Pieces that you enjoyed on first listening and still enjoy

[Symphonien]

I just thought of this while reading Elgar's "Frustrated/bored with GMG" thread in the Diner, and how Bruce mentioned that the best pieces often take the longest to understand. I remember that there have been threads about these pieces that took a while to understand, and also about the opposite - pieces that impressed on first listening but have grown boring on repeated listenings... but what about pieces that immediately clicked with you the first time through and have stood up to repeated listenings without becoming dull?

For me, it's actually a surprisingly small category once I really thought about it. Most of my favourite pieces today took at least two listens or so to come to terms with. The main period for works that fall into this category for me is probably the Classical period. Baroque music took a while to appreciate and so did most 20th century works, whereas most Romantic pieces have been accessible to me on the first listening but I have since grown tired of them (that is except for some Late Romantics such as Mahler who took some time to understand but is now one of my favourite composers).

So I'll mention Beethoven's symphonies for now. I was instantly amazed when I first heard them (except for the 3rd and 9th which took a few listens), and they still captivate me each time I pull them out again. There's always something new there to discover. Interestingly enough, the 3rd symphony which took several listens until one day it finally clicked, is now probably my favourite.

Anyway, what pieces impressed you on the first hearing and have remained that way through repeated listenings? What makes you keep coming back, and why do you never tire of them?

[david johnson]

rimsky-korsakov, russian easter overture...colorful and a variety of tempi
schubert, sym # 8...pretty and short
mahler, sym # 1...i just always liked it
copland, fanfare for the common man...i'm a brass player
grafula, washington grays...a good march
agapkin, farewell of the salvic girl...an exciting march
billings, david's lamentation...dark fun
sousa, stars and stripes forever...go america!!
dixie...i'm old style southern

...so many more

dj

[Sergeant Rock]

Anyway, what pieces impressed you on the first hearing and have remained that way through repeated listenings? What makes you keep coming back, and why do you never tire of them?

Hearing RVW's Fourth on television (Bernstein) and then on the radio some months later made me seek out a recording after receiving my first paycheck from my first steady job. I couldn't find a Fourth but did find an Eighth. However, it wasn't the Eighth that initially impressed me but the Elgar Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma) on the reverse side of the LP. Other than Pomp and Circumstance #1, I was completely unfamiliar with Elgar. I had no idea what to expect that first time needle hit new vinyl but it was love at first listen and I played it to...well, not death because I still play it and enjoy it tremendously today. (Ralph's Eighth took a bit longer to appreciate but it has become...if frequency of playing is anything to go by...my favorite symphony of his.)

Sarge

[david johnson]

sarge:

that was also the first time i heard rvw # 4!

dj

[Sergeant Rock]

sarge:

that was also the first time i heard rvw # 4!

dj

Really? Small world! I really enjoyed those Bernstein lectures.

Sarge

[Kullervo]

Things I hear on NPR and go "Ooh! I like that! Who is that?!"

[Scriptavolant]

A piece that fits the definition in the title of the topic is, for me, Mozart Piano Sonata No. 8, KV 310. It's still my favourite, and one of the works I listen with greater pleasure and will probably never be tired of, especially the first movement.

The first Mozart piano sonatas are, from a certain point of view, quite foreseeable. I mean you have the first theme, then a lot of scales to modulate to the dominant, where the second theme is exposed on a "basso albertino" figuration.
Sonata KV 310 is a bit more elaborated, the theme is really melancholic to me, but most of all I was amazed by the development, after the first Da capo, there's a subtle growth of tension to a sort of wonderful climax.

[Brian]

Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody No. 1
Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony (which I actually first heard less than a year ago)
Kopylov's Symphony in C minor (the "mystery symphony" uploaded onto this very forum last fall...)

[Mark]

It's an obvious choice, but I'd have to say Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. First heard it almost ten years ago, on the evening after the announcement of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

[Heather Harrison]

Usually, the pieces I enjoy most are the ones that take some time to come to terms with, but there are some that I loved from the start and still do.  Here are a few examples.

Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition.  This was one of the first classical pieces I ever encountered - when I was about 8 years old.  I enjoyed it immediately and I still do.
Puccini - La Boheme.  I was immediately drawn into the rich emotional world of this opera, and it hasn't yet lost its appeal.
Puccini - Suor Angelica.  Again, I was drawn in immediately and I still love it.
Mahler - Symphony No. 1.  Most of Mahler's music has taken some time to get to know, but this one captured my attention immediately.  It is the first of Mahler's works that I encountered and, while I listen to some of the others more often nowadays, I still like this one a lot.
Haydn - Symphony No. 39.  This is one of the "Sturm und Drang" symphonies.  For some reason, I found it immediately appealing and I still listen to it regularly.
Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.  This is another piece I encountered in childhood; I liked it immediately and I still do.

Heather

[Bonehelm]

Mahler\'s 1st symphony as many have said, Tchaikovsky\'s concert overtures like 1812, Capriccio Italien, March Slave, Nutcracker suite, Swan lake, Mozart 40th symphony, 25th symphony, 21st piano concerto, clarinet concerto, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, mariage of figaro overture, Bruckner\'s 4th symphony, Beethoven\'s symphonies (exclude the 9th, but eventually it became my favourite piece of music of all time), Strauss\' Also sparch zarathustra, Schubert\'s 9th symphony, Brahm\'s waltz in A, piano concerto in d, hungarian dances, Liszt\'s La campanella, concert etudes, Chopin\'s mazurkas, scherzi, impromtus, etudes, waltz, nocturnes, concerti, Scarlatti\'s sonatas, Schumann\'s 4th symphony, Vivaldi\'s four seasons, Handel\'s messiah, concerti grossi, Bach\'s cantatas, Mass in B, St. Matthew/John passion, prelude and fugue, well tempered clavier, toccata and fugue in D, etc....many many more just like the rest of you guys

[hornteacher]

Beethoven's 5th
Dvorak's 9th
Mozart's 40th
Copland's App Spring
Rachmaninoff's 2nd PC
Beethoven's Emperor
Holst Planets

[Greta]

hornteacher, it's always so nice to see that you often mention The Planets.

Even though there are a million works that belong on this list, that absolutely is one, I never tire of buying recordings of and listening to. Very fun piece but also quite interesting as well.

Let's see -

Igor Stravinsky - Le Sacre, Violin Concerto, Symphony in 3 Movements
Jean Sibelius - Kullervo, Lemminkainen Legends, Symphony No. 2 and 7 (first listening I eman, love them all but took a while)
Paul Hindemith - Konzertmusik for brass and strings
Bela Bartok - Music for strings, percussion and celesta
Richard Wagner - ALL the overtures, most of the operas
PI Tchaikovsky - 5th Symphony, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Nutcracker (my first classical )
Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (another first classical piece)
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 5, PC 1 and 2
John Adams - Harmonielehre, Book of Alleged Dances
Esa-Pekka Salonen - LA Variations, Foreign Bodies
Silvestre Revueltas - Sensemaya
Zoltan Kodaly - Dances of Galanta
Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations, Violin Concerto (both so haunting to me)
Sergei Prokofiev - Classical Symphony
Franz Joseph Haydn - Symphony No. 104 (actually all of Haydn's symphonies!)
Gustav Mahler - 2nd, 4th Symphonies
Ludwig van Beethoven - 9th Symphony

Just a smattering...

[karlhenning]

. . . Just a smattering...

No kidding!  Too long a list for me to try to type out.

[Soundproof]

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.
Heard it as a small child, got very scared and very mystified and have loved it ever since.

[m_gigena]

The fifth Piano concerto by Saint-Saens. His piano writting is perfect, and his inventiveness had no limits at all. The intervals he use in the second movement prove that (No sixth runs, impressive scales or devilish high register thirds. It's simple harmony).

[m_gigena]

I recently discovered Raff's symphonies and love them all.

Some of them I find a bit german, a bit russian, but everything is lovable.

When the Scherzo of the third symphony ends I somehow feel somebody will read "How now, spirit (...)".

[Bonehelm]

The fifth Piano concerto by Saint-Saens. His piano writting is perfect, and his inventiveness had no limits at all. The intervals he use in the second movement prove that (No sixth runs, impressive scales or devilish high register thirds. It's simple harmony).

Music is never perfect. Art is never perfect.

[quintett op.57]

Many musics have no defect to my ears.

Perfection in music does exist, but perfection is like the rest : It's not absolute

[Bonehelm]

Many musics have no defect to my ears.

Perfection in music does exist, but perfection is like the rest : It's not absolute

I don't get it, what do you mean by it exists but not absolute?