# Greatest Symphony no. 8



## peeyaj

What do you think is the greatest symphony with the number "8" on it's name..

It's the Unfinished to me.. 

Vote now.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Philip Glass hands down.


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## peeyaj

Can someone help me? I'va made a mistake in the poll and Bruckner is doubled, it should be Dvorak's.. How can I change it to Dvorak??


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

peeyaj said:


> Can someone help me? I'va made a mistake in the poll and Bruckner is doubled, it should be Dvorak's.. How can I change it to Dvorak??


While your at it, get someone to add in Haydn, Mozart, Schnittke, Shostakovich, Mendelssohn (string symphony no. 8), Glass, Henze, Segerstam (as if anyone's heard that! :lol and Brian.


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## Polednice

peeyaj said:


> Can someone help me? I'va made a mistake in the poll and Bruckner is doubled, it should be Dvorak's.. How can I change it to Dvorak??


I was going to vote for Dvorak!


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## emiellucifuge

Ditto!!!!!!!!!!


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## crystale

Anton Bruckner, absolutely no doubt about it.


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## Manxfeeder

I wish I could vote for two. Then I'd select Brucker's 8th and Bruckner's 8th.


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## TheBamf

Franz Schubert's 8th is fantastic. But I am not familiar with any of the others so I will have to withhold judgement.


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## tdc

Bruckner has been growing on me lately, and I'd have to go with his 8th here as well.


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## Klavierspieler

Close between Ludwig and Franz for me. I ended up picking Beethoven, though.


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## samurai

I voted for "Other"-- Dvorak's *Symphony No.8 in G Major.*


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## Chi_townPhilly

peeyaj said:


> Can someone help me? I'va made a mistake in the poll and Bruckner is doubled, it should be Dvorak's.. How can I change it to Dvorak??


All right, then- took care of it.:tiphat:


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## peeyaj

@Chi_townPhilly,

Thank you very much.. ^_^

@Samurai

Your vote in the "other" is counted in the Dvorak..  He has three votes now!! 


Is it only me??

But compared to his 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th, Beethoven's 8th is not that popular and is not particularly acclaimed?? It was beat by the Unfinished every time..


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## brianwalker

Bruckner, definitely.


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## elgar's ghost

Has to be Bruckner for me, then DSCH, Schubert and Dvorak.


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## Hausmusik

Bruckner for me.


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## quack

I would vote but I would have to re-listen to them all first and that would make me forget what the question was.


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## peeyaj

Vote for the Unfinished!!


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## Moira

peeyaj said:


> Vote for the Unfinished!!


I did! I did indeed.


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## mleghorn

There are a lot of great 8th symphonies. For me it's a tie between Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvorak, Mahler, and Shostakovich.


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## Arsakes

I've heard them all. For me its between Dvorak and Schubert, voted for Dvorak because it has the privilege of 'finished' title


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## EarthBoundRules

I often feel as though the _Unfinished_ is my favourite symphony (excluding those by Mahler and Berlioz), so of course I must vote for it.  It's just so perfect in form with not a second of uninteresting material!


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## peeyaj

What so special about the Bruckner?? I enjoy the 7th and 9th more than the 8th..T_T


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## itywltmt

To me, the ones listed are all good to great but, c'mon, *Mahler's Eighth *has to be the greatest of the lot.

Honourable mention to *Glazounov's Eighth*


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## Manxfeeder

peeyaj said:


> What so special about the Bruckner?? I enjoy the 7th and 9th more than the 8th..T_T


What's special in my opinion is his mastery of his new, expanded sonata form.


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## GoneBaroque

It would have been the Sibelius. If only he had not burned it.


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## afterpostjack

I think Bruckner is the best one, however the other composers have strong contenders as well. Next I would consider Mahler in tie with Schubert, then either Beethoven or Dvorak. I don't like Shostakovich's 8th that much though.


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## pasido

Bruckner > Schubert > Dvorak


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## drth15

Schubert's 8 is such a wondrous work; Bruckner's 8 is truly monumental. All 5 top works are masterpieces.


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## Vesteralen

Greatest? Bruckner

The one I'd most likely feel like popping in the CD player at any given time? Vaughan Williams


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## clavichorder

Bruckner is probably the greatest, but I enjoy hearing Dvorak's 8th very much! Shostakovich's 8th is pretty great.


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## Delicious Manager

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Philip Glass hands down.


... or it's re-write, No 9. Or it's identical predecessors, Nos 1-7.


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## PlaySalieri

Schubert's 8th for me - better than anything anybody ever composed - and I'm a BIG Mozart fan.
Bruckner's 8th - big bore - Mahler 8th - a big noisy pain. Beethoven and Dvorak good symphonies but not the best.


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## TrazomGangflow

Dvorak gets my vote easily. I think he can compete with any composer in the realm of symphonies, especially with his 8th.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Delicious Manager said:


> ... or it's re-write, No 9. Or it's identical predecessors, Nos 1-7.


Ahem, try listening to no. 3 and compare it to the rest of them.


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## ZombieBeethoven

Dvorak right now. Partly because that was the one I heard live most recently. Season finale for the local orchestra. Can't wait for next season!


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## Cygnenoir

stomanek said:


> Bruckner's 8th - big bore - Mahler 8th - a big noisy pain.


 Each to his taste.


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## leomarillier

Terrible poll, even if it is closed!
Bruckner's 8th is really "awesome", deep, and impregnated by the inhalation of God (that was refreshing!), and the proof that Bruckner was a really complex composer, combining Beethoven's dramatic structure, Bach's indescriptible counterpoint, and Wagner's emotionnal impact! Quite personal too (lol), almost epic in the extreme movements! The slow movement is (as always, XD) a perfection and the Scherzo is a fine example of Michel (the archetypic austrian soul). But even if it is the Art of the Symphony, quite superficial too, though God's spirit comes from each note. Which can get quite boring!

Dvorak's 8th is very personal and constitutes my fav Dvo symphony with the 7th. Only heard it in Salle Pleyel a few months ago. Almost humoristic, rather ironic, i'd say, the power of popular music is extreme here, and is very generous. But not as ambitious and open-minded and humanist as the others of the poll. Sorry, Dvorak fans!

Beethoven's 8th was composed as an interlude before THE 9th, so, well, even if Beethoven's personnality and genius is reflected in everyone of his works, the 8th is not as ambitious as others, but very metronimical, and springy!

My main struggle (or whatever you call it) was between Mahler and Schubert, and I can't decide now, these are fiar too different.
Mahler's is the crowning achievement of his career - as composer and conductor - and constitutes an extreme situation to everyone of you who attempted to see a performance of this Gigantic work! Very blowing and solemn in the first part, absolutely dramatic - WHAT A DEVELOPMENT SECTION!!! - where E flat is realllllly respected. Mahler was whining that the 8th was the most understandable of his works, and yet most popular! It is, I think, much more complex as that, especially in the second part. This symphony is almost like an opera (in his correspondance with Richard Strauss, who told him that he would succeed at composing an opera), but the relations between the text of the first part -hymn to the Creator- and the second part - the 2d Faust's last scene (one of the most incomprehensible works in literature, so many greek mythology refences!), are present, yet not evident, and you can find these relationships in the themes that go through the score. The instrumentation is the opposite of the one in the 7th, it consists of a fusion of orchestral colors, where the choir is treated like an instrnment Listen to the beginning of part II, which is the adagio and orchestra-part. So inventive with the choir in part 2! Difficulty is to maintain the auditor's attention for an hour without a blowing explosion of a formal structure, except the 3 last movements of a symphony, here following each other. I think here Mahler felt very confident!
Schubert's is emotionnaly perfect, structurally perfect. the first movement reminds me of winter, candles lit (A la lumière d'hiver, if you know modern french poetry A LOT). This first theme is absolutely weak, flying over the strings, an oboe and a clarinet are human. The second theme is exemplary and even more elevated than Mozart themes, this could almost become a folksong for the whole humanity (Schubert had a "thing" to make a theme become a folksong, don't you find?), and this very "easy" balancement in the accompaniement. The development is also exemplary, very dramatic, and beethovenian, but darker than's Beethoven's struggle against fate... 2d movement is a trip to paradise... Nothing to say about it, beginning like Webern, and quite rethorical too.

Schubert's greatest achievement in this work was to put almost as much emotions as Mahler did it in a work that is muchmuchmuch bigger and expansive. And Schubert didn't feel necessary to finish this work, considering that he put enough emotions in those 2 movements. Both Mahler and Schubert have VERY convincing arguments: Schubert takes us by the heart, Mahler makes our whole body vibrate (good vibes LOL!). Schubert's is weak as a new-born and requires attention, Mahler is a giant and a visionnary that needs attention form others. My heart cries when I hear the 1rst theme of Schubert Unvollendete, and in the same times gets warm. Morality (philosophical one): the more you like a piece, the less you can talk about it. That's why this kind of threads are difficult! They force us to have distance with ourselves, to ask ourselves "Why am I liking that, again?"


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