# Favorite Piece of all-time??



## Tromboneman (Jan 4, 2007)

There are many good classical pieces out there. Although i would have to say the most moving to me and my favorite to listen to is Mozart's Requiem. I think it to be the most brilliant piece ever written by man. Since i play the trombone, i love Tuba Mirum the best!  I also love the Confutatis movement, its powerful yet beautiful. Please reply with your favorite piece.


----------



## Lisztfreak (Jan 4, 2007)

I really couldn't decide for THE BEST piece, but I'd say that for me Liszt's Sonata in b minor (grandious and most passionate) and Valse mélancolique (so moving and bittersweet) and then Dvořák's Symphony no.9 (broad and yearning) come close enough to the definition.


----------



## Lark Ascending (Dec 16, 2006)

My favourite piece is the one I have chosen as my username, The Lark Ascending, by Vaughan Williams. It was the first piece of classical music that prompted me into finding out more about this type of music which up to then I'd had no interest in whatsoever, and which I now listen to most of the time.


----------



## Topaz (Oct 25, 2006)

The trouble is that a piece of music is like a length of string. It can be any length virtually from about 3 mins to 12 hours, and the answer to this question depends critically on length. So I'm afraid I find this question meaningless unless there is a time limit on it.

Depending on length, some of my favourites among shorter pieces are:


Schumann Op 28/2, Romance in F Maj, about 3-4 mins
Beethoven Piano Con 5, second movement about 7 mins
Schubert Impromptu D 894/3, about 7 mins
Beethoven Egmont O/T, about 8 mins
Schubert Adagio in E Flat Mar ("Notturno") about 9 mins
Brahms Alto Rhapsody, about 11 mins
Beethoven Piano Con 1, second movement, about 12 mins
Schubert Piano Sonata No 18, D 894, first movement 20 mins
 Beethoven Piano Sonata 23, Appasionata, about 24 mins
These are just a tiny few off the top of my head. There are probably dozens of others.

Topaz


----------



## 4/4player (Nov 17, 2006)

I think my most favorite pieces are Beethoven's nine symphonies...I'm a symphony kind of guy..so its only natural for me...I particulary like his "Choral"...

4/4player


----------



## ezydriver (Sep 30, 2006)

I hate to say this, as it always tops the 'classic fm most wanted', but the lark ascending has to be mine. Closely followed by Beethovens 9th.


----------



## oisfetz (Dec 11, 2006)

To me, Tchaikovsky's Trio 0p.50


----------



## IAmKing (Dec 3, 2006)

There is no way I could choose a single piece, or even ten, to list as my favourite piece of all time. However, over the past 2 weeks Shostakovich's String Quartets Nos. 2, 3, 7, 8 and 12 have all been getting exhausting amounts of play time, and I haven't tired of them yet.


----------



## 3rdplanetsounds (Nov 23, 2006)

I'll have to say Wagners' instrumental score to his operas ' Der ring des Nibelungen' (ring cycle).It contains every form of musical emotion that appeals to me and i never tire of it.


----------



## Kurkikohtaus (Oct 22, 2006)

Sibelius 5... just say it softly


----------



## linz (Oct 5, 2006)

I have it down to two which I bounce between, Bruckner's 8th and Mahler's 5th.


----------



## G e o r g e (Jan 16, 2007)

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto 2 (played by guess who?)


----------



## Saturnus (Nov 7, 2006)

Zelenka trio sonata no. 6


----------



## Bone (Jan 19, 2013)

Brahms 3rd.


----------



## arsnova (Jan 20, 2013)

Tallis, Spem in Alium


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I like the piece about which another famous composer said,

"On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind."


----------



## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

The first CD I bought with my own money--I was 7, and the CD was $3.78 at Target--was Beethoven's 9th.

The first movement is what ignited my lifelong obsession with classical music. Although my from one day to the next, I'll surely claim a different "favorite" piece, the one to which I so frequently return is the whole of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. It has such sentimental value--all the memories of listening to it over and over again--that I can confidently say that it is my ultimately favorite work of all.


----------



## Alydon (May 16, 2012)

Elgar: Violin Concerto.


----------



## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Mozart's 21st Piano concerto. We're 25 years together now and we never get tired of each others company... :tiphat:


----------



## Hausmusik (May 13, 2012)

Today it's a tie between Mahler 9, Schubert's Piano Sonata D.960 & String Quartet D.887, Mozart's Symphony 41, Brahms 2, and Beethoven's Op. 109 & Razumovsky quartets. I'll have a different answer tomorrow, or in a few hours.


----------



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

If I had to give an answer, I would say Beethoven's Piano Concerto #1.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Id I had to pick just one: Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde.


----------



## echmain (Jan 18, 2013)

KenOC said:


> I like the piece about which another famous composer said,
> 
> "On one stave, for a small instrument..."


Ah yes, the Bach Chaconne. Quotation was by...Brahms (?)


----------



## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

I don't even have to think about it.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

echmain said:


> Ah yes, the Bach Chaconne. Quotation was by...Brahms (?)


Yes indeed! Your winnings for the day are... I think Brahms wrote this when he was arranging the piece for left hand alone. See "The Beast with Five Fingers," 1946 with Peter Lorre...


----------



## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Dvorak - Piano Trio No.3 - III. Poco Adagio, gets the 'most calm & beautiful piece' prize 






Other candidates: 
Dvorak - Slavonic Dances Op.72, No.2 in E minor
Schumann - Piano Quartet (III. Andante)
Dvorak - Symphony No.3 - II. Adagio molto, tempo di marcia
Sibelius - Piano Quintet in G Minor - III. Andante

Other emotions, another time.


----------



## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Pachabel's Canon.


----------



## BlazeGlory (Jan 16, 2013)

Rhapsody In Blue


----------



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

_Possibly _the ending of Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella or Glazunov's 5th symphony 3rd movement, otherwise I can't name. I hope that I will get a chance to hear them on my death bed one last time when that time comes.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Boulez Conducts Webern, Carter, Varèse & Berio


----------



## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

This version of Debussy's Reverie:


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Here is a suite that is easily among my very favorite pieces of music, but not mentioned as often around here, Rodrigo's _Suite Para Piano_. Unfortunately this bad sound quality version is the only one I can find on youtube.


----------



## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

canon in d major. its like a bottle of jollop restoring the spirit.


----------



## TheVioletKing (Jan 9, 2013)

I have to say it is between the following three:

Shostakovich's Symphony No.9






Bach's St. John Passion






and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring






Honorable Mentions - Respigni's Roman Trilogy (which is 3 pieces), Dvorak 9th Symphony, Shostakovich 5th and 10th Symphony, Stravinsky's The Firebird, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Mozart's Requiem in d minor, Bach's Mass in b minor, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2, Bernstein's Candide, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Ballet, Debussy's La Mer, Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.


----------



## poconoron (Oct 26, 2011)

Mozart's Don Giovanni.


----------



## dtvmcdonald (Jan 30, 2013)

For me its easy to narrow it to two pieces, but no further: two piano sonatas:

Beethoven Hammerklavier
Ives Concord

Doug McDonald


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

My Sharona.


----------



## oogabooha (Nov 22, 2011)

whenever i say this is my favorite piece ever, people seem to say "oh, you mean the one in the early levels of suzuki? *yawn*"






but i just figure that nobody will ever find a connection with this piece like I did. for me, this specific piece (my favorite recording wasn't available on youtube) speaks on levels which nobody else has ever done. I could write a lot about it, but it speaks for itself. It is called a Humoresque, but I have a feeling that Dvorak was being more ironic than direct. Its melodies enforce his position as a class-act melodist, but it does more than that. This piece is under 3 minutes, but it can feel like an eternity to me. It encompasses many lives, and every time I give it a cold, proper listen I feel as though I wake up a different person. Truly what the greatest music does to me.


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

^ Yes oogahbooha, I can relate to what you're saying. Sometimes the little simple pieces can be just as powerful as the 'greater' and more complex works. There are pieces like this that can speak to me in profound ways, ways that are very hard to describe. When I listen to the _Sicilienne_ from Rodrigo's _Suite Para Piano_ for example, its just a rather simple little piece that effects me in ways that are so powerful, and so hard to describe. The closest I can come is that the piece makes me remember the wonder I felt as a child, and brings me a peaceful feeling as though it is Christmas Eve (or that feeling right after the rain), yet at the same time it evokes a feeling of such profound mystery, and seems to bring healing to my soul. I have listened to this short work (under 2 and a half minutes) hundreds of times and it never loses its effect. I don't know what causes such phenomena but I am very grateful for it.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)




----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

kv466 said:


> This version of Debussy's Reverie:


If this was a serious post, then you and I are among a very esoteric breed. I like Tomita, though his vocal synths can get a little bizarre, and surprisingly jazz pianist Bob James who is very good on his all synth Rameau album. I have a couple of Don Dorsey albums too, but I can't get into them as much. They border on corny, and I'm always wanting him to vary his patches more. The first and best of course is Carlos.


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

My answer to the original question posed in 1807 or whenever it was -- that was some mighty fine necro-posting -- would vary from day to day, but on most days it would be Beethoven's 9th, if we are disqualifying non-classical work (and I am).


----------



## palJacky (Nov 27, 2010)

Art Rock said:


> Id I had to pick just one: Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde.


that is my first choice, by a long shot.

I even isolate in the Fall and drink heavily in the spring...
why just listen to 'erde' when one can live it?


----------



## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Scriabin - Etude Op. 42 No. 5 played by HOROWITZ


----------



## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

..on an average day I'd probably say Olivier Messiaen's La Nativité de seigneur, but it all depends in what state of mind I'm in!

Some day's life would be unbearable without Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, Mahler's Fourth Symphony or Kindertotenlieder or even the second movement (Humour) of Shostakovich Thirteenth Symphony. Other days, hearing Sir Ralph Richardsons voice (in Previn's excellent recording of) Vaughan Williams Seventh Symphony makes me fell that it is the piece above all or sitting in an almost empty Cathedral hearing someone introduce the Aria of Bach's Goldbergvariations on a Grand Organ quite instantly changes my mind.

For me it is the diversity of that what we call "Classical music" that is the interesting result of the equation, not the parts it is made up from!

/ptr


----------



## Alydon (May 16, 2012)

Yes, I nearly chose the Hammerklavier - an impossible question.


dtvmcdonald said:


> For me its easy to narrow it to two pieces, but no further: two piano sonatas:
> 
> Beethoven Hammerklavier
> Ives Concord
> ...


----------

