# Best Symphonic Cycles--CALL FOR SUGGESTIONS



## Rondo (Jul 11, 2007)

After some _initial_ brainstorming, I have decided to call for suggestions. I would like to get some good suggestions for what you consider to be the "best" 3 symphonic cycles out there. A final "Survivor" list will be made from the suggestions provided here. A particular cycle may be suggested by more than one member. In other words, if you like Karajan's Tchaikovsky cycle, and someone has already suggested it, suggest it again. However, just to diversify things a bit, please limit your suggestion to only _one per composer and one per conductor_. In the actual game, there can be as many Mahlers, Beethovens, Soltis and Bernsteins as there happens to be.

In your suggestion include:

*COMPOSER/CONDUCTOR/ORCHESTRA/YEAR OF ORIGINAL RELEASE (LABEL can also be included, if known)*

Ill keep this open for as long as it takes. I'll try to keep an eye out for the first 10 receiving multiple suggestions. If the thread goes cold with only a few receiving more than one vote, I will begin to use the chronology of the suggestions as a means to get the remaining 5. Of course, others can be added in the actual game.


----------



## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

I guess I'll open this one up...

1) Mahler/Chailly/Concertgebouw/1990's-2000's (box in 2005)/Decca
2) Sibelius/Vanska/Lahti SO/1990's-2000's (box in 2001)/BIS
3) Rubbra/Hickox/BBCNOW/1990's-2000's (box in 2001)/Chandos

I dunno about my favorite Beethoven cycle; there are too many.


----------



## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

They are not necessarily "the 3 best symphonic cycles out there", - and neither (with the obvious exception of Beethoven) would I say that these are the three greatest composers of symphonies, but I doubt that I will ever hear other symphonic cycles for these three composers that I will enjoy more.

Beethoven/Klemperer
Mendelssohn/Karajan
Dvorak/Kertesz


----------



## JTech82 (Feb 6, 2009)

My opinion is by no means the right one. It's merely an opinion, but I think all symphony cycles are flawed, but if I had to chose three that are pretty close to sonic perfection I would choose the following:


Shostakovich/Haitink/Concertgebouw/London Philharmonic/Decca

Rachmaninov/Ashkenazy/Royal Concertgebouw/Decca

Vaughan Williams/Boult/LSO/LPO/New Philharmonia/EMI


Other symphony cycles I think are fantastic:

Bruckner/Jochum/Dresden Staatskapelle

Sibelius/Jarvi/Gothenburg Symphony/DG

Bax/Thomson/LPO/Chandos

Mahler/Bernstein/NYPO/Sony

Nielsen/Blomstedt/San Francisco Symphony/Decca


----------



## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Sorry for the delay in making a contribution to this thread. Before I begin, I'm curious if there are going to be any parameters for consideration. To take an example, A Brahms cycle and a Schumann cycle (for instance) can be easily accomodated on a "two-fer." There's also the issue of a partial box- the one I have in mind being the Jochum-London Phil. *Haydn London Symphonies* box. (It's a 5 CD set.) O.K.: now to complicate matters even further, how about the New York Philharmonic *Mahler Historic Broadcasts* set (various conductors)? It contains all of the Mahler Symphonies, plus _Lied_ & _Wayfarer_.

Now, for the more conventional choices-
*Beethoven*: Berlin-Karajan '62-'63
*Dvorák*: Berlin-Kubelik (you can save at least a sawbuck for other explorations by choosing this one rather than Kertesz).

Will the "Mahler historic" be allowed? If not, then I'll say *Mahler*: Solti-Chicago.

If it _is_ allowed, I'll reserve my Solti-Chicago for *Bruckner*. I said it when I was relatively new to the board... "mystery" in Bruckner is overrated.

I'll add another vote for the Haitink-Concertgebouw-London Phil. *Shostakovich* cycle, the granddaddy of all Shostakovich cycles.

If allowing cycles generated by twin-discs, I'll add the Zinman-Zurich *Schumann*, and the Ormandy-Philadelphia *Rachmaninoff* (oh, yeah, add Rachmaninoff to the list of composers who appreciated Philadelphia's ways with their works).


----------



## Rondo (Jul 11, 2007)

The primary purpose I had in mind was to get a list of conductors with regard to the symphonic cycles they have completed. Think of it as taking the existing conductor game to one extra level: to consider the conductor's achievement in completing a cycle of a particular composers' symphonies. In other words, some may love Herbert von Karajan's conducting in general, but dislike his interpretation of the Tchaikovsky symphonies; this game takes that additional variation into consideration.

At first, I was thinking of having people simply choose a composer/conductor pair, where the conductor had to have performed at least one of the composer's works. However, given the vast number of pairs you get from that, requiring a complete symphonic cycle would narrow things down a bit--plus be more indicative of the conductor's interpretation of a composer's work.

Therefore, just to make things a bit simpler, I believe it would be best to stick with only _one conductor per cycle_. Having more than one orchestra (as is the case with a couple thus far) is fine. The way I am defining cycle is: _the complete body of a composer's symphonies contained on a single set or album, all of which are interpreted by the same conductor_ (some of these albums contain additional works such as overtures and tone poems, as well). Unfinished symphonies such as Mahler's 10th and Beethoven's 10th (for you other LVB fanatics out there who have it) are irrelevant. There may be some 'fudging' area within these parameters, but I am not sure how to narrow it down any more. Feel free to add to it if I am not taking something into consideration.

Here are my 3 nominations:

Brahms/Walter/Columbia Symphony (Sony)
Nielsen/Blomstedt/San Francisco Symphony (Decca)
Shostakovich/Haitink/London/Concertgebouw (Decca)

One unfortunate exclusion would also be the Malcolm Arnold cycle conducted by Richard Hickox. What I wouldn't give to have them all (7,8,9 included) in a Hickox/London set!!!!!!!


----------



## Rondo (Jul 11, 2007)

For those interested, suggestions for the above-mentioned thread are welcome. To reiterate the restriction, the conductor has to have conducted a complete set of the corresponding composer's _symphonies_. If someone has already suggested a pair which you prefer, please mention it again. The starting list in the game will consist of those mentioned the most in this thread. Once all of the pairs which were suggested more than once are listed, the remaining slots will be filled based on the order in which particular suggestions are made to make a total of 10 starting pairs.


----------



## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

Best symphonic cycles in my opinion:

Bruckner, Gunter Wand, Cologne Radio Symphony Orch., RCA
Bruckner, Riccardo Chailly, Berlin Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Decca
Vaughan Williams, Sir Adrian Boult, LSO, New Philharmonia, LPO, EMI
Prokofiev, Dmitri Kitajenko, Gürzenich-Orchester Koln, Phoenix Edition
Mahler, Gary Bertini, Cologne Radio Symphony Orch., EMI
Mahler, Simon Rattle, CBSO, BPO, EMI
Mahler, Riccardo Chailly, Berlin Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Decca
Dvorak, Istvan Kertesz, LSO, Decca
Rachmaninov, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Royal Concertgebouw, Decca
Beethoven, Claudio Abbado, BPO, Deusche Grammophon
Brahms, Georg Solti, CSO, Decca
Bax, Bryden Thomson, LPO, Chandos
Shostakovich, Bernard Haitink, Royal Concertgebouw, LPO, Decca
Mendelssohn, Herbert von Karajan, BPO, Deutsche Grammophon

There's so many...


----------



## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Besides the obvious choices, I'd like to nominate

Ives/Litton/Dallas SO/2006/Hyperion
Vaughan Williams/Previn/London SO/(Box in 2004)/RCA
Bax/Handley/BBC Phil/(Box in 2003)/Chandos


----------



## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

Some favourites from my collection:

Vaughan Williams/Boult/LPO/2000/EMI
Mahler/Rattle/CBSO, BPO & Vienna Phil/2007/EMI
Sibelius/Berglund/HPO/2001/EMI


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Beethoven/Szell/Cleveland Orchestra!


----------



## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

*Atterberg*/Rasilainen/NDR, etc (CPO)
*Glazunov*/Serebrier/RSNO & RNO (Warner)
*Bruckner*/Wand/Colonge (RCA) *or* Karagan/BPO (DG)
*Braga-Santos*/Cassuto/National SO of Ireland/Portugese SO (Marco Polo)
*Bax*/Thomson/LPO (Chandos)
*Malcolm Arnold*/Hickox/Gamba/LSO & BBC Phil. (Chandos) *or* Handley/RPO (Conifer)
*Myaskovsky*/Svetlanov/RFSO (Warner Classics)
*Shostakovich*/Kondrashin/MPO (Melodiya)
*Tubin*/Jarvi/Swedish Radio SO, Gothenberg, Bergen PO, Bamberg SO (BIS)
*Alfven*/Jarvi/Royal Stockholm PO (BIS)
*Scriabin*/Muti/Philadelphia Orchestra (EMI)
*Kalinnikov*/Jarvi/RSNO (Chandos)
*David Diamond*/Schwarz/Seattle SO (Delos/Naxos)
*Bernstein*/Slatkin/BBC SO (Chandos)
*Nielsen*/Thomson/RSNO (Chandos)
*Langgaard*/Dausgaard/Danish National SO (Decapo)
*Prokofiev*/Jarvi/RSNO (Chandos)
*Robert Schumann*/Levine/Philadelphia (RCA) *or* Barenboim/Staatskapelle Berlin (Warner)
*Tchaikovsky*/Svetlanov/Russian Federation (Warner) *or* Rozhdestvensky/Moscow RSO (Melodiya)


----------



## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Brahms/Abbado/Berlin (DG)
Prokofiev/Jarvi/RSNO (Chandos)


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Mendelssohn/Masur

Beethoven/Wand

Dvorak/Kertesz


----------



## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Strange that no one, now or then, has mentioned Schubert. Is his silent 7th just too modern to be countenanced. Well you won't catch me.

Tippett/Hickox/Chandos


----------



## Guest (May 20, 2015)

Does it have to be all the same conductor even if it is clearly a series by one label? Pettersson/CPO comes to mind...


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

nathanb said:


> Does it have to be all the same conductor even if it is clearly a series by one label? Pettersson/CPO comes to mind...


No. In fact there is a Naxos set that has two different conductors (Edlinger & Halász) involved (so does the Hanover Band cycle). Here is one of the NAXOs sets that has two conductors:









It is described in this Amazon review list as:


> Edlinger, Halász: Symphonies Nos. 1-9. Zagreb Philharmonic and Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, rec. 1988. A cycle from Naxos' early days (now on its super-cheap label, Amadis) that's competently-played, with moderate-to-high tempi but somewhat thin-sounding in parts. Michael Halász conducts in Nos. 3 and 6 while Richard Edlinger conducts in the rest. No. 5 is probably the best of the set but far from being my top choice. Sound quality is acceptable.


But mine had a different cover and packaging, so not sure all will have the portrait discs.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Not a complete cycle but Sir Colin Davis leading the Concertgebouw in Haydn's London Symphonies is a must, IMHO.


----------



## EDaddy (Nov 16, 2013)

Not claiming this is the best Beethoven cycle as that would be too hard, but it is a wonderful set all the same with spot on performances throughout and a very well balanced, lively, spacious sound. The Nielsen is unbeatable IMO and while there are several great Shostakovich cycles out there, this conductor really nailed it for me, with the 1st, 5th, 10th and 15th being standouts. All three of my picks boast outstanding sonics.

Beethoven/Gunter Wand/NDR Sinfonieorchester/November 5, 2001/RCA 
Nielsen/Blomstedt/San Francisco Orchestra/October 12, 1999/Decca
Shostakovich/Rudolf Barshai/WDR Sinfonieorchester/Brilliant Classics


----------



## EDaddy (Nov 16, 2013)

Florestan said:


> Beethoven/Szell/Cleveland Orchestra!


Except for the 5th! A total snore fest.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

EDaddy said:


> Except for the 5th! A total snore fest.


Compared to my just purchased Pierre Monteux cycle, yes. But Szell is a very good set and has a great Ninth. Once I have all my Monteux (filling in some gaps with You Tube rips until my other CD set arrives), I'll have a better idea if it is my top cycle. Of course I have Berstein NYPO still in the mail too.


----------

