# What are your favorite genres of classical music?



## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

I know everyone has a different definition for genre, but mine separates genres into the instruments involved, not necessarily into short forms or long forms. Your choices are:

Opera
Symphonic
Chamber music (solo instrument plus accompaniment, duets, trios, quartets, etc.)
Orchestral (anything played by orchestra besides symphonies)
Choral (any work that mainly employs a large ensemble of singers)
Vocal (one or more solo vocalists plus accompaniment)
Keyboard solo
Ballet
Concerto
Avant-Garde (John Cage, minimalism, electronic music, futurism, etc)
Band music (brass bands, wind bands, military bands, etc)
Film music

Here is my list:
1. Keyboard solo. As a pianist, I am most interested in piano works. My favorite works are everything by Chopin, everything by Liszt, all Beethoven sonatas, harpsichord works by Bach, Schubert sonatas/improptus, and various solo works by Ravel. It's the most versatile of instruments, and it has the deepest and most varied repertoire.
2. Symphonic. I like the sound of massed strings and big sounds more than the sound of individual strings, and the symphonic repertoire is huge.
3. Concerto. This is for the Rachmaninoff/Chopin/Tchaikovsky piano concertos mostly.. and Bach's harpsichord concertos get a nod as well.
4. Opera, almost solely for Richard Wagner.
5. Ballet, I dearly love a few choice ballets, mainly those of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Adam, and Delius.
6. Orchestral, for the beautiful tone poems of the late romantics like R. Strauss and Ravel.
7. Chamber music. I have come to appreciate this genre a lot more recently because of its incredible variety and number of timbre possibilities, and for the great chamber works by Schubert, Beethoven, and Shostakovich.
8. Vocal music. I've discovered a few song cycles that are very nice, but I still need to exlore a lot more of this genre before I like it more.
9. Band music. I played in a brass band this past summer and it was fun.. the percussion really gets to shine here. It was kind of a shame that most of their music was made up of arrangements..
10. Choral music. I'll get into it someday.. more fun to sing in it than to listen, I think.
11. Film music. Most of it is too unsophisticated.
12. Avant-Garde. I don't like extremely intellectual music.


----------



## Taneyev (Jan 19, 2009)

Mine are chamber instrumental, violin or cello concertos and some solo piano.


----------



## Zeniyama (Jul 20, 2009)

My favourite genre would have to be piano/keyboard music. I'm always searching for piano music by various composers; even the ones who aren't famous for their piano music.


----------



## haydnguy (Oct 13, 2008)

My top 3 are concertos, chamber, and symphonic in that order.


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Roughly in this order:

*Concertos* - especially C20th ones
*Avant garde* (is that a genre?) - Varese, Xenakis, Henze, Penderecki, Lutoslawski, Dutilleux, Part, etc.
*Chamber* - anything from SQ's to sonatas & quintets, string orchestra, etc
*Choral* - masses, requiems, non-religious works
*Symphonies* - again, especially C20th but I also have great admiration for Haydn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky
*Film* - especially from the '30's - 50's - Walton, Honegger, Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams
*Opera* - again, C20th especially atonal like Berg & Schoenberg but I also like Verdi, Bizet, Puccini, Berlioz
*Intstrumental *- you guessed it, C20th, but Beethoven also appeals to me here
*Songs *- Wolf, R Strauss, Mahler
*Band *- Especially like Hovhaness' wind band symphonies, Mozart's Gran Partita, so I'd like to get more into this genre.

Then all the rest...


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I'm trying to play fair, but I have to answer "Yes, those are my favorite genres." 

Well, okay, I would leave out band music completely, unless it's Holst or some baroque brass ensemble. I would also put vocal soloist and opera at the bottom of the list.


----------



## Artemis (Dec 8, 2007)

The same thread was started HERE recently.


----------



## nickgray (Sep 28, 2008)

meh... I'll just turn it into "do you like?" post, since I don't have any particular favorites.

*Opera* - I dislike Italian stuff and operettas (and 20th c minimalism) but all the others I do like very much.
*Symphonic* - yes!
*Chamber music* - again, yes!
*Orchestral* - like tone poems? yep.
*Choral* - masses, requiems, renaissance choral music? I like those.
*Vocal* - I love Schubert and Grieg.
*Keyboard solo *- awesome
*Ballet* - great
*Concerto *- brilliant!
*Avant-Garde* - nah, not really.
*Band music* - it's okay.
*Film music *- depends... haven't listened to this on much. I suppose you do mean film music by classical composers, not that Zimmer and Shore plagiarism?


----------



## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

I like symphonies best, and otherwise purely instrumental music rather than vocal (with some prominent exceptions).
I also like piano concertos and combinations of piano and strings.


----------



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

1. *Opera*- What is not to love? The merger of theater, literature, symphonic music, the human voice... the drama... the sensuality. I have a fairly broad collection from Monteverdi and Handel through Gluck and Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, etc... Recently I have been listening a good bit to the German romantics: Wagner, Strauss, Korngold, Zemlinski, etc... and have just begun to explore the marvelous world of the Russians. I also recommend the lush work of the Mexican, Daniel Catan... as well as Osvaldo Golijov's work. I do admit to a few blind spots: French opera (beyond Bizet), a great deal of Modernist opera (can't stomache Stravinsky's and Berg's efforts).

2. *Choral*- The human voice again... often merged with a spirituality that can raise the hairs on the back of the neck. I love everything from Byzantine and medieval chant, to Bach's magnificent cantatas and oratorios as well as the oratorios of Handel; Mozart's _Requiem_ and _Great Mass_, Haydn's _Creation_ and other masses, on through Elgar, Rachmaninoff, and on to current choral work of Arvo Part, James MacMillian, among others.

3. *Vocal*- Clearly a pattern involving the human voice here. But once again such a breadth... from Sephardic and Arabic chant, the great lieder of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, on through the symphonic songs of Strauss, Zemlinski, Szymanowsky, Chausson, Ravel; the chanson of beautiful French songs of Faure, Debussy, Ravel, Chausson, Hahn on through the songs of Korngold, Shostakovitch, Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, and Osvaldo Golijov.

4. *Symphonic*- A world unto itself... but perhaps limited it comparison with Opera and Choral... which often employ the symphonic as well.

5. *Solo instrumental*: Piano primarily... but also violin, cello, etc... Bach's keyboard and organ works as well as his works for solo violin and cello; Handel and Scarlatti's keyboard suites and sonatas, Haydn and Mozart's sonatas... and Beethoven's most of all... not to dismiss Schubert, Brahms, Schumann, and certainly Chopin. And Shostakovitch's Preludes and Fugues! Love them! A great dialog with Bach's Well Tempered Clavier... and Debussy and Faure and Satie! Perhaps I should move solo instrumentals up a notch.

6. *Concertos*- primarily for piano and violin... but I also couldn't be without Mozart's clarinet concerto (or the works for flute, harp, horn, etc...). Also love the concerti grossi of Bach, Vivaldi, handel, etc...

7. *Chamber music*- Small instrumental groups are perhaps my least favorite... although I again have exceptions... especially for Mozart and Brahms (especially anything involving the cello or clarinet). I also love Haydn's string quartets, and if I throw jazz into the mix... then small groups are the best.


----------



## hughjassman (Aug 21, 2009)

*Avant-Garde (John Cage, minimalism, futurism, etc)*

I can't even begien to discribe what I like. Maybe what I need is a list of avant garde classics then find samples....

I have been hearing some Sofia Gubaidulina
Quartet #4 (1993)
Kronos Quartet

very excellent.... then some frank zapa....amazing, but the classics seem to have been repressed....where can I get a list?


----------



## Fergus (Aug 25, 2009)

Using your "genres", I would generally rank my interest in them as follows: Symphonic, Orchestral, Chamber Music, Keyboard solo, Concerto, Film music, Vocal, Choral, Band Music, Opera. I have a strong interest in the first five, some in the sixth, then my interest tends to drop off, though there is music I like a lot in all the categories. I'm not sure where to put Avant-Garde, because it includes disparate genres that should not be grouped together, such as musique concrete (what John Cage did) and minimalism. I don't care for John Cage, but I enjoy such minimalists as Nyman and Gorecki.


----------



## Barking Spiderz (Feb 1, 2011)

At a push I'd say tone poems and late Classical-to-mid Romantic period symphonies under 40 mins and violin & piano concertos from the same period and ditto for overtures, suites and dances (as in Hungarian, Slavonic etc). In a nutshell around half my 100 or so CM CD collection comprises LvB, Dvorak, Debussy and Tchaikovsky orchestral works.


----------



## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

I'm becoming increasingly fascinated by the piano repertoire, albeit somewhat selectively (Ravel, Alkan, Sorabji in particular and branching out from there). I suppose my list would go as follows currently:

1. Vocal/Choral (stuff in the vein of Bach cantatas)
2(tie). Opera (not the Italians so much, but basically yes, opera would come next)
2(tie). Symphony (Bruckner, Sibelius, Mahler, Enescu...)
4. Solo keyboard
5. Orchestral (Sibelius tone poems, Ravel, Debussy, blah blah blah)
6. Chamber
7. Concerto (though only the kind that doesn't show off at the expense of the music. Which is why it's this far down the list, because there aren't many)
8. Film (Lord of the Rings, Joe Hisaishi's scores... there's some good stuff in there)
9. Ballet (if only for Daphnis et Chloe and the Rite of Spring... I don't know much else ballet)
10. Avant-garde (I hate avant-garde being so for the sake of it; it's remarkably annoying to me. That said, there are a few composers with avant-garde tendencies I follow)


----------



## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Opera

1. Symphonic (Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and all the other wonderful composers)
1. Concerto (Here violin and piano dominates followed by cello and then the others)
3. Chamber music (Piano quintets are my favorite, but so many others are wonderful)
4. Orchestral (Bach's suites and Brandenburgs)
5. Keyboard solo (Beethoven and Schubert reign supreme).
6. Choral (I like everything from early choral - Tallis, Palestrina - to Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and on to more modern)
7. Ballet (less interest but Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky are very nice)
8. Vocal (need more exposure here)
9. Opera (love the preludes and overtures, but I have not heard much opera)
10. Avant-Garde (still trying without much luck yet)
11. Band music (little interest)
11. Film music (little interest)


----------



## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

1. Keyboard (Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Schumann; I like the piano, harpsichord and organ)
2. Symphonic (Brahms, Mozart)
3. Chamber (Mozart string ensembles, Brahms, Beethoven, Schoenberg, Schubert, Webern, Berg)
4. Orchestral (preludes and overtures by Wagner, Brahms and Beethoven; Schoenberg)
5. Choral (Bach, Brahms, Webern, Beethoven)
6. Concerto (Brahms, Bach, Schoenberg, some Mozart, some Prokofiev)
7. Vocal (Schumann, Webern, Schubert, Brahms) 
8. Opera (Wagner, Schoenberg, Strauss, Bizet, Berg, Mozart, Verdi)

Something like that. (I just haven't got the _time_ to really get into opera - it's frustrating.)


----------



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

1. Orchestral
2. Symphonic
3. Ballet
4. Concerto
5. Solo Piano

Thanks to all them Russians.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Opera first, very very much ahead of the competition.
Then, a distant second: symphonic
3rd - Vocal (cantatas, lieder)
4th - Orchestral (tone poems)
5th - Keybord solos or duos (sonatas for piano, violin/piano sonatas) or concertos
6th - Ballet, as long as I can see it as well

This may be about it. I don't much care for chamber music... I like either the purity of a solo or duo, or the full blown orchestra. Chamber music seems to me like a poor compromise (I know it's heretic to say so, given so many beautiful chamber music pieces, but although I recognize their beauty, I find myself not listening to them). Choral music - same problem, I either like the purity of lieder or cantata, or a full blown opera; purely choral can be boring. Band music? Nah... Film music? Usually, nah... Avant-garde? Well, I do like modernist and contemporary operas but the fractured music usually tires me if I don't have the visual support.


----------



## Orange Soda King (Sep 14, 2010)

1. Vocal/Choral: I want to be a choral conductor, and choral music is so AWESOME!! Songs are very good, too!
2. Opera: I don't know much about opera, but what I've heard is really epic
3. Concerti: Brahmsbrahmsbrahmsbrahmsbrhamsbrhmsbrmsbrhbmrmbrmhsabrmsharbhmsbrhmsarbmhsabrmhabramrbhmar....
4. Symphonic: SibeliusBrahmsMahlerBrucknernaetobhaerluih
5. Chamber: I LOVE playing in small ensembles!
6. Keyboard Solo: I'm a pianist, and a piano can actually quite a lot on its own compared to most other instruments


----------



## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

1. Chamber
2. Orchestral
3. Instrumental
4. Opera
5. Vocal


----------



## fasolo (Apr 14, 2011)

Baroque music is the best.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

1. Symphonic. This full-bodied exploration of sound is where I get my kicks from. I want to drown in a maelstrom of music.
2. Concerto. I love the conflict between the orchestra and the soloist. But it has to have enough orchestral parts. Too much soloist and it becomes boring for me.
3. Opera. Wagner's operas are the best thing in the world, but there aren't so many of them.
4. Orchestral. Tone poems, ballets... I love these, but they're a bit lighter than symphonies. I prefer my classical music heavy, lumpy and hard to digest.
5. Keyboard solo. I love it, but it has to be thick waves of juicy sound - no space at all, just a full scale invasion of piano music. 
6. Choral. This has to have a lot of drama for me to develop interest in it. Many works do have it, though. Those are awesome.

I'd really like to get more into chamber music, but so far I haven't been able to find as much world-shaking drama out of it as I'd like to. Solo vocal music I don't really expect to learn to like. I do listen to weird avant-garde stuffs, but I don't really classify them as classical music so I left them out.


----------



## Pieck (Jan 12, 2011)

1.Chamber music


----------



## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

I'm on equal footing with Orchestral, Chamber, and Instrumental. It's sheer delight when a symphonist embraces all three.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

fasolo said:


> Baroque music is the best.


I believe the question was what genre of music (as in symphonic, opera, etc.), not what era (as in Baroque, Romantic, etc.).


----------



## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Why is symphonic separate from orchestral? Yeah, a lot of orchestral music isn't symphonies, but all symphonies are orchestral.

I like most except opera, which I can't stand, and lieder/cantatas/choral, which I don't like much more than opera. String quartets and similar formations would be lower on the list as well, otherwise I have no preferrence.


----------



## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

Argus said:


> Why is symphonic separate from orchestral? Yeah, a lot of orchestral music isn't symphonies, but all symphonies are orchestral.
> 
> I like most except opera, which I can't stand, and lieder/cantatas/choral, which I don't like much more than opera. String quartets and similar formations would be lower on the list as well, otherwise I have no preferrence.


Joking aside, I've seen you mention quite a few times that you dont find Opera appealing and was curious about what you dislike about it? .
Opera does'nt come up often in my listening routine but I do like it and think its a beautiful Genre - I would listen to it more perhaps but I want to give it my full attention and am not often in the mood to set aside that much time to listen to it!


----------



## Llyranor (Dec 20, 2010)

1) Concerto. Especially violin concertos. Love those so much! I love the interplay between the soloist and the orchestra (though I often feel like they only have an accompaniment role here). 

2) Symphony. I really love the harmony between the various orchestra sections. There's nothing like listening to one live at a concert and hearing all the various sections interacting with each other. Sometimes it's just bigger than life.

3) Chamber music. Solo violin, violin sonatas, string quartets, etc. Big fan.

4) Orchestral. I enjoy overtures, symphonic poems, variations - though I usually prefer symphonies.

5) Keyboard solo. Chopin, Bach, Beethoven, etc - there's a lot to like!

Haven't heard enough opera/vocal/choral to state my position yet.


----------



## haydnfan (Apr 13, 2011)

1. Symphonic
2. Chamber music
3. Concerto
4. Avant-garde
5. Choral
6. Keyboard solo

It's kind of interesting that the genres listed by the OP are based on instruments except avant-garde. I guess it's for the possibility of helicopters, silence etc as instruments.:lol:


----------



## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Conor71 said:


> Joking aside, I've seen you mention quite a few times that you dont find Opera appealing and was curious about what you dislike about it? .
> Opera does'nt come up often in my listening routine but I do like it and think its a beautiful Genre - I would listen to it more perhaps but I want to give it my full attention and am not often in the mood to set aside that much time to listen to it!


The singing and the concept. I don't like the operatic style of singing and I don't like plays, so a combination of the two is a bad mix. I'm more into music for musics sake, so I may as well listen to that than a music drama hybrid. Similarly, I don't like musicals.


----------



## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

Argus said:


> The singing and the concept. I don't like the operatic style of singing and I don't like plays, so a combination of the two is a bad mix. I'm more into music for musics sake, so I may as well listen to that than a music drama hybrid. Similarly, I don't like musicals.


Cheers Argus, I think I know what you mean .


----------



## BarenboimFan (Apr 26, 2011)

Ravellian said:


> 1. Keyboard solo. As a pianist, I am most interested in piano works. My favorite works are everything by Chopin, everything by Liszt, all Beethoven sonatas, harpsichord works by Bach, Schubert sonatas/improptus, and various solo works by Ravel. It's the most versatile of instruments, and it has the deepest and most varied repertoire.


You basically summed it up right there. Those are my favorite composers/pieces.


----------



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Concerto is No. 1 for me.


----------



## Alydon (May 16, 2012)

The older I get I find I can only cope with piano/chamber music - I hardly ever put on the 'big' orchestral works anymore and never opera. I think you filter out what you don't like and are left with the musical truths for you. I would say this, that listening to Bach's WTK is as pure as you can get and his music at the moment for me is as if it exists before and after time.


----------



## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

Opera - Not a whole lot of interest, just recently got into Wagner.
Symphonic - The bigger the better (Beethoven, Bruckner, Mahler...)
Chamber music - Varies, doesn't rank too high (though how can I put down Beethoven's Quartets)
Orchestral - Mostly symphonic poems (Dvorak, R.Strauss, Debussy, Ravel, Schoenberg)
Choral - Not much (Rachmaninov's All Night Vigil is my one and only favorite)
Vocal - Little interest
Keyboard solo - Huge, right behind symphonies and concertos (Bach [organ and "piano"] Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Medter...)
Ballet - Not much interest, I prefer the music way more than the actual dancing (Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, and even Tchaikovsky's exhausted Swan Lake)
Concerto - Very high, right after symphonies (Beethoven, Brahms, Medtner, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Prokofiev, and various Romantic era composers who aren't really great but their concertos are ear candy for me)
Avant-Garde - No. Just, no.
Band music - Never again.
Film music - Some films, some composers (Hans Zimmer, Wojciech Kilar, Ennio Morricone)


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I actively enjoy music from Baroque to Contemporary, but I embrace Dowland, the troubadours and others, too.

Solo and chamber are what I listen to most, then concertos, orchestral and symphonies. I concur with Alydon about Bach, but for me it is the _Violin Sonatas and Partitas_ and the _Cello Suites_. I could have them on endless repeat for days. I concur with Cosmos about ballet, in particular, Stravinsky's exhausted _Firebird_ and _Rite of Spring_, although I did rather like _Apollon musagète_. I have no interest in film music.

Vocal has only held marginal appeal for me and the little I ever owned was mostly purchased for the poets. Choral tends to raise the hair on my back. The few operas I ever owned were culled in the 1990s, but I have recently entertained, but not pursued, the thought of reacquiring Wagner's _Parsifal_.


----------



## Geo Dude (May 22, 2013)

Symphonic, choral, chamber music, solo instrument/solo keyboard.


----------



## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

I can find music that appeals to me in any genre. But I favor chamber of all types (especially string quartets), solo piano, concertos and symphonies. 
I'm picky with orchestral music but fortunately there is more than enough to choose from for a lifetime.


----------



## Piwikiwi (Apr 1, 2011)

Opera - I like Ravel his two operas and I've seen Tristan being performed. Not my favourite genre because of the length. 
Symphonic - I like some symphonies 
Chamber music - I go through phases of listening to a lot of chamber music but mostly ensembles and not single instrument sonatas.
Orchestral - One of my favourite genres in general but I go thourhg phases like mentioned above. 
Choral - At times. I like Poulenc, Ravel, Debussy and Stravinsky their choral pieces.
Vocal - Rarely but I like some Fauré mélodies
Keyboard solo - My favourite genre at the moment. 
Ballet - I want to see more ballet live but it is quite expensive and I will end up going alone.
Concerto - I quite like concertos
Avant-Garde - I do quite like some late 20th century pieces, minimalism and some contemporary pieces but I haven't really gotten around to the really weird stuff
Band music - Don't really like it
Film music - Don't care for it.


----------



## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Opera - Can't stand it
Symphonic - Love it
Chamber music - Rarely listen to it, not my preference
Orchestral - Love it
Choral - Love it, need to listen more
Vocal - Rarely listen to it, I like some songs
Keyboard solo - My biggest love
Ballet - No thanks
Concerto - Love it
Avant-Garde - I like some minimalism and electronic music, can't stand most of it
Band music - No thanks
Film music - Like it


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I take it on a piece by piece basis - there are things I like in all the genres. I do have a strong interest in solo keyboard and solo guitar pieces.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

At this time, it's harpsichord music, in particular the keyboard music of J.S. Bach.


----------



## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

As of today, my preferences by genre generally shape up along these lines:

*1. Symphonic / Orchestral* 
It's hard for me to make a distinction between "symphonic" music and "other orchestral" music like tone poems, overtures, etc. Music employing a full symphony orchestra is what initially drew me into classical music. And I suppose it's still the genre that attracts me the most.

*2. Keyboard solo*
My favorite single instrument (by far) is the piano, regardless of genre. One of the many reasons that I love the piano is because the instrument is so wide-ranging and flexible -- the only solo instrument that can approach the expressiveness of an entire orchestra.

*3. Concerto*
A combination of the two above. What's not to like?

*4. Chamber music*
I have a feeling that I would like this genre more if I weren't such a jazz fan. Because small-group jazz seems so similar in intent -- and if anything I find the range of expression in jazz to be even greater. That said, Brahms' chamber music is pure genius. ...I also have the feeling that there's a great deal of chamber music "out there" for me still to discover.

*5. Vocal*
I studied literature in college, and I always preferred poetry to plays. I feel the same about vocal music: I'm drawn more to the solo/imaginative aspects of lieder rather than the dramatic/visual elements that are central to opera. Ives' songs and Schubert's lieder are some of my favorites in this genre.

*6. Opera / Choral / Ballet*
I don't dislike any of these. I'm just not at all an expert. But I will say that Ives' choral setting of Psalm 90 is staggeringly great. And I LOVE the final movement of LvB's Choral Symphony. 

*7. Film music*
For me, Bernard Herrmann is King of Film Music. But the genre is a side-light interest. I probably own twenty-five soundtracks, a "drop in the bucket" compared to other genres.

*8. Avant-Garde / Band music *
Generally speaking, I'm not drawn to these genres -- although I will sometimes sample. I do like Ligeti's music. Does he qualify as _avant-garde_? I like Messiaen. I like Schoenberg and Bartok and Berg -- but I don't really think of them as avant-garde. I'd just categorize their music under the respective genres above. I love Ives, and I guess some folks think of his music as avant-garde. I'd be more likely to categorize it as "Romantic" music (in terms of his musical intentions), although he used modern and even post-modern devices in constructing it. ...Hmm. Not sure about this category.

EDIT:
This wasn't a pithy post, hp. I hope I didn't go on _ad nauseam_.


----------



## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Opera - RAVEL, Stravinsky, Szymanowski, Debussy
Symphonic - Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, Barber, Mozart 40 & 41, Brahms 1
Chamber music - RAVEL, Debussy, Borodin
Orchestral - Debussy, RAVEL, Faure, 
Choral - Faure, Rutter, RAVEL's competition pieces for the Prix de Rome
Vocal - Barber, Stravinsky, Copland, RAVEL
Keyboard solo - RAVEL, Griffes
Ballet - Copland, Stravinsky, Bernstein, Barber, RAVEL!!!, Tchaikovsky
Concerto - Barber, Chaminade, Bernstein, Tchaikovsky, RAVEL
Avant-Garde - absolutely not.
Band music - depends on the composer .... but the band performing it has to be top-notch.
Film music - John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Elmer Bernstein

Can you tell I really like RAVEL?


----------



## Reza (Jan 6, 2015)

Piano Concertos and Choral and also Piano Solo


----------



## Oscarf (Dec 13, 2014)

My preferred genre is definitely symphonic/orchestral, mainly anything after Brahms, then vocal, I still have to find a Requiem I do not like. The only thing I do not like at all is opera, probably my fault, but it bores me to death.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Symphonic
Opera
Vocal
Oratorio
Concerto
Some piano


----------



## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

No longer being a collector, I enjoy whatever genre turns up during the day, sometimes inspired by what people mention in threads. It’s an inexhaustible supply.


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Solo Keyboard
Chamber
Voice 
Orchestral


----------



## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Solo Keyboard
Opera + vocal
chamber
concertos
orchestral

When starting with classical, I started with symphonies as the most favorite genre and now they occupy the least favorite spot for me.


----------



## Guest (Jul 29, 2019)

Favourite genres in descending order:

Chamber music of various types, from duos to nonets

Orchestral music, including tone poems, ballet music, incidental music to plays etc

Symphony (all eras but have become less keen on late romantic although I still like Sibelius)

Solo piano (strong preference for late classical/early romantic; to a lesser extent solo cello, viola, flute, organ etc)

Concerto (all types but prefer piano, strings, woodwind in that order)

Vocal works (lieder, song cycles; mainly by the early romantics including Schubert)

Choral works (opera, sacred religious, oratorio, etc)


----------



## robin4 (Jun 9, 2019)

solo piano....cause it's generally......nice and peaceful.....unlikely to give me heartburn


----------



## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

1. ballet and film tracks, tone poems, suites, overtures, incidentals
2. symphonic movements
3. concertos are useful and interesting lessons about their instruments, so they come third.
4. operas fall in the middle. They are neither the greatest nor the least to me.
5. Solo piano... it depends whose. Czerny, Bortkiewicz, Liszt---yes. Chopin and Alkan---please spare me the headaches. 
6. Vocal music is vocal, so it distracts my brain instead of giving it respite. I avoid it.


----------

