I'm sure that I've done this before but probably not for years.
Added later: John (MI) did this in 2017 so apologies but have a go,if you want to. I should have checked before.
Ok this idea came to me when I was swimming in the local pool today as part of my new health regime (too much information). Anyway, I like to swim 30 lengths at least (I'd like you to think that it is an Olympic-size pool but it isn't!) I try not to lose count of how many lengths I have swum and therefore think of a relevant symphony for each length, as the name of a composer is more likely to stick in my mind than a random number. I try to think of a symphony by a different composer for each length (sad, isn't it 8)) Of course, once I get beyond fifteen lengths my options are limited to Miaskovsky, Hovhannes, and Havergal Brian, in regard to works that I regularly listen to. Anyway, after that extended introduction here we go. You have to choose your favourite symphony No 1, No 2 etc up to 10 without repeating a composer. This is 'favourite' rather than 'greatest' list but I've tried to choose works which I rate very highly:
Symphony No.1: Walton
Symphony No.2: Vaughan Williams 'A London Symphony' (1920 version)
Symphony No.3: Kinsella Symphony No.3 'Joie de Vivre'
Symphony No.4: Braga Santos
Symphony No.5: Scherbachov
Symphony No.6: Miaskovsky
Symphony No.7: Moyzes
Symphony No.8: Vagn Holmboe 'Boreale'
Symphony No.9: Bruckner
Symphony No.10:Tubin (or Havergal Brian)
Quote from: vandermolen on October 12, 2019, 09:23:32 AMYou have to choose your favourite symphony No 1, No 2 etc up to 10 without repeating a composer.
Bit unfair on Mozart and Haydn. ;D
Not sure I really belong here with my narrow knowledge of symphonies compared to many here. On top of which some of my favourite 'symphonies' don't have numbers (Stravinsky, Britten etc), hence my somewhat cliched list.
Anyway, off the top of my head (which is maybe where I should have left them), the following occur -
Symphony No.1: Brahms
Symphony No.2: Rachmaninov ( not sayin it's great and the moment's only right once every 2 or 3 years, but when it is my affection for it is almost unbound.)
Symphony No.3: Vaughan Williams
Symphony No.4: Martinu
Symphony No.5: Beethoven
Symphony No.6: Prokofiev
Symphony No.7: Sibelius
Symphony No.8: Bruckner
Symphony No.9: Mahler
Symphony No.10: Shostakovich
Yes, we played this game before, but let's give it another swing:
Symphony No. 1: Brian
Symphony No. 2: Ben-Haim
Symphony No. 3: Bate
Symphony No. 4: Braga Santos
Symphony No. 5: Nielsen
Symphony No. 6: Tubin
Symphony No. 7: Kinsella
Symphony No. 8: Holmboe 'Boreale'
Symphony No. 9: Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 10: Shostakovich (will hear it under Petrenko in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, coming Monday) :D
I am not a huge symphony fan but probably can come up with ten favorites. I will try to use each composer just once:
1. Brahms
2. Bernstein
3. Copland
4. Shostakovich
5. Mahler
6. Wellesz
7. Beethoven
8. Frankel
9. Schubert
10. Weinberg
Never played it before.
Otomh, up to the fatidic 9
No. 1: Tchaikovsky (runners-up Mahler, Kalinnikov)
No. 2: Rachmaninoff (runners-up Brahms, Schubert)
No. 3: Mahler (runners-up Mendelssohn, Schubert)
No. 4: Mendelssohn (runners-up Beethoven, Schubert)
No. 5: Tchaikovsky (runners-up Beethoven, Schubert)
No. 6: Beethoven (runners-up Tchaikovsky, Schubert)
No. 7: Beethoven (runners-up Dvorak, Shostakovich)
No. 8: Schubert (runners-up Beethoven, Dvorak)
No. 9: Schubert (no runners-up, not even close, sorry!)
0 Bruckner
1 Shostakovich
2 Mahler
3 Beethoven
4 Shostakovich
5 Mahler
6 Tchaikovsky
7 Beethoven
8 RVW
9 Mahler
Quote from: Iota on October 12, 2019, 10:44:01 AM
Bit unfair on Mozart and Haydn. ;D
Not sure I really belong here with my narrow knowledge of symphonies compared to many here. On top of which some of my favourite 'symphonies' don't have numbers (Stravinsky, Britten etc), hence my somewhat cliched list.
Anyway, off the top of my head (which is maybe where I should have left them), the following occur -
Symphony No.1: Brahms
Symphony No.2: Rachmaninov ( not sayin it's great and the moment's only right once every 2 or 3 years, but when it is my affection for it is almost unbound.)
Symphony No.3: Vaughan Williams
Symphony No.4: Martinu
Symphony No.5: Beethoven
Symphony No.6: Prokofiev
Symphony No.7: Sibelius
Symphony No.8: Bruckner
Symphony No.9: Mahler
Symphony No.10: Shostakovich
Thanks for indulging me anyway. I agree with many of your choices, especially Martinu's inspiriting 4th Symphony. Rachmaninov's Second Symphony was my mother's favourite symphony so I definitely have a soft spot for that one. I thought of the Prokofiev as well - my favourite of all his scores and one of the great 20th century symphonies IMO.
Quote from: Christo on October 12, 2019, 11:39:44 AM
Yes, we played this game before, but let's give it another swing:
Symphony No. 1: Brian
Symphony No. 2: Ben-Haim
Symphony No. 3: Bate
Symphony No. 4: Braga Santos
Symphony No. 5: Nielsen
Symphony No. 6: Tubin
Symphony No. 7: Kinsella
Symphony No. 8: Holmboe 'Boreale'
Symphony No. 9: Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 10: Shostakovich (will hear it under Petrenko in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, coming Monday) :D
Agree with all of these choices (no surprise there :)). Great that you're hearing Petrenko in the Shostakovich. The VW is one of my favourites of his cycle.
Quote from: Florestan on October 12, 2019, 12:04:25 PM
Never played it before.
Otomh, up to the fatidic 9
No. 1: Tchaikovsky (runners-up Mahler, Kalinnikov)
No. 2: Rachmaninoff (runners-up Brahms, Schubert)
No. 3: Mahler (runners-up Mendelssohn, Schubert)
No. 4: Mendelssohn (runners-up Beethoven, Schubert)
No. 5: Tchaikovsky (runners-up Beethoven, Schubert)
No. 6: Beethoven (runners-up Tchaikovsky, Schubert)
No. 7: Beethoven (runners-up Dvorak, Shostakovich)
No. 8: Schubert (runners-up Beethoven, Dvorak)
No. 9: Schubert (no runners-up, not even close, sorry!)
Thanks but you're only allowed to mention a composer once 8). I was lucky enough to hear Mahler's Third in concert a while back which was a great experience.
Thanks for all responses which I've enjoyed reading :)
Quote from: vandermolen on October 12, 2019, 02:27:21 PM
Thanks but you're only allowed to mention a composer once 8).
Then I'm out of here. ;D
Brahms 1
Sibelius 2
Schubert 3
Tchaikovsky 4
Prokofiev 5
Mahler 6
Beethoven 7
Bruckner 8
Dvorak 9
Shostakovich 10
Haydn 11-34, 37, 42-104
Mozart 35, 36, 38-41
Hmm.
1 Brahms
2 Rachmaninov
3 RVW
4 Braga Santos
5 Beethoven
6 Mahler
7 Sibelius
8 Bruckner
9 Dvořák
10 Shostakovich
Limiting it to one composer, of course, makes it exponentially more difficult. In truth, Mahler should also occupy the third spot - and where's Schubert? He's haunting the 8-9 spots, if not actually occupying them. C'est la vie.
Quote from: Alek Hidell on October 12, 2019, 03:22:46 PM
Hmm.
1 Brahms
2 Rachmaninov
3 RVW
4 Braga Santos
5 Beethoven
6 Mahler
7 Sibelius
8 Bruckner
9 Dvořák
10 Shostakovich
Limiting it to one composer, of course, makes it exponentially more difficult. In truth, Mahler should also occupy the third spot - and where's Schubert? He's haunting the 8-9 spots, if not actually occupying them. C'est la vie.
Good to see another vote for Braga Santos.
Brian 1
Ives 2
Nielsen 3
Brahms 4
Sibelius 5
Mahler 6
Lloyd 7
Vaughan Williams 8
Bruckner 9
Miaskovsky 10
Rubbra 11
Milhaud 12
Langgaard 13
Pettersson 14
Shostakovich 15
Leaving some very-known examples out (Brahms, Dvorak, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, VW, Bruckner, Prokofiev et al), just for the sake of diversity:
Raid 1
Tubin 2
Alwyn 3
Nielsen 4
Arnold 5
Langgaard 6
Beethoven 7
Shostakovich 8
Mahler 9
Weinberg 10
Pettersson 11
...
Myaskovsky 24
...
Mozart 39
...
Haydn 83
List B (based on recent discoveries and re-discoveries):
Kielland 1
Lajtha 2
Lutoslawski 3
Villa-Lobos 4
Rubbra 5
Glazunov 6
Sulek 7
Rautavaara 8
Saeverud 9
Aho 10
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on October 12, 2019, 06:56:33 PM
Leaving some very-known examples out (Brahms, Dvorak, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, VW, Bruckner, Prokofiev et al), just for the sake of diversity:
Raid 1
Tubin 2
Alwyn 3
Nielsen 4
Arnold 5
Langgaard 6
Beethoven 7
Shostakovich 8
Mahler 9
Weinberg 10
Pettersson 11
...
Myaskovsky 24
...
Mozart 39
...
Haydn 83
List B (based on recent discoveries and re-discoveries):
Kielland 1
Lajtha 2
Lutoslawski 3
Villa-Lobos 4
Rubbra 5
Glazunov 6
Sulek 7
Rautavaara 8
Saeverud 9
Aho 10
Two very interesting lists Cesar. I love the Raid, Tubin, Alwyn start to your selection. Myaskovsky's 24th Symphony is one of the high points of his cycle.
If I were to go beyond 10 I'd select
11: Shostakovich
12: George Lloyd
13: Myaskovsky (a work I've only recently come to appreciate, especially in the new Naxos recording.) I'm now repeating composers so I'd better stop. :)
Here we go, pretty boring selection -
No 1 - Berlioz
No 2 - Vaughan Williams
No 3 - Beethoven
No 4 - Brahms
No 5 - Nielsen
No 6 - Tchaikovsky
No 7 - Sibelius
No 8 - Dvorak
No 9 - Mahler
No 10 - Shostakovich
1 - Walton
2 - Vaughan Williams
3 - Beethoven
4 - Brahms
5 - Rubbra
6 - Brian
7 - Lloyd
8 - Bruckner
9 - Arnold
10 - Mahler
1 -
2 - Elgar
3 - Saint-Saëns,
4 - Nielsen
5 -
These are too difficult for me, sorry...
This never gets boring.
1 Brahms
2 Schumann
3 Beethoven
4 Nielsen
5 Mendelssohn
6 Vaughan Williams
7 Sibelius
8 Mahler
9 Schubert
10 Shostakovich
unnumbered: Messiaen Turangalîla-Symphonie
No Bruckner?! That's why alternate lists are for:
1 Elgar
2 Schmidt
3 Schumann
4 Brahms
5 Sibelius
6 Beethoven
7 Vaughan Williams
8 Schubert
9 Bruckner
10 Mahler
unnumbered: Debussy La mer
And a third, just for the heck of it:
1 Brian
2 Mendelssohn
3 Sibelius
4 Brahms
5 Bruckner
6 Tchaikovsky
7 Beethoven
8 Schubert
9 Vaughan Williams
10 Mahler
unnumbered: Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Quote from: Papy Oli on October 13, 2019, 03:20:41 AM
1 - Walton
2 - Vaughan Williams
3 - Beethoven
4 - Brahms
5 - Rubbra
6 - Brian
7 - Lloyd
8 - Bruckner
9 - Arnold
10 - Mahler
We agree on our first two Olivier and I like all your other choices, especially Rubbra's 5th Symphony - a score which means a lot to me. I need to listen to more Brahms. I have a boxed set of his symphonies and really enjoyed No.3 on the car radio the other day.
Quote from: Biffo on October 13, 2019, 02:40:21 AM
Here we go, pretty boring selection -
No 1 - Berlioz
No 2 - Vaughan Williams
No 3 - Beethoven
No 4 - Brahms
No 5 - Nielsen
No 6 - Tchaikovsky
No 7 - Sibelius
No 8 - Dvorak
No 9 - Mahler
No 10 - Shostakovich
Not boring at all! I nearly chose the Nielsen myself - my favourite of his works and one of the greatest 20th Century symphonies IMO.
Quote from: San Antone on October 12, 2019, 12:00:21 PM
I am not a huge symphony fan but probably can come up with ten favorites. I will try to use each composer just once:
1. Brahms
2. Bernstein
3. Copland
4. Shostakovich
5. Mahler
6. Wellesz
7. Beethoven
8. Frankel
9. Schubert
10. Weinberg
Could have chosen the Copland myself and encouraged me to listen to the Frankel No.8 again (instead of his 'Curse of the Werewolf' soundtrack, which is great) and Weinberg No.10. Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' is a work I've come to enjoy more and more over this year. I'm tempted by the new DGG release.
Quote from: JBS on October 12, 2019, 12:23:40 PM
0 Bruckner
1 Shostakovich
2 Mahler
3 Beethoven
4 Shostakovich
5 Mahler
6 Tchaikovsky
7 Beethoven
8 RVW
9 Mahler
Great list Jeffrey and I like the way that you sneaked in Bruckner's Symphony No. '0'. 8)
No. 1: Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony"
No. 2: Mahler "Resurrection"
No. 3: Tchaikovsky "Polish"
No. 4: Villa-Lobos "Victory"
No. 5: Prokofiev
No. 6: Bax
No. 7: Shostakovich "Leningrad"
No. 8: Mahler
No. 9: Dvorak
No. 10: Brian
11 or above: Lloyd: Symphony No. 12
Un-numbered: Bantock: A Hebridean Symphony
Cool thread, Jeffrey. It does look rather familiar. ;) Anyway, I don't listen to symphonies much these days (or really that much for the past few years), but I guess I'll have a go at it and keeping things one per composer to make it more challenging for myself:
Symphony No. 1 - Martinů
Symphony No. 2 - Rachmaninov
Symphony No. 3 - Nielsen
Symphony No. 4 - Sibelius
Symphony No. 5 - Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 6 - Prokofiev
Symphony No. 7 - Pettersson
Symphony No. 8 - Schnittke
Symphony No. 9 - Bruckner
Symphony No. 10 - Shostakovich
Second attempt (after hearing Shosta 10 under Petrenko, last night 8)
1: Moeran
2: Andreae
3: Braga Santos
4: Englund
5: Arnold
6: Vaughan Williams
7: Holmboe
8: Shostakovich
9: Simpson
10: Rubbra
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 14, 2019, 07:26:24 AM
Cool thread, Jeffrey. It does look rather familiar. ;) Anyway, I don't listen to symphonies much these days (or really that much for the past few years), but I guess I'll have a go at it and keeping things one per composer to make it more challenging for myself:
Symphony No. 1 - Martinů
Symphony No. 2 - Rachmaninov
Symphony No. 3 - Nielsen
Symphony No. 4 - Sibelius
Symphony No. 5 - Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 6 - Prokofiev
Symphony No. 7 - Pettersson
Symphony No. 8 - Schnittke
Symphony No. 9 - Bruckner
Symphony No. 10 - Shostakovich
Yes, I 'nicked' your thread John :o but I did confess once I'd realised my theft 8) I think that I must have been suffering from 'List Deprivation at the time!'
Great choices. Martinu's First Symphony is very engaging. I need to listen to the Schnittke.
Quote from: Christo on October 15, 2019, 12:16:14 AM
Second attempt (after hearing Shosta 10 under Petrenko, last night 8)
1: Moeran
2: Andreae
3: Braga Santos
4: Englund
5: Arnold
6: Vaughan Williams
7: Holmboe
8: Shostakovich
9: Simpson
10: Rubbra
So, why have you chosen No.8?
What was the Petrenk performance of No.10 like Johan?
8)
I tried doing this, and then only came up with 8 composers where I felt I had a clear idea of the works and wouldn't be being arbitrary/cheating horribly.
And so I threw in a couple of others anyway.
And then I still found there were certain numbers I couldn't fill to my satisfaction. Sure, there are some nice 2nd symphonies about, but could I find a composer where I could persuade myself I thought their 2nd was really right up there? Eventually yes, but only by stuffing up another part of my planned sequence.
So yeah, failed. This might be easier once I finish listening to the whole Mahler cycle. Or when I get around to buying Tubin's cycle which I've heard once. Or finally listen to Vaughan Williams. Or feel like I actually know the difference between all the Rachmaninov ones...
Quote from: vandermolen on October 15, 2019, 04:55:20 AM
Yes, I 'nicked' your thread John :o but I did confess once I'd realised my theft 8) I think that I must have been suffering from 'List Deprivation at the time!'
Great choices. Martinu's First Symphony is very engaging. I need to listen to the Schnittke.
:) Schnittke's
Symphony No. 8 is really quite the spectacle to behold. There's a good bit of 'doom & gloom' and bleakness that permeates much of his late music, but there's still a light that shines through the music. The standout moment in this symphony, for me, is the nearly 18 minute third movement,
Lento. There's not much going on musically in this movement and it's rather minimal in expression, but it is what's actually stated and the space that left that I find especially telling and eerie. Top-drawer Schnittke, IMHO.
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 15, 2019, 06:06:51 AM
:) Schnittke's Symphony No. 8 is really quite the spectacle to behold. There's a good bit of 'doom & gloom' and bleakness that permeates much of his late music, but there's still a light that shines through the music. The standout moment in this symphony, for me, is the nearly 18 minute third movement, Lento. There's not much going on musically in this movement and it's rather minimal in expression, but it is what's actually stated and the space that left that I find especially telling and eerie. Top-drawer Schnittke, IMHO.
'Doom, gloom' and 'bleakness' sounds right up my street John!
Quote from: Madiel on October 15, 2019, 05:26:25 AM
I tried doing this, and then only came up with 8 composers where I felt I had a clear idea of the works and wouldn't be being arbitrary/cheating horribly.
And so I threw in a couple of others anyway.
And then I still found there were certain numbers I couldn't fill to my satisfaction. Sure, there are some nice 2nd symphonies about, but could I find a composer where I could persuade myself I thought their 2nd was really right up there? Eventually yes, but only by stuffing up another part of my planned sequence.
So yeah, failed. This might be easier once I finish listening to the whole Mahler cycle. Or when I get around to buying Tubin's cycle which I've heard once. Or finally listen to Vaughan Williams. Or feel like I actually know the difference between all the Rachmaninov ones...
Thanks for giving it so much thought anyway. I'd be curious to see your list of 8 composers.
Quote from: vandermolen on October 15, 2019, 06:14:08 AM
'Doom, gloom' and 'bleakness' sounds right up my street John!
I'm sure you'll enjoy it, Jeffrey. If you have the Rozhdestvensky recording on Chandos please give that performance a listen as it's the best of the three I've heard.
Can I do it this way?
19th-Century List (trying hard not to write BRUCKNER or MAHLER more than once)
Symphony I - Hans Rott :o
Symphony II - Rimsky-Korsakov
Symphony III - Schumann
Symphony IV - Dvorak
Symphony V - Tchaikovsky
Symphony VI - Kalliwoda ??? 8)
Symphony VII - Beethoven
Symphony VIII - Schubert
Symphony IX - Bruckner
20th-Century List
Symphony I - Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
Symphony II - Charles Ives
Symphony III - Prokofiev
Symphony IV - Fartein Valen :o ??? ;)
Symphony V - Ernst Toch
Symphony VI - Scriabin (Prefatory Action) 0:)
Symphony VII - Sibelius
Symphony VIII - Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Symphony IX - Mahler
Symphony X - Shostakovich
Quote from: Maestro267 on October 14, 2019, 06:39:07 AM
No. 1: Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony"
No. 2: Mahler "Resurrection"
No. 3: Tchaikovsky "Polish"
No. 4: Villa-Lobos "Victory"
No. 5: Prokofiev
No. 6: Bax
No. 7: Shostakovich "Leningrad"
No. 8: Mahler
No. 9: Dvorak
No. 10: Brian
11 or above: Lloyd: Symphony No. 12
Un-numbered: Bantock: A Hebridean Symphony
Following your list I'm listening to this now with considerable pleasure:
(//)
The slow movement of Symphony 4 has a hauntingly beautiful proto-minimalist section. Thank you for reminding me of it.
Quote from: vandermolen on October 15, 2019, 06:15:55 AM
Thanks for giving it so much thought anyway. I'd be curious to see your list of 8 composers.
Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Nielsen, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Holmboe, Nørgård.
These are basically the composers where I can think of a number and, in most or all cases, recall something of what that Symphony sounds like. Though some are firmer than others.
Whereas I couldn't, say, mentally pick the character of one Schumann symphony from another as yet.
Quote from: Madiel on October 15, 2019, 07:26:10 AM
Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Nielsen, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Holmboe, Nørgård.
These are basically the composers where I can think of a number and, in most or all cases, recall something of what that Symphony sounds like. Though some are firmer than others.
Whereas I couldn't, say, mentally pick the character of one Schumann symphony from another as yet.
Interesting. Thanks. Which Nørgard symphony did you have in mind? I especially like the 'Austera' No.1 but have heard great things about No.3. Some of the others I find a bit 'difficult'. Sibelius, Shostakovich and Nielsen are the here of my favourite composers.
Quote from: vandermolen on October 15, 2019, 07:31:13 AM
Interesting. Thanks. Which Nørgard symphony did you have in mind? I especially like the 'Austera' No.1 but have heard great things about No.3. Some of the others I find a bit 'difficult'. Sibelius, Shostakovich and Nielsen are the here of my favourite composers.
Well I'm fond of 2, 3 and 7. And also 4 in a way, and 5 fascinates me though it also feels completely mad.
Quote from: Cato on October 15, 2019, 06:51:24 AM
Can I do it this way?
19th-Century List (trying hard not to write BRUCKNER or MAHLER more than once)
Symphony I - Hans Rott :o
Symphony II - Rimsky-Korsakov
Symphony III - Schumann
Symphony IV - Dvorak
Symphony V - Tchaikovsky
Symphony VI - Kalliwoda ??? 8)
Symphony VII - Beethoven
Symphony VIII - Schubert
Symphony IX - Bruckner
20th-Century List
Symphony I - Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
Symphony II - Charles Ives
Symphony III - Prokofiev
Symphony IV - Fartein Valen :o ??? ;)
Symphony V - Ernst Toch
Symphony VI - Scriabin (Prefatory Action) 0:)
Symphony VII - Sibelius
Symphony VIII - Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Symphony IX - Mahler
Symphony X - Shostakovich
Concerning
Fartein Valen: I became interested in his works some years ago, after reading a review by a music critic whose review of the
Valen symphonies was an admission of complete incomprehension. He wrote that he could not offer a review per se, other than to admit that he had not the slightest grasp of the works.
So I thought: "Okay, I absolutely must hear those works!" 8)
Not so forbidding at all!
e.g.
https://www.youtube.com/v/Lx7TWogGvFg
Quote from: Cato on October 15, 2019, 08:14:59 AM
Concerning Fartein Valen: I became interested in his works some years ago, after reading a review by a music critic whose review of the Valen symphonies was an admission of complete incomprehension. He wrote that he could not offer a review per se, other than to admit that he had not the slightest grasp of the works.
So I thought: "Okay, I absolutely must hear those works!" 8)
Not so forbidding at all!
e.g.
https://www.youtube.com/v/Lx7TWogGvFg
To make a bit of contrast, those Valen symphonies are utterly ugly to my ears. All of them sound pretty similar, it's like if Valen had composed the same symphony four times. However, the one I found most interesting was the No. 3, mostly due to its agitated parts.
Quote from: Madiel on October 15, 2019, 07:56:15 AM
Well I'm fond of 2, 3 and 7. And also 4 in a way, and 5 fascinates me though it also feels completely mad.
I have a CD of 3 on Chandos so will listen to to that next. I did not like No.2 as much as No.1
Quote from: Cato on October 15, 2019, 06:51:24 AM
Can I do it this way?
19th-Century List (trying hard not to write BRUCKNER or MAHLER more than once)
Symphony I - Hans Rott :o
Symphony II - Rimsky-Korsakov
Symphony III - Schumann
Symphony IV - Dvorak
Symphony V - Tchaikovsky
Symphony VI - Kalliwoda ??? 8)
Symphony VII - Beethoven
Symphony VIII - Schubert
Symphony IX - Bruckner
20th-Century List
Symphony I - Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
Symphony II - Charles Ives
Symphony III - Prokofiev
Symphony IV - Fartein Valen :o ??? ;)
Symphony V - Ernst Toch
Symphony VI - Scriabin (Prefatory Action) 0:)
Symphony VII - Sibelius
Symphony VIII - Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Symphony IX - Mahler
Symphony X - Shostakovich
Great stuff Leo. A thumbs up for Ovchinnikov and Rott from me.
Quote from: vandermolen on October 15, 2019, 10:26:05 AM
I have a CD of 3 on Chandos so will listen to to that next. I did not like No.2 as much as No.1
I can't vouch for the Chandos series. Others might.
Quote from: Madiel on October 15, 2019, 12:49:57 PM
I can't vouch for the Chandos series. Others might.
I prefer the 'Austera' on Chandos to the later recording, good as that is, by the Vienna PO.
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on October 15, 2019, 10:11:30 AM
To make a bit of contrast, those Valen symphonies are utterly ugly to my ears. All of them sound pretty similar, it's like if Valen had composed the same symphony four times. However, the one I found most interesting was the No. 3, mostly due to its agitated parts.
To be sure,
Valen's works are an acquired taste. ;) To describe them as "thorny" might be an understatement! 0:) Still, I like going through them now and then! Try the
Toch symphonies! They tend toward the rosy rather than the thorny.
https://www.youtube.com/v/rwppm1JaD_M
Quote from: vandermolen on October 15, 2019, 10:27:20 AM
Great stuff Leo. A thumbs up for Ovchinnikov and Rott from me.
Amen! 0:)
1. Vaughan-Williams
2. Schubert
3. Beethoven
4. Brahms
5. Bruckner
6. Tchaikovsky
7. Sibelius
8. Shostakovich
9. Mahler
Unnumbered: Franck
This is today's list. Tomorrow, as Scarlett O Hara said, is another day :D
Quote from: Cato on October 15, 2019, 02:45:28 PM
To be sure, Valen's works are an acquired taste. ;) To describe them as "thorny" might be an understatement! 0:) Still, I like going through them now and then! Try the Toch symphonies! They tend toward the rosy rather than the thorny.
https://www.youtube.com/v/rwppm1JaD_M
Amen! 0:)
I'll take Toch over Valen any day !
Quote from: vandermolen on October 15, 2019, 07:11:11 AMThe slow movement of Symphony 4 has a hauntingly beautiful proto-minimalist section. Thank you for reminding me of it.
YOU ... !!! ..... LISTEN TO ............... VILLA-LOBOS????!!!!!@??>???? ???*#$@% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#donttellme ;D
Quote from: Christo on October 16, 2019, 09:34:56 AM
YOU ... !!! ..... LISTEN TO ............... VILLA-LOBOS????!!!!!@??>???? ???*#$@% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#donttellme ;D
Hahaha. Well, I'm open to change my views and I did enjoy that 'Victory' Symphony although I admit that I have often been disappointed by his music apart from Chorus No.10 (I think).
8)
Right, let's have another go at this inspired by entries here.
1: Ovchinnikov
2: Lilburn
3: Harris
4: Hanson
5: Rubbra
6: Vaughan Willliams
7: Moyzes
8: Havergal Brian
9: Glazunov (fragment)
10: Shostakovich
Quote from: vandermolen on October 16, 2019, 12:35:42 PM
Hahaha. Well, I'm open to change my views and I did enjoy that 'Victory' Symphony although I admit that I have often been disappointed by his music apart from Chorus No.10 (I think).
8)
Jeffrey,
You could try his solo guitar music by Norbert Kraft on Naxos if you haven't already.
Quote from: Cato on October 15, 2019, 08:14:59 AM
Concerning Fartein Valen: I became interested in his works some years ago, after reading a review by a music critic whose review of the Valen symphonies was an admission of complete incomprehension. He wrote that he could not offer a review per se, other than to admit that he had not the slightest grasp of the works.
So I thought: "Okay, I absolutely must hear those works!" 8)
Not so forbidding at all!
Bit of a Valen enthusiast myself, especially for the Violin Concerto, which I love. I must say I don't find him thorny or ugly at all, but rather gentle and serene, even faintly whimsical, a Second Viennese whose big-city decadence has been blown away by cold bracing northern air.
And while I'm here (and ignoring the difference between cardinal and ordinal, i.e. "Symphony no.1" and First symphony):
1. Hindemith (Mathis der Maler)
2. Stravinsky (Psalms)
3. Davies
4. Shostakovich
5. Bruckner
6. Nielsen
7. Sibelius
8. Dvořák
9. Schubert
Quote from: DaveF on October 16, 2019, 12:54:10 PM
Bit of a Valen enthusiast myself, especially for the Violin Concerto, which I love. I must say I don't find him thorny or ugly at all, but rather gentle and serene, even faintly whimsical, a Second Viennese whose big-city decadence has been blown away by cold bracing northern air.
And while I'm here (and ignoring the difference between cardinal and ordinal, i.e. "Symphony no.1" and First symphony):
1. Hindemith (Mathis der Maler)
2. Stravinsky (Psalms)
3. Davies
4. Shostakovich
5. Bruckner
6. Nielsen
7. Sibelius
8. Dvořák
9. Schubert
Yes, the
Violin Concerto of
Valen is most excellent!
YouTube offers a documentary + performance! (They only offer 30 seconds of the modern performance on CD! ??? )
https://www.youtube.com/v/O2Te8aA7pN0
Listening to the Violin Concerto on Spotify from this recording, it seems I must look into Valen.
[asin]B00158UU60[/asin]
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on October 15, 2019, 10:11:30 AM
.. those Valen symphonies are utterly ugly ..
I must admit I rather liked the sound of that :D ... so wandered off to NML, landed on the 2nd symphony where I found much to delight, particularly in the two middle movements, but enjoyed it all.
Anyway it made me wonder about 'ugly' music, and after a couple of minutes I concluded that I'm not sure I find any music ugly as such, not any that I can currently call to mind anyway. I can find it boring, slightly meaningless, or not quite for me in some not always explicable way, but not ugly. There are I'm sure some pieces that deliberately aim at 'ugly' for expressive purposes, but the means there would probably justify the ends and thus not be ugly in the sense that I understand you to mean ( I hope correctly) here.
At a slight tangent, I can certainly find playing ugly, whether in tone or interpretatively.
Anyway, thanks to Cato for bringing Valein up, not a name I'd heard of, but one I'll certainly be revisiting. And thanks to Symphonic Addict for expressing strident views that prompted me to go and investigate in the first place.
(I'll probably press 'Post' and immediately think of something irredeemably ugly! :D)
Quote from: Iota on October 16, 2019, 02:38:36 PM
I must admit I rather liked the sound of that :D ... so wandered off to NML, landed on the 2nd symphony where I found much to delight, particularly in the two middle movements, but enjoyed it all.
Anyway it made me wonder about 'ugly' music, and after a couple of minutes I concluded that I'm not sure I find any music ugly as such, not any that I can currently call to mind anyway. I can find it boring, slightly meaningless, or not quite for me in some not always explicable way, but not ugly. There are I'm sure some pieces that deliberately aim at 'ugly' for expressive purposes, but the means there would probably justify the ends and thus not be ugly in the sense that I understand you to mean ( I hope correctly) here.
At a slight tangent, I can certainly find playing ugly, whether in tone or interpretatively.
Anyway, thanks to Cato for bringing Valein up, not a name I'd heard of, but one I'll certainly be revisiting. And thanks to Symphonic Addict for expressing strident views that prompted me to go and investigate in the first place.
(I'll probably press 'Post' and immediately think of something irredeemably ugly! :D)
Nice you did enjoy them! Interesting how different we perceive this music. Having listened to them some months ago, my conclusion was that those symphonies didn't inspire anything on me. I found them cold, monotonous, with no emotions, thus, 'ugly' or practically nothing attractive to my ears and brain. Fortunately they are rather short. ;D
Quote from: North Star on October 16, 2019, 02:14:24 PM
Listening to the Violin Concerto on Spotify from this recording, it seems I must look into Valen.
[asin]B00158UU60[/asin]
Valen, to me, is like Schoenberg but without the individuality. :)
Quote from: Papy Oli on October 16, 2019, 12:45:15 PM
Jeffrey,
You could try his solo guitar music by Norbert Kraft on Naxos if you haven't already.
Thanks Olivier - will look out. I'm enjoying the 'War' Symphony at the moment.
Quote from: André on October 15, 2019, 02:46:22 PM
1. Vaughan-Williams
2. Schubert
3. Beethoven
4. Brahms
5. Bruckner
6. Tchaikovsky
7. Sibelius
8. Shostakovich
9. Mahler
Unnumbered: Franck
This is today's list. Tomorrow, as Scarlett O Hara said, is another day :D
But it is a great list André! I found listening to Bruckner's 5th Symphony the other day (Von Beinum) overwhelming. I was chatting to my brother a couple of days ago about it. We both brought each other the Rattle version of Bruckner's 9th Symphony for Christmas when it first came out (::)). He was saying that he thought that it was a mistake to conclude the unfinished last movement in the style of the eighth symphony and that No.5 would have been a more appropriate model to use.
1:Shostakovich
2:Beethoven
3:Rubbra
4:Brahms
5:Sibelius
6:Tchaikovsky
7:Mahler
8:Dvorak
9:Bruckner
10: HAVERGAL BRIAN
Quote from: springrite on October 17, 2019, 01:06:12 AM
1:Shostakovich
2:Beethoven
3:Rubbra
4:Brahms
5:Sibelius
6:Tchaikovsky
7:Mahler
8:Dvorak
9:Bruckner
10: HAVERGAL BRIAN
Thumbs up for HB!
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 16, 2019, 08:31:46 PM
Valen, to me, is like Schoenberg but without the individuality. :)
I think that's fair enough - although he has his own individuality, which is perhaps not so individual as Schoenberg's. Isolated bits of Valen could almost be Schoenberg, as I've found when listening randomly on the iPod. Anyway, good to talk again, John.