# Your Top 10 Third Symphonies!



## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Third one's a charm!
What are, in your opinion, the greatest, or just your personal favorite_ third _symphonies?

Here's my list. Enter Beethoven and Mahler!

1. Beethoven
2. Brahms
3. Mahler
4. Schumann
5. Mendelssohn (Scottish)
6. Saint-Saens
7. Sibelius
8. Berwald (Singulière)
9. Schmidt
10. Glière (Ilya Muromets)

Honorable mentions: Nielsen, Ives, Wetz, Myaskovsky, Weingartner, Honegger, Szymanowski, Roussel, Vaughan Williams, Bax (basically an alternative top 10)


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Again OTOOMH, so I might be regretting missing some...


Gorecki
Saint-Saens
Mendelssohn
Brahms
Mahler
Bax
Sibelius
Gliere
Bruckner
Schmidt

And just missing the cut: Vaughan Williams, Beethoven, Nielsen and many others.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

1 Beethoven
2 Brahms
3 Mendelssohn
4 Nielsen
5 Roussel
6 Bruckner (don't ask me which version, the most common one is cut to shreds but I haven't really got used to any other)
7 Stravinsky (either in C or in three movements, both are great)
8 Mahler
9 Schumann
10 Honegger

Too lazy to work out what would be Hindemith's 3rd but I'd give him a honorable mention anyway.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Roughly in descending order:

Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Dvořák
Mendelssohn
Borodin
Brahms
Sibelius
Berwald


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Four equal number threes!

Beethoven
Brahms
Mahler
Sibelius

Gotta love them equal number threes!

Behind them equals:

Kokkonen
Mendelssohn
Schumann


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

... by any other name:

1. André Jolivet's Troisiéme Symphonie
2. "Song of the Night" by Karol Szymanowski
3. "Facetter" by Karl-Birger Blomdahl
4. "Collages" by Roberto Gerhard
5. George Enescu's Symphony No. 3, Op. 21, in C major 
6. "Venetian" by Humphrey Searle
7. « des Espaces » Symphonie n° 3 by Marcel Landowski
8. Paavo Heininen's Symphony No.3
9. Josef Tal's Symphony No. 3
10. "Le Souffle de Némésis", Op. 48 by Frédéric van Rossum

The name-calling doesn't stop here ... "Pastoral" ... "The Muses" ... "Liturgique" ... "Il'ya Muromets" ... you name it! (actually, the composers already did  )


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Favorite Third Synmphonies:

1. Nielsen "Sinfonia Espansiva"
2. Sibelius
3. Mahler
4. Bruckner
5. Copland
6. Rorem
7. Tchaikovsky "Polish"
8. Schumann "Rhenish"
9. Vaughan Williams "Pastorale"
10. Gorecki "Sorrowful Songs"


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

1. Mahler
2. Brahms
3. Beethoven
4. Bruckner
5. Mendelssohn
6. Rorem
7. Sibelius
8. Nielsen
9. Raff
10. Copland

Edit: Forgot about the Mendelssohn. That _must_ be on there. Sorry, Arvo Part!


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## Subutai (Feb 28, 2021)

In no particular order:
1. Beethoven 3
2. Bruckner 3
3. Mahler 3
4. Nielsen 3
5. Brahms 3
6. Saint Saens 3
7. Copland 3
8. Gorecki 3
9. Roussel 3
10. Vasks 3


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Today:

1. Beethoven
2. Brahms
3. Mahler
4. Schumann
5. Mendelssohn (_Italian_ is his third, not the _Scottish_)
6. Berlioz (_Roméo et Juliette_)
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Sibelius
9. Prokofiev
10. Górecki

Note: I took into consideration that Saint-Saëns' _Organ_ symphony is actually his fifth and last, not his third, and that Bruckner's third is his symphony No. 0, "_Die Nullte_", not his _Wagner_ symphony.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I don't think that kind of pedantic revisionism is going to earn any points for Ravenclaw...


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Sibelius
Nielsen
Mahler
Schumann
Harris
Copland
Mendelssohn
Saint-Saens


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## Anooj (Dec 5, 2021)

Beethoven
Saint-Saens
Mahler
Gliere
Gorecki
Mendelssohn
Vaughan Williams
Tchaikovsky
Schumann
Lyatoshynsky


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Copland
Enescu
Gorecki
Mahler
Myaskovsky
Nielsen
Piston
Prokofiev
Vaughan Williams
Weinberg


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Never mind this post.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

Ten I've been likely to be listening to lately:

Schnittke
Prokofiev
Beethoven
Nielsen
Sibelius
Penderecki
Brahms
Mendelssohn ("Scottish")
Rachmaninoff (The Bells)
Schumann


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## Philidor (11 mo ago)

1. Beethoven
2. Mahler
3. Brahms
4. Schumann
5. Bruckner
6. Norgard
7. Honegger
8. Scriabin 
9. Tüür
10. Saint-Saens


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2013)

Beethoven
Brahms
Saint-Saëns
Schumann
Roy Harris
Henze
Górecki
Sibelius
Mahler
Jacques Hétu

Very sorry, I cannot stop at 10. There are too many great 3rds. But many of my top 10 lists are overstuffed. 

Rorem
Schnittke
Henk Badings
Kokkonen


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Beethoven
Brahms
Bruckner
Berlioz
Maximilian Steinberg, in G Minor 
Scriabin
Vaughan Williams
Gorecki
Tschaikowsky
Sibelius
---------------------------------------------------
Z. Fibich, Sinfonie e-Moll op. 53
Glazunov


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## kyjo (Jan 1, 2018)

So many great thirds!! In roughly descending order of preference:

1. Atterberg (_Västkustbilder)_
2. Saint-Saëns (_avec orgue)_
3. Dvořák
4. Sibelius
5. Peterson-Berger _(Same Ätnam)_
6. Alfvén
7. Melartin
8. Ludolf Nielsen
9. Rachmaninoff (either _The Bells_ or the A minor!)
10. Mendelssohn (_Scottish)_

Had to extend it to 25....

11. Carl Nielsen _(Espansiva)_
12. Honegger _(Liturgique)_
13. Braga Santos
14. Casella
15. Copland
16. Hanson
17. Berwald
18. Tchaikovsky
19. Roussel
20. Alwyn
21. Alexander Tcherepnin _(Chinese)_
22. Mahler
23. Prokofiev
24. Rangström _(Song Under the Stars)_
25. Bax

Constructing this list made me realize how many Nordic composers composed excellent third symphonies - in most cases, it's the high points of their symphonic cycles IMO.


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2013)

kyjo said:


> So many great thirds!! In roughly descending order of preference:
> 
> 1. Atterberg (_Västkustbilder)_
> 2. Saint-Saëns (_avec orgue)_
> ...


That's the way I like to do my top ten lists. What's so important about a number just because it ends in 0 anyway?


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

1. Brahms - his finest orchestral work and one of the best symphonies of its genre. Furtwangler or Karajan...
2. Beethoven Eroica - a desert island composition for me. One of the greatest symphonies of all time.... Harnoncourt, Barbirolli, Karajan, Furtwangler - the list is endless!
3 Bruckner. I adore Bruckner's 3rd. One of the biggest, baddest ones out there! 1877 version, Novak with the Scherzo coda. I don't understand why anyone would want to perform this symphony without the scherzo coda..... Haitin VPO, Philips
4. RVW - an utter masterpiece. Hickox
5. Mahler - the first Mahler work I ever heard. Sinopoli, SWR Stuttgart Orchestra - the finest trombones ever!
6. Nielsen _Espansiva_ - especially the Whun Chung disc on BIS
7. Alwyn - a personal fave. Lyrita, the composer.
8. Gorecki - I'll never forget the first time I heard it (Zinman) over the house system in HMV Oxford Street in the early/mid 1990s. Bought it instantly.
9. Schumann - another desert island symphony as far as I'm concerned. Sawallisch....
10. Roy Harris - a must! Bernstein DG


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

This is where the warhorses kick in for me.

Beethoven
Brahms
Schumann
Saint-Saens
Rachmaninov
Stravinsky in three movements
Szymanowski
Mendelssohn
Bernstein
Schubert


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Favorites in alphabetical order:

Beethoven
Brahms
Bruckner
Mahler
Mendelssohn
Saint-Saens
Schumann
Sibelius
Vaughan Williams


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## Bill Cooke (May 20, 2017)

Roussel
Saint-Saens
William Schuman
Prokofiev
Bax
Honegger 
Beethoven
Harris
Martinu
Alwyn


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

Mahler
Schnittke
Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Saint-Saens
Scriabin
Bernstein
Martinu
Penderecki
Schumann


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

Bruch - Symphony No. 3 in E major, Op. 51 (1882, rev. 1886)
Brahms - Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90 (1883) 
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No.3 in C minor "Organ Symphony", Op. 78 (1886)
Gernsheim - Symphony No. 3 in C minor "Mirjam", Op. 54 (1887)
Glazunov - Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 33 (1890)
Reinecke - Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 227 (1894)
Noskowski - Symphony No. 3 in F major "From Spring to Spring" (1903) 
Fuchs - Symphony No. 3 in E major, Op. 79 (1906)
Melartin - Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 40 (1907)
Peterson-Berger - Symphony No. 3 in F minor, "Lappland Symphony" (1915)


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## scott.stucky48 (7 mo ago)

William Schuman
Roy Harris
Peter Mennin
Walter Piston
Aaron Copland


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

RobertJTh said:


> Third one's a charm!
> What are, in your opinion, the greatest, or just your personal favorite_ third _symphonies?


Lots of great #3s...

Beethoven 
Mahler
Schuman, Wm

Brahms
Copland
Prokofiev
Roussel
Honneger
Saint-Saens
Bruckner
Sibelius
Nielsen
Hanson
Harris
Mennin
Corigliano (Circus Maximus, i think it's #3)
Penderecki
Tchaikovsky
Schumann
Mendelssohn,

Probably missed a few!!


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Beethoven & Mendelssohn is enough no. 3 for me. Among my all-time favorite symphonies (that I remember is no. 3...).


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## Aries (Nov 29, 2012)

1. Anton Bruckner (the first movement is one of his very best)
2. Dimitri Shostakovich (one of his best symphonies)
3. Ludwig van Beethoven
4. Martin Scherber
5. Joly Braga Santos
6. Franz Schubert (maybe the best of his early symphonies)
7. Max Bruch
8. Camille Saint-Saens (somewhat great but also a bit annoying melody-wise)
9. Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov
10. Frederick the Great (a very nice Baroque symphony with a number)

other candidates I didn't heard enough:

Peter Tchaikovski
Janis Ivanovs
Gavriil Popov
Erkki Melartin

rather mediocre 3rds:

Sergei Prokofiev
Hugo Alfven
Wilhelm Furtwängler

3rds not for me:

Gustav Mahler
Johannes Brahms
Jean Sibelius


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## leonsm (Jan 15, 2011)

Atterberg
Saint-Saens
Villa-Lobos
Szymanowski
Prokofiev
Part
Yoshimatsu
Melartin
Norgard
Tchaikovsky, Boris
Other 10 (or 14):

Bruckner
Beethoven
Glière
Enescu
Madetoja
Glass, L.
Honegger
Mahler
Hanson
Gorecki
Berwald
Schumann
Mendelssohn
Noskowski


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## Shoskofiev (5 mo ago)

Beethoven
Brahms
Nielsen
Honegger
Lutoslawski
Mendelssohn
Roussel
Copland
Casella
Martinu

I was thinking of Sibelius, but his Third is not one of his best as far as I am concerned.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

*Nielsen
Beethoven
Atterberg
Hanson
Lyatoshinsky
Honegger
Brahms
Roussel
Melartin
Rachmaninov*


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