Herrmann

Zoltan Kodaly

Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov

Karl Henning

Thank you, indeed.

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on September 12, 2017, 11:38:02 AM
Well, shame on me for not noticing the compliment!

It's difficult to hear clearly with all the quacking.

My choices are mostly some of the Ones mentioned, with One different:

Brahms
Bruckner
Coates
Nielsen
Sibelius

😊

Beethoven
Mahler
Debussy
Messiaen
Berio

Quote from: Chronochromie on July 12, 2018, 03:50:00 PM
Beethoven
Mahler
Debussy
Messiaen
Berio

I assume that is a reference to Turangalila ?

Lera Auerbach's Symphony #1 is not to be missed:

https://www.youtube.com/v/rpRr-tTEpfw

Quote from: Cato on July 12, 2018, 04:08:36 PM
I assume that is a reference to Turangalila ?

Indeed.

Quote from: Chronochromie on July 12, 2018, 03:50:00 PM
Beethoven
Mahler
Debussy
Messiaen
Berio

Debussy? Which one do you refer to? I only know a Symphony in B minor for piano duet or two pianos, but not for orchestra.

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on July 12, 2018, 04:38:23 PM
Debussy? Which one do you refer to? I only know a Symphony in B minor for piano duet or two pianos, but not for orchestra.

I consider La Mer a symphony. I should have specified, sorry.

Let's have another go:

Weinberg
Shebalin
Sauguet
Lilburn
Popov

Walton
Shostakovich
Nielsen
Bliss
Elgar

I don't remember my first choices, but here it goes:

Langgaard
Walton
Schmidt
Bortkiewicz
Rangström

Beethoven
Dutilleux
Martinu
Irving Fine
Harold Shapero

Quote from: kyjo on September 11, 2017, 05:43:07 PM
I think most of us can agree that the first symphonies of Brahms, Beethoven, Mahler, Elgar, Sibelius, Walton, Barber, and Nielsen are highly accomplished. I'll add five lesser-known examples:

Martinu
Atterberg
Berwald
Bernstein (well-represented on record but hardly ever played in the concert hall)
Casella

Honorable mentions: Roussel, Tippett, Scriabin, Kalinnikov, Rorem, Gordon Jacob

I hope to be seeing the Bernstein live on 10th August in London.  :)

Elgar
Sibelius
Popov
Rachmaninoff
Vaugan-Williams

And of course a dozen or so others already mentioned that are probably just as worthy.

In the 'lone ranger' category, young Georges Bizet and old César Franck deserve a mention.

Sorabji's First Symphony for piano, large orchestra, chorus and organ is the best first I've heard.*

Written for: Orchestra
Instruments: 6 5 5 5/8 5 4 1/tym prc 2rp pno org/SATB/strs
Date composed: 1921–22
Dedicatee: Madelaine Mathilde Sorabji
Approximate duration (minutes): 100
Manuscript pages: 300

(http://www.sorabji-archive.co.uk/samples/sorabji-KSS30_p272_ms.png)

* Ok, sorry, I was lying.  The work has not been performed, recorded, nor broadcast.  ;)

I also like Halvor Haug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8odRgY4C-sI

Otherwise the usual suspects...Rachmaninoff, Mahler, Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Popov, Brian, Walton, Prokofiev, Dukas, Arnold, etc.

Quote from: André on July 18, 2018, 04:33:37 PM
Elgar
Sibelius
Popov
Rachmaninoff
Vaugan-Williams

And of course a dozen or so others already mentioned that are probably just as worthy.

In the 'lone ranger' category, young Georges Bizet and old César Franck deserve a mention.

These are all amongst my favourites.

List No.3

Walton
Sauguet
Popov
Raid
Arnold

Quote from: vandermolen on July 23, 2018, 02:11:05 AM
List No.3

Walton
Sauguet
Popov
Raid
Arnold

I had forgotten the Raid. A true accomplishment from a young composer. That is one of my favorite Baltic symphonies.

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on July 23, 2018, 06:25:49 PM
I had forgotten the Raid. A true accomplishment from a young composer. That is one of my favorite Baltic symphonies.

Yes, a fine work Cesar, showing the influence of his teacher Tubin, whose First Symphony I also greatly admire and could have included on my list.

Also the very impressive (only) one by F. Lopes-Graca which I have been listening to, with much pleasure, today.

Quote from: kyjo on September 11, 2017, 05:43:07 PM
I think most of us can agree that the first symphonies of Brahms, Beethoven, Mahler, Elgar, Sibelius, Walton, Barber, and Nielsen are highly accomplished. I'll add five lesser-known examples:

Martinu
Atterberg
Berwald
Bernstein (well-represented on record but hardly ever played in the concert hall)
Casella

Honorable mentions: Roussel, Tippett, Scriabin, Kalinnikov, Rorem, Gordon Jacob

This.  I pretty much agree entirely with kyjo except I haven't heard Berwald or Roussel No. 1 so will have to check it out.  I have performed the Kalinnikov.  Interesting choice,  Very fine and ambitious work of the Tchaikovsky mold.  Audience and orchestra loved it.  It's a bit tough endurance wise but no worse than any of the brassy Tchaikovsky works are. 

I would switch Halvor Haug's No. 1 for Berwald with the caveat that I haven't heard Berwald.   :)

Quote from: relm1 on August 17, 2018, 03:50:58 PM
This.  I pretty much agree entirely with kyjo except I haven't heard Berwald or Roussel No. 1 so will have to check it out.  I have performed the Kalinnikov.  Interesting choice,  Very fine and ambitious work of the Tchaikovsky mold.  Audience and orchestra loved it.  It's a bit tough endurance wise but no worse than any of the brassy Tchaikovsky works are. 

I would switch Halvor Haug's No. 1 for Berwald with the caveat that I haven't heard Berwald.   :)

I'm sure you'd enjoy the Berwald and Roussel 1sts. I'll have to check out the Halvor Haug; I have a friend who thinks highly of his music. Regarding Kalinnikov, I've come to prefer his 2nd Symphony over his 1st, though I still love the 1st. The 2nd is a work of extraordinary melodic invention worthy of Tchaikovsky but without the more famous composer's occasional repetitiousness and bombast.

Let's see...(in no particular order):

Nielsen
Brahms
Martinů
Tubin
Dvořák (I've always loved this symphony and never understood/agreed with the criticism of it)

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 19, 2018, 05:16:24 PM
Let's see...(in no particular order):

Nielsen
Brahms
Martinů
Tubin
Dvořák (I've always loved this symphony and never understood/agreed with the criticism of it)

Interesting choices, John! I'll have to give the Dvořák another listen - I remember liking the third movement but finding the work as a whole rather overlong for its material. Then again, my admiration for Dvořák is constantly growing, so I'll probably like it better the second time around.  :)

Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony - perhaps not a consensus favorite of RVW, but I find it extremely bold for a 1st symphony.
Berlioz fantastique.
Schnittke

These are the three that popped into my head right away.

I'm shamelessly extending my list to 10 because there are just so many fine first symphonies out there:

Atterberg
Bax
Borodin (why does this piece never get mentioned, it's fantastic!)
Casella
Dutilleux
Elgar
Rachmaninoff
Sibelius
Suk
Walton

Runner-ups: Andreae (F major), Barber, Braga Santos, Bloch (C# minor), Martinu, Nielsen

Quote from: Cato on July 21, 2017, 11:44:28 AM
Speaking of Brahms. and Mahler...


Bruckner

Hans Rott

Others not yet mentioned (I think) from more recent years...

Karl Amadeus Hartmann

Bernard Herrmann

Zoltan Kodaly

Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov

Karl Henning

Quote from: Cato on July 21, 2017, 02:40:38 PM

Thanks to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/v/nfemhSHDlrY&t=657s

and

https://www.youtube.com/v/MUZuhU87yiU

Have 4 years gone by?  After visiting the Kodaly topic this week and mentioning his only Symphony (1961), I kept thinking that I had already mentioned it somewhere on GMG!


Today allow me to recommend another "first and only" Symphony and this particular performance:

The Chausson  Symphony conducted by Charles Munch with the Boston Symphony.

https://www.youtube.com/v/bM3deZ3U9io

Quote from: Brian on July 21, 2017, 08:49:12 AM
My list would likely be:

Haydn
Berlioz (cheating?)
Schumann (if Berlioz is cheating)
Mahler
Roussel
H. Brian

Honorable mention: Niels W. Gade

Four years on, my list now would be:

Berlioz
Walton
Mahler
Nielsen
Prokofiev

The "next five": Langgaard, Tchaikovsky, Barber, Roussel, Schumann (the original version of the Fourth Symphony is his first)

Quote from: Brian on June 10, 2021, 08:47:01 AM
Four years on, my list now would be:

Berlioz
Walton
Mahler
Nielsen
Prokofiev

The "next five": Langgaard, Tchaikovsky, Barber, Roussel, Schumann (the original version of the Fourth Symphony is his first)

Nice!

In no particular order, and probably surprising nobody:

Beethoven
Mahler
Brahms
Vaughan Williams
Berlioz

Not sure if these are the finest, but they are favourites:

Franck
Dvořák
Mahler
Schumann (Spring)
Kalinnikov

Quote from: OrchestralNut on June 10, 2021, 12:17:27 PM
Not sure if these are the finest, but they are favourites:

Franck
Dvořák
Mahler
Schumann (Spring)
Kalinnikov

I totally forgot about Rachmaninov's, thus I would have to take out Schumann's or Kalinnikov's.

Honorable mention of Vaughan Williams 1 clocking in as about the 89,573rd favourite.

Quote from: OrchestralNut on June 10, 2021, 12:17:27 PM
Franck

aw man, good one.
I eliminated "only one symphony" composers just to make it easier to choose  ;D

Quote from: Brian on June 10, 2021, 12:53:23 PM
aw man, good one.
I eliminated "only one symphony" composers just to make it easier to choose  ;D

Probably my favourite of the lot.

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 19, 2018, 05:16:24 PM
Let's see...(in no particular order):

Nielsen
Brahms
Martinů
Tubin
Dvořák (I've always loved this symphony and never understood/agreed with the criticism of it)

Upon further reflection, I'd substitute the Brahms with Roussel. I love the other symphonies, so I'll just leave it. I'm not too enamored with Mahler's 1st or I'd definitely would have chosen it. The same goes for Bruckner.

Sibelius (I'm choosing the E minor, but I'm not sure if Kullervo counts like his genuine first)
Walton
Langgaard
Rubbra
Lutoslawski

Then: Nielsen, Arnold, Weingartner, Melartin, Glazunov

Quote from: Florestan on July 21, 2017, 11:32:36 AM
Haydn
Schumann
Tchaikovsky
Mahler
Sibelius

My current list,. four years later: substitute Mozart for Haydn, all others remain.

Quote from: Mirror Image on June 10, 2021, 08:11:53 PM... I'm not too enamored with Mahler's 1st or I'd definitely would have chosen it. The same goes for Bruckner.

And yet Mahler is one of your Desert Island Three. This leads me to suspect that you've yet to encounter that one recording or performance which will " turn the piece on " for you.

But l think it will happen for you someday, and l envy you the experience once it occurs.

;),

LKB

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 19, 2018, 05:16:24 PM

Dvořák (I've always loved this symphony and never understood/agreed with the criticism of it)

Same here. I love it. Especially love the schrezo third movement.

Quote from: Brian on June 10, 2021, 12:53:23 PM
I eliminated "only one symphony" composers just to make it easier to choose  ;D

I did too - that would've opened up a whole new world of possibilities!

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on June 11, 2021, 10:08:58 AM
Sibelius (I'm choosing the E minor, but I'm not sure if Kullervo counts like his genuine first)
Walton
Langgaard
Rubbra
Lutoslawski

Then: Nielsen, Arnold, Weingartner, Melartin, Glazunov

Good point regarding Sibelius. I always forget Kullervo exists, for some reason...it's a fine piece!

The Rubbra and Lutoslawski are interesting choices. The Lutoslawski is a spiky, playful work, not a masterpiece like the Concerto for Orchestra but still very good. I must admit I don't know the Rubbra at all.

Quote from: LKB on June 11, 2021, 11:29:27 AM
And yet Mahler is one of your Desert Island Three. This leads me to suspect that you've yet to encounter that one recording or performance which will " turn the piece on " for you.

But l think it will happen for you someday, and l envy you the experience once it occurs.

;),

LKB

Oh, allow to me reiterate: I think Mahler's 1st is a good symphony, but I just don't like it as well as his 2nd for example. I've heard some outstanding performances of the 1st make no mistake about it --- from Kubelik to Bernstein to Haitink et. al. As you mentioned, I guess it just hasn't clicked yet, but I'll certainly not give up on it.

Quote from: OrchestralNut on June 11, 2021, 01:40:16 PM
Same here. I love it. Especially love the schrezo third movement.

Indeed. A fantastic piece all-around.

New List (probably the same as the old one - but let's see  ;D)

Klaus Egge
Walton
David Diamond
Shchedrin
Alwyn

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 19, 2018, 05:16:24 PM
Let's see...(in no particular order):

Dvořák (I've always loved this symphony and never understood/agreed with the criticism of it)

Quote from: OrchestralNut on June 11, 2021, 01:40:16 PM
Same here. I love it. Especially love the schrezo third movement.

Dvorak's 1st certainly has the best opening of any of his symphonies, that horn call is fierce. Especially from the Jarvi/SNO recording.

Quote from: TheGSMoeller on June 14, 2021, 02:53:29 AM

Dvorak's 1st certainly has the best opening of any of his symphonies, that horn call is fierce. Especially from the Jarvi/SNO recording.

That's stiff competition, given that Dvorak was really good at openings - the sheer melody of 5 and 8, the mystery of 4, the snarly nastiness of 7, the "how on earth will he turn this into a symphony" of 3 and 6.

I've recently wondered if he got the horn call idea in the First from prior knowledge of fellow Czech composer Kalliwoda's Fifth. But I'm not sure the Kalliwoda piece ever got performed where Dvorak could hear it. Might just be a cool coincidence.

Quote from: Brian on June 14, 2021, 05:49:39 AM
That's stiff competition, given that Dvorak was really good at openings - the sheer melody of 5 and 8, the mystery of 4, the snarly nastiness of 7, the "how on earth will he turn this into a symphony" of 3 and 6.

I've recently wondered if he got the horn call idea in the First from prior knowledge of fellow Czech composer Kalliwoda's Fifth. But I'm not sure the Kalliwoda piece ever got performed where Dvorak could hear it. Might just be a cool coincidence.

Brian, the real reason its the best opening is because as a former horn player I get real excited for multiple forte horns. That's enough to win the argument right there.

I like your "mystery of the 4th" description. The opening 2 minutes or so sound like an overture to the rest of the symphony, it covers so much in such a short time.

Quote from: Christo on July 21, 2017, 12:31:45 AM... showing the mastery of an accomplished symphonist:

Havergal Brian 1926
Kaljo Raid 1944
Joly Braga Santos 1947
Arnold Cooke 1947
Ahmet Adnan Saygun 1953

I can add Ruth Gipps 1952 now  :)

... And Arthur Butterworth's own crackerjack 1st symphony

Quote from: Wanderer on September 12, 2017, 08:20:00 AMBrahms
Elgar
Langgaard
Vaughan Williams
and, last but not least, Korngold's Sinfonietta, written when he was 16. The diminutive title refers to the sunny character of the work, not its size, orchestration, length or ambitions. Listen and be awed.

Still like this selection of favourites.
FiveEightNine more:

Beethoven
Mahler
Schumann
Tchaikovsky
Sibelius
Prokofiev
Bruckner
Schmidt
Gade

Selection limited to numbered symphonies only, and nowhere near an exhaustive list. 😎

Quote from: Christo on July 21, 2017, 01:33:11 PMWell, but now that I came to think of them:
Sauguet
Goossens
Irgens-Jensen
Moeran
Walton

To which I can add now not only Ruth Gipps (1942), but also (and yes, WW II often plays a part):
Eivind Groven (1938)
Camargo Guarnieri (1944)
Arthur Benjamin (1945)
Rudolf Escher (1954-55)  :)

Ives
Weinberg
Shostakovich
Bernstein