Some works, no matter how many times you hear them, grab you and thrill you from the moment you hear the first few bars. So I thought perhaps we could share those which do this for each of us.
My shortlist (for it's really a long, long list) would include:
Saint-Saens' Third Symphony
Beethoven's Third Symphony
Sibelius' Violin Concerto
Saint-Saens' Second Piano Concerto
Finzi's Cello Concerto
Elgar's Cello Concerto
Each of these just has that certain ... something that makes my spine tingle; those shimmering or haunting strings at the start of the Saint-Saens Third Symphony and Sibelius Violin Concerto (respectively); the hammering two opening chords of Beethoven's 'Eroica'; the ingenious use of that sad, sad theme for piano only at the start of the Saint-Saens Second Piano Concerto; the maelstrom of emotion whipped up out of nowhere as the Finzi Cello Concerto begins; and that deeply tragic opening theme from the the Elgar Cello Concerto.
Of course, don't restrict your answers to orchestral works: there are a great many chamber and vocal works that give that same 'tingle factor'. To name an example from each genre, Faure's Piano Quartet No. 1, and the opening of Rachmaninov's All-night Vigil.
So, care to share?
BEETHOVEN, 5th Symphony
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet opus 95
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata opus 106
BEETHOVEN: 9th Symphony
BRUCKNER: 3rd Symphony
BRAHMS: 4th Symphony
BEETHOVEN, 5th Symphony
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet opus 95
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata opus 106
BEETHOVEN: 9th Symphony
BRUCKNER: 3rd Symphony
BRAHMS: 4th Symphony
here's a few
Bruckner 4th
Xenakis Ata, Jonchaies
Mahler 7, 9
Schoenberg Book of Hanging Gardens
The begining of Wagner's Das Rheingold. Those vibrating low notes represent the moments of existence just starting. I always imagine my excitement of being at the Met as The Ring commences.
Brahms PC 1
Tchaik PC 1
Liszt PC 1
Prokofiev PC 1
Schumann PC 1
Grieg PC 1
Quote from: D Minor on October 27, 2007, 07:53:38 AM
Brahms PC 1
Tchaik PC 1
Liszt PC 1
Prokofiev PC 1
Schumann PC 1
Grieg PC 1
lol
QuoteBrahms PC 1
Prokofiev PC 1
of course i can add these to my list
Quote from: Anne on October 27, 2007, 07:51:59 AM
The begining of Wagner's Das Rheingold. Those vibrating low notes represent the moments of existence just starting. I always imagine my excitement of being at the Met as The Ring commences.
Yeah, I'll go with that one, too, Anne. :)
The openings of Smetana's First String Quartet and Dvorak's Serenade for Strings do it for me, as well.
Bruckner's 7th - while it starts quiet as with all his works, these first few notes I listen out for with much greater concentration than any of his other symphonies, they are ghostly and beautiful.
William Schumans Violin Concerto
pretty much all of bruckner's symphonies, but that's too obvious..
Schumann's 4th symphony, i always liked the way it opened.
-Bach's D Minor keyboard concerto
-Tchaikovsky's 4th and 5th Symphonies, and 1st now that i think if it.......and 6th!
-Stravinsky's Le Sacre
-Beethoven's 5th Symphony
-Schoenberg's Verklaerte Nacht
-Ligeti's Chaconne for Harpsichord
There's definately a lot more but I just can't think.
;)
Bach (almost everything). Mainly B Minor Mass, Matthew Passion, Double Violin Concerto. They are all so divine!
Quote from: Mystery on October 27, 2007, 09:46:36 AM
Bach (almost everything). Mainly B Minor Mass, Matthew Passion, Double Violin Concerto. They are all so divine!
Another vote for Matthäus 0:).
Also the Johannes-Passion as well: I love the sense of urgency with the strings, and then the choir's entry, wow! I recently heard for the first time the 1725 version with the 'O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde groß' opening that was later used in the Matthäus-Passion; the 'Herr, Unser Herrscher' is so much better and a lot more dramatic as an opening IMO.
Mahler 6: the 'boom, boom, boom, boom' from the lower strings :).
To me, the two most haunting openings in the symphonic repertoire are Sibelius 6 and Lutoslawski 4.
Dvorak Serenade for Winds
Dvorak Violin Concerto
Dvorak Cello Concerto
Dvorak 9th
Mozart Marriage of Figaro Overture
Mozart Don Giovanni Overture
Mozart Magic Flute Overture
Mozart Clarinet Concerto
Mozart Clarinet Quintet
Beethoven Symphony 1, 3, 5, 6, 9
Beethoven Piano Concerto 4 and 5
Tchaikovsky Symphony 4
Schubert's Trout Quintet
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto
Strauss' Horn Concerto #1
Short answer is, um, practically all of them.
But a few in particular are Michele Bokanowski's L'Etoile d'Absinthe, Schnittke's Concerto Grosso #1, and Jonathan Berger's Meteora.
And of course, the suck you right in immediately opening of Poulenc's piano concerto.
Quote from: some guy on October 27, 2007, 03:06:10 PM
And of course, the suck you right in immediately opening of Poulenc's piano concerto.
Not heard this in a while. Need to reacquaint myself with it. Thanks. :)
Scriabin's 5th Sonata
Stravinski's Rite of Spring
Rachmaninov 3rd Concerto
Shostakovich's Op.67 piano trio.
Among others: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Pathetique Sonata (among many others).
Debussy's La Mer and Prélude à l'Après-Mide d'un Faune.
Lutosławski: Symphony #3 and Concerto for Orchestra.
All of Mahler's symphonies, even the Tenth, and Das Lied von der Erde.
Carl Nielsen's Symphony #4--this one takes the cake for abrupt openings. :o
Saint Saëns Piano Concerto #2.
Sibelius Violin Concerto.
Tchaikovsky Symphony #1.
Agree about the Bruckner openings.
Schumann - Kreisleriana
Brahms - C Minor Piano Quartet
Alkan - Grand Sonata
Quote from: Novitiate on October 27, 2007, 10:23:43 AM
Also the Johannes-Passion as well: I love the sense of urgency with the strings, and then the choir's entry, wow! I recently heard for the first time the 1725 version with the 'O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde groß' opening that was later used in the Matthäus-Passion; the 'Herr, Unser Herrscher' is so much better and a lot more dramatic as an opening IMO.
Oh man how could I forget that one?! Another vote for that and for the B Minor Mass' Kyrie Opening.
Sibelius's 1st, 4th, 5th, VC, and Tapiola, fer shure!
Bruckner's "0" symphony third movement, one of his best scherzos.
Bruckner gets my vote too, his 4th and 5th symphonies have amazing openings.
Rachmaninov's 3rd piano concerto.
Howard
Lots of works grab me and hold me enchanted throughout, but if you mean works that grab me with their opening notes, how about Vaughan Williams's 4th symphony? That opening chord grabs you by the scruff of the neck and throws you against the wall.
Quote from: Grazioso on October 29, 2007, 03:44:57 AM
Lots of works grab me and hold me enchanted throughout, but if you mean works that grab me with their opening notes, how about Vaughan Williams's 4th symphony? That opening chord grabs you by the scruff of the neck and throws you against the wall.
with that description, i'm looking forward even more to listening!
Pettersson's 7th symphony. The opening really stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it: it's so deeply menacing and foreboding. And the whole piece still holds me rapt throughout its 46-minute single movement. The 8th is similar in that it opens under grey clouds and seems to hover there, without immediately signaling its intentions: you just don't know exactly what you're in for. Man, what a trip it turns out to be.
For those who haven't heard these, you can hear free extended samples at Naxos.com (along with thousands of other pieces).
Mahler 2 anyone? It's electrifying.
Brahms symphony #1, from those opening tam-tam wallops on...
Shostakovich's second piano trio, Op.67. Those opening cello lamentations in the high register are as penetrating as it gets.
Quote from: donwyn on October 29, 2007, 05:07:48 PM
Brahms symphony #1, from those opening tam-tam wallops on...
??? There's no tam-tam in Brahms 1, or any Brahms that I've ever heard. But the TIMPANI wallops are hypnotic... ;D
Agree about the Shostakovich Opus 67. :D
Quote from: jochanaan on October 29, 2007, 08:45:46 PM
??? There's no tam-tam in Brahms 1, or any Brahms that I've ever heard. But the TIMPANI wallops are hypnotic... ;D
Agree about the Shostakovich Opus 67. :D
a tam-tam would make a nice addition in Brahms 1
The Prelude from Liszt's transcendental etudes always stands me to attention!
Quote from: jochanaan on October 29, 2007, 08:45:46 PM
??? There's no tam-tam in Brahms 1, or any Brahms that I've ever heard. ... ;D
Did I say tam-tam? I meant tom-tom...
I'd also give props to the tom-tom opening of Bach's Christmas Oratorio. On par with anything in Brahms...
I don't know if this counts b/c it's not really the first notes of the work but it is the first notes of the 2nd movement. but anyways Shostakovich's 10th, 2nd Movement
Chopin's Revolutionary Etude
Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto, Serenade for Strings, Nocturne Op. 19
Festival at Bagdad - Rimsky-Korsakov (I really really get into this one)
Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto
Dvořák's Carnival Overture (good piece to wake up too ;D)
Shostakovich Sixth Symphony
Stravinsky, Symphony of Psalms
Prokofiev, Cinderella
Quote from: Drasko on October 27, 2007, 05:05:36 PM
Scriabin's 5th Sonata
Stravinski's Rite of Spring
Rachmaninov 3rd Concerto
I agree with these.
In a way, one could make subdivisions here, for instance pieces that begin with a bang, eg Medtner's Sonata Tragica.
When sight reading, knowledge of the composer can forewarn you. For instance, in Fanny Hensel's 1843 book for Felix, no10 (Adagio) looks relatively innocuous with a base note followed by an arpeggiated phrase in quavers in the middle register, repeated. The effect is like plugging into 1,000,000 volts, a good introduction to the unremitting tension and dissonance that is to follow.
Richard Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra
Shostakovich - Symphony No.5
Prokofiev - Symphony No.3
Rachmaninov - Symphony No.1
Khachaturian - Symphonies 2 & 3
Lutoslawski - Concerto for Orchestra
....And rather too many others....
Talking of electricity -
Fanny Hensel, 1843 Piano book for Felix, No10
Adagio - bass octave, arpeggiated phrase in middle register, in semiquavers - repeated
1,000,000 volts.
Also Medtner's Sonata Tragica.
Quote from: c#minor on October 30, 2007, 05:46:47 PM
I don't know if this counts b/c it's not really the first notes of the work but it is the first notes of the 2nd movement. but anyways Shostakovich's 10th, 2nd Movement
Chopin's Revolutionary Etude
Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto, Serenade for Strings, Nocturne Op. 19
Festival at Bagdad - Rimsky-Korsakov (I really really get into this one)
Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto
Dvořák's Carnival Overture (good piece to wake up too ;D)
I can't quite make out your avatar, C#. I thought Rachmaninov, but then I saw what appears to be triple octave glissandi, which I don't remember him ever doing. Spill the beans!
Bach: Mass in B minor
Bruckner: Symphony 3
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Mahler: Symphony 2
Mahler: Symphony 5
Shostakovich: String Quartet 8
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Sibelius 3rd
Mahler 2nd
Nielsen 5th
Ruders Gong
Beethoven 9th and 5th (it had to be said)
Could go on all day ...
How about 4'33?
Quote from: Bonehelm on November 01, 2007, 11:22:36 AM
How about 4'33?
I think the ending's more exciting. The anticipation is too much!
Quote from: mr_espansiva on November 01, 2007, 07:06:10 AM
Ruders Gong
now there's a work i could say the same for that not many other people have probably heard
I'll second Karl's mention of Symphony of Psalms. Wagner has several entries on my list: for sheer thrill, Die Walküre and Der fliegende Holländer; for anticipation, Tristan und Isolde, Das Rheingold, and Götterdämmerung; and, for sheer joy, Meistersinger.
Mahler's 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 8th all do it for me, as does Bruckner's 6th. Beethoven's fifth piano concerto, twenty-first and twenty-ninth piano sonatas, and his seventh and Ninth symphonies.
Also, for whatever reason, I find Berio's "Points on a curve to find..." (1974) exciting.
The music you are seeing is Chopin.
Polonaise No. 6 in A Flat, Op. 53, "Heroic"
in fact a very good piece for this topic.
I add that too my list. ;D
Quote from: Bonehelm on November 01, 2007, 11:22:36 AM
How about 4'33?
The problem with this piece is that you need to have a really excellent HiFi with BIG spreakers to convey the excitement.
Quote from: JCampbell on November 01, 2007, 12:42:40 PM
I think the ending's more exciting. The anticipation is too much!
I find the middle portion to be the most exciting.
I got to nominate Bruckner's 8th, to me, the opening of the 8th is just as memorable as the opening of Beethoven's C minor symphony.
I go with Richard Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie. The opening is full of mystery and brooding, magnificent.
Lutoslawski's cello concerto
Ruders' Gong to be sure!!
Nonstop visceral thrill. At least in Segerstam's account, where it comes across more as a force of nature than a piece of music.
Schonwandt's is ok, but it's just a very skillful piece of music in that account. Anyone who's heard that one and wonders what all the fuss is all about, just get Segerstam's recording, then we'll talk.
Quote from: Guido on November 03, 2007, 05:04:52 PM
Lutoslawski's cello concerto
And Penderecki's Second Cello Concerto. It's like hearing a juggernaught coming towards you down the highway through a night fog and not being able to get out of its way before it slams into you. Incredible! :D
Quote from: Mark on November 04, 2007, 01:34:47 AM
And Penderecki's Second Cello Concerto. It's like hearing a juggernaught coming towards you down the highway through a night fog and not being able to get out of its way before it slams into you. Incredible! :D
and what has an even more exciting overall
opening is the first Cello Concerto, it's like a roller coaster of death!
Mahler 2 is pretty hard to top.
Quote from: GREG GREG GREG GREG GREG GREG GREG GREG GREG GREG on November 04, 2007, 12:06:53 PM
and what has an even more exciting overall opening is the first Cello Concerto, it's like a roller coaster of death!
I think the opening of Threnody is like death itself (no fog but the highway is still there)! :o
Quote from: karlhenning on October 30, 2007, 05:54:43 PM
Prokofiev, Cinderella
You know I love Prokofiev, but that opening interval (whatever it is), always disgusts me. I have to force myself to keep listening.
My weird tick.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, Violin Concerto, "Kreutzer" Sonata, Piano Concerto No. 4
Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4, Te Deum
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 24
Sibelius: Kullervo, Violin Concerto, Symphony No. 7
Brahms: Symphony No. 1, Piano Concertos, Violin Concerto, Violin Sonata No. 1
Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4, Das Lied von der Erde
Wagner: Die Walküre, Der fliegende Holländer
Schreker: Kammersymphonie & Die Gezeichneten
Schumann: Fantasie in C, Piano Sonata No. 2, Symphony No. 2
R. Strauss: Salome, Eine Alpensinfonie, Don Quixote
Medtner: Piano Concerto No. 1, Sonate-Vocalise
Schubert: Symphony No. 8
Korngold: Violanta
Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie
Ravel: Piano Concerto pour la main gauche
Alkan: Grand duo concertant
Stravinsky: Les noces
Walton: Belshazzar's Feast
I could go on. 😎
Vagn Holmboe: Symphony No.4
Khachaturian: Symphony No.2
Schulhoff: Symphony No.5
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.6
Walton: Symphony No.1
Bax: Symphony No.5
Quote from: vandermolen on September 01, 2022, 12:47:26 PM
Vagn Holmboe: Symphony No.4
Khachaturian: Symphony No.2
Schulhoff: Symphony No.5
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.6
Walton: Symphony No.1
Bax: Symphony No.5
I don't remember the Schulhoff, but the others are fine choices, Jeffrey.
There will be some "obvious" choices from me, so let's see:
Nielsen: Symphony No. 4
Brahms: String Quintet No. 2
Poulenc: Organ Concerto
Janacek: Sinfonietta
Honegger: Symphony No. 5
Strauss: Don Juan, Also sprach Zarathustra
Beethoven 7th
Dvorak 8th
Mozart 41st
Haydn 104th
Shostakovich 5th
More obviously but these came to mind immediately.
Richard Strauss, Ein Heldenleben and Also Sprach Zarathustra
Mahler, Symphony No. 2
Brahms, Ein Deutsches Requiem
Bruckner, Symphony No. 9
Beethoven, Symphony No. 9
Ravel : pianoconcerto en sol - the whip! ;)
Off the top of my head:
Janacek's Sinfonietta (Remember my jaw dropping when I first heard the opening of it...lol)
Vaughan Williams' sixth symphony
Shostakovich's fifth symphony
Kodaly's Sonata for Solo Cello
PD
Otomh
Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4
Schubert D960
Chopin Scherzo No. 2
Schumann Piano Concerto
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Mahler 3
and Rossini's overtures, of course. ;)
Quote from: Florestan on September 02, 2022, 07:11:57 AM
Otomh
Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4
Schubert D960
Chopin Scherzo No. 2
Schumann Piano Concerto
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Mahler 3
and Rossini's overtures, of course. ;)
Good choice re the Schumann! Yes, it has a very arresting/dramatic opening. :) +1 Grieg's pc also has a lovely, dramatic (and romantic) opening that grabs me from the get-go too. :)
Another one for me: Shostakovich's first cello concerto.
PD
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on September 02, 2022, 07:25:20 AM
Grieg's pc also has a lovely, dramatic (and romantic) opening that grabs me from the get-go too. :)
Indeed. Tchaikovsky 1 as well --- actually, I fault myself for not nominating them both.
And speaking of PCs, also Mozart (especially but not limited to 9, 20, 21, 24, 27), Chopin (both), Mendelssohn (both), Rachmaninoff 2 and 3...
Quote from: Catison on November 05, 2007, 03:35:43 PM
You know I love Prokofiev, but that opening interval (whatever it is), always disgusts me. I have to force myself to keep listening.
My weird tick.
That is quite curious because the opening 2 notes are a straight octave interval - B rising to B over an E minor chord which immediately sours with some added notes....
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on September 02, 2022, 07:25:20 AM
Good choice re the Schumann! Yes, it has a very arresting/dramatic opening. :) +1 Grieg's pc also has a lovely, dramatic (and romantic) opening that grabs me from the get-go too. :)
It's hard not to think that Greig wasn't extensively inspired by Schumann's concerto, and not just in the opening bars, when writing his own, though the outcome is very different.
There are far too many pieces that excite me from the moment they start, to write a list, many already mentioned. But the first that spring to mind as I write are Wagner's Parsifal Prelude, Bruckner 7 and Beethoven 9. I'm pretty sure the first time I ever heard them in my life I knew something special was happening.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 01, 2022, 05:51:16 PM
I don't remember the Schulhoff, but the others are fine choices, Jeffrey.
Thanks Cesar :)
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on September 02, 2022, 04:40:11 AM
Off the top of my head:
Janacek's Sinfonietta (Remember my jaw dropping when I first heard the opening of it...lol)
Vaughan Williams' sixth symphony
Shostakovich's fifth symphony
Kodaly's Sonata for Solo Cello
PD
+1 for Janacek, VW and Dmitri.
Schmidt Symphony No. 1
Nielsen Symphony No. 3
Bruckner Symphony No. 3
Bruckner Te Deum
Korngold Symphony
Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 4
Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 1
Mozart Symphony No. 25
Mahler Symphony No. 6
Brahms Symphony No. 4
Verdi Otello
Panufnik: Sinfonia sacra
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on September 03, 2022, 09:13:41 AM
Schmidt Symphony No. 1
Nielsen Symphony No. 3
Bruckner Symphony No. 3
Bruckner Te Deum
Korngold Symphony
Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 4
Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 1
Mozart Symphony No. 25
Mahler Symphony No. 6
Brahms Symphony No. 4
Verdi Otello
+1 for Korngold - especially in Previn's DGG recording - nice choice Sarge.
Quote from: vandermolen on September 03, 2022, 01:55:36 PM
+1 for Korngold - especially in Previn's DGG recording - nice choice Sarge.
Yes, I love Pevin's performance. My favorite.
Sarge
Beethoven Symphonies 3 and 5 and Moonlight sonata
Elgar cello concerto and Nimrod
Sibelius violin concerto and symphony no.2
Wagner's Die Walkure
Mozart Nozze di Figaro
Mahler 4th symphony
Tippett Triple concerto
Tchaikovsky 4th symphony
and probably a lot more!
Quote from: Big David on September 05, 2022, 07:12:32 AM
Beethoven Symphonies 3 and 5 and Moonlight sonata
Elgar cello concerto and Nimrod
Sibelius violin concerto and symphony no.2
Wagner's Die Walkure
Mozart Nozze di Figaro
Mahler 4th symphony
Tippett Triple concerto
Tchaikovsky 4th symphony
and probably a lot more!
Elgar's cello concerto = excellent choice! ;D
PD
I find the bassoon intro to Le sacre to be among the best openings of any work, although "exciting" is not how I would describe it. I am not looking to be excited when I listen to classical music, not like I am when I listen to rock.
Quote from: San Antone on September 05, 2022, 08:32:04 AM
I find the bassoon intro to Le sacre to be among the best openings of any work, although "exciting" is not how I would describe it. I am not looking to be excited when I listen to classical music, not like I am when I listen to rock.
Perhaps an alternative way of describing it could be something alongs the lines of "grabs you from the get-go"? Or "really grabs your attention" and you find yourself virtually distracted and either unable or having a hard time doing anything else? :D
Sometimes, for instance, I'll find myself doing something in the kitchen and have NPR keeping me company, when a certain piece of music starts to play and I find head jerking upright and towards the radio; if I'm cooking, I have to remind myself to keep stirring, chopping--whatever. :-[ :)
PD