Best symphony ever?

[Agathon]

Wow - someone else who owns Havergal Brian's "Gothic" Symphony. And I thought I was the only one.

[Carver]

I almost forgot (although I'm sure you didn't mean to include this) Charles-Marie Widor's Symphony for Organ No 5 in F minor. Perhaps the greatest work for organ ever. Thematic unity is very strong throughout all 5 movements, although the third is probably a weak spot in terms of musical beauty. Unfortunately, the work is very long and is consequently almost never played in public except for movement 5, the Toccata.

[Alex Woehr]

From the list, Beethoven No 5. But I voted banana, due to the glaring omissions.

Yea, but you can't really blame monkspider. There are so many good symphonies out there it's hard to remember them all.

A better question might have been: who is the greatest symphonic composer? A number of posters (including me) placed several works of a particular composer towards the top.

[Asher]

Re: Re: Hello, I am a heretic

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
Did you download the entire symphony, or just the finale (with the chorale), or what?

I believe it's the whole thing, nearly twelve minutes long?

[Agathon]

Re: Re: Re: Hello, I am a heretic

Originally posted by Asher

I believe it's the whole thing, nearly twelve minutes long?

Not even close. The whole thing comes in at about 70 minutes long. That sounds like the last part of the final movement to me.

Best recordings IMHO - Karajan (1977), Kempe, Stokowski and Furtwangler (mono).

Incidentally, I read somewhere that one of the specifications for the CD format was that it had to be able to fit the whole of Symphony No. 9 on one disc.

[Asher]

70 minutes long?? Christ.

It was all I could do to sit through the 12 minute version.

There just wasn't any flow to it for me, it seemed like he just randomly threw it together.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Asher
70 minutes long?? Christ.

Depends on the conductor, but yes. And 12 minutes sounds like the first or second movement, or an excerpt from the last (which runs about 25 minutes itself)

It was all I could do to sit through the 12 minute version.

Most symphonies are at least 30 minutes long, dear fellow!

There just wasn't any flow to it for me, it seemed like he just randomly threw it together.

There is nothing random about a Beethoven symphony--they are perhaps the most tightly-constructed and thematically unified symphonies ever written.

[Boris Godunov]

[SIZE=1]
Tchaikovsky No 4 is doubtlessly the best symphony of all time. The 2nd and 3rd movements are pure beauty.

Tchaikovsky No 5 is a very close second. The 1st and especially the 4th movements are the most triumphant things you will ever hear. Every time I play it I want to go conquer a country or something.

I don't think I could qualify any Tchaikovsky symphony as the best one ever, because I don't think any of them is a proper symphony. They are, rather, symphonic tone poems with several unrelated movements slapped on after them. They're a mess, in symphonic terms.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Asher

There just wasn't any flow to it for me, it seemed like he just randomly threw it together.

That's the most outrageous thing you have ever written, your fanatic support of Redmond notwithstanding.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov


Depends on the conductor

Yeah, like Klemperer or Bohm - joy postponed for eternity.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Agathon


Yeah, like Klemperer or Bohm - joy postponed for eternity.

Actually, Von Karajan would get my vote for most turgid.

If you've heard the 1951 Furtwangler recording from Bayreuth? The prestissimo at the finale is so fast it's astounding.

[Carver]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov


I don't think I could qualify any Tchaikovsky symphony as the best one ever, because I don't think any of them is a proper symphony. They are, rather, symphonic tone poems with several unrelated movements slapped on after them. They're a mess, in symphonic terms.

Well, I don't think I'm expert enough to challenge you on symphonic unity. But I will support Tchaikovsky for the greatest composer ever award. Symphonies 4 & 5, Piano Concertos 1,2 & 3, and the Violin Concerto are simply unmatched. I recommend all of you to repeatedly listen to the piano solo in movement 1 of concerto 2, absolutely unequaled brilliance and bravora.

[Boris Godunov]

I've never been secretive about my strong dislike for Tchaikovsky. While he was certainly up to moments of brilliance, listening to his music leaves me with the same sensation as having just consumed too much ice cream--cold and nauseated.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
There is nothing random about a Beethoven symphony--they are perhaps the most tightly-constructed and thematically unified symphonies ever written.

"Organized Chaos"?

Seriously, help me out here. What all am I missing from the piece?

How come it doesn't make any sense to me, musically? It's all over the place. It's fast, it's slow, it's fast, it's slow, it's loud, it's quiet, it's louder, it's somewhat quiet, and then it crescendos, crescendos, cresendos...

How can people tell this is tightly constructed and not completely random? Do we have any evidence to the contrary of him not being a drug addict?

[Boris Godunov]

Asher, catch me on windows messenger and send me the file so I know exactly what part you are listening to.

It doesn't make sense musically to you because you don't know the style and structure of the piece.

And music that is all the same tempo and dynamic is boooooooring.