The 7 Wonders of Classical Music

[Lisztianwagner]

Great thread!

Richard Wagner
Mahler's symphonies
Ludwig van Beethoven
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Liszt
Wiener Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan

[mc ukrneal]

You said to be imaginative. I think I fulfilled that part at least!

-What's Opera, Doc (Bugs Bunny)
-Classical Music Archive (a place I wish existed that kept a copy of every recording/concert/etc ever made in the history of classical music, using the broadest sense of the word)
-Stradivarius
-Casa Verdi (rest home established by Verdi)
-Mt. Conductmore (like Mt Rushmore): Bernstein, Kleiber, Toscanini, Mravinsky
-Musikverein (it's just so cool), but all the classical music stages of the world really
-The Piano Concerto

[Ataraxia]

Thanks for the great responses. I like some of these wonders and will consider them for my own list.

[Ataraxia]

Okay, here's mine.

Renaissance Choral Music
Bach
Beethoven
Chopin
Schubert lieder
The modern piano
The CD (designed to hold Beethoven's 9th)

[mc ukrneal]

Schubert lieder

I considered that one too.

[Opus106]

C
D
E
F
G
A
B

[Ataraxia]

C
D
E
F
G
A
B

Ha! Excellent.

[mahler10th]

Unique poll, Dave!  I like it. 

...Bach - Cello Suites.....

I forgot about that.  Nice choice.

[Ataraxia]

I forgot about that.  Nice choice.

I thought the same. But, you know...BACH!!!

[Brahmsian]

I forgot about that.  Nice choice.

Regarding Bach's Cello Suites, I would probably put them as my # 1 in my 7 wonders (I know I actually did, but that was just a random order, just pure coincidence).

The more I listen to them, the more in awe I am of them.  Absolutely remarkable, considering the time they were written in, when the Cello was a relative peon of the instrumental world.

And, they sound like they could have been written yesterday.  Simply amazing works of art.

[TheGSMoeller]

I'm shocked that nobody has listed Lang Lang as a wonder. 

[Rinaldo]

RVW's Tallis Fantasia w/ Barbirolli
viola da gamba
Handel's Cara sposa
opening chorus of St. Matthew's Passion
Purcell's Abdelazer suite
Glenn Gould
Debussy's La cathédrale engloutie

[Ten thumbs]

I find it appropriate to spread my wonders over different genres, so here goes:
Handel: The Messiah
Bach: Well Tempered Clavier
Mozart: Piano Concertos
Beethoven: String Quartets
Chopin: Piano music
Fanny (Mendelssohn) Hensel: Lieder
Wagner: The Ring Cycle

I could have included Schubert's lieder; it was a toss up and they have already featured.

[CaughtintheGaze]

I selected only single works to try and most properly reflect my understanding of the topic.

Berlioz's Les Troyens
Copland's Grogh
Messiaen's Apparition de l'église éternelle
Satie's Ogives
Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 10
Strauss's Josephslegende
Stravinsky's Agon

[JDWalley]

C
D
E
F
G
A
B

I'd say those are seven natural choices.

[DavidRoss]

I'm shocked that nobody has listed Lang Lang as a wonder. 

Yuja Wang's legs and Grimaud's smile shoved him off the list.

Interesting poll (meaning "I like many of the answers" ).

Wonders. Hmmm, could mean almost anything, from Florence Foster Jenkins to Paul McCartney's Standing Stones. Let's see what comes to mind.

1) Janet Baker singing Mahler's "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen"
2) Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro
3) Wagner's Ring
4) tie: the opening of Sibelius's first symphony & the opening of Mahler's first symphony
5) Simon Rattle's hair
6) Elgar's cello concerto
7) tie: Beethoven's 16 and Beethoven's 32 and Bach's 48

Did I get it right? 

[Octo_Russ]

Bartolomeo Cristofori [the Inventor of the Piano]
The invention of the CD
Portable Audio Players
Second-Hand Music Shops
Ebay & Amazon
Beethoven
Schubert - Impromptus [Alfred Brendel]

[Opus106]

I'd say those are seven natural choices.

Ha! That works on multiple levels.

Schubert - Impromptus [Alfred Brendel]

*high-five!*

[DavidW]

5) Simon Rattle's hair

This is my favorite entry on all of the lists!

[DavidRoss]

This is my favorite entry on all of the lists!

More than a mere "classical music wonder," it's one of the greatest wonders of the modern world.