# Greatest Adagios of All Time Top 5 List



## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

You only get to pick your top 5. 

Mine, in order of their value, are as follows:

1) Barber's Adagio for Strings
2) Albinoni Adagio in G Minor
3) Saint-Saëns Poco Adagio from Symphony No.3 
4) Mahler's 5th Adagietto 
5) Mahler's 9th Adagio


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## R3PL4Y (Jan 21, 2016)

5. Mahler 5
4. Mahler 9 4th movement
3. Schumann 3 (Feierlich, same idea)
2. Tchaikovsky 6 movement 4
1. Bruckner Symphony 7


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

1. Mahler Symphony No. 10
2. Beethoven Symphony No. 9
3. Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
4. Schuman Symphony No. 10
5. Bruckner Symphony No. 8


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

#1 is objectively probably either from Mozart piano concerto in A major, K. 488, or Beethoven symphony 9.



Klassic said:


> 1) Barber's Adagio for Strings


Sucks.



Klassic said:


> 3) Albinoni Adagio in G Minor


Sucks, and for once on a composition bearing Albinoni's name, it's not his fault, because he didn't write it.


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## dsphipps100 (Jan 10, 2016)

Mahler 9th, 4th mvt
Grieg Piano Concerto - 2nd mvt
Dvorak New World Sym - 2nd mvt
Mendelssohn "2nd" Sym - 3rd mvt
Shostakovich 5th Sym - 3rd mvt


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## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

Harold in Columbia said:


> [Barber's Adagio for Strings] Sucks. [Albinoni] Sucks, and for once on a composition bearing Albinoni's name, it's not his fault, because he didn't write it.


You mean they are both centered around poor melodies? You mean their development sucks, what sucks about them? These are literally two of the most loved Adagios on the face of the earth.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Bach, slow movement double violin concerto in D minor
Handel, aria V'adoro, pupille from Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Haydn, cello concerto no.2, slow movement
Mozart, piano concerto no.20 slow movement
Beethoven, symphony #9 third movement (slow movement)

Truly beautiful music.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

My favorite five from Beethoven. I'm way too tired to try to pick my overall favorite five.

Not in any particular order, except for the String Quartet #15 slow movement, which is my favorite.

- "Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart" from String Quartet #15, Op. 132
- Cavatina from String Quartet #13, Op. 130
- Adagio from Symphony #9, Op. 125
- 2nd Mvt from Piano Concerto #4, Op. 58
- "Gesangvoll, Mit Innigster Empfindung" from Piano Sonata #30, Op. 109


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Harold in Columbia said:


> Sucks.


Counterargument: Barber's Adagio is good.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

isorhythm said:


> Counterargument: Barber's Adagio is good.


This is no more of an argument than what HiC wrote, but at least has the benefit of being correct.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Impossible. These days adagios and other slow movements are my favorite things. Here are a few that come to mind first:

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 "Pathetique" movement 2 adagio cantabile

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (I have no idea if this is adagio, but it's kind of slow, so there.)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, movement 2. (Okay, it's allegretto, but it serves as a slow movement, and who would dare to argue?)

Khatchaturian: Adagio from the Gayane Suite No. 3 "The Carpet Weavers" a.k.a. Gayane's Adagio (Sadly about the only Khatchaturian I can stand)

Leo Weiner: Romance for cello, harp, and string orchestra, Op. 29 

and several thousand others.


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## jpar3 (Mar 9, 2016)

Arietta from Beethoven Op 111- awesome adagio


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Beethoven: Opp. 109, 111, 127, Ninth Symphony.
Only one more? Really? Uhhh. . . Mahler Fourth (no particular reason other than I like it better than his Ninth or Tenth)


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## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

There are lots of great slow movements (not only Adagio), and I can hardly narrow down to a top 5. Anyway I just list some of them FYI:
Mozart: 
slow mvmts from many concertos (clarinet, flute&harp, violin 3, piano 18,23,24,27 etc)
Beethoven:
slow mvmts of symphony 1,3,9, concertos (violin, piano 1,5 etc), late quartets (op.132,135 etc), late piano sonata (106,110,111), piano trio 7 
Bruckner
among the most profound are adagios of symphony 6,7,8,9
Mahler
last mvmt of symphony 3,9, slow mvmt of symphony 5,6
Shostakovich
Symphony 5, piano concerto 2
Schubert
symphony 8, piano trio 2
Schumann
piano quintet and quartet
Many others of course (Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky etc)


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2016)

isorhythm said:


> Counterargument: Barber's Adagio is good.


You mean it blows?

Does the OP mean 'adagio' and only 'adagio' or can other slow movements apply?


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## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

MacLeod said:


> You mean it blows?
> 
> Does the OP mean 'adagio' and only 'adagio' or can other slow movements apply?


*Yes, other slow movements can apply!* I should have tried to make this more encompassing (thread fail).


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Can the listener really tell the difference between adagio, grave, largo, larghetto and lento anyway? I think they are intentionally vague to allow room for interpretation


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

I limited myself only to movements that are only given tempo indications of adagio. Here's my five:

Mozart Piano Cto No. 23
Shostakovich SQ No.9 (it has two adagio movements that are both great, but I'll give movement 4 the nod)
Barber Adagio for Strings
Beethoven Piano Sonata "Pathetique"
Brahms Symphony No.2


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## StDior (May 28, 2015)

5. Mahler: Symphony No. 10 - Movement 1
4. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 - Movement 3
3. Bach: Violin Concerto in E major - Movement 2
2. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 - Movement 2
1. Brahms: Clarinet Quintet - Movement 2


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

Mahler Symphony 5
Brahms Symphony 3 ( even though it's Andante)
Tchaikovsky Symphony 5
Bruckner Symphony 6
Schubert Sonata D 960 or something else from Schubert, can be from chamber music or symphonies, Schubert is known for his slow music


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

hm.....forgot one of the most beautiful adagios ever in vocal music - Final Trio from Die Rosenkavalier


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2016)

Klassic said:


> *Yes, other slow movements can apply!* I should have tried to make this more encompassing (thread fail).


Good.

Andante from Mahler's 6th
Largo from Sibelius' 4th
Adagio from Prokofiev's 5th
Allegretto from Beethoven's 7th
Largo from Dvorak's 9th



Weston said:


> Can the listener really tell the difference between adagio, grave, largo, larghetto and lento anyway? I think they are intentionally vague to allow room for interpretation


Well, yes, I think I can - but you're right that there is overlap.


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## Fugue Meister (Jul 5, 2014)

hpowders said:


> 1. Mahler Symphony No. 10
> 2. Beethoven Symphony No. 9
> 3. Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
> 4. Schuman Symphony No. 10
> 5. Bruckner Symphony No. 8


This is a great list, although I'd sub the adagio from Bartok's music for strings percussion & celesta in for the Bruckner.


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## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

MacLeod said:


> Andante from Mahler's 6th
> Largo from Sibelius' 4th
> Adagio from Prokofiev's 5th
> Allegretto from Beethoven's 7th
> Largo from Dvorak's 9th


Your taste is very much to my liking. I think the Andante from Mahler's 6th contains the most beautiful passage in nearly all of classical music. Didn't Alma say something about the 6th Symphony? (I might be confusing this with comments she made on the 10th).


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Bach: Air from the Third Orchestral Suite AKA Air for the G string




Handel Sarabande from suite in Dminor (yeah the famous one)








Tchaikovsky Sixth Symphony 4th movement




Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile from String Quartet in D mvnt 2 (Yeah it's not an adagio but it is gorgeous)








Vaughn-Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis




Wagner Prelude to Tristan und Isolde




Wagner Prelude to Lohengrin




Wagner Prelude to Parsifal


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Bruckner - Symphony No. 8 - Adagio
Mahler - Symphony No. 5 - Adagietto
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7, first part
Schubert - Sonata D 960 - Andante
Scriabin - Sonata No. 3 - Andante


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2016)

1- Schubert, Quintet in C - (Come on people!)
2- Bruch violin concerto second movement
3- Dvorak cello concerto second movement
4- Beethoven Opus 132, slow movement (mostly adagio) 
5- Mahler, symphony 5 adagietto


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## Vinski (Dec 16, 2012)

Elgar's Cello Concerto.


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2016)

Klassic said:


> *Yes, other slow movements can apply!* I should have tried to make this more encompassing (thread fail).


How about entire works as long as they meet the speed requirements? In that tempo, my favorite stuff probably includes some Takemitsu and Pettersson.


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## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

nathanb said:


> How about entire works as long as they meet the speed requirements? In that tempo, my favorite stuff probably includes some Takemitsu and Pettersson.


Heck I should have just titled this post, *Your Favorite Slow Movements, Top 5.*


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