Your Favorite 3 or 4 Pieces?

[dave b]

I have asked a lot of questions recently, and all of them have led me to this one. What are your favorite three or four or five pieces? Not why, necessarily, but just list them. Mine so far is Respighi Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 2 (III) (if that is the right way to cite it), and next is Vaughan Williams' Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus (ASMF), along with Brandenburg Concertos, and several others, like several of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, Cleveland Orchestra......I just like the sound of these and other pieces, and they are very moving. I like Oldies and classic country and jazz, and old standards, but classical music is what I listen to on the radio to and from my job, and since my one way commute distance is 77 miles, I get quite an education. And as a criminal trial atty in inner-city high crime area Boston courts, the last thing I need when I get out of there is a dose of blasting pop music. So classical music it is, on the way in and on the way home from that "atmosphere".  I get more and more interested in classical music the more I listen to it. And this forum is unbelievable re learning from all of you. I cannot imagine asking a question about classical music here and no one knowing the answer, if there is one. I never saw people so knowledgeable about any subject. Thank you for all your responses to every question I ask, naive ones and sensible ones.   Is this the right section of the forums to even be talking about this kind of topic?

[Brian]

This sure looks like the right section.

My favorite three or four pieces -
For piano: Chopin's Ballade No 4
For soloist and orchestra: Dvorak's Cello Concerto
For orchestra: Brahms' Fourth Symphony, Smetana's Ma Vlast
Honorable Mention: Chopin's Nocturnes Nos 8 [with Michele Boegner, fortepiano] and 20 [Wladyslaw Szpilman, piano]

[dave b]

I was just about to add Dvorak's Cello Concerto. That is a "moving" piece. What a sound. I am interested not only in favorite pieces but which do people find moving, and we all know what means but trying to define it is a little tough.

[hornteacher]

Narrowing it down to four is tough, but here goes:

Beethoven - Symphony 9
Mozart - Clarinet Concerto
Dvorak - Symphony 9
Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto

Honorable mentions:
Dvorak - Cello Concerto, Violin Concerto, Symphony 5, 6, 7, 8, American Quartet
Mozart - Clarinet Quintet, Symphony 40 and 41
Copland - Appalachian Spring, Symphony 3
Holst - The Planets
Beethoven - Violin Concerto, Symphony 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ,7, 8
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto 2

[dave b]

http://www.wfcc.com/wfcc_essentials.htm
Things like this help me a lot, too.

[Brian]

http://www.wfcc.com/wfcc_essentials.htm
Things like this help me a lot, too.

Well I'd say that Brahms' Fourth is definitely several times more important than his First, the Chopin piece they list is my least favorite Chopin, and Bruch's Scottish Fantasy is a really weird choice, but other than that, it's actually a very very good list those just setting out in search of some good classical music! Use it, it will be a great aid.

[Sergeant Rock]

Well I'd say that Brahms' Fourth is definitely several times more important than his First, the Chopin piece they list is my least favorite Chopin, and Bruch's Scottish Fantasy is a really weird choice, but other than that, it's actually a very very good list those just setting out in search of some good classical music! Use it, it will be a great aid.

It's important to remember that guides are written by one person, and are one person's opinion. What I noticed is the absence of Beethoven 4 and 8, two of my favorite Beethoven symphonies...and no, I do not consider them lesser works than the Seventh or Fifth.

But I agree the basic guides can be indíspensible when first starting out...or even later. I still refer occasionally to this guide, written by the music director and early morning DJ of Cleveland's classical radio station, WCLV:



If nothing else it takes me back to a certain time...but really, many of his recommendations still make sense today.

Sarge

[(poco) Sforzando]

Well I'd say that Brahms' Fourth is definitely several times more important than his First.

Why?

[samuel]

symphony: beethoven symphony no. 3, brahms symphony no. 4, tchaikovsky symphony no. 6, dvorak symphony no. 9
concerto: beethoven piano concerto no. 4, beethoven violin concerto, brahms piano concerto no. 1, dvorak cello concerto
solo piano: chopin ballade no. 4, barcarolle, polonaise-fantaisie, etc. (basically anything chopin wrote), schubert wanderer fantasy, brahms late piano works, scriabin sonata no. 2
chamber: schubert string quintet, mendelssohn piano trio no. 1

honorable mentions: mahler symphonies (particularly nos. 1, 6, and 9), rachmaninov piano concertos nos. 2 and 3 and preludes, elgar violin concerto  

[Benny]

Which season? which month? which day?

I'm a traveler, not a musicologist. I do not relisten to the same work interpreted by a dozen different interpreters to compare them over a short period of time. (I guess that means I'm not a great Mahler "fan"  ). As curious as it may sound, Vivaldi's Four Seasons still resonate if the moment is right. Same thing with Bach's cello sonatas or his Brandenburg concertos, or with Haendel's Fireworks and Water Music. The moment must be right, that's all. I can get the urge to listen to Berlioz for several consecutive days or it's Dvorak's turn. How could I possibly identify a small number of favorite pieces other than doing so 365 days a year.

[Sergeant Rock]

Which season? which month? which day?

I'm a traveler, not a musicologist. I do not relisten to the same work interpreted by a dozen different interpreters to compare them over a short period of time. (I guess that means I'm not a great Mahler "fan"  )

Nah...we accept you, Benny.

I considered myself a serious Mahlerite before I'd even heard all the symphonies, before I even owned a single recording. Whether a single recording or multiple recordings suffice depends on what you want from the music. Mrs. Rock, for example, is quite happy listening to the same performance over and over. She says the music matters, not the interpretation. I disagree: I want to hear the music I love from every possible angle. Different strokes...

Sarge

[Ephemerid]

What are your favorite three or four or five pieces?

I have a real soft spot for these pieces:

Debussy: The Afternoon of the Faun
Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
Bach: Cello Suites (particularly No. 6)

oh, but I gotta sneak these in too, I can't resist! 

Debussy: Preludes for piano (Book I)
Vaughan Williams: Silent Noon
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5
Beethoven: String Quartets (don't ask which one yet! LOL)
Bach: Goldberg Variations

[BorisG]

Goldberg Variations
Eroica
Enigma Variations
Mahler 3

[btpaul674]

Rautavaara 1st PC
Rautavaara 8
RVW 8

[Benny]

Nah...we accept you, Benny.

I considered myself a serious Mahlerite before I'd even heard all the symphonies, before I even owned a single recording. Whether a single recording or multiple recordings suffice depends on what you want from the music. Mrs. Rock, for example, is quite happy listening to the same performance over and over. She says the music matters, not the interpretation. I disagree: I want to hear the music I love from every possible angle. Different strokes...

Sarge

Back to the drawing board, then. Could I listen to the Great Gate of Kiev seven days a week? Probably not. But I'll say that I'll survive listening to a different tableau each day of the week.

[Don]

Bach - WTC and Goldberg Variations.
Chopin - Preludes
Schumann - Davidsbundlertanze.

[Symphonien]

Hmmm... I'll split this into time periods. 4 Each.

Baroque

Vivaldi - Various Bassoon Concertos
Scarlatti - Various Sonatas
Bach - Cello Suite No. 1
Bach - Orchestral Suite No. 3

Classical

Mozart - Bassoon Concerto
Beethoven - Symphony No. 7
Beethoven - Piano Sonata Op. 111
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 5

Romantic

Chopin - Various Nocturnes
Brahms - Serenades (both of them)
Brahms - Symphony No. 4
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5

Late Romantic

Mahler - Symphony No. 6
Mahler - Symphony No. 7
Nielsen - Symphony No. 6
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7

1st Half of 20th Century

Berg - Three Pieces for Orchestra
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin
Messiaen - Turangalila Symphony

2nd Half of 20th Century

Berio - Sinfonia
Ligeti - Violin Concerto
Schnittke - Concerto Grosso No. 1
Adès - Asyla

21st Century

Carter - Dialogues for Piano and Orchestra
Ligeti - Hamburg Concerto
Lindberg - Clarinet Concerto
Salonen - Piano Concerto

[dave b]

Wow, that is a lot, but it is really helpful that you broke it down into different categories. And you listed only four Listing them like that helps me understand all this a little bit better......in fact, it is not just listening to classical music that is an education. Listening here on the forums is just as educational. Thanks to all. I went down all those lists people provided, so I can branch out into new things and new horizons but also to see if the same work kept coming up.....so this is a great education for me.

[Henk]

Hmmm... I'll split this into time periods. 4 Each.

8<

I like this approach .

[dave b]

That approach was great. And it helped me understand what I so often forget. The different periods of classical music. I never think of it the way it was listed for me like that. Helpful reminder.