# Suites



## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

A suite is a set of dances later composers changed it slightly.So does anyone like suite?As for me the nutcracker suite i like the most.PEER GYNT suites.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

mtmailey said:


> A suite is a set of dances later composers changed it slightly.So does anyone like suite?As for me the nutcracker suite i like the most.PEER GYNT suites.


If the English and French suites count, I am in, like the Peer Gynt also.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

mtmailey said:


> A suite is a set of dances later composers changed it slightly.So does anyone like suite?As for me the nutcracker suite i like the most.PEER GYNT suites.


True, there is quite a range in the current definition of the suite. During the Baroque period the suite was, generally, a collection of musical dance forms, of which Bach's famous English and French Suites define well. Too, a suite is also a collection of "numbers" from a larger work, such as a ballet. The _Nutcracker Suite _(and there are more than one of these, depending upon the selection of pieces chosen from the full ballet) is one of these.

Sometimes a suite is neither of these, but an actual form itself, as with Ferde Grofé's famous _Grand Canyon Suite _or less famous _Hudson River Suite_, _Mississippi Suite_, _Death Valley Suite_, or _Rudy Vallee _Suite.

I think it's sweet that we should have the suite, whatever its form. Among my favorite suites are a couple by Ohio composer Rick Sowash, and they include his _Guitar Suite: For an Old Friend at Christmas_, his _Daweswood Suite _for Bb clarinet, violin, cello and piano, and his _Father's Day Suite_ for string trio, a piece that may be quite appropriate to play this coming Sunday.

Too, here's another fine suite: by Crosby, Stills, & Nash - _Suite Judy Blue Eyes_.


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

mtmailey said:


> A suite is a set of dances later composers changed it slightly.So does anyone like suite?As for me the nutcracker suite i like the most.PEER GYNT suites.


Do you like Nielsen's Aladdin suite? It's somewhat similar to Peer Gynt. It's pretty popular, but perhaps not as popular as Grieg's famed works.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Pugg said:


> If the English and French suites count, I am in, like the Peer Gynt also.


Assume you're referring to JS Bach? I would add his 4 Suites for Orchestra (as this is Orchestral Music Forum). And I'll throw in the Cello Suites just because.


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

SONNET CLV said:


> Too, a suite is also a collection of "numbers" from a larger work, such as a ballet. The _Nutcracker Suite _(and there are more than one of these, depending upon the selection of pieces chosen from the full ballet) is one of these.


+1

This is the most common definition.

Some contemporary examples:


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

I always thought of a suite (when I did) as a sort of lazy, disorganized teenage symphony, sitting sideways in a chair, gaming. So I'm learning new things today!


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## dillonp2020 (May 6, 2017)

Prokofiev's Romeo et Julliette suites 1 and 2. I love them with all of my being.


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Massenet's suite from "Le Cid" is a winner!!


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

Klassik said:


> Do you like Nielsen's Aladdin suite? It's somewhat similar to Peer Gynt. It's pretty popular, but perhaps not as popular as Grieg's famed works.


never heard it before though.


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

*Carmen*

The 2 CARMEN SUITES that are great to here.Bizet had other suites but carmen was his best to me though.


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## T Son of Ander (Aug 25, 2015)

I love suites, especially orchestral suites that are not reductions from a ballet or opera. Tchaikovsky's four are excellent; Havergal Brian's English Suites are also good. Massenet wrote several.


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

dillonp2020 said:


> Prokofiev's Romeo et Julliette suites 1 and 2. I love them with all of my being.


If you love just the suites with all your being, you'll fall into a love coma if you hear the full ballet.

My favorite recording:





Also check the unofficial *Romeo and Juliet* thread I started a few months back for more recording and insights.


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

I personally stay away from the suites ( ignore that _ridiculous_ pun ); I prefer to hear the Opus in its full glory rather than an " _I have twenty minutes until work, time for a quickie!_ " situation.

Am I preaching to the proverbial choir?


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

T Son of Ander said:


> I love suites, especially orchestral suites that are not reductions from a ballet or opera. Tchaikovsky's four are excellent; Havergal Brian's English Suites are also good. Massenet wrote several.


There are some suites that are not from operas like DVORAK OPUS.39


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## T Son of Ander (Aug 25, 2015)

mtmailey said:


> There are some suites that are not from operas like DVORAK OPUS.39


Yes, the Czech Suite, another great one. Also the Op. 98, American Suite.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Grofe Grand Canyon Suite. Always loved it. Oh, and a big shout for Novak's Slovak Suite.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Ravel's Tombeau de Couperin is wonderful.


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## Autocrat (Nov 14, 2014)

One of my faves.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

How's about Stravinsky's piano Suite arrangement of the best tunes from Petrushka? I think it stands up very well as a work in its own right.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Love Karelia Suite but my favourite now is the Holberg ever since I saw it performed live by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra!


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

My favorite suite is Debussy's Suite Bergamasque. I love its blend of neoclassicism (with Baroque-style dances such as the Passepied) and impressionism (particularly in Clair de lune).


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Pat Fairlea said:


> How's about Stravinsky's piano Suite arrangement of the best tunes from Petrushka? I think it stands up very well as a work in its own right.


Which reminds me of another wonderful suite by Stravinsky- Pulcinella Suite. Such an underrated work in my opinion, even though it is usually ranked in his top 10 works.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

I must confess that I have a suite tooth. Tout suite...


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

Three favorites of mine.

Piston, The Incredible Flutist Suite

Delius, The Florida Suite and

Holst, The Planets, Suite for Large Orchestra


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Uh...guys. If you look up at the top of the page, there's an image banner that announces a Symphonic Suite by a Frederick Magle


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Here are a couple others that I like:

Shostakovich: Gadfly Suite
Albeniz: Suite Espanola


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## Pyotr (Feb 26, 2013)

T Son of Ander said:


> Yes, the Czech Suite, another great one. Also the Op. 98, American Suite.


I'm still not sure just exactly what a suite is, but Dvorak's American suite has been getting a lot of play around my house recently. That's as good as it gets.


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## josquindesprez (Aug 20, 2017)

Nothing against the Peer Gynt suite(s), but don't neglect the whole work. Every piece in it is amazing. My intro to that work was actually the whole thing together, and I don't know that I could do without the pieces that get omitted.


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## R3PL4Y (Jan 21, 2016)

Tchaikovsky's suites for orchestra (not the nutcracker suites, but the lesser known suites for orchestra) are all very good and show a side of Tchaikovsky as a composer that is much different from the symphonies and more similar to something out of one of his ballets.


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