# Favorite Format?



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

There are many great forms in Classical Music but my favorite is probably the Violin Concerto. Oboe Concerto comes a close second. What about you?


----------



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Piano concerto. Followed by solo piano, and then probably symphony.


----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

You say form but your choices say instrumentation, or are you suggesting that every violin concerto from Vivaldi to the end of time is subject to the same formal constraints?

If I sound angry or dismissive, I don't mean to be, so I apologise in advance for that. I'm just trying to clarify for myself what exactly the thread is about.


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Instrumentation sounds the best. Sorry I didn't know the best wording for this thread.


----------



## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Piano concerto. Symphony orchestra. Piano. Chamber ensemble. Violin concerto.


----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

neoshredder said:


> Instrumentation sounds the best. Sorry I didn't know the best wording for this thread.


Don't worry about it, and thanks for answering my question. In doing so you allow me to say that it's just too difficult for me to pick a clear favourite, sure I might profess a love for large orchestras one day, but the next it might be the string quartet, you see? I just love them all.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

My absolute favorite is reformating my harddrive. Love that one.


----------



## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

I'll go with the simpler and always sublime recovery of bad sectors.


----------



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Piano concerto and certain solo piano pieces, followed by chamber music.


----------



## Mephistopheles (Sep 3, 2012)

Depends on the time of day.


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Most favourite 'formats' -
Concerto - cello
Chamber - string quartet & piano trio
Solo instrumental - piano
Orchestral - symphony & esp. movie scores

Experimental - most things post-1945 to some degree (incl. some electronic type musics)

Lower down the 'totem pole' is music with vocals, but I'm not someone who can't stand any of it
Fav music with vocals - choral (virtually anything except Bach's choral and a lot of 'Holy Minimalism')
Fav staged things - some opera (Beethoven & after), operetta, musicals
Fav art song - strong preference for French songs of all kinds, for German its Mahler and after (Schoenberg, Zemlinsky, F. Martin, Weill, etc.).


----------



## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Violin concertos
Piano concertos
Symphonies
Tone poems
Solo Piano
String quartets ( when i am on the mood)


----------



## Ondine (Aug 24, 2012)

Chamber music and solo instrument is what I prefer by far from the overall 'formats'.

From Chamber, the String Quartets, Quintets, etc.

Any 'Solo' instrument format is wonderful but the one I like the most is the Piano and the six Cello Bach's Suites.

Then will come vocal music from the the Medieval and Renaissance, the vocal homophony like Gregorian and Byzantine chant and vocal polyphony like those from the Notre Dame School.

Also in high esteem along with the chamber format, in equal preference, comes the Baroque forms of Trio Sonata, Concerto Grossi and Fugue, mainly.

Listening to Bach's Fugues -those for Organ- is one of the most stimulating experiences with music.

After this 'formats' then will come the Concerto with the Sonata Form mostly the 'classical' and less the later ways like those of the 'Romantics'.

At the very last, the Symphonies and Opera. If Symphonies, I prefer, by far, those of Haydn/Mozart/Boccherini/Early Beethoven/Bach sons/eighteenth century in general.

I hardly listen to scenic -or programmatic- music, which includes Opera of course.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Wind ensembles


----------



## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

I'm pretty much with EricABQ on this one.


----------



## Ondine (Aug 24, 2012)

starthrower said:


> Wind ensembles


Sure! Mozart has a huge oeuvre for winds in general


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

What form I like listening to largely depends on the composer I am listening to. But there are certain forms I seem to like a large percentage of works in - Solo Piano, Solo Guitar, Piano Trios, Piano Concertos and generally Chamber music that includes a piano. 

Virtually anything composed by Bach and Ravel. 

Symphonies are lower on my list, Opera is going up lately. But again, these answers can vary drastically depending on the composer in question, ie - if I'm listening to Sibelius I usually want to listen to his Symphonies.


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Piano Sonatas, Violin Sonatas, String Quartets, Trumpet Concertos, Flute Concertos, Harpsichord Concertos, Piano Trios, Piano Quintets, and Piano Concertos I like as well. Opera is probably what I like least. Though there are exceptions to that. I got a soft spot for Monteverdi's L'Orfeo.


----------



## Ramako (Apr 28, 2012)

Symphonies, then
Quartets, then probably
Motets


----------



## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Duets and Quartets. Solo Violin music, and Concertos.


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

1. Opera
2. Cantata
3. Requiem
4. Weird chamber combo using various different intruments eg. *Ligeti's* Chamber Concerto, Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale.
5. Symphony


----------



## Renaissance (Jul 10, 2012)

Chamber & Choral music are my favorite types. Among formats I prefer :

-String Quartet & Piano Trio & Small Wind Ensemble (quartet, quintet, sextet) & Trio Sonata;
-Mass & Motet & Madrigal;
-Violin Concerto (for Romanticism) and Harpsichord Concerto (for baroque);


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I like concertos that are not for violin best. 
Concerto grosso
Piano concerto
Guitar concerto (I haven't heard a guitar concerto I didn't like)
Bassoon concerto


----------



## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> *I like concertos that are not for violin best. *
> Concerto grosso
> Piano concerto
> Guitar concerto (I haven't heard a guitar concerto I didn't like)
> Bassoon concerto


Why did I just "like" the post? :lol:


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

MaestroViolinist said:


> Why did I just "like" the post? :lol:


The only violin concertos I like are by *Ligeti,* Tchaikovsky, Berg and Vivaldi


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Violin Concertos are awesome.  Forgot about Concerti Grossi. Those are similar to Violin Concertos imo of the Baroque Era but a little more interesting. At least Corelli's and Handel's are.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> The only violin concertos I like are by *Ligeti,* Tchaikovsky, Berg and Vivaldi


That's good for about 50 of them.


----------



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

1. Piano concerto. 
2. Choral. 
3. Chamber ensembles of all sorts, led by cello sonatas, violin sonatas, and piano trios. 
4. Solo piano. 
5. Organ. 
6. Orchestral. 
7. Song. 

That's good enough...


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Forgot about Organ Works. Bach and Buxtehude.


----------



## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

It does depend on one's mood,but in general:

Opera
Song
Piano Concertos
Solo Piano
Orchestral
Chamber
Harpsichord


----------



## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Probably Solo piano, Cantata/Orchestral song, String quartet.


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Starting to like Piano Concertos a lot. Might be the key to me liking the Romantic Era. I know I'm starting to like Mozart much more now due to it.


----------



## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Overtures and tone poems are a lot of fun.


----------



## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

As I read the title, my first thought was about file formats like .mp3, .flac etc  As for my favorite music formats, well, opera, symphony and (Bach's) cantata, I guess.


----------



## pierrot (Mar 26, 2012)

Choral Music (mostly Arvo Pärt), Opera, Symphony and solo piano. Although I love the piano, the contrast with the full sound of the orchestra in the piano concerto feels weird to me for some reason. I just can't listen and love it, even the Bartók's.


----------



## Morgante (Jul 26, 2012)

The symphony.
And the Mass (choral with organ).


----------



## etkearne (Sep 28, 2012)

My favorite are the Piano Sonata, Piano Concerto, and Wind Instrument Concertos. Obviously, I like pianos, due to the chords, and as you know, I love chords.


----------



## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

I like compact discs best. Portable, don't take up much space, far more practical than vinyl and tape, but still a physical media with nice sound.~


----------



## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

At first I liked Violin Concerto the most, but for a year or two I'm a Piano Concerto hunter!

So in order of best to less: Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, Oboe Concerto, Harp Concerto, Cello Concerto, Trumpet Concerto, Horn Concerto, Basson Concerto and Guitar Concerto (Baroque/Classical).

In Chamber, I like String Quartets and Quintets, Violin Sonatas, Wind X-tets, Piano Trios, Quartet and Quintets.
Symphony is my second favorite after Piano Concerto.

Is there any trombone concerto? I've only heard some trombone sonatas and duets.


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Hello Arsakes - I hope this excerpt from Wikipedia is helpful. I have to giggle when they say 'well-known' - not only have I never heard any of the below concertos, but I've heard of only one of the composers mentioned - Nino Rota.

'Some well known trombone concertos from this period include works by Derek Bourgeois, Lars-Erik Larsson, Launy Grøndahl, Nino Rota, Christopher Rouse and Henri Tomasi. Jan Sandström composed two concertos to be performed by Christian Lindberg, his Trombone Concerto No. 1 (1990) is called Motorbike Odyssey or Motorbike Concerto. In 1995-6, Johan de Meij wrote his T-Bone Concerto for trombone and concert band.'

Now to answer the thread question:

There's no category I wouldn't listen to but I think my main preferences go something like this:

1. Symphonies
2. String quartets
3. Piano sonatas
4. Concertos

There are composers I like who didn't write/haven't written any of the above but for simplicity's sake I'm keeping them out of the equation.


----------

