# Your Favorite 5-10 movements from your favorite Composer



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

What are your favorite 5-10 movements from your favorite Composer?


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Beethoven (many more than 10, I'll try for some variety)

slow: "Dankgesang" from op.132, Adagio from 9th symphony, Finale (variations) from op.109
first movements: 9th symphony, Eroica, op.106, 4th piano concerto
fast finale: 7th symphony 
scherzo: op.59/1,ii 
joker: op.133


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

neoshredder said:


> What are your favorite 5-10 movements from your favorite Composer?


This is tough because I do not listen to Beethoven movement-wise at all. For example, I cannot pick one movement from the late F Major quartet. Never thought about it really before.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

My favorite composer is Beethoven.

1. Op 133 Grosse Fuge
[2. Op 131/6
3. Op 131/7]
4. Op 131/1
5. Op. 132/3 Heilgilar Dankgesang
6. Symphony no. 9 movement 1
7. Op 109/3
8. Symphony no. 9 movement 4
9. Op. 132/1
10. Op 127/1

So as you can see, my favorite movements are from Late Beethoven, particularly the string quartets. Since No. 2 is essentially an introduction to No. 3, I'll permit myself to list one more movement: the second movement of the Seventh Symphony.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

These movements are great, but it's all about the finale of the 3rd.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Brahms (in no particular order):

2nd movement andante from Symphony no. 3
2nd movement adagio from Symphony no. 2
1st movement maestoso from Piano Concerto no. 1
1st movement allegro non troppo from String Quintet no. 1
1st movement allegro from Clarinet Quintet


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## StDior (May 28, 2015)

Johann Sebastian Bach 

1. BWV 1044 / Triple Concerto / Mvt 1	
2. BWV 1049 / Brandenburg Concerto No. 4	/ Mvt 1	
3. BWV 1021 / Sonata in G major for violin and basso continuo / Mvt 1	
4. BWV 1016 / Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord no 3 in E major / Mvt 3	
5. BWV 140 / Cantata	/ Mvt 1 / "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"
6. BWV 1043 / Concerto for Two Violins / Mvt 3	
7. BWV 1042 / Violin Concerto in E major / Mvt 2	
8. BWV 248 / Christmas Oratorio / Part VI Finale / "Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen"
9. BWV 66	/ Cantata /Mvt 1 / "Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen"
10. BWV 988 /Goldberg Variations /Variation 1	

HM:	
BWV 245 / St John Passion / Mvt 1 / "Herr, unser Herrscher"
BWV 232 / Mass in B minor	Mvt 24 / "Benedictus"
BWV 80 / Cantata / Mvt 5 / "Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär"
BWV 244 / St Matthew Passion / Mvt 49 / "Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben"
BWV 1029 / Viola da Gamba Sonata No. 3 in G Minor / Mvt 2


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

I'll limit mine to favorite slow movements, orchestral works only:

1. *Beethoven*: II: "By the Brook" from _Symphony #6 "Pastorale"_
2. *Nielsen*: II: "Andante Pastorale" featuring soprano and baritone; from _Symphony #3 "Sinfonia Espansiva"_ 
3. *Tchaikovsky*: II: "Andante Cantabile" from _Symphony #5_
4. *Rachmaninoff*: III: "Andante; Andante" from _Symphony #2_
5. *Dvorak*: II: "Largo" from _Symphony #9 "New World"_
6. *Mahler*: IV: "Adagietto; Sehr langsam" from _Symphony #5_
7. *Beethoven*: II: "Larghetto" from _Violin Concerto_ 
8. *Brahms*: II: "Adagio" from _Violin Concerto_ 
9. *Berlioz*: IX: "Sanctus" featuring tenor solo from _Requiem_ 
10. *Sibelius*: II: _"The Swan of Tuonela"_ from _Lemminkäinen Suite_

Honorable Mention:
*Barber*: _Adagio for Strings _

_By the Brook_ from Beethoven's _Pastorale Symphony_ is my favorite symphony by my favorite composer. It is a symphony that to me just exemplifies the beauty of nature in springtime; is full of unbounded joy; and demonstrates that despite Beethoven's reputation as a revolutionary who "bent fate to his will"; that Beethoven could also be quite mellow and tender when he wanted to be. Next up, the beautiful slow movement from Nielsen's _Sinfonia Espansiva_ where tenor and soprano sing wordless melodies that seem to float in the air like unseen winds. Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff follow and though I find Tchaikovsky's _5th_ to be his most rambling, noisy, and disjointed symphony, the slow movement never fails to captivate me in it's exquisite melody and sad, Russian, soul. Rachmaninoff follows. To me, he is Tchaikovsky's successor, also full of endless melodies and sad, Russian soulfulness. Dvorak rounds out the top five with the famous _Largo_ from _New World Symphony_ and whether you take it as a reflection of the "American" landscape, or just as a beautiful work by a European composer who just happened to be living in Spillville, Iowa at the time; the music is just as lovely.

Mahler comes next with the famous _Adagietto_ from _Symphony #5_ as probably the finest of all the times that Mahler (and Bruckner) attempted to rewrite the _Adagio_ from the Beethoven's _Symphony #9_. Then the slow movements from the Beethoven and Brahms _Violin Concertos_ and here again, it shows that beneath Beethoven's revolutionary spirit, as well as beneath Brahms' sturdy German craftsmanship, are some very warm and sentimental souls. As for the beautiful _Sanctus_ from Berlioz' _Requiem_ I first heard it as a stand-alone work on Luciano Pavarotti's Christmas album, before I know that it's heavenly atmosphere was part and parcel of a great and grand work that unleashes all the power of the Apocalypse in full force.

I include Sibelius' _Swan of Tuonela_ for sentimental reasons. As a teenager (back in the 1980s) I was first drawn to classical music for the exciting and tense moments such as Wagner's _Ride of the Valkyries_, the earth-shattering opening movement of Beethoven's _5th Symphony_, as well as the colorful, dissonant and loud, full-movement works such as _Also Sprach Zarathustra_ by Richard Strauss and _Rite of Spring_ by Stravinsky. At that time, the slow movements bored me, and couldn't wait to get the "exciting parts". But then I remember Sibelius' _Swan of Tuonela_ in a record album I was listening to on my old turntable, and I remember how it hit me all at once, that there is a very special beauty in music, as I could just imagine the swan slowly moving through the marshes.

As a bonus entry I include Barber's sad and beautiful _Adagio_ as an honorable mention. Sam Barber was not America's most innovative composer, or even the most "American" in the sense that his music is essentially derived from European Romanticism. Barber was, however, the most lyrical and in many ways the most beautiful and sentimental, as the _Adagio_ demonstrates.

The Swan of Tuonela? 








It appears that I misread the OP, instead of listing my favorite movements by my favorite _composer_; I listed my favorite movements by my favorite _composers_ (plural)

Oh well. Even if doesn't answer the question at least it may answer something else.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Sticking with the OP in asking about best 5-10 minutes of one's favorite composer. I'll offer the first movement of Brahms' Second Piano Concerto (though I understand the urge to to expand the OP's request to include the dozens, hundreds of great 5-10 minute bits found throughout CM).


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

Coach G said:


> 1. *Beethoven*: II: "By the Brook" from _Symphony #6 "Pastorale"_





Strange Magic said:


> I'll offer the first movement of Brahms' Second Piano Concerto.


Wow, our top favorites are the same! Surprised you guys didn't mention/respond about Eroica's finale. I'd also recommend the _Andante_ of Rimsky-Korsakov's 3rd as top tier.

Coach, great list. The Dvorak Largo is hauntingly structured and timeless. Alongside Rachmaninoff's Andante I would recommend Beethoven 9th's _Adagio Molto_ as others have.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Favo(u)rite composer = Charles Koechlin

Op. 203 - Le buisson ardent, part I 
'Emil Jannings' - the 6th movement in _The Seven Stars Symphony_ Op. 132
"L'Assaut de l'ennemi - La Blessure" - the 2nd movement of the Op. 80 Piano Quintet
finale of Poème pour Cor et Orchestre (Op. 70 bis)
"A l'ombre, près de la fontaine de marbre" - the 11th movement of _Les heures persanes_, Op. 65
"Le chant du chevrier" - the 4th movement of _Paysages et marines_, Op. 63
finale of the Oboe Sonata, Op. 58


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Beethoven Symhonies Nos. 3-9, PC4, PC5 - all movements.
Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos. 1-6, PC1, VC - all movements
Dvořák Symphonies Nos. 3, 5 - 9, Cello Concerto - all movements
Borodin Symphony No. 2 - all movements
Kalinnikov Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 - all movements
Grieg Piano Concerto, Incidental music to Peer Gynt - all movements
Elgar Cello Concerto - all movements
.............



Oops, that's a little more than 5 - 10 movements.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

The Eroica finale is my second favorite Beethoven symphony finale, and great enough that one might want to listen to it on repeat for a couple hours. But a lot of Beethoven's movements are like that.


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

*Brahms*

- 3rd movement from Piano Quartet no. 2 
- 3rd movement from String Sextet no. 2
- 1st movement from Cello Sonata no. 1
- 2nd movement from Horn Trio
- 1st movement from String Quartet no. 2
- 2nd movement from Piano Trio no. 2
- 1st movement from Violin Sonata no. 3 
- 1st movement from String Quintet no. 2 
- 1st movement from Clarinet Trio
- 1st movement from Clarinet Sonata no. 2


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I don't think it matters but I am pretty certain that the season of the Pastoral symphony is summer, at most very late spring/early summer (i.e. late May-June in Austria). The frequency of merry gatherings and especially of thunderstorms is far higher in summer in Austria and Germany.

As for the Eroica finale, it seems a strange phenomenon that of three large scale and unconventional finales, op.133 seems universally admired, the one from the 9th symphony often harshly critized and the first one, the Eroica, mostly ignored... As my choices were already leaning towards the symphonies, I picked op.133 for the list of these three.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Favorite composer: *Beethoven*.


4th movement of the _Choral_ symphony, Op. 125;
3rd movement of the string quartet no. 15, Op. 132;
1st movement of the _Choral_ symphony, Op. 125;
1st movement of the symphony no. 5, Op. 67;
2nd movement (Gloria) of the Missa Solemnis, Op. 123;
2nd movement of piano sonata no. 32, Op. 111;
6th movement (Große Fuge) of string quartet no. 13, Op. 130;
4th movement of string quartet no. 14, Op. 131;
3rd movement of piano sonata no. 31, Op. 110;
4th movement of string quartet no. 12, Op. 127;
4th movement (Sanctus) of the Missa Solemnis, Op. 123.


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