# What is your favorite composition of all time? (Try to pick one definitive answer)



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Beethoven's Sixth, I've always loved it, even the Liszt piano transcription.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier - harpsichord or piano or clavichord or organ or whatever.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Bulldog said:


> Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier - harpsichord or piano or clavichord or organ or whatever.


That's more like 48 or even 96 works....


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Kreisler jr said:


> That's more like 48 or even 96 works....



Haha, it's one complete set though. It's like the separate movements of a symphony.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

There are several works where I feel one could "drop the needle" anywhere and I would be in heaven (work is beautiful and engrossing). Dvorak's Cello Concerto and Beethoven's Symphony 7 fall into that category. The work that I have viewed as my favorite for some time now is Beethoven's 9th. For me, it's an hour of beautiful, powerful, engaging music.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

mmsbls said:


> There are several works where I feel one could "drop the needle" anywhere and I would be in heaven (work is beautiful and engrossing). Dvorak's Cello Concerto and Beethoven's Symphony 7 fall into that category. The work that I have viewed as my favorite for some time now is Beethoven's 9th. For me, it's an hour of beautiful, powerful, engaging music.


I feel as though the nine has too many notes, and not based on grand hooks to keep the listener interested. That's just my take.


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Brahms' Clarinet Quintet


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Scheherazade, I would think. Never tire of listening or playing it. Or even collecting different recordings.


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## Chibi Ubu (11 mo ago)

That's a tough one... it's a battle between The Firebird Ballet/Stravinsky & Concerto for Orchestra/Bartok. The Firebird wins!


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I feel as though the nine has too many notes, and not based on grand hooks to keep the listener interested. That's just my take.


Ah, but each note is perfectly sublime.


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## Ludwig Schon (10 mo ago)

La Monte Young’s Dorian Blues in G… If I turn it on, it‘s lights out for Lil Ludi… Chapeau!


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

mmsbls said:


> Ah, but each note is perfectly sublime.



Do you agree it's a bit flashy and not focused on strong hooks for the majority of it, aside from the most recognizable portion of it in the finale? Pls explain how you view it, and what makes it sublime to you?


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Sibelius’ 7th Symphony has been my favourite piece of music for 25 years.


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## ansfelden (Jan 11, 2022)

impossible for me


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Bach D-minor keyboard (piano) concerto. It has everything. Prokofiev PC #3 a very close second, fighting against Brahms' PC #2. It's clear that I like piano concertos a lot.


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## Botschaft (Aug 4, 2017)

Brahms’ fourth symphony, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier sonata and Bach’s Goldberg variations are contenders.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Do you agree it's a bit flashy and not focused on strong hooks for the majority of it, aside from the most recognizable portion of it in the finale? Pls explain how you view it, and what makes it sublime to you?


I don't see it as flashy, and I'm not sure about the idea of strong hooks. The music continuously pulls me in. I view each movement as beautiful and profoundly moving. I'm stunned that such a long work can engage me so strongly throughout. With Mozart, my favorite composer, I love so much, but I don't necessarily view each movement as sublime. Obviously, that's my subjective opinion.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

mmsbls said:


> I don't see it as flashy, and I'm not sure about the idea of strong hooks. The music continuously pulls me in. I view each movement as beautiful and profoundly moving. I'm stunned that such a long work can engage me so strongly throughout. With Mozart, my favorite composer, I love so much, but I don't necessarily view each movement as sublime. Obviously, that's my subjective opinion.



I can see that. I feel the notes tend to drive your ears, rather than catch your ears with hooks. But I don't appreciate that type of composition. I am all about strong melodies.


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

Mahler 1. 

I mean, it's certainly hard to pick just one piece, but it's an interesting mental exercise, and that's the piece I'd have to choose.


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Hmmm ... Barber Sy. 1 (Zinman, Baltimore SO, recorded 1991). 
Why Sy 1? Packs much of what CM is all about in only 20 min.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I also love Beethoven's Symphony 1. Fantastic composition imo.


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## sAmUiLc (9 mo ago)

Vincent by Don McLean


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Wagner's Tristan und Isolde

If we limit it to predominantly instrumental music, then Mozart's 41st Symphony, closely followed by Mahler's 2nd Symphony.


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## advokat (Aug 16, 2020)

Depending on the mood and the time of the day, It is either Tchaikovsky´s 5, Rachmaninov's 2, or Bruckner´s 5.


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

Sibelius 7 is not a bad choice at all -- it would be knocking at the gates of my top 10. I've always nicknamed it "The Miraculous" because I still cannot fathom quite how it's possible to create something so perfectly integrated. But if I had to choose one work, it would have to be Janacek's "Cunning Little Vixen" (Přihody Lišky Bystroušky which actually means "the adventures of the vixen sharp ears") . Not so much an opera but a philosophy of life


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

Wagner, Parsifal. Possibly the closest thing to ‘Perfection’ I’ve ever heard. The way Act 1 destroys your sense of time passing is truly surreal.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I've always have an admiration for Mozart's 1st as well.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I've always have an admiration for Mozart's 1st as well.


Mozart's 1st what?


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Eva Yojimbo said:


> Mozart's 1st what?


Symphony, sorry for leaving that out.


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## kaluza (9 mo ago)

Easy.
Stravinsky's symphony in C.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Beethoven's Opus 131 (String Quartet no. 14) and 133 (Grosse Fuge).


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Symphony, sorry for leaving that out.


Thought maybe you meant "41st" rather than "1st." Mozart's 1st symphony was composed when he was 8!


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## 4chamberedklavier (12 mo ago)

I have a different one every day


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I feel as though the nine has too many notes, and not based on grand hooks to keep the listener interested. That's just my take.


Nonsense. The Ninth is full of hooks. At least three passages-- the opening of the Scherzo, the Ode to Joy theme, and the beginning of the Turkish march variation of the Ode to Joy theme-- have become standard snippets in pop culture.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Eva Yojimbo said:


> Thought maybe you meant "41st" rather than "1st." Mozart's 1st symphony was composed when he was 8!


...And I like the slow movement anyway.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

ORigel said:


> Nonsense. The Ninth is full of hooks. At least three passages-- the opening of the Scherzo, the Ode to Joy theme, and the beginning of the Turkish march variation of the Ode to Joy theme-- have become standard snippets in pop culture.


Not consistently though.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Do you agree it's a bit flashy and not focused on strong hooks for the majority of it, aside from the most recognizable portion of it in the finale? Pls explain how you view it, and what makes it sublime to you?


I was enthralled by this symphony as a ten year old, back when I was a shallow listener with a very short attention span. I loved the scherzo, trio, and finale. I enjoyed the first movement more and more as I grew older, and when I was 14 or so I even came to love the slow movement (which I found "boring" as a ten year old).


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Not consistently though.


Every passage in the symphony is a hook. Two of the three standard snippets I mentioned aren't even among my favorite parts of the symphony!


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

This is an impossible task for me.

There are dozens of pieces that I place at equal artistic levels, and effect me at similar emotional and intellectual levels.

My favorite composition at any given time, would be the one that most recently had effected me the deepest, and most viscerally.

I guess, most recently, it would be Elliot Carter's "Concerto for Orchestra". But it might change at my next listening session.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I'd say that my favourite, most played piece is Janacek's 2nd quartet.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

I don't have a favorite of all time. The last time I had one was probably when I was 15 — The album _Larks' Tongues in Aspic_ by King Crimson.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Op. 131


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Beethoven's _Choral_ symphony.


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## GMB (10 mo ago)

Bruckner's 8th Symphony . A profound psychological experience for me.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

*What is your favorite composition of all time? *


Don't know, there are too many contenders.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Beethoven's 5th Symphony.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Eva Yojimbo said:


> Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
> 
> If we limit it to predominantly instrumental music, then Mozart's 41st Symphony, closely followed by Mahler's 2nd Symphony.


Do you have a favorite performance for the _Jupiter_? Could you please share with me which it is? 



Waehnen said:


> Sibelius’ 7th Symphony has been my favourite piece of music for 25 years.





dko22 said:


> Sibelius 7 is not a bad choice at all -- it would be knocking at the gates of my top 10. I've always nicknamed it "The Miraculous" because I still cannot fathom quite how it's possible to create something so perfectly integrated.


Do you two have preferred performances for Sibelius seventh? Please, tell me which. 



Aerobat said:


> Wagner, Parsifal. Possibly the closest thing to ‘Perfection’ I’ve ever heard. The way Act 1 destroys your sense of time passing is truly surreal.


Care to please share which is your reference performance of it?


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Just too tough for me to pick a sole all time favorite work


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Beethoven: Piano concerto no 3 ( and 5)


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Xisten267 said:


> Do you have a favorite performance for the _Jupiter_? Could you please share with me which it is?


I don't know if I could list a favorite. Unless it's a work I've listened to a million times I'm unlikely to hear differences in performance unless I'm listening back-to-back to different performances. I never did that with Jupiter, and it's actually a work I've tried not to listen to too much intentionally because I don't want to ruin the magic from overexposure. I think the first performance that hooked me was Bohm's (with Berlin, not Vienna), and I also remember loving Szell's. I find it's one work that's almost always going to sound great as long as some competent is doing it!


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Rogerx said:


> Beethoven: Piano concerto no 3 ( and 5)


Thought I was the only one who preferred the 3rd to the 4th and 5th


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

Xisten267 said:


> Do you two have preferred performances for Sibelius seventh? Please, tell me which.


I was brought up on Berglund Bournemouth and still rate that highly. Still my favourite has become the version with my top conductor Kurt Sanderling. It's not very Finnish sounding (whatever that might mean) but it a noble, deeply felt and mostly ideally paced version. It's very hard to get the tempi right across all the sections and most seem to trip up somewhere or other or the overall effect is simply too lightweight. I heard Segerstam do it live and he was among the best.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

EvaBaron said:


> Thought I was the only one who preferred the 3rd to the 4th and 5th


Me too!!!


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

dko22 said:


> I was brought up on Berglund Bournemouth and still rate that highly. Still my favourite has become the version with my top conductor Kurt Sanderling. It's not very Finnish sounding (whatever that might mean) but it a noble, deeply felt and mostly ideally paced version. It's very hard to get the tempi right across all the sections and most seem to trip up somewhere or other or the overall effect is simply too lightweight. I heard Segerstam do it live and he was among the best.


This concert live is one of the best there is! Not the CD version of Bernstein/Vienna but this very live video footage.


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## Ravn (Jan 6, 2020)

Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" (or maybe Bruckner's ninth).


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## Wilhelm Theophilus (Aug 8, 2020)




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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I think that changes over time. It started for me at the Tchaikovsky 4th symphony ... then became the Bruckner 5th ... then the Mendelssohn Lobgesang and Reformation symphonies ... now probably the Sibelius 7th. That's just for symphonies.


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## Janspe (Nov 10, 2012)

Bartók's 1st piano concerto. I don't think any other piece has had such a profound musical effect on me - and I continue to discover new things in it every time I hear it. I love it dearly, and almost 15 years of listening hasn't changed that one bit.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy

(other big favorites already mentioned: Mozart 41, Beethoven 5/7/9, Wagner Tristan, Mahler 2, Bruckner 5/8/9, Sibelius 7)


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## Mifek (Jul 28, 2018)

haziz said:


> Beethoven's 5th Symphony.


Seconded (with Bach's WTC and Chopin's Etudes being the strongest contenders).


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## 59540 (May 16, 2021)

If there could be only one: Bach's Magnificat, preferably the 1733 version in D major with the "Christmas interpolations" included.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Janspe said:


> Bartók's 1st piano concerto. I don't think any other piece has had such a profound musical effect on me - and I continue to discover new things in it every time I hear it. I love it dearly, and almost 15 years of listening hasn't changed that one bit.


What is your favourite recording, or one you recommend I listen to. Your description makes me want to hear it.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Wilhelm Theophilus said:


>


I feel like you missed an opportunity to rickroll the entire forum.


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

Ravel's Bolero.

Not every day and not every recording, however.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Impossible. This is the best that I can do:

Symphony: Mahler 9
Concerto: Dvorak Cello Concerto
Opera: Meistersinger
Choral Work: Bach St. Matthew Passion
Other Vocal: Schubert Winterreise
Chamber: Schubert Quintet D956
Solo: Bach Cello Suites


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## Agamenon (Apr 22, 2019)

2022: Goldberg Variations.


(In the past years, Goldberg Variations)


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## BrandonLG (Dec 11, 2021)

Bruckner 8.


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## Rieslingfan (10 mo ago)

EdwardBast said:


> I don't have a favorite of all time. The last time I had one was probably when I was 15 — The album _Larks' Tongues in Aspic_ by King Crimson.


Amen to both sentiments


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## Coyoteman (9 mo ago)

For me, it's Don Giovanni by Mozart. Simply incomparable!


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

EvaBaron said:


> Thought I was the only one who preferred the 3rd to the 4th and 5th


No, I do too, though I prefer the best of Mozart


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Charles Koechlin's _Le buisson ardent_ has been my favorite for over 25 years. I first heard this work in 1994 when I bought the Cybelia CD (its 1st recording that I'm aware of). Prior to this, though, if I was asked (in the early '90s or late '80s) what is my favorite, then it likely was the soundtrack for *L'Imprecateur* by Richard Rodney Bennett.


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## StDior (May 28, 2015)

My most favorite composition in approximate chronological order:
1987-92 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
1992-97 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4
1997-2007 Puccini: Tosca
2007-2017 Mahler: Symphony No. 2
2017-present Haydn: String Quartet op.20. No. 2


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

I'm sorry that I can't just pick ONE piece to be my favorite. My top three are Beethoven's _Symphony #6 "Pastorale"_; Wagner's _Siegfried Idyll_, and Barber's _Knoxville: Summer of 1915_.


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## advokat (Aug 16, 2020)

EvaBaron said:


> Thought I was the only one who preferred the 3rd to the 4th and 5th


Me too.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

dko22 said:


> No, I do too, though I prefer the best of Mozart


So far I have only listened to Mozart PC #20 but I’m excited to try more


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## Subutai (Feb 28, 2021)

Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. It truly transports me to a place of wonder everytime I listen to it. It's a perfect piece.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Wagner's _Tristan und Isolde_. Listening to it is like getting drunk and jumping off the cliff into the abyss, drowning in the void of the universe. Ecstatic, nihilistic, Dionysian... torment and delight. What's not to like?


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

EvaBaron said:


> So far I have only listened to Mozart PC #20 but I’m excited to try more


Try Piano Concertos 21-27 next.


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## Alinde (Feb 8, 2020)

J. S. Bach St Matthew Passion


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

EvaBaron said:


> So far I have only listened to Mozart PC #20 but I’m excited to try more


The consensus is probably that no.24 with its great variations movement is the finest. After that I’d go for 27 and 23


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## mahler9 (9 mo ago)

Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps....it blows my mind every time I hear a good performance of it


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## Markbridge (Sep 28, 2014)

Wow! What fun to read thru everyone's favorites. And what variety! In some ways I agree with those who said it was too difficult to pick just one or that it mattered what day it was. 

For me, it was Mahler's 8th for years. But a few years ago I began really listening to Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and and have come to realize that it is probably one of the most beautiful compositions ever written. What a supreme masterpiece. It's funny, people always point out that Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his 9th, but, for me, the 9th, although great, just isn't in the same league as his Missa Solemnis, and he was deaf when he wrote it! There are so many sublime moments. And the chorus is instructed to "shout" at the end of the Gloria! What joy! 

So, it's Beethoven's Missa Solemnis as my #1 favorite with Mahler's 8th as a close second and Sibelius Kullervo as a firm 3rd. Oh, I could go on, but I won't.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

dko22 said:


> The consensus is probably that no.24 with its great variations movement is the finest. After that I’d go for 27 and 23


Also try 17.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

ORigel said:


> Also try 17.


Yes, no. 17 is my favorite Mozart piano concerto. Other favorites are nos. 9/19/20/24.


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## Gallus (Feb 8, 2018)

Rachmaninov's All Night Vigil.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Markbridge said:


> But a few years ago I began really listening to Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and and have come to realize that it is probably one of the most beautiful compositions ever written. What a supreme masterpiece. It's funny, people always point out that Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his 9th, but, for me, the 9th, although great, just isn't in the same league as his Missa Solemnis, and he was deaf when he wrote it! There are so many sublime moments. And the chorus is instructed to "shout" at the end of the Gloria!


Both the Missa solemnis and the 9th have passages where one might wonder if Beethoven was in fact impaired by his deafness because of the extreme vocal demands (although he did this for instruments long before and also in Fidelio when he could still hear well) and the density of combined orchestral/vocal forces that makes it almost impossible to hear half what is going on and tends to overwhelm the listener (and I think the Missa is "worse" in the last respect). BUT they have also passages that are among the most refined, colorful and sublime in sheer sound in all Beethoven, such as the Benedictus with the violin solo, so this seems to show that he was not really impaired.


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

Bulldog said:


> Yes, no. 17 is my favorite Mozart piano concerto. Other favorites are nos. 9/19/20/24.


I remember only that either 17 or 18 was very fine— probably was 17 then


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

dko22 said:


> I remember only that either 17 or 18 was very fine— probably was 17 then


They are both very good, but 17 K 453 is considerably and maybe justifiedly more famous; it figures in one of Bernstein's talks or essays (and I think he recorded only this one and #15 K 450).


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

Historically my favourite composition has been Mahler's Symphony No. 2.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Without thinking about it too much:

Brahms - Piano Trio 1


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Highwayman said:


> Brahms' Clarinet Quintet


This might be sacrilege, but while I do love the Clarinet Quintet, there are numerous other Brahms chamber works I find myself returning to more frequently, including all of the other clarinet pieces (the op. 120 sonatas and the op. 114 trio). But that said, Brahms's chamber works probably account for about a quarter of my classical listening these days, so it's a high bar  .


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

The zero-thinking, gun-to-my-head choice is Beethoven Op. 111. It even has an aesthetically pleasing opus number.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

fbjim said:


> The zero-thinking, gun-to-my-head choice is Beethoven Op. 111. It even has an aesthetically pleasing opus number.


Can anyone explain why some of Beethoven’s compositions, especially his later works such as certain piano sonatas and string quartets are only referred to by their opus number? I don’t see that happening as frequently with any other composer except maybe Mozart. But isn’t it easier to remember something as piano sonata no. 32?


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Honestly, I try not to be an "Opus Number Guy", but Op. 111 is one of the exceptions for me. Probably because it's an easy number to remember, more than anything. That, and the piece (Piano Sonata no. 32) has no nickname.


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## Janspe (Nov 10, 2012)

EvaBaron said:


> What is your favourite recording, or one you recommend I listen to. Your description makes me want to hear it.


I love the sharpness and precision of Boulez/Zimerman which is definitely my go-to recording. However, t I wouldn't want to go without Fischer/Schiff or Fricsay/Anda either. The piece is a tough nut to crack for the performes, so I suggest listening to verious recordings in order to hear different sides of it!


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## Tarneem (Jan 3, 2022)

Bach's little fugue


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Tarneem said:


> Bach's little fugue


The G minor one? I love that one too, on the piano.

As to the OP, it is impossible to choose just one. It's like asking to pick a favourite child. But among the contenders would be:

Bach Goldberg
Bach WTC (both books)
Beethoven 3 symphony
Beethoven 4 symphony
Beethoven 5 symphony
Beethoven 7 symphony
Beethoven Waldstein 
Beethoven SQ 14
Brahms 3 symphony
Brahms 4 symphony
Sibelius 5 symphony
Sibelius 7 symphony

I have a hard time deciding which of those I like better than the others. Each of them gives me enormous pleasure.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

EvaBaron said:


> Can anyone explain why some of Beethoven’s compositions, especially his later works such as certain piano sonatas and string quartets are only referred to by their opus number? I don’t see that happening as frequently with any other composer except maybe Mozart. But isn’t it easier to remember something as piano sonata no. 32?


For many/most people it is in fact easier to use opus numbers for Beethoven and K numbers for Mozart. It's mostly convention and habit but it also adds a bit of information, i.e. roughly the neighborhood of pieces in other genres like op.53 Waldstein sonata, op.54 piano sonata, op.55 Eroica symphony, op. 56 triple concerto, op.57 Appassionata sonata, op.58 piano concerto #4, op.59-1-3 Razumovsky quartets etc. 
And because of the "misnumbering" of quartets 13,14,15 I am always confused about the numbers but never about what is op.132,130,131.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Strauss, Don Quixote on this moment, I am in a Richard Strauss mood


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## Bastien (Sep 21, 2012)

For myself, this to be an impossible request.


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Akrata by Iannis Xenakis. A lifetime companion.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Of course it has to be Mozart symphony no. 40. I first got hooked when I was 6 years old. Nobody can beat that, I'm 52 now, I think, and still love it (just not Böhm)...yes I am 52...


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## Ludwig Schon (10 mo ago)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> Of course it has to be Mozart symphony no. 40. I first got hooked when I was 6 years old. Nobody can beat that, I'm 52 now, I think, and still love it (just not Böhm)...yes I am 52...


Elevator music I associate with being held in a telephone queue…


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Ludwig Schon said:


> Elevator music I associate with being held on a telephone queue…


there were no elevators and no telephone queues in those days so mozart did not write with that purpose in mind; i agree that the music is syrupy and repetitive, but those were the days....; it baffles me that anybody can like this today while there is so much exciting new music


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

justekaia said:


> there were no elevators and no telephone queues in those days so mozart did not write with that purpose in mind; i agree that the music is syrupy and repetitive, but those were the days....; it baffles me that anybody can like this today while there is so much exciting new music


Give a couple of examples of "exciting new music" that is more exciting than Mozart's sym no. 40. While not among my favourite symphonies, I would still rather listen to it than any new music I've heard, which for the purpose of this statement I'll define as classical music written in the last 40 years.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

My answer would be Bartók's _Bluebeard's Castle_. It has everything packed into it --- mystique, beauty, eeriness et. al. There are several performances I absolutely adore, but if I had to only take one with me to a desert island it would be Boulez on Columbia (Sony):


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> Give a couple of examples of "exciting new music" that is more exciting than Mozart's sym no. 40. While not among my favourite symphonies, I would still rather listen to it than any new music I've heard, which for the purpose of this statement I'll define as classical music written in the last 40 years.


my point is that although Mozart is a fabulous composer he has written quite a few duds of which S 40 is a perfect example; moreover it is played far too often in concert halls and on radio stations; now to answer your question i invite you to discover a thread that i have massively supported and which is called "best contemporary composers"; nearly every week i single out another composer with an exciting work; the last one with lizée is very interesting and i also encourage you and other members to read a bit about this composer; even if contemporary is not your favourite category i hope it will interest you


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

...so my favorite composition of all time is a dud. DOH! 👺


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> Give a couple of examples of "exciting new music" that is more exciting than Mozart's sym no. 40... which for the purpose of this statement I'll define as classical music written in the last 40 years.


A couple examples within the last 40 years:

Maurice Ohana's 1989 _Quatuor No. 3_
Gunther Schuller's 1993 _Of Reminiscences and Reflections_


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Prodromides said:


> A couple examples within the last 40 years:
> 
> Maurice Ohana's 1989 _Quatuor No. 3_
> Gunther Schuller's 1993 _Of Reminiscences and Reflections_


Thanks for the suggestions. I filed the String Quartet in the "interesting and to listen to more closely in the near future" category. _Of Reminiscences and Reflections _is exactly the kind of music I dread having to sit through during a concert while waiting for the second half with the Beethoven symphony.

My version of exciting music seems very different from yours (just one example)


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> My version of exciting music seems very different from yours (just one example)


Agreed. I think we all should recognize that there are different types/levels of listeners/listening. It's not possible for any individual composition to appeal to everybody because not all of us have the same criteria for satisfaction.
I love sonorism. Textural sound sculptures appeal to me more than that which was written prior to the 20th century.

[that Schuller piece, by the way, won a Pulitzer - so there have been a few more human beings on the planet besides myself who love this music  ]


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Prodromides said:


> Agreed. I think we all should recognize that there are different types/levels of listeners/listening. It's not possible for any individual composition to appeal to everybody because not all of us have the same criteria for satisfaction.
> I love sonorism. Textural sound sculptures appeal to me more than that which was written prior to the 20th century.
> 
> [that Schuller piece, by the way, won a Pulitzer - so there have been a few more human beings on the planet besides myself who love this music  ]


Yep, to each his own. I find textural sound sculptures extremely dull and it seems to me a lot of new music is very concerned with textural sound sculptures a lot more than with thematic development, which to me is a lot more exciting. Looping back to the original post I was replying to that there is so much "new exciting music" that is more exciting than Mozart's symphony no. 40 (which I don't find all that exciting besides the first movement, by the way), it shows how one man's exciting is another's snooze trigger.


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## leonsm (Jan 15, 2011)

My lifelong favorite I think is Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582.


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## sheri2022 (11 mo ago)

It's gotta be between Beethoven Missa Solemnis or Bach Mathew's Passion. Both for me are probably the best music piece ever written. Too bad I can't listen to them too often because they're so emotionally devastating for me.


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## Great Uncle Frederick (Mar 17, 2021)

Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia - a work which, over and above the sheer beauty of the sound world which VW creates, evokes everything that England has lost or is in danger of losing. It also has important non-musical associations for me. Although I don't really go in for 'bucket lists', I really would love to see and hear it performed in Gloucester Cathedral.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Great Uncle Frederick said:


> Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia - a work which, over and above the sheer beauty of the sound world which VW creates, evokes everything that England has lost or is in danger of losing. It also has important non-musical associations for me. Although I don't really go in for 'bucket lists', I really would love to see and hear it performed in Gloucester Cathedral.


Vaughan Williams’ fantasy on a theme of Tallis is also one of my favourite pieces. I discovered it because our orchestra was playing it, which is the best way of discovering new music: by playing it yourself. Performing it was really one of the best experiences I’ve ever had


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## Pyotr (Feb 26, 2013)

The way I decided to answer this impossible question is this: If I had a clock on my music listening my entire life, which classical work would score the most hours? Mozart would win as far as composer but Schubert’s String Quintet would win the individual work honor.


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## JGolden (7 mo ago)

Mozart's Piano Concerto #24 in c minor.


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## BrandonLG (Dec 11, 2021)

Bruckner 8.


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

Mozart's Don Giovanni. Listening to Klemperer with George London, etc. from 1955 Cologne right now.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Great Uncle Frederick said:


> Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia - a work which, over and above the sheer beauty of the sound world which VW creates, evokes everything that England has lost or is in danger of losing. It also has important non-musical associations for me. Although I don't really go in for 'bucket lists', I* really would love to see and hear it performed in Gloucester Cathedral*.


Ask and you shall receive...


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## Great Uncle Frederick (Mar 17, 2021)

Becca said:


> Ask and you shall receive...


Many thanks! (What I *SHOULD* have said is 'attend' or 'be present at', but this will serve very will until that happens).


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## julide (Jul 24, 2020)

justekaia said:


> there were no elevators and no telephone queues in those days so mozart did not write with that purpose in mind; i agree that the music is syrupy and repetitive, but those were the days....; it baffles me that anybody can like this today while there is so much exciting new music


I love both xenakis and mozart but mozart is actually far more interesting to listen to nowadays because there simply isnt music written today that is erotic and charming whereas much of the new music of today is in the vein of xenakis' avant gardism


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## GMB (10 mo ago)

My favourite piano work is Liszt's La Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude. It is transcendental and never fails to move me spiritually, or psychologically, which is the same thing.


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## Great Uncle Frederick (Mar 17, 2021)

JGolden said:


> Mozart's Piano Concerto #24 in c minor.


I have so many favourite Mozart works (K491, K424, K542 ...) that it was easier to go for the Vaughan Williams, but I would say that K491 is my favourite concerto. I've seen it live just once, with André Previn directing the LSO from the keyboard - with his back to the body of the hall!


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## SoloYH (8 mo ago)

Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue BWV 903


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## Wilhelm Theophilus (Aug 8, 2020)

leonsm said:


> My lifelong favorite I think is Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582.


...Talking of duds


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Britten's War Requiem for me...


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Beethoven's Sixth, I've always loved it, even the Liszt piano transcription.


Ah a kindred heart. I saw Fantasia as a child and the 6th Symphony has been my favorite ever since.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

brahms violin concerto at the moment!


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## Bill Cooke (May 20, 2017)

If there can be only one... The Rite of Spring.


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## leonsm (Jan 15, 2011)

Wilhelm Theophilus said:


> ...Talking of duds


I missed the context here...


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Beethoven Piano concerto 3 ( and 5)


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

"The Lark Ascending", Vaughan Williams. The first two thirds of the work anyway. After about ten minutes it's, "So land, already!". There can be too much of a good thing.


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## Great Uncle Frederick (Mar 17, 2021)

Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia


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## RMinNJ (Apr 3, 2021)

Agree this is an impossible question! I agree with so many of these, but if I HAD to pick just one, it's Shostakovich symphony 7, deeply personal for me, epic and gorgeous, resilience and hope over tragedy, and the ending always, always moves me to tears.


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## Terrapin (Apr 15, 2011)

Op 132


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## NicoleEB (9 mo ago)

I think I would have to pick a boring one and say the 5th Brandenburg concerto. Or maybe the third. I would also maybe take the first or second orchestral suites. To pick a definitive one: the fifth Brandenburg concerto!! It is a joy to listen to every time. The music flows naturally and novelly, especially in the first movement, it is very lovable from moment to moment and the themes themselves are enjoyable. The part writing is splendid and the structure is solid as a rock. The third movement is very striking sounding when it is not quaint, so it's a good contrast to the first.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Bach Inventions and Sinfonias. I've learned more and gotten more joy from experiencing playing these myself than anything.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

St Matthew Passion


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

OK, well then.

Narrowing it down to 10, much less one, is almost pointless.

I guess I'll go with a few that have always stuck with me for the last 50 years. 

The Planets
1812 Overture
Bolero
Brandenburgs
Mozart Piano Sonata in F
Rhapsody in Blue
Capriccio Italien


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Beethoven symphony no.6, pastoral


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## szabomd (Dec 13, 2021)

Rimsky Scheherezade or Brahms symphony 1


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

While ackowledging the impossibility of truly answering the question, I would probably have to go with Beethoven's 6th when pressed. It's my "happy place" that I can turn to when I am stressed.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

Wilhelm Theophilus said:


> ...Talking of duds


Nonsense. The passacaglia itself is grand and epic, even by the standards of Baroque organ works, the fugue is a clever double fugue with a thrilling surprise ending, and the way the fugue is built on the bass line of the passacaglia is brilliant.

Personally, I would have to go with _Bach's Mass in B minor_ with _The Art of Fugue_ a close second. I want to write something clever, insightful, and prettily worded about the mass, but anything I can think of seems trite compared to the music. It's just truly astonishing from start to finish.

For non-Bach compositions _Tristan und Isolde_ gets an honorable mention.


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