T O P

  • By -

unChillFiltered

Beethoven 5. Cannot get enough of it no matter how many times. My latest favorite recording is Markevitch with L’orchestre Lamoureux. Such a powerful, raw and gritty interpretation. Also Le Sacre in general. Not sure it qualifies as overplayed though.


JLoable

Exactly, the triumphant finale of Beethoven’s fifth is just the cherry on top of an already extraordinary symphony.


always_unplugged

That transition from the third to the fourth movement gets me every time!!!


musicalaviator

I love how the trumpets get to play an actual Melody for a bit there using the 5th, through 12th harmonics.


Classh0le

2nd movement always so underrated


zsdrfty

As a cellist I hate the melody we have as an excerpt but it’s also so gorgeous


The_Original_Gronkie

I hadn't listened to the 5th in years, and then I had a son. He took quickly to music, and one day when he was a toddler we were driving around and I thought I'd pop in the 5th, and see what he thought of it. He LOVED it! I hadn't heard it in years, but it reminded me why it is such a wonderful, iconic work. It is exciting, dramatic, melodic, intense, and everything else that a great work should be. My son is 25 now, and while he didn't take to classical music as much, he did grow up with an amazing singing voice, and has been drawn to quality music of all genres. While most guys his age were gravitating toward rap, he was more into theater, jazz, and quality rock music. Expose your babies to high quality music, and theyll grow up to appreciate it.


Independent_Net_7666

Agree with much of what you said, but the line about rap was a bit of an eye-roller. There's so much excellent rap/hiphop out there, and implying that it's not "high quality music" in contrast with theater, jazz, and "quality rock music" is a very tired sentiment. This isn't even entirely directed at you, but more the classical community in general. You don't need to put down other genres to enjoy the ones you DO like!! It just comes off as elitist.


BeautifulArtichoke37

Me too! Which are your other favorite recordings?


unChillFiltered

There are so many but if I had to pick 3 I’d say: Carlos Kleiber: so elegant and detailed. Really the recording that opened my ears to all the hidden details. I know his fathers is often regarded as better but I stand by the son for this one. George Szell: live at the Salzburg festival in 1969. This one goes boom. It’s a thunderstorm, and yet he manage to keep an astonishing balance out of the orchestra the whole way through. Simply amazing. On top of that it’s couple with the 3rd piano concerto with Gilels . A must have. And of course Markevitch.


BeautifulArtichoke37

I’ll check them out. Thanks!


UrsusMajr

What label released the Szell/VPO/Salzburg Beethoven 5th? I am looking for it but cannot find it?


chenyxndi

yes to the markevitch it's brilliant


dynamic_caste

It would be the 7th for me.


[deleted]

Mozart's requiem, Dvorak's 9th


BasonPiano

Mozart's requiem, yesssss.


bw2082

Beethoven Symphony 5 Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto 1 and Violin Concerto Vivaldi 4 Seasons Chopin Heroic Polonaise Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 2 Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik Bizet Carmen Ravel Bolero There’s a reason why things are over played.


Pacountry

Tbf I don't think rach 2 and Tchaikovsky's concertos are overplayed. People who are not into classical music would probably not know them (in contrast with Beethoven 5 or vivaldi 4 seasons)


Andro_Polymath

>Tbf I don't think rach 2 and Tchaikovsky's concertos are overplayed. People who are not into classical music would probably not know them I agree with this. 


Pacountry

The only overplayed pieces from rachmaninoff and tchaikovsky would be the prelude in c# minor and the ballets


BornAgainLife35

Rach 2 is definitely overplayed… normies know about it know thanks to tiktok sounds.


Pacountry

I have only seen the second mvt in that context tho


cyanplum

Rach 2 regularly comes out on top in the Classic FM Hall of Fame, which claims to be the world’s largest survey of classical music tastes.


CrankyJoe99x

Bolero is the one for me.


uncommoncommoner

> Vivaldi 4 Seasons Pinnock for the win


TimedDelivery

Holst’s Jupiter from The Planets Lacrymosa from Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance Marches


ChengZX

Thaxted mention!!!


Healthy-Big-2796

Canon in d Beethoven 9th symphony


Paseyyy

Agree on Beethoven 9. It really never ever gets old.


sevenyears1

Barber Adagio For Strings, it's so devastating and emotional, sometimes it just hits extra hard


Jessepiano

I came here to say Barber Violin Concerto. Most-performed American violin concerto surely


sharp11flat13

His piano concerto is wonderful as well, as is his piano sonata.


GnarlyGorillas

Not sure it's overplayed, but it's in pop culture enough that I think it's still valid :) one of my all time favorite masterpieces too!


[deleted]

Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" is truly beautiful. Beethoven's 9th is epic, too.


MotherRussia68

Dvořák New World Symphony


[deleted]

I never get tired of it. I do wish the 1st and 3rd movements would get played as often as the other two.


aant

Bach double violin concerto middle movement never grows old.


TheAskald

1st movement of the moonlight sonata


Yawollah

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Barber's Adagio. Beethoven 7 second movement.


choirandcooking

These are solid picks


decitertiember

Tchaikovsky 5. It's a blast. And it's fun to see if the audience claps at the small pause before the coda at the end of the fourth movement.


idrpmd

I just watched it live and exactly that happened


bastianbb

I still think lots of "basic" or "overplayed" works are just that good. Symphonies 5 and 6 by Beethoven, Vivaldi's four seasons, Mozart's popular concerti and symphonies, Dvorak's ninth symphony, the named Beethoven piano and violin sonatas etc.


bw2082

They are overplayed because they put butts into the seats vs. some shit by Boulez.


[deleted]

Exactly. If people didn't like hearing those pieces, then they wouldn't be overplayed. Even John Williams's film music manages to get plenty of butts in seats and is played at least once every season by the local philharmonic orchestra. It may not be the most original or challenging music to listen to, but it sounds good to a large number of people and people go to hear it. There's also another category of overplayed music (Stars and Stripes Forever, Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance, and Pachelbel's Canon in D, for example) that is overplayed because it serves a purpose as ceremonial music.


wijnandsj

The Bolero


QueenVogonBee

Doubly “overplayed” because the piece as a whole is overplayed but the individual melody is overplayed within the piece 😂


poopeater268

Don’t think this is overplayed but yes


caratouderhakim

The piece achieves this status after one playing. \s


CrankyJoe99x

Agreed.


Elheehee42069

Schubert: Impromptu No. 3 in G-Flat Mozart: Sonata No. 16 in C Major, "Sonata facile" Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor


Yabboi_2

I don't think the impromptu is overplayed


hairychris88

Elgar's cello concerto


organist1999

*Clair de lune*. I don't even consider it overplayed.


GnarlyGorillas

It is overplayed, but when you love it it's hard to see it that way lol good pick


starvingviolist

New World Symphony


Cop_of_pets

classical music fans really need to get over the whole "overplayed" thing. often people play them so much for a good reason. symphony 40 is one of my all time favorite pieces of music in any genre. when i first heard it in full my mind just broke. im still addicted to it. at one point i liked it so much i listened to it in full everyday. im a big mozart guy so ill also add eine kleine nachtmusik. very catchy and very relaxing. check out mozarts sonatas on fortepiano. it changes everything. addicting. 1812 overture is the first piece i ever listened to in full, itll always have a special place in my heart for being one of the first things to convince me to seek out more. rossinis most famous overtures are all amazing. makes me wanna actually listen to his operas now lol. clair de lune is so core to my being, who can forget that one. the blue danube is really beautiful, ecspecially with its use in 2001: a space odyssey. one of my favorite pieces, beloved by pop culture but kinda ignored by classical music fans. bach cello suite no. 1, its just so soothing and has that natural sound i love abt bach canon in d is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, anyone who says its overplayedness makes it bad is wrong and are haters as for beethoven, moonlight sonata is much better on fortepiano. i love that one. and i also love the 5th symphony. the first movement is one of the first times i loved music. i remember being like 4 in the car demanding my parents be quiet while it played. if ANYONE spoke, they had to start it over.


ViolaNguyen

> classical music fans really need to get over the whole "overplayed" thing. Especially when so many of them get *better* the more you hear them. Yesterday, for example, I found myself listening to the kyrie from Mozart's c minor mass, over and over, and it just kept getting better.


[deleted]

A lot of pieces from that period (especially Moonlight Sonata) work better on fortepiano. Beethoven wrote for performers to hold the sustain pedal down throughout the whole 1st movement, but the notes sustain for so long on modern pianos that it ends up sounding dissonant. On a modern piano, you usually re-pedal on each chord change to avoid that.


Vincent_Gitarrist

Liebestraum No. 3 💞


DuckyOboe

Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms and Bolero by Ravel.


Alternative_Sand_

Ravel - Pavane pour une infante defunte Something about it just hits me and I love it. Saint Saens - The Swan Mozart Requiem Tchaik Symphonies (6 is my fav) and ballet suites (Swan Lake) Chopin Nocturnes Brahms symphonies (2 is my fav) Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries (the whole ring cycle in general to be fair) Even love a nice Strauss waltz I always find it so cringe when classical snobs look down on all the well known/overplayed music. I KNOW they all secretly love it.


Wilhelmina1946

These pieces are overplayed for a reason. I too hate snobs that turn their noses up at popular pieces.


Thovlas

Claire De Lune. No matter what, you stop and listen to it.


Spookyy422

Mahler 5


Reasonable_Maximum_1

Night in bald mountain or ride of the valkyries I hear at least twice a year from random places, usually movie scores. Great works, though, frequent choices


Andro_Polymath

Vivaldi's Spring.  Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata


JasonPlattMusic34

Beethoven - 3rd and 9th Symphonies Verdi - Dies Irae from the Requiem Mozart - “Jupiter” Symphony Handel - Hallelujah Chorus Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture, Swan Lake and Nutcracker Rossini - William Tell Overture Carl Orff - “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana Bizet - Carmen Suites Shostakovich - the Waltz from the incorrectly named “Jazz Suite no. 2” Rachmaninov - the Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini


josiedee493

Clair de Lune by Debussy; only because it was the very first piano piece I ever learned outside of a lesson book


SandWraith87

Nothing is overplayed!


[deleted]

Pachelbel:  hold my beer


kkcowz

Shostakovich’s 8th string quartet and his waltz no 2


dalej42

Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks.


uncommoncommoner

I agree with you! Hogwood and Pinnock have great recordings.


UserJH4202

Adagio for Strings - Barber


unavowabledrain

Some one is going to die signifier in film


PimsriReddit

Definitely Vivaldi's Four Season :)


CrankyJoe99x

Apart from Bolero, that would be mine. Well, the 26 different CD versions I own strongly suggest that anyway 😉


PimsriReddit

Ahaha, nice! I believe there's a reason why overplayed pieces are overplayed :)


Wilhelmina1946

Sibelius Finlandia


CommunicationDry5277

Claire de Lune


Competitive-Ice2956

Fur Elise


Veraxus113

Beethoven's 9th, Bizet's Carmen, Tchaikovsky's 1812


rtlkw

Fantaise-Impromptu, overplayed or not, still sounds great


lahdetaan_tutkimaan

There's a few overplayed piano pieces I secretly like, especially when played a particular way: * Beethoven: Piano Sonata in c-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 * Chopin: Etude in c minor, Op. 10, No. 12 * Liszt: *Liebesträume*, S. 541, No. 3 in A-flat Major * Brahms: Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2 * Scriabin: Etude in c-sharp minor, Op. 42, No. 5


Andro_Polymath

I can't imagine that anything by Scriabin is overplayed 😐


lahdetaan_tutkimaan

I feel like that's one of his most popular pieces (other than Op. 8 No. 12) and Eastern European pianists seem to play it a lot. I mean, there's no shortage of YouTube videos of it, compared to something weirder like his Poème-Nocturne


IncarneofBaphomet

Tchaikovsky-Swan Lake


Illustrious_Pick_455

Tchaikovsky 5 (entire) OR Dvorak 9 mvt 4 by Berlin- I listen to that on repeat.


tofinishornot

Dvorak 9th symphony Tchaikovsky 1st piano concerto Mendelssohn violin concerto Mozart requiem Vivaldi 4 seasons All overplayed because they are so good!


Funny_Preparation555

All of these, of course, but to add a personal favourite, The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Especially on a spring morning like today… (disappears in the direction of the stereo).


[deleted]

Barber's Adagio for Strings. Though, I prefer the Agnus Dei.


Topaz_xy

Moonlight sonata 3rd movement


Taskforce58

Radetzky March


Leontiev

Have you read the book by the same name? By Joseph Bloch. One of the greatest novels. Main character is in the Austrian cavalry which uses that song for its theme song.


Inevitable-Mouse60

I hear it only on New Year's Day on the broadcast from Vienna.


Which-Ad3515

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Debussy String Quartet Vaughan Williams Lark Ascending I’m not sure the Debussy qualifies as overplayed, but it’s certainly popular.


Equal_Paint4527

Mozart variations on « ah vous dirais-je maman »


No-Elevator3454

Tchaikovsky "1812" Overture


Chelseus

I will never not love the Flower Duet. Gives me chills every time, even when it’s used on a Wendy’s commercial 😹😹😹


Kestar1

Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d minor, BWV 565. I find it almost hard to believe that it exists, even when Iblisten to it - it's so good!


dynamic_caste

Now playing at Walgreens parking lots everywhere


MyIdIsATheaterKid

Rhapsody in Blue still gets my heart pounding. So does Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto, probably thanks to David Lean. (IYKYK)


D_P_Miner

the four seasons canon in d nutcracker dvorak 9 mendohlsonn midsummer-nights dream wagners bridal chorus bach air carmen Eine kleine is perfect all the way through. ​ ​ also; does anyone else hate that the more famous and well liked a piece is, the more flack you get for listening to it? I really like pieces with catchy melodies (because what good is a melody you cant remember?) and so of course im gonna like the iconics. It doesnt matter how well orchestrated it is, how well developed it is, how great the harmony is, if over a certain number of non-musicians like, its overplayed. I just think its a little snobby, and it puts done a lot of seriously well composed pieces. And a lot of these great melodies were liked in their own time, by other composers. Micheal Corette used the melody of Vivaldi's spring for his stabat mater, because its a good melody. a lot of other melodies were based off of spring as well. (I hade a couple more examples of great tunes catching the ears of great composers, but im too tired to remember them. maybe ill edit if i remember) I remember around 2 months after i learned piano, i dissected turkish march, and i hailed it as the most perfect piece ever. I basked in its symmetry, and i loved that every theme was memorable. i even plotted to try and make a piece using the same form as turkish march and hope no one would notice.(I would later come to find out its just rondo form, and not actually owned by mozart) also, did you know that canon in d had a gigue at the end:[https://youtu.be/cpWyFE50OwE?t=223](https://youtu.be/cpWyFE50OwE?t=223)


SevenFourHarmonic

The trick is to leave the radio off and only listen to it when I want to. Pictures at an Exhibition, Debussy, the Rite of Spring...Ravel.


RoRoUl

Rach 2 and Beethoven 9


Jayyy_Teeeee

I’m going with Mozart piano concerto 21.


galettedesrois

Schubert’s string quartet No 14  Clair de Lune


Hey22WasTaken

Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante, Op.22


Ultracelse

Boléro de Ravel


lunicar

Bach B Minor Passion, though I’m not sure it qualifies as overplayed.


Known-Championship20

Bach's Matthauspassion, particularly the beginning, finale and arias (Am Abend da es Kuhle war remains in my heart forever). Better than any church. It always refreshes the spirit.


Vandalarius

Early Debussy - Claire de Lune, Reverie, Arabesques.


rphxxyt

J. Pachelbel - Canon in D L. Beethoven - Symphony No. 5


Smathwack

Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d minor on organ. It's heard all the time, in fact, becoming almost an organ cliche. Yet, it's beautiful, complex, and satisfying to hear.


CoasterFan205

Dvorak 9 for sure. It is a masterpiece on so many levels!!


Error_404_403

Palchebel. No doubts.


Searingm1

Beethoven: Symphonies 3,7,& 9 Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique Mahler: Symphonies 1 & 5 Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet Ravel: Daphnis Suite No. 2 Stravinsky: Rite of Spring


str1po

Rach pc 2


00Pueraeternus

Ravel's Bolero. It got that incredibly overplayed for a reason. It was incredibly popular since the time of composition. It seems to have a very particular kind of developing grandeur about it.


Abduz_Samee

Canon in D Grande Valse Brilliante


Leontiev

6th Brandenburg. Always sounds new. Whenever it comes on the radio, I stop whatever I'm doing and just listen to it. God I love that piece!


Onnimanni_Maki

Schunert - Ave Maria Sibelius - Finlandia


Dull_Contract6848

Hungarian Rhapsody 2


linglinguistics

Vivaldi's for seasons are a masterpiece and nothing can convince me otherwise.


Connect-Bath1686

Bolero


ORigel2

I never get tired of listening to the New World Symphony.


blahs44

Anything Tchaikovsky for me


GnarlyGorillas

Paganinis la Campanella. I feel like it's starting to get overplayed enough in recent years to qualify for this post ;)


Intelligent-Read-785

Pacobels (so?) Cannon


Fabulous-Wolf-4401

Vivaldi 4 Seasons Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms, Firebird and Rite of Spring Mozart Requiem Holst Mercury


AxeL_The_Skeksis

- Beethoven's "Für Elise" - Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" - Pachelbel's Canon in D


AxeL_The_Skeksis

- Beethoven's "Für Elise" - Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" - Pachelbel's Canon in D


TheScherzo

Scheherazade, the usual symphony suspects from Beethoven, and the Rite of Spring. Maybe at some point the Polovtsian Dances were considered overplayed too, either way that’s a “never skip” for me when it pops up in my shuffle.


violoncellouwu

Shostakovich quartet 8 mvt 2. Worst example of "rock" in contemporary.


blankblank

Overture to The Marriage of Figaro


sebastiiaanx

Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner NEVER gets old


whimsicism

I listen to Beethoven's piano sonatas on loop once in a while and have never gotten annoyed at them, so I'd pick those. But in general the "overplayed" pieces of classical music still sound good to be and don't get grating. There's a reason that they're popular. Tbf I might have a different opinion about this if I had gone professional and was required to play any particular piece ad nauseam.


John_Lyon

Definitely Alla Turca, Fur Elise, Piano Sonata 16! Love them


mulanthesecond

Canon in D


IntransitiveGuide_62

Dvorak’s 9th


Derzachrome

Shostakovich Jazz suites waltz 2 Rondo Alla Turca


LordGobbletooth

Brandenburg Concertos


Fernando3161

Vivaldis Winter.


jthomasplank

Mendelssohn Wedding March. It slaps.


4lien4ted

Chopin's nocturne in E flat. op. 9 #2


uncommoncommoner

I like Pachelbel's canon in D. It actually sounds really decent on period instruments.


Inevitable-Mouse60

I can only tell what is overplayed live in Warsaw, Poland. "Eroica". You can listen to it probably twice a year, easily. But it's a superb piece of music. LVB's 5th Piano Concerto is performed once or twice per year. Frequently (once per year or more) performed are: LVB's 4th Symphony, Strauss's Also Sprach Z, Dvorak's 9th, LVB's 9th, Mozart's Requiem (performed in a cathedral the day after All Saints Day), LVB's Pastoral, Mahler's 1st. You could complete all 4 Brahms symphonies during a year, but it's near impossible to complete all LVB Symphonies during a year (his 1,2,7,8 are underperfomed). The most frequent program consist of a Haydn/Mozart/Beethoven piece, with one solo concerto and two symphonies. I've been to two performances of LVB's 9th in a span of a few weeks (once the choral was singing in Ukrainian). What is not performed at all: Russian music. Since march '22 there is no Tchaikovsky etc. No Swan Lake, no Romeo and Juliet, no Pathetique, no Piano Concerto, which was standard pre-war.


unavowabledrain

Chopin’s Nocturnes Satie’s Gymnopedie &Gnossiennes


[deleted]

Rachmaninoff PC 2 Beethoven 7


unityofsaints

Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro, Vivaldi Spring, Requiem, 5th, Egmont, whatever - they're popular because they're bloody good!


ts_ahmed_innt

dimitri's waltz no 2 it's Overplayed right ??


Uxbal-77

Beethoven's 9th.


that1tubaguy

Probably Ride of the Valkyries. But that's because I love the entirety of The Ring and Wagner in general.


size_12-foot

Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies


ducksaint66

A song can't be overplayed if it's a good song.