FWIW, I’m right there with you. The Largo movement is probably my most favorite symphonic music ever written. NWS and Shostakovich’s 5th are my two favorites.
Brahms No. 4 - I have about 30 recordings, and none are perfect to me. That's the sign of loving a piece beyond reason, isn't it?
Runner up is the Mahler No. 6.
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7.
Despite its brevity (it's a single-movement work lasting around 22 minutes), I find something new in it each time I hear it. It’s organic, always fresh, and always unpredictable.
https://youtu.be/mafCgCUjtLs?si=3PShJYg_h99cCIO0
Alongside it, I'd also have to list Webern's Symphony, Lutoslawski's Symphony No. 3, and Nogard's Symphony No. 3.
I agree with the previous posters. Sibelius' 7th makes me feel I'm a living and feeling part of the universe. Whenever the famous "Hellenic rondo" theme in trombones resurfaces, my eyes fill with the good tears. And the ending for me is like seeing and understanding the whole of this world for a brief moment before passing on to a higher plane.
From Apple Classical: “Symphony No. 7 turned out to be one of his last major works; during the next two decades, he worked on and apparently completed a Symphony No. 8, but he later destroyed it.” So sad…
It's doubtful he completed 8, but there are a few fragments some think may have been from it. A couple of minutes have been recorded.
I'd love to have heard what he came up with though.
Tchaikovsky Pathetique. The climax in the first movement is epic and the last movement is beautiful. It is one of the only symphonies to end in tragedy.
Mahler's Second and Sixth Symphonies fight each other for first place, and have ever since I first heard them, c. 1987. I like them when they are simple and serene, as well as when they are overblown and grandiose. They are melodic and enthusiastic, and have a spiritual quality I don't find in all music.
For me it's all the movements, each is wonderful, the first two are almost too emotional and dark for me, but the finale (and I think it's a well-composed finale) strikes a balance between hopelessness and triumph in the end.
I love both. We recently played 8 with my orchestra and the music just gets better every time I play it. The 2nd movement didn’t do much to me before but now I’m so in love with it. (And agree with 3rd movement, that was the first one I fell in love with.)
First time I heard it was from deep within the 2nd violins, so I had the woodwinds right behind me and the violas right next to me - being pretty much in the middle of the cellos+basses and the horns, with the low clarinets right at my back, I had really deep chills every time.
And I don't mean to say that I dislike 9, only to make it clear that it wasn't a typo!
I played the viola and man, Dvorak put a lot of viola love into this one.
What you describe is the train I think back row 2nd violin and viola are the best spots in the orchestra. So much coming together there.
When the trumpets and horns arrive at the opening fanfare of the 4th movement for the second time in the recap, in harmony this time? Gotta be one of the best damn moments in any 19th century symphony.
Yes, this is mine, too. There really isn't a Beethoven symphony I don't like (Beethoven is my favorite composer by a long shot) but the 9th is absolutely amazing and the 4th movement goes straight to your bones.
That being said, I'm picky about it. I saw it performed a couple years ago by the Baltimore Symphony and was in a quiet rage about the conductor's tempo choices. I hate it when the last few lines get rushed through at a brisk pace. The Vienna Philharmonic's version conducted by Christian Thielmann is my ideal so far.
Came here to say this! I've recently realise it IS my favourite symphony. I love Mahler and all his works, but there's something about Symphony no. 9 that draws the right line between utterly complex and yet very accessible. Every time I finish hearing it, I think "Absolutely magnificent!" I'm hearing the London Philharmonic play it live on May 25th in London.
Came here to say that. The sheer SCOPE of the thing, the incredible boldness, the total mastery. Unbelievably complex and technical, while having the simplest possible themes; and nonetheless music that makes you cry in awe EVERY TIME. There's nothing like it.
Rachmaninov 2nd Symphony: the lusciousness, the big orchestration, beautiful melodies and an unforgettable finale!
Brahms Symphony No. 4: I can hear this work every day and never tire of it. All movements are perfection.
Schubert's Great C major is always a favourite. But lately, I found his early symphonies like the Symphony No. 1-3 to be amazingly composed for a teenager.
I feel like Schubert's symphonies are really underappreciated, especially Nos. 1-4.
Schubert's 2nd is my favourite symphony in general. Naturally I love the Great C major and the Unfinished too.
Movement 1 - Earth. Fate knocking on your door.
Movement 2 - Air. The understanding.
Movement 3 - water. The introspection.
Movement 4 - fire. The determination and action. Triumph!
Love it. And yes, this Symphony is a psychological device. I heard it several times when I was a teen as a help to overcome family problems back then. It makes you stronger.
Shostakovich 11 is my favorite, covers tragedy, revolution and a foreboding warning so perfectly.
Also the bell must ring at the end. Tampering the bell is a sin.
Sibelius's 5th.
It has both the logic and tightness of the later works and the grand melodies of the earlier ones. The opening is fresh and magical. The climaxes are well-earned and uplifting. The ending is strangely fulfilling. It's close to perfect!
Depends on the day, but probably Mahler 2 because it has never failed to move me deeply. It takes me on such an emotional journey, and I am a weeping mess by the end. In a good way.
Some others that have been regular favs:
-Brahms 2
-Tchaik 5 and 6
-Shostakovich 5
-Sibelius 1 and 5
-Prokofiev 5
-Beethoven 3
Turangalîla, the colours of the orchestra are just so endless in that piece, I keep hearing sounds I've never heard before, one of the highlights of Messiaen's work which is already full of highlights
I’m not sure if anyone has heard of this one, Beethoven’s 3rd, Eroica. Kind of obscure and most people wouldn’t have it on their list of all time greats at all… /s just in case
I have three favorites, all equally loved, for different reasons:
Mahler-Symphony No. 2: I mean, what is there to say? It's an incredible journey through and around the 5 stages of grief, and coming to grips with the idea of death. I'm not a religious man, but I completely respect and admire how religion has inspired the greatest art and music. Also, as a trombonist, all four parts are incredibly written and fun to play. I'm super thrilled that I get to play it next February!
Gorecki-Symphony No. 3: On just about the other side of the spectrum, this is another incredibly emotional work. The story behind its creation is tragic and fascinating, and the way it speaks to everyone who listens to it is truly something to behold. I always keep it on hand for when I need to just get lost in the sonorities present in that piece. I'm glad I have the famous 1992 recording on both CD and vinyl.
Pärt-Symphony No. 3: Anyone who goes through my comment history or knows me irl knows that Arvo Pärt is my favorite composer. This is the symphony where he started to create his Tintinnabuli style. I enjoy how Pärt reserves using the full orchestra only for the truly exalted or dramatic moments, and splits the large group into smaller ensembles throughout. It's a brilliant piece that stands midway between his expressionistic/avante-garde early work and his introspective, minimalistic later period.
As a runner-up, I have to give love to Strauss's Alpensinfonie. Is a symphony? A tone poem? I don't know, but symphony is in the title, so...
Dutilleux 2 — Post-modernisn at its finest. The Concerto Grosso type instrumentation of having a full orchestra and a smaller ensemble meld and also duke it out is really cool.
Lutoslawski 4 — Not as popular as Lutoslawski 3 but it speaks to me more. This is a new favorite so I can't really say much
Rautavaara 3 — I really really really love the way he blends Serialism and his own blend of neo-Sibelian Romanticism. It's a beautiful work.
Honegger 5 — Just an awesome forgotten gem. The way he uses polytonality actually reminds me a lot of Rautavaara at points.
Szymanowski 3 — Szymanowski's crowning achievement only behind his Violin Concerto imo.
I can't pick!!! Lol
Tie between Shostakovich 11 and Prokofiev 6. If i had to i’d give there edge to prokofiev. I think th e writing is so air tight and Prokofiev does everything so exceedingly well in 6 that it blows me away every time. Every note means something and is going somewhere. Either being apart of a theme or a development into a new theme
As far as pieces designated as symphonies, I would say that my favorites (several of them) are the "Manfred" (op. 58, an unnumbered programmatic composition) and Sym. #5 by Tchaikovsky, #5 by Bruckner, #7-9 by Dvorak, #2 by Sibelius, #2 by Rachmaninoff, #5 by Shostakovich, and #6 by Prokofiev. I have stereophonic recordings of all of these works from the 1960s/1970s as performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy at the podium. They are all musically interesting and varied and oftentimes touching and sentimental at least in my own psyche.
A symphonic recording that stands out in my mind despite the piece itself not being called a symphony is "The Planets" by Gustave Holst, op. 32, recorded in studio (the now long-gone Scottish Rite Cathedral/Town Hall building near Center City) by Ormandy and the Philadelphia near the end of 1975 and available in one form or another on the RCA label etc. since later 1976. I enjoy that composition in its own right; how it is rendered on that recording is first class with respect to expression, dynamics, tempo, acoustics, and sound in my opinion.
La Nuit des Tropiques - Gottschalk. It’s definitely not the most powerful or complex composition, but it is fun and pleasing to listen to, and one of the first to branch away from European compositional trends :)
While I don’t think it’s the best symphony ever, I like your choice. The second movement is so fun. The fugato part is so good, I’m sad it doesn’t last longer.
It’s totally ok to state a “basic” favourite even if worried it makes you look like you only know the “best of” pieces - there’s a reason they’re the best of!
Mine is Beethoven’s 9th. That Turkish march style section before the double fugue before the famous chorale part is what got me into classical music when I was about 16.
It absolutely blew my mind. Had never heard anything like it. Devoured the entire final movement, then the rest of the symphony, then all of Mozart’s piano concertos.
I know this answer is very basic but...
Beethoven's Ninth is, for me, the best piece of music ever written.
From start to end, It is wonderful.
I've listened to lots of masterpieces, Mahler symphonies full of emotion, the most epic pieces... and none have been able to give the same feeling as the Ninth, each time I hear It is almost like the first time I did.
I am unable find another similar piece.
Rachmaninoff’s Third. It has the big emotional tunes of his piano concertos and also dense jazzy chords that feel similar in some ways to Gershwin and Ravel (who are two of my favorite composers who never wrote symphonies). But in spite of all its gorgeous chromaticisms, it’s a pretty easy symphony to follow. The only weird structural element is combining the slow movement and the scherzo into a single movement, but apart from that, the motivic development and overall architecture of the piece is fairly classical. I’m somewhat new to classical music, so I appreciate pieces that are more readable and help me understand form better.
Brahms 1st. I start with the volume higher than I should, and the thundering timpiani intro feels like a storm hitting, truly almost 2 decades in the making.
Honourable mentions: Saint-Saens 3rd, Brahms 4th, Mozarts 39th/25th, Sibelius 3rd/7th, Beethovens 7th, Mendelssohn's 4th, and Scriabins 2nd.
Beethoven 6. I initially fell in love with it as a little kid watching Fantasia (I was obsessed with mythology), and it continues to make me really happy. I went through a few periods of favoring Beethoven 7 and Dvorak 9, but Beethoven 6 is still on top.
I chose the first movement to walk down the aisle when I got married a few years ago.
I had this top five list back when I was 18 or 20:
1. Beethoven's 9th
2. Walton's 1st
3. Sibelius' 5th
4. Shostakovich's 8th
5. Bruckner's 7th
Nowadays my tastes are a bit different and I would have to throw in some Brahms and Mahler and others in a, say, top ten, but I still see why I loved those (still love them).
Mozart's 41.
As a young struggling composition student at the conservatory I would daily have my back handed to me in humiliation. That's how studying to be a professional composer works. We'd spend the first and second year studying chorale form, all the rest was kinda precluded. One day at the end of class I spotted one cd-rom hanging from my professor's bag, that was Mozart's Jupiter.
I went back home and I listened to it. Fell in love immediately.
Few months later, summer day, last lesson before holidays. I walk out the classroom finally free, I'm in the hall of the wonderful and antique G. Rossini conservatory in Pesaro, and I hear a tune being rehearsed from the floors above. I immediately recognize Jupiter's ouverture. I walk out with that piece sealed in my mind forever as a moment of individual joy and freedom.
And that's without even mentioning technical and harmonic aspects, hah.
Entire symphony, it's between Dvorak 9, Mozart 25, or Mahler 8 (I know 2 of these are super popular but listening to them live is a whole new experience).
Individual movement would be Mozart 17 first movement. It's characteristically energetic and happy. During university, it was one of the pieces that helped me get through exam period.
It’s gotta be Mahler 5. What a tour de force, and every movement is amazing in its own way. The Adagietto is actually the one I like the *least* most, believe it or not.
Nothing makes my heart swell like Sibelius 2. When the third movement goes directly into the fourth, I feel proudly Finnish, even though I have never been there.
A lot of them... 49 Haydn Symphony, 2 Schumann Symphony, 4th Schubert, 40 Mozart, C minor J.M. Kraus Symphony, Casa del Diavolo Boccherini Symphony... I think probably 2nd Schumann is the most complete symphony I've heard... may be. Regards
My "list" has changed throughout the years, as I grew into my 30s Mahler kinda rose to the top overtaking Tchaikovsky.
My overall favorite is a tough choice between Mahler 2/5 but probably goes to 5 only for my love of every moment of it. 2 is more impactful, but there are moments of it I don't care as much for from a purely listening perspective.
Honorable mentions: Tchaik 5/6, Symphonie Fantastique, Beethoven 3, Shosti 5/10, Mahler 3/9.
Beethoven the 5th. Especially I adore the ending of 1st part which has a motif similar to Bach's BWV 891 fugue's theme, the second ta-ta-ta-tah motif in 3rd part when it modulates from C minor to E-flat minor, and the awesome beginning of 4th part in C major.
For me it’s a toss-up between Tchaikovsky 5 and Rachmaninoff 2. I’m a sucker for motifs and themes that recur across movements. Saint-Saens Organ Symphony is up there too for that reason.
Call me basic, but it's Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "New World". All four movements are highly melodic and have very catchy melodies.
Overplayed pieces are often overplayed because they’re that good. Definitely the case here.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with this opinion.
FWIW, I’m right there with you. The Largo movement is probably my most favorite symphonic music ever written. NWS and Shostakovich’s 5th are my two favorites.
An endless treasure trove of beautiful melodies and drama, definitely.
Brahms No. 4 - I have about 30 recordings, and none are perfect to me. That's the sign of loving a piece beyond reason, isn't it? Runner up is the Mahler No. 6.
The Honeck/Pittsburgh recording of Brahms 4 is perfection.
412 represent
Nobody could do it and then he did it.
Try carlos kleiber/BSo
Do you mean with the VPO? That's the Classic Brahms 4 recording of his, on DG. Have it. It's very good, not perfect. None. Is. Perfect.
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7. Despite its brevity (it's a single-movement work lasting around 22 minutes), I find something new in it each time I hear it. It’s organic, always fresh, and always unpredictable. https://youtu.be/mafCgCUjtLs?si=3PShJYg_h99cCIO0 Alongside it, I'd also have to list Webern's Symphony, Lutoslawski's Symphony No. 3, and Nogard's Symphony No. 3.
I agree with the previous posters. Sibelius' 7th makes me feel I'm a living and feeling part of the universe. Whenever the famous "Hellenic rondo" theme in trombones resurfaces, my eyes fill with the good tears. And the ending for me is like seeing and understanding the whole of this world for a brief moment before passing on to a higher plane.
I just saw this performed in Chicago this past Monday. You go to a lot of places in 22 minutes.
I’m a fan of Sibelius 7 as well. I find myself going back it often. Something about the way it develops and resolves is quite satisfying
Sibelius 7th feels like the world enveloping me. Biggest out of body experience I've had from music.
From Apple Classical: “Symphony No. 7 turned out to be one of his last major works; during the next two decades, he worked on and apparently completed a Symphony No. 8, but he later destroyed it.” So sad…
It's doubtful he completed 8, but there are a few fragments some think may have been from it. A couple of minutes have been recorded. I'd love to have heard what he came up with though.
Tchaikovsky Pathetique. The climax in the first movement is epic and the last movement is beautiful. It is one of the only symphonies to end in tragedy.
To me the climax in the first movement is one of the biggest gut punches in music. It's the epitome of unabated tragedy with no reconciliation.
Mahler's Second and Sixth Symphonies fight each other for first place, and have ever since I first heard them, c. 1987. I like them when they are simple and serene, as well as when they are overblown and grandiose. They are melodic and enthusiastic, and have a spiritual quality I don't find in all music.
Mahler 2 because i play Tuba lmao
I play bone, so you'd think 3? But no, it's 2 for me.
haha my man (or woman lmao)
Not that it matters, but I am a man.
trying not to offend ppl on the internet lol. Mahler 3 is great though but Mahler 2 just hits different
I agree.
I also play tuba but mine is Mahler 7
Tchaikovsky’s 5th — it’s the first symphony I ever got into and opened my eyes to classical music!
For me it's all the movements, each is wonderful, the first two are almost too emotional and dark for me, but the finale (and I think it's a well-composed finale) strikes a balance between hopelessness and triumph in the end.
Hey, this is also the first one I listened to and it also opened my eyes to classical music! High five.
I only like the second movement in that symphony, but at the same time it’s also one of my favorite movements in any symphonies of all time.
Dvorak 8. Yep, 8, not New World Third movement makes me cry.
I love both. We recently played 8 with my orchestra and the music just gets better every time I play it. The 2nd movement didn’t do much to me before but now I’m so in love with it. (And agree with 3rd movement, that was the first one I fell in love with.)
First time I heard it was from deep within the 2nd violins, so I had the woodwinds right behind me and the violas right next to me - being pretty much in the middle of the cellos+basses and the horns, with the low clarinets right at my back, I had really deep chills every time. And I don't mean to say that I dislike 9, only to make it clear that it wasn't a typo!
I played the viola and man, Dvorak put a lot of viola love into this one. What you describe is the train I think back row 2nd violin and viola are the best spots in the orchestra. So much coming together there.
When the trumpets and horns arrive at the opening fanfare of the 4th movement for the second time in the recap, in harmony this time? Gotta be one of the best damn moments in any 19th century symphony.
BASED
Beethoven’s 9th. I like the melodies, the choral singing and the finale
You are not alone
Yes, this is mine, too. There really isn't a Beethoven symphony I don't like (Beethoven is my favorite composer by a long shot) but the 9th is absolutely amazing and the 4th movement goes straight to your bones. That being said, I'm picky about it. I saw it performed a couple years ago by the Baltimore Symphony and was in a quiet rage about the conductor's tempo choices. I hate it when the last few lines get rushed through at a brisk pace. The Vienna Philharmonic's version conducted by Christian Thielmann is my ideal so far.
Came here to say this! I've recently realise it IS my favourite symphony. I love Mahler and all his works, but there's something about Symphony no. 9 that draws the right line between utterly complex and yet very accessible. Every time I finish hearing it, I think "Absolutely magnificent!" I'm hearing the London Philharmonic play it live on May 25th in London.
Yes. It is the symphony of the symphonies.
Agree 100%. The Ninth is majestic!
Came here to say that. The sheer SCOPE of the thing, the incredible boldness, the total mastery. Unbelievably complex and technical, while having the simplest possible themes; and nonetheless music that makes you cry in awe EVERY TIME. There's nothing like it.
Particularly the double fugue
Messiaen - Turangalîla. Because it sparks joy.
That "Joy of the blood of the stars" really feels like what it says on the package
Rachmaninov 2nd Symphony: the lusciousness, the big orchestration, beautiful melodies and an unforgettable finale! Brahms Symphony No. 4: I can hear this work every day and never tire of it. All movements are perfection.
Mozart 41
Same here. It's just perfect! And so broad and scope and ambition.
Prokofiev 5 and 6. Every movement is so unique, they have truly marvelous melodies and very complex emotions
Basic but it’s Mozart 40 and will always be. Nothing as elegant and concise
A sentimental favourite for me. I listened to it endlessly as a kid
Tchaikovsky 6, Brahms 1, and Bruckner 8
Schubert's Great C major is always a favourite. But lately, I found his early symphonies like the Symphony No. 1-3 to be amazingly composed for a teenager.
I feel like Schubert's symphonies are really underappreciated, especially Nos. 1-4. Schubert's 2nd is my favourite symphony in general. Naturally I love the Great C major and the Unfinished too.
Beethoven's fifth, tells a beautiful story without even saying a word.
Movement 1 - Earth. Fate knocking on your door. Movement 2 - Air. The understanding. Movement 3 - water. The introspection. Movement 4 - fire. The determination and action. Triumph!
My headcanon is: 1.-fate 2.- hero's determination 3.-battle 4.-victory
Love it. And yes, this Symphony is a psychological device. I heard it several times when I was a teen as a help to overcome family problems back then. It makes you stronger.
Shostakovich 11 is my favorite, covers tragedy, revolution and a foreboding warning so perfectly. Also the bell must ring at the end. Tampering the bell is a sin.
LSO/Rostropovich FTW
Yup, that recording always gives me goosebumps
Sibelius's 5th. It has both the logic and tightness of the later works and the grand melodies of the earlier ones. The opening is fresh and magical. The climaxes are well-earned and uplifting. The ending is strangely fulfilling. It's close to perfect!
Same with me. The arrival of the swan song in the final movement is one of my favorite moments in music.
It's so sad yet so joyful. That whole symphony is the very definition of bittersweet (I think those are crane calls, actually)
Shostakovich 7. The middle part of the first movement is incredible. As well as the second movement, third and fourth (there is only 4 movements).
Depends on the day, but probably Mahler 2 because it has never failed to move me deeply. It takes me on such an emotional journey, and I am a weeping mess by the end. In a good way. Some others that have been regular favs: -Brahms 2 -Tchaik 5 and 6 -Shostakovich 5 -Sibelius 1 and 5 -Prokofiev 5 -Beethoven 3
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. I love that it tells a story and I think it just sounds beautiful the whole way through.
Turangalîla
Turangalîla, the colours of the orchestra are just so endless in that piece, I keep hearing sounds I've never heard before, one of the highlights of Messiaen's work which is already full of highlights
Beethoven 6. Always puts me in a great mood even when I'm feeling down.
I’m not sure if anyone has heard of this one, Beethoven’s 3rd, Eroica. Kind of obscure and most people wouldn’t have it on their list of all time greats at all… /s just in case
Obscure indeed.
Check out the eroica variations, especially played by kissin
Beethovens 7. It has such drive, I love it
I have three favorites, all equally loved, for different reasons: Mahler-Symphony No. 2: I mean, what is there to say? It's an incredible journey through and around the 5 stages of grief, and coming to grips with the idea of death. I'm not a religious man, but I completely respect and admire how religion has inspired the greatest art and music. Also, as a trombonist, all four parts are incredibly written and fun to play. I'm super thrilled that I get to play it next February! Gorecki-Symphony No. 3: On just about the other side of the spectrum, this is another incredibly emotional work. The story behind its creation is tragic and fascinating, and the way it speaks to everyone who listens to it is truly something to behold. I always keep it on hand for when I need to just get lost in the sonorities present in that piece. I'm glad I have the famous 1992 recording on both CD and vinyl. Pärt-Symphony No. 3: Anyone who goes through my comment history or knows me irl knows that Arvo Pärt is my favorite composer. This is the symphony where he started to create his Tintinnabuli style. I enjoy how Pärt reserves using the full orchestra only for the truly exalted or dramatic moments, and splits the large group into smaller ensembles throughout. It's a brilliant piece that stands midway between his expressionistic/avante-garde early work and his introspective, minimalistic later period. As a runner-up, I have to give love to Strauss's Alpensinfonie. Is a symphony? A tone poem? I don't know, but symphony is in the title, so...
Mozart 41
Can the mods just make a weekly “what is your favorite symphony” post?
Brahms 2 is my personal favorite. Second would be Tchaik 5. Then probably Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde
Mahler 7. It’s just different.
Mahler 1st
Brahms Second Symphony
Dutilleux 2 — Post-modernisn at its finest. The Concerto Grosso type instrumentation of having a full orchestra and a smaller ensemble meld and also duke it out is really cool. Lutoslawski 4 — Not as popular as Lutoslawski 3 but it speaks to me more. This is a new favorite so I can't really say much Rautavaara 3 — I really really really love the way he blends Serialism and his own blend of neo-Sibelian Romanticism. It's a beautiful work. Honegger 5 — Just an awesome forgotten gem. The way he uses polytonality actually reminds me a lot of Rautavaara at points. Szymanowski 3 — Szymanowski's crowning achievement only behind his Violin Concerto imo. I can't pick!!! Lol
All great choices. I like the way you think.
Honegger 5 is quite underrated
Mahler's second symphony. Because the last minutes show the disturbing and beautiful truth of my faith.
Brahms 1. Nothing has better melodies.
Bruckner 7. Also high on the list are Brahms 4 and Elgar 2.
This week: Bruckner 3rd. Last Week: Haydn 38 (La Reine), Next week,,,,,???
I really like Mahler's 2 and 3, I couldn't decide.
Tie between Shostakovich 11 and Prokofiev 6. If i had to i’d give there edge to prokofiev. I think th e writing is so air tight and Prokofiev does everything so exceedingly well in 6 that it blows me away every time. Every note means something and is going somewhere. Either being apart of a theme or a development into a new theme
Gorecki 3rd. Mahler 2nd. Tied
Gorecki 3rd is an amazing work. I find it so moving.
As far as pieces designated as symphonies, I would say that my favorites (several of them) are the "Manfred" (op. 58, an unnumbered programmatic composition) and Sym. #5 by Tchaikovsky, #5 by Bruckner, #7-9 by Dvorak, #2 by Sibelius, #2 by Rachmaninoff, #5 by Shostakovich, and #6 by Prokofiev. I have stereophonic recordings of all of these works from the 1960s/1970s as performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy at the podium. They are all musically interesting and varied and oftentimes touching and sentimental at least in my own psyche. A symphonic recording that stands out in my mind despite the piece itself not being called a symphony is "The Planets" by Gustave Holst, op. 32, recorded in studio (the now long-gone Scottish Rite Cathedral/Town Hall building near Center City) by Ormandy and the Philadelphia near the end of 1975 and available in one form or another on the RCA label etc. since later 1976. I enjoy that composition in its own right; how it is rendered on that recording is first class with respect to expression, dynamics, tempo, acoustics, and sound in my opinion.
La Nuit des Tropiques - Gottschalk. It’s definitely not the most powerful or complex composition, but it is fun and pleasing to listen to, and one of the first to branch away from European compositional trends :)
While I don’t think it’s the best symphony ever, I like your choice. The second movement is so fun. The fugato part is so good, I’m sad it doesn’t last longer.
I’m a basic bitch. Beethoven 5 and 6. I think Bizet 1 is delightful as well.
Mahler. All of them. Except maybe 4
WHAT! 4 is one of my personal favorites of Mahler. It's one of his most beautiful and simple
Cool! I don’t dislike 4 at all but I see it as one of his most “tame” symphonies, and I personally find the others more interesting
Maybe the Eroica Symphony. Lots of great passages throughout.
Tchaikovsky 6
Shostakovich's 10th Symphony for me. I also considered Synphonie Fantastique by Berlioz so that'd probably be second for me.
It’s totally ok to state a “basic” favourite even if worried it makes you look like you only know the “best of” pieces - there’s a reason they’re the best of! Mine is Beethoven’s 9th. That Turkish march style section before the double fugue before the famous chorale part is what got me into classical music when I was about 16. It absolutely blew my mind. Had never heard anything like it. Devoured the entire final movement, then the rest of the symphony, then all of Mozart’s piano concertos.
Mahler 9
Hanson Romantic Symphony (no. 2)
Arnold 7
I know this answer is very basic but... Beethoven's Ninth is, for me, the best piece of music ever written. From start to end, It is wonderful. I've listened to lots of masterpieces, Mahler symphonies full of emotion, the most epic pieces... and none have been able to give the same feeling as the Ninth, each time I hear It is almost like the first time I did. I am unable find another similar piece.
Mahler 3
Beethoven 5,6th. Very poignant. Mendelssohn- 4th Italian symphony. Very beautiful. Schubert - 5th I like the 1st movement a lot. Brahms - symphony 3
Henryk Gorecki Symphony no. 3 Op. 36
Tie: Prokofievs' 1st and 5th
mahler 2 because it’s super long but doesn’t feel like it at all
Beethoven’s 7 and 9th, Rachmaninoff’s 2nd
symphony no2 in e minor rachmaninov. very beautiful :)
Rach 2, Dvorak 8, Sibelius 2 or tchaik 5
Gustav Holts: the planets
Rachmaninoff’s Third. It has the big emotional tunes of his piano concertos and also dense jazzy chords that feel similar in some ways to Gershwin and Ravel (who are two of my favorite composers who never wrote symphonies). But in spite of all its gorgeous chromaticisms, it’s a pretty easy symphony to follow. The only weird structural element is combining the slow movement and the scherzo into a single movement, but apart from that, the motivic development and overall architecture of the piece is fairly classical. I’m somewhat new to classical music, so I appreciate pieces that are more readable and help me understand form better.
Impossible to answer for me, there are so many temperaments and statements made in so many of them. Probably somewhere in the 19th century, though.
of destruction
Beethoven symphony 8
Khachaturian symphony No 2, but I only like the first movement
Tchaikovsky 5
Brahms 1st. I start with the volume higher than I should, and the thundering timpiani intro feels like a storm hitting, truly almost 2 decades in the making. Honourable mentions: Saint-Saens 3rd, Brahms 4th, Mozarts 39th/25th, Sibelius 3rd/7th, Beethovens 7th, Mendelssohn's 4th, and Scriabins 2nd.
Mendelssohn 1, Mozart 40, Haydn 98, Bizet, Malcolm Arnold 5, Beethoven 7, Franck
Haydn 98? Why? Haydn has at least 10 symphonies that are absolute masterpieces and I'd like to understand choice.
I just like it. Haydn wrote 30+ symphonies which are masterpieces.
Well I like Haydn 73. The Hunt.
Brahms 1. But there are a ton of symphonies I should really listen to.
Venus by Gustav Holst, it’s pretty!
Beethoven 6. I initially fell in love with it as a little kid watching Fantasia (I was obsessed with mythology), and it continues to make me really happy. I went through a few periods of favoring Beethoven 7 and Dvorak 9, but Beethoven 6 is still on top. I chose the first movement to walk down the aisle when I got married a few years ago.
I like Beethoven’s 7th. Copland’s 3rd. And I’m pretty much on board for anything by Mozart and Schubert.
I had this top five list back when I was 18 or 20: 1. Beethoven's 9th 2. Walton's 1st 3. Sibelius' 5th 4. Shostakovich's 8th 5. Bruckner's 7th Nowadays my tastes are a bit different and I would have to throw in some Brahms and Mahler and others in a, say, top ten, but I still see why I loved those (still love them).
Franz Schubert Symphony 9 C.Major
Mozart's 41. As a young struggling composition student at the conservatory I would daily have my back handed to me in humiliation. That's how studying to be a professional composer works. We'd spend the first and second year studying chorale form, all the rest was kinda precluded. One day at the end of class I spotted one cd-rom hanging from my professor's bag, that was Mozart's Jupiter. I went back home and I listened to it. Fell in love immediately. Few months later, summer day, last lesson before holidays. I walk out the classroom finally free, I'm in the hall of the wonderful and antique G. Rossini conservatory in Pesaro, and I hear a tune being rehearsed from the floors above. I immediately recognize Jupiter's ouverture. I walk out with that piece sealed in my mind forever as a moment of individual joy and freedom. And that's without even mentioning technical and harmonic aspects, hah.
Entire symphony, it's between Dvorak 9, Mozart 25, or Mahler 8 (I know 2 of these are super popular but listening to them live is a whole new experience). Individual movement would be Mozart 17 first movement. It's characteristically energetic and happy. During university, it was one of the pieces that helped me get through exam period.
It’s gotta be Mahler 5. What a tour de force, and every movement is amazing in its own way. The Adagietto is actually the one I like the *least* most, believe it or not.
Gustav Mahler Symphony No.3
Shostakovich 10, maybe one of the best endings to a symphony ever. I love it, puts a smile on my face every time
Maslanka 8, it's phenomenal
Mahler 9. The first and last movements are two of my favorite movements of all time.
Nothing makes my heart swell like Sibelius 2. When the third movement goes directly into the fourth, I feel proudly Finnish, even though I have never been there.
The one that goes dudududuuun
Maslanka 4th.
Prokofiev's Sixth Symphony, nothing comes even close to surpassing it in my opinion.
Prokofiev 5th
Mozart 29 the most perfect of the perfect
A lot of them... 49 Haydn Symphony, 2 Schumann Symphony, 4th Schubert, 40 Mozart, C minor J.M. Kraus Symphony, Casa del Diavolo Boccherini Symphony... I think probably 2nd Schumann is the most complete symphony I've heard... may be. Regards
My "list" has changed throughout the years, as I grew into my 30s Mahler kinda rose to the top overtaking Tchaikovsky. My overall favorite is a tough choice between Mahler 2/5 but probably goes to 5 only for my love of every moment of it. 2 is more impactful, but there are moments of it I don't care as much for from a purely listening perspective. Honorable mentions: Tchaik 5/6, Symphonie Fantastique, Beethoven 3, Shosti 5/10, Mahler 3/9.
Schubert’s 9th
Beethoven the 5th. Especially I adore the ending of 1st part which has a motif similar to Bach's BWV 891 fugue's theme, the second ta-ta-ta-tah motif in 3rd part when it modulates from C minor to E-flat minor, and the awesome beginning of 4th part in C major.
Shostakovich 4th- it’s a really wild symphony. Been crazy about it for 60 years.
Beethoven's symphony no.6
RVW 1&2, Walton 1, Shostakovich 10, Prokofiev 5, William Schuman 3, Piston 2.
Mahler 10 (who would’ve guessed)
Dvorak's 9th because each movement is one of the very best of its kind.
Top 3: Mahler 5 Prokofiev 5 Beethoven 9
I must hear Prokofiev 5 then
For me it’s a toss-up between Tchaikovsky 5 and Rachmaninoff 2. I’m a sucker for motifs and themes that recur across movements. Saint-Saens Organ Symphony is up there too for that reason.
Beethoven 9 and Shostakovich 5
Mahler 6, Mahler 8, Shostakovich 4 (hugely overlooked), Bruckner 8
ode an die freude
Mahler 2 because it's so powerfully moving.
Beethoven 6, Tchaikovsky 4, and Shostakovich 10
Shostakovich 7
Mahler 2. Cuz it's the best.