# Favourite 6 Symphony Cycles



## Subutai (Feb 28, 2021)

My favourite form of classical form is the Symphony. I have heard lots and enjoy many more, but when it comes to naming favourite Symphony cycles, i can only really rate 6 Composers that I enjoy pretty much from their first to their last. So the question I pose is what are your 6 favourite Composers of Symphony cycles that you pretty much enjoy from the first to the last?
For the record my favourite Symphony Composers output are:
1) Beethoven (9)
2) Mahler (9)
3) Bruckner (9)
4) Nielsen (6)
4) Tchaikovsky (6)
6) Sibelius (7)

Over to you and thanks in advance.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

1. Mahler (11)
2. Shostakovich (15)
3. Sibelius (7)
4. Brahms (4)
5. Bruckner (10 - not counting 00)
6. Bax (7)


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

1. Beethoven
2. Mahler
3. Sibelius
4. Bruckner
5. Vaughan Williams 

Many of us might have similar answers, but this really took me a while to think through. I had a hard time deciding between Mahler and Beethoven for the top spot. I initially typed Mahler, but the more I thought, the more I realized that I do get more pure enjoyment out of Beethoven. 

I'd love to add Haydn...because I love MOST of his symphonies. But I haven't listened to all of them, so I technically cannot say that I enjoy them all "from first to last."

No Brahms for me. I just...can't.

Huge Shosty fan, but 1, 2, and 4 make it impossible for me to meet the requirements. 

I added Vaughan Williams...I truly do love them all except for the plodding length of A Sea Symphony....

All in all, harder than I thought!


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## Philidor (11 mo ago)

1. Sibelius
2. Haydn
3. Mahler
4. Beethoven
5. Bruckner
6. Brahms

Norgard, Holmboe, RVW, Schumann, Mozart, Scriabin, ...


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

1. Shostakovich
2. Mahler
3. Weinberg
4. Myaskovsky
5. Beethoven
6. Haydn


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## Georgieva (7 mo ago)

My choice:
1.Mahler
2.Beethoven 
3.Bruckner 
4.Shostakovich 
5.Sibelius 
6.Tchaikovsky


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Nielsen
Sibelius
Mahler
Vaughan Williams


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

The OP asks for thorough enjoyment. I think I only enjoy the Brahms cycle from start to finish. So I`ll choose the next 5 from the ones that I find almost thoroughly enjoyable:


Brahms (4)
Mahler (10)
Sibelius (7)
Sessions (9)
Wellesz (9)
Alfvén (5)


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I interpreted it in terms of my rating system that no symphony in the cycle should drop below 4/6 ("important"). When I look at the composers whose symphonies I enjoy most, RVW was the main victim, as the Sea Symphony scores 3/6 at best - if I'm in a good mood. Apart from the six listed, Nielsen and Schmidt were candidates.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

1. Elgar
2. Schmidt
3. Mahler
4, Glazunov
5. Prokofiev
6. Sibelius


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

1. Bruckner
2. Weinberg
3. Dvorak
4. Nielsen
5. Suk
6. Schmidt


there are lots of great symphonies by other composers but I chose these because there are no significant weaknesses in their output -- I like all the symphonies by the.above. To be honest I could easily add Martinu, Arnold and probably one or two others to the list as well but not the likes of Mahler, Sibelius, Prokofiev or Shostakovich who all produced at least one work I can easily live without.. I was surprised to see Alfvén in a list above and were it not for the rather wishy-washy 4th, he could be there on mine too. As could countryman Berwald for that matter. The list could go on and on...


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## jim prideaux (May 30, 2013)

Sibelius
Brahms
Nielsen
Dvorak
Martinu
Schumann ( or Schubert)


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

1. Beethoven
2. Brahms
3. Sibelius
4. Tchaikovsky
5. Elgar
6. Prokofiev

I enjoy all symphonies by these six composers.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

1) Roberto Gerhard
2) Fartein Valen
3) Humphrey Searle
4) Benjamin Frankel
5) Isang Yun
6) Josef Tal


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

There are only four that I enjoy from first to last: (in any order) Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, and Mahler. Some other obvious contenders are Schubert, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Sibelius, but I either don't know each symphony they wrote, or don't I care as much for their earlier works. So my two honorable mentions (to bring me up to six) would be Tchaikovsky and Schubert probably.


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## Bone (Jan 19, 2013)

Prodromides said:


> 1) Roberto Gerhard
> 2) Fartein Valen
> 3) Humphrey Searle
> 4) Benjamin Frankel
> ...


Holy Toledo!


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## Bone (Jan 19, 2013)

1. Brahms
2. Beethoven
3. Mahler
4. Sibelius 
5. Vaughn Williams
6. Shostakovich (yeah, just gotta take the good with the bad - heck, some of the _really _bad ones amplify the preceding/following ones LOL)


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

1. Mahler
2. Sibelius
3. Mozart.
4. Beethoven 
5. Tchaikovsky 
6. Dvorak


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## HerbertNorman (Jan 9, 2020)

Shostakovich
Beethoven
Dvorak
Brahms
Sibelius
Vaughan Williams


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

1. Tchaikovsky
2. Beethoven
3. Dvořák
4. Kalinnikov
5. Borodin
6. Glazunov
7. Sibelius
8. Brahms

I would have placed Shostakovich ahead of Brahms in last place but I don't enjoy all of Shosty's symphonies.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

There are several possible measures, more or less sensible. I find the suggested "no or smallest number of symphonies not very enjoyable" not that helpful, as I am not much interested in the "best worst piece" (this would be Brahms for me, because there are only few and I have very weak preferences among all 4) but in a sufficient number or proportion of good/great symphonies.

Beethoven
Haydn
Mahler
Brahms
Bruckner
Mozart


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Beethoven
Bruckner
Brahms
Mahler
Sibelius
Shostakovich


Honorable mentions for Schumann, Nielsen, Schmidt, Elgar (do 2 symphonies count as a cycle?) and... Wetz.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

What's a "cycle"? Are Mozart's symphonies a cycle? Or Haydn's? And what about those who only wrote two (Elgar, Walton etc)? Assuming the answer to the above is "no" in all cases then it has to be 

Beethoven​Mahler​Brahms​Schumann​Sibelius​
for me. But as always with such questions I end up regretting the cycles I couldn't include in a top 5.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Brahms and Sibelius well above the rest
Next, in no special order: Beethoven, Dvorak, Mahler


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## Shoskofiev (5 mo ago)

Beethoven
Shostakovich
Dvorak
Nielsen
Vaughan Williams
Sibelius


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

1. Sibelius (7)
2. Noskowski (3)
3. Reinecke (3)
4. Melartin (6)
5. Fuchs (3)
6. Bruch (3)


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## JBB (Nov 10, 2018)

1. Mozart
2. Haydn
3. Beethoven
4. Brahms
5. Mahler
6. Dvorak
7. Shostakovich
(No special order) Also: Glazunov, Borodin, Sibelius, Schumann. I need to stop, harder than I thought.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

In no particular order, except Shostakovich:

1. Bruckner [9]
2. Sibelius [7]
3. Mahler [11 counting the not finished 10 and DLVDE (which isn't a symphony;-)]
4. DSCH (I relaly wish people would desist from'shosty' - it's disrespectful, frivolous and childish) [15]
5. RVW (can't help thinking the exposure from the 150th anniversary has influenced my choice here) [9]
6. Beethoven [9]

It's a pretty conservative list, but I suppose these days, the symphony is a pretty conservative format.


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## ronsoccer (Mar 22, 2020)

1) Beethoven
2) Brahms
3) Fibich
4) Dvorak
5) Tchaikovsky
6) Berwald

HM ) Sibelius

Mahler and Scubert have both composed some of my favorite symphonies but have some average symphonies. Bruckner and Schuman are pleasant but I find them to not be very memorable. Shostakovich and Prokofiev, I like their earlier works bit have no use for their later more :modern" works. Haydn and Mozart have too many symphonies to say I think they are my favorites, though I have to admit, what I have heard, I have enjoyed!


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Beethoven
Mahler
Bruckner
Haydn
Dvorak
Brahms


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## Aries (Nov 29, 2012)

Subutai said:


> i can only really rate 6 Composers that I enjoy pretty much from their first to their last. So the question I pose is what are your 6 favourite Composers of Symphony cycles that you pretty much enjoy from the first to the last?


Difficult. There are some great symphonists, which wrote some symphonies that I dont get. Like Shostakovich 1 or 9 or Mahler 4 or 7.


Bruckner 11
Beethoven 9
Bruch 3
Schubert 8
Prokofiev 7
Tchaikovski 6
Scherber 3


Shostakovich maybe 8/15
Mahler maybe 8/11


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

1. Beethoven
2. Brahms
3. Mahler
4. Bruckner
5. Mozart
6. Tchaikovsky 
7. Shostakovich
8. Dvorak
9. Schubert
10. Sibelius


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

The only symphony cycle of reasonable length that I absolutely love from top to bottom is Tchaikovsky's.


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## carteianus (Jul 29, 2021)

Not very original, me

1 Beethoven
2 Mahler
3 Bruckner
4 Sibelius
5 Brahms
6 Haydn

Cheers


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Sorry, can't do just 6......and what's " a cycle"? Three sounds a bit slender, so I won't mention Borodin or Madetoja, and 104 (or whatever) Haydns a bit excessive?

Beethoven
Mahler
Sibelius
Brahms
Schumann
Martinu

Of the above, I do not see a weak link anywhere; in the ones below there are some works that just don't click for me...but each has well over half in my special affections.

Nielsen
Dvořák
Haydn (!)
Bruckner
Vaughan Williams
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Tchaikovsky
Magnard
Tubin
Holmboe


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Mahler 
Nielsen 
Sibelius
Schnittke 
Honegger
Martinu

Vaughan Williams, and Bruckner are growing on me. I'm burned out on Beethoven so I'm giving them a rest for the most part. Lately I've been listening to Brahms more often.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Bruckner (10)
Glazunov (8, plus the one-movement no. 9)
Myaskovsky (27)
Bax (7, plus Springfire)
Tchaikovsky (6, plus Manfred and no. 7)
Atterberg (9)
Honorable mentions:

Kalinnikov (2)
Shostakovich (15)
Rachmaninoff (3, plus "The Bells")
Lyatoshynsky (3)
Gliere (3)
Tubin (10)
Artur Kapp (4)
Walton (2)
Elgar (2)
Parry (5)
Popov (6)
George Lloyd (12)
Ives (4, plus New England Holidays)
Alfven (5)
Nielsen (6)
Sibelius (7)
Melartin (6)
Skulte (9)


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