# Top 10 Most Emotionally Moving Works of Music?



## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

For you, what are the 10 most emotionally moving works of music?

Definition of _*moving*_ being applied: "producing strong emotion, especially sadness or sympathy; touching, affecting, poignant."

Feel free to choose Classical works, Rock albums or Jazz albums (and any sub-genres/offshoots of each). For Classical works, I'd _prefer_  if you chose the _full_ work (full Symphony, Concerto, Piano Sonata, etc) for your top 10, but feel free to also single out and mention movements if you'd like.


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Very difficult to make a list of only 10 -- so many options! May revise later, or at least make several honorable mentions throughout the thread.

1. String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven (1825) 
2. Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor - Johann Sebastian Bach (1720) 
3. Winterreise - Franz Schubert (1828) 
4. Astral Weeks - Van Morrison (1968) 
5. String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven (1826) 
6. Rock Bottom - Robert Wyatt (1974) 
7. Symphony No. 9 in D Major - Gustav Mahler (1909) 
8. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (1998) 
9. The Koln Concert - Keith Jarrett (1975)
10. Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven (1822)


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

1. Schubert: Winterreise
2. Beethoven: Cavatina from String Quartet Op. 130
3. Handel: "He was Despised" from Messiah
4. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique"
5. Beethoven: Heiliger Dankesang from String Quartet Op. 132
6. Puccini: "Un bel di" from Madame Butterfly
7. Bach: Cruxificus from Mass in B Minor
8. Brahms: "Denn alles fleisch ist wie gras" from Ein Deutsches Requiem
9. Mozart: Requiem in D Minor
10. Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ


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## Quartetfore (May 19, 2010)

I will add Rachmaninov Symphony #2. the slow movement never fails to "move" me.


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Bettina said:


> 1. Schubert: Winterreise
> 2. Beethoven: Cavatina from String Quartet Op. 130
> 3. Handel: "He was Despised" from Messiah
> 4. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique"
> ...


Love all of these. Kind of kicking myself for leaving out Bach's Mass in B Minor, though I'm also not sure what it could replace! Also, leaving out a Messiaen work just feels unfair for me (such as his Quartet for the End of Time). And of course, Tchaikovsky's 6th!


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Quartetfore said:


> I will add Rachmaninov Symphony #2. the slow movement never fails to "move" me.


So true. The very definition of "moving"


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Bach: Mass in Bm - Et incarnatus est
Wagner: Prelude & Love/Death of Tristan & Isolde
Wagner: Parsifal Vorspiel
Mahler's 5th Adagietto
Shostakovich's 5th: 1st movement
Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliette theme
Boito: Mefistofele Prologue
Wagner: Gotterdammerung Twilight of the Gods
Gounod: Romeo et Juliette theme
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin duel music


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## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

Not in any particular order:

Schnittke: Piano Quintet
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6
Barber: Adagio for Strings 
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Tallis
Mahler: Symphony #3 (final movement)
Shostakovich: String Quartet #8
Gorecki: Symphony #3
Beethoven: Piano Sonata #32
Purcell: Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas
Schubert: Death and the Maiden quartet (slow movement)

These are just the first 10 that came to mind. I could easily go on.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60, II. Adagio
Bryars: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet
Cage: In a Landscape
Monk: Round Midnight
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 In C, K 467, Andante
Ravel: Pavane pour une infante defunte
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Ten Holt: Canto Ostinato
Whittington: Music for Airport Furniture
Worthington: Even the Light Itself Falls


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

can't think of 10.....
I think I am the one not easy to move

even out of curiosity re-listened to Beethoven's last sonata to see if it would have any moving effect on me, but alas even though I feel and hear its beauty.

I was always thinking about Schubert's 2nd movement of D960 as being moving.

even Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony is much less moving for me now as compared to what effect it produced before.

and here again I have a question for myself if music is supposed to produce all those emotional effects? aren't they just side effects of a composition itself , harmony of sounds/beauty, ? and instead we are constantly looking for emotions produced by music/through music and we expect music to make us feel this or that way... I understand the fact that if music wouldn't invoke any emotions we wouldn't probably listen to it at all but what if music - listening to music - would give us the only emotion/ feeling of admiration , awe, how great it is, its structure, harmonies, melodies but no other emotions involved..... would we listen to it that often? would we get hooked?


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## Trout (Apr 11, 2011)

Alwyn: Lyra Angelica
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Finzi: Romance for Strings
Hahn: À Chloris
Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium
Pelēcis: Nevertheless
Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique"
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Bruckner - Symphony No. 8 - Adagio
Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus
Handel - Dixit Dominus - Gloria
Schubert - Piano Sonata D. 960 - Andante
Scriabin - Piano Sonata No. 3 - Andante
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7
Mahler - Symphony No. 2 - 5th movement

And since you mentioned non-classical music as well:
Steve Roach - The Magnificent Void - Altus
Pink Floyd - PULSE - Comfortably Numb
Ennio Morricone - The Mission - Gabriel's Oboe


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

All non-vocal and in no particular order, except groupings by composer:

Barber Adagio for Strings

Bach Andante, Unaccompanied Violin Sonata No. 2

Bach Largo, Unaccompanied Violin Sonata No. 3

Bach Fuga, Unaccompanied Violin Sonata No. 3

Bach Sarabande, Keyboard Partita No. 4

Bach Sarabande, Keyboard Partita No. 5

Beethoven Larghetto, Violin Concerto

Brahms Adagio, Violin Concerto

Brahms Allegro con brio, Piano Trio No. 1

Mozart Andante, Piano Concerto No. 23


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Mahler 1
Mahler 2
Mahler 3
Mahler 4
Mahler 5
Mahler 6
Mahler 7
Mahler 8
Mahler 9
Mahler The Song of the Earth


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Of course, there's more than just 10, but these are among the most moving that presently come to mind:

Grieg: Elegiac Melody No.2 ("The Last Spring")
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 ("Pathetique")
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No.1 ( the second movement paticularly---andante cantabile )
Enrico Toselli: Serenade
Hoagy Carmichael, music; Mitchell Parish, lyrics: "Stardust", sung by Nat King Cole only.
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.3 ("Pastoral")
Dvorak: Humoresque
Dvorak: Cello Concerto
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No.2 (3rd movement adagio particularly)
Borodin : String Quartet No.2


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Haydn67 said:


> Of course, there's more than just 10, but these are among the most moving that presently come to mind:
> 
> *Grieg: Elegiac Melody No.2 ("The Last Spring")*
> Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 ("Pathetique")
> ...


Played this in a string orchestra a couple of months ago- I agree that it's a very moving and beautiful piece.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

Another question I do not know the answer to.

FYI I reviewed the above responses so far. Based on the works I was familiar with I could not find one that did not effect me.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

OK I'll give it a shot. These are not in order.

Wagner - all operas. Some more than others but if I write them all here to a top 10, there'll be no more space for others.
Liszt - Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth
Bach - Mass in B minor
Bruckner - Symphony 5
Mendelssohn - Paulus
Tchaikovsky - String quartet 3
Schubert - String quintet
Beethoven - String quartet 15 (op. 132)
Schmidt - Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln
Mahler - Symphony 2 or 3, can't decide


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I failed on compiling a list of ten "galvanizing" works of musical history, and I know I shall fail equally miserably attempting to compile a list of "emotionally moving" works as well. I already cry, laugh, rant, rave, punch the wall and hug the cat just thinking of doing such a list. So I'll recuse myself, suggesting only that I have been emotionally moved by much music through much of my life, and it shall continue, I suspect, with both new/unfamiliar and old/familiar works. At least I sure hope it does. Is there much any other reason to even listen to music?


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

arpeggio said:


> Another question I do not know the answer to.
> 
> FYI I reviewed the above responses so far. Based on the works I was familiar with I could not find one that did not effect me.


Sounds like several potential candidates you've found for your own list


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

I think it is appropriate here to isolate single movements:

1. Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde: Abschied
2. Mahler, 9th symphony: Adagio
3. Bruckner, 8th symphony: Adagio
4. Beethoven, 3rd symphony: Marche funebre
5. Bach, St Matthew Passion: Er barme dich
6. Barber, Adagio for strings
7. Prokofiev, Alexander Nevsky: The Field of the Dead
8. Mozart, Requiem: Lacrimosa
9. Brahms, Piano concerto No. 2: Andante
10. Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet: Romeo at Juliet's Grave


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

I'm sure everyone here could produce 2 dozen or more of these lists. So in no particular order...


Mozart - Larghetto, String Quartet K589
Satie - Nocturnes 2/4
Walton - 5 bagatelles for guitar - No2
Mahler - Adagietto
George Enescu - Cantabile & Presto (the cantabile)
Handel - Ombra mai fu (or 'Largo')
Elgar - Sospiri
Wes Montgomery - I've grown Accustomed to Her Face (from 'Full House').
Miles Davis - Blue in Green
Chet Baker - Come Rain, Come Shine


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Wagner - Gotterdammerung prologue
Wagner - Die Meistersingers prelude
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde meeting of the lovers, act II
Wagner - Die Walkure Siegmund and Sieglinde elope, end of act I
Bach - Mass in B minor, "Et in terra pax"
Alban Berg - Violin Concerto, mvt. 2
Anton Bruckner - Symphony 9, mvt. 3
Sibelius - Symphony 7
Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach, "Night Train"
Faust - "Miss Fortune"


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## Quartetfore (May 19, 2010)

Bruch violin concerto #1, and Rachmaninov Cello Sonata (last two movements)


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## Razumovskymas (Sep 20, 2016)

Well well, It's all Händel and Beethoven in this chart, who would have thought!!!

In more or less random order:

1) Händel Concerto Grosso op6 no6 in G-minor III: Musette: Larghetto (most comforting piece of music I know)

2) Händel Orlando Act III: Già l'ebro mio ciglio

3) Händel Imeneo: Per le Porte Del Tormente (actually this aria pops up in quite some other Händel operas)

4) Händel Imeneo: V'è un infelice

5) Händel Orlando: Consolati O Bella

6) Beethoven: string Quartet opus 132: III Heiliger Dankgesang 

7) Beethoven: string quartet Op 18 No1: II-Adagio (in fact this stands for all the early adagios in Beethovens' string quartets: listen to them and you'll hear that they're as good as the late adagios)

8) Beethoven: All the Adagios of his piano sonatas (yes all of them!)

9) Alfredo Catalani: La Wally-Ebben? Ne andrò lontana

10) Liszt: sonata in B-minor.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Haydn67 said:


> Of course, there's more than just 10, but these are among the most moving that presently come to mind:
> 
> Grieg: Elegiac Melody No.2 ("The Last Spring")
> Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 ("Pathetique")
> ...


Thank you for mentioning Stardust. And how about Rachmaninov's Vocalise?


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

1) Thomas Tallis - Spem in Alium
2) Elgar - Cello concerto and Enigma variations
3) Brahms - Piano trio no.1
4) Chopin - Ballade no.4
5) Schubert - String Quintet in C
6) Schumann Kinderszenen 
7) Faure's Requiem
8) Most of Gesualdo's weird madrigals

Rest are probably Bach (maybe St Matthew Passion, B Minor mass etc)


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

Ooh and Strauss' Metamorphosen


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

At different times in my life I have needed (and need) works that bring out a depth of emotion. Here are some:

Barber - Symphony No.1
Barber - First Essay for Orchestra
Faure - Requiem
Elgar - Enigma Variations
Rachmaninov - PC No.2
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Schubert - Wintereisse
Brahms - Requiem
Prokofiev - Violin Concerto No.1
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.8, Op.13, Pathetique


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

20centrfuge said:


> At different times in my life I have needed (and need) works that bring out a depth of emotion. Here are some:
> 
> Barber - Symphony No.1
> *Barber - First Essay for Orchestra*
> ...


Interesting... I would say that this piece is in the "exciting/galvanizing" list, not emotionally moving. Why does this piece move you?


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

I find it very poignant and stirring. It is true that it builds in energy but I, personally, wouldn't label it as exciting.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Originally posted by Pat Fairlea: "Thank you for mentioning Stardust. And how about Rachmaninov's Vocalise?"

I briefly mentioned Vocalise only a few days ago in a different thread---yes, another wonderful piece. Also just remembered Debussy's _Clair de Lune_ and Massenet's _Meditation from Thais_.


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Tchaikov6 said:


> Interesting... I would say that this piece is in the "exciting/galvanizing" list, not emotionally moving. Why does this piece move you?


I've seen some other selections where I wondered if the poster was possibly confusing the two threads while listing (or perhaps missed the applicable definition of "moving" given in the OP, as it can also mean something more general such as just "producing a strong emotional response"). Regardless, all the lists have been interesting with many choices that I considered for my own.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

In no particular order, covering an array of emotions though leaning more towards sad:

Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony
Mozart Ave verum corpus
Barber Adagio for Strings
Dvorak Slavonic Dances (if I have to pick one, then op.46 #3 in A)
Beethoven Coriolan Overture
Siciliano from JS Bach Flute Sonata #2 in Eb BWV 1031
Verdi Requiem, Dies irae and Lacrymosa in particular
Beethoven 5th symphony, 2d movement at the point about 24 bars before the end where the sun suddenly breaks through the clouds. One of the great moments in music; a beacon of hope in the darkness.
'Un bel di' from Puccini's Madam Butterfly
Delibes, Flower Duet from Lakmé


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## BabyGiraffe (Feb 24, 2017)

Gorecki's third always makes people cry. 
Other sad compositions: Elgar's Cello concerto, Purcell's Dido's lament.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Beethoven: any slow movement from the late quartets
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Prelude, "O sink hernieder," Brangaene's warning from the tower, Isolde's Love-death
Wagner: Parsifal - Prelude, transformation music from Act 1, Good Friday music through end of Act 3
Wagner: Die Walkure - Wotan's farewell and magic fire music
Rachmaninoff: Zdies Haraszo ("How Fair This Spot," Op. 21/7)
Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata (third movement)
Rachmaninoff: Symphony #2 (third movement)
Vaughan Williams: Prelude from "49th Parallel"
Donaudy: O del mio amato ben
Traditional: Londonderry Air ("Danny Boy"), especially as arranged by Percy Grainger or sung by Rosa Ponselle


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

1. Mahler 9
2. Bruckner 9
3. Bruckner 4
4. Bach Mass in B minor
5. Mahler 2
6. Brahms 1
7. Mozart 41
8. Mahler 8
9. Mahler Das Lied von der Erde
10. Mahler 10


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## Niavlys (Oct 28, 2016)

1. Pärt - Spiegel im spiegel
2. Elgar - Nimrod from Enigma Variations
3. Hisaishi - River Side from Kikujiro
4. Dvořák - Largo from Symphony n°9
5. Lauridsen - O Magnum Mysterium
6. Nyman - Out of the Ruins
7. Fauré - Cantique de Jean Racine
8. Yoshimatsu - And Birds Are Still...
9. Wagner - Prelude from Lohengrin
10. Glass - Prophecies from Koyaanisqatsi

Non classical : Eno's Music for Airports, everything Agnes Obel has released so far, River Man by Nick Drake, Avalanche by Leonard Cohen, Grand Arctica by Chapelier Fou...


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## arthro (Mar 12, 2013)

A word must be given for contrasts, i..e it's fine to have a continuously emotional moving movement and many of the pieces mentioned seem to fall into into that category

However I think a piece which features an outburst of emotion (supposedly ... in our ears ... this is just sound after all) in contrast to its preceding section must qualify pretty highly. So Beethoven's A Minor string quartet, already mentioned ... and Shostakovich's 5th Symphony 3rd movement feature what I would class as outbursts of this nature. In fact, both use a heavy attack on the strings to achieve this.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Speaking of non-classical music.

Hope it's OK to be moved by Once Upon A Time in the West? 





Or Vangelis - Rachel's Song? (Blade Runner OST but actually unused in the movie)





Or what about Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)? (from his album Appolo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks and also used in a few movies)





Simpler music with a more universal appeal; they all worked for me at some point. 
It's just that its emotional effect wears off more quickly than the greatest classical music. So I can't listen to it very often.


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## Minor Sixthist (Apr 21, 2017)

Hindemith - Sinfonische Metamorphosen III. Adantino
Tchaikovsky - Symphony no. 6
Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Copland - Rodeo Dance III. Saturday Night Waltz
Dvorak - Symphony no. 8
Dvorak - Symphony no. 9 
Debussy - Clair de Lune
Debussy - Arabesque no. 1
Ravel - Pavane pour une infante defunte
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G Major - II. Adagio assai


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2017)

All produce strong emotion, though sometimes sheer joy, or energising rather than 'poignant' or 'sadness'

Sibelius 4
Sibelius 5
Sibelius 6
Haydn 99
Prokofiev 1
Beethoven 8
Beethoven 9
Mahler 6
Shostakovich 7
Shostakovich 11


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2017)

DeepR said:


> Or what about Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)? (from his album Appolo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks and also used in a few movies)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Eno's _The Big Ship _from _Another Green World _does it for me too, for the same reason


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2017)

tortkis said:


> Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60, II. Adagio
> Bryars: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet
> Cage: In a Landscape
> Monk: Round Midnight
> ...


The most intriguing of lists so far, with fewer 'obvious' pieces. I'm much more likely to look up the Whittington and the ten Holt than the Mahler, Wagner and Handel that seems to feature so strongly in others'.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

MacLeod said:


> The most intriguing of lists so far, with fewer 'obvious' pieces. I'm much more likely to look up the Whittington and the ten Holt than the Mahler, Wagner and Handel that seems to feature so strongly in others'.


Yes, do that. The reason that those choices are so popular is bound to be arbitrary.


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