# Composers and their Magnum Opus



## peeyaj

*Question*

In your opinion...

*
What do you think is the one work that represents the culmination of artistic achievement and highest musical artistry of a composer/s?*



Here's my mine:

*Schubert* > Winterriese (song), the greatest song cycle ever written. Winterriese is the pinnacle of Lieder and has never been surpassed.

*Beethoven*> String Quartet no. 14 in C sharp Minor (chamber), after hearing the work, Schubert said ''Who else can write after him[/b]

*Mahler* > Symphony no. 5 (orchestral)

*Bach* > The Art of Fugue .

*Mozart* > Don Giovanni (opera)

*Wagner* > Ring Cycle (opera)

I'm not familiar with moderm music, and I hope some of our knowledgable members would share what they think is the magnum opus of modern composers.

What's yours?


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## Art Rock

Winterreise (not riese) is a good choice for Schubert, although the string quintet and the 8th symphony are strong contenders as well.

For Beethoven, I would pick the Pastoral symphony.

Mozart: Clarinet concerto.
Bach: St Matthew Passion.
Wagner: the Ring indeed.

The one I am most not in agreement with is Mahler. I would rate Das Lied von der Erde highest, and prefer Kindertotenlieder, Rueckertlieder, and symphonies 2, 4, 6, 9 and 10 higher than the 5th.


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## Artemis

I have slightly re-interpreted the question to provide a combination of my favourite and what I consider to be a good defining work for each of my favourite 15 composers.

I don't pretend that any of these works is necessarily the pinnacle of each composer's achievements. Some of them probably aren't by a long way, but they are the works that I enjoy most of all and which I consider to be a defining work of each composer, i.e. a work which I doubt could be confused with that of another composer.

Roughly in order they are:1 Schubert: String Quintet
2 Mozart: Serenade No 10 "Gran Partita" 
3 Beethoven: Symphony No 6 Pastoral 
4 Schumann: Violin Concerto 
5 Brahms: Piano Quintet 
6 Handel: Julius Caesar 
7 Bach: Magnificat 
8 Montedverdi: Vespers 1610 
9 Haydn: Nelson Mass 
10 Mendelssohn: Reformation Symphony 
11 Liszt: Sonata in B Minor 
12 Tchaikovsky: S6 Pathetique 
13 Chopin: Ballades 
14 Vivaldi: Gloria 
15 Purcell: Dido & Aeneas​


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## Polednice

*Brahms*: Ein Deutsches Requiem, because it has the highest concentration of sublime music than any other work, and because it manages to represent Brahms's full palette of tender melancholy and humane hope.


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## Lisztian

I think it's the B Minor Sonata. Obviously i'm biased, but I think it's the greatest solo piano work ever, period.

Leslie Howard thinks that the mighty oratorio Christus is Liszt's magnum opus. I think it is a magnificent work, but i'm going to go with the sonata. I think the three main contenders are the two aforementioned and the Faust Symphony...I would say the Dante Symphony is up there too but hardly anyone agrees with me.

A couple of my other favourite composers...
Chopin: Ballade No. 4.
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3.


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## science

Agreeing with others: 

Bach: Mass in B minor (runner-up: A Musical Offering)
Liszt: Sonata in B minor
Mozart: Don Giovanni (runner-up: The Magic Flute)
Schubert: String Quintet 
Brahms: A German Requiem (runner-up: Symphony #4) 

A few suggestions of my own:

Beethoven: Symphony #9
Mendelssohn: Octet
Verdi: Otello
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto #1
Bruch: Violin Concerto #1
Debussy: La Mer
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
Shostakovich: String Quartet #8 (not anticipating agreement, but that's my choice)

My choice for Schumann might be the Fantasie.


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## peeyaj

Another:

*Chopin* > 24 Preludes

*Liszt* > Sonata in B minor

*Tchaikovsky* > Swan Lake

* Ravel * > Bolero

*Schumann* > Dichterliebe

*Dvorak*> Cello Concerto

*Brahms* > Clarinet Quintet

*Elgar* > Cello Concerto

*Haydn* > The Creation


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## jalex

I think very few composers had true, single magnum opuses. *Berlioz*/_Les Troyens_ and *Wagner*/_Ring_ are almost certainly. *Mahler*/_Symphony #8_, *Beethoven*/_Missa Solemnis_ and *Haydn*/_Creation_ are good candidates. Also *Messiaen*/_Des Canyons aux etoiles..._

Remember that 'magnum opus' carries requirements of size, and a magnum opus need not necessarily be the best work the composer produced.


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## tdc

peeyaj said:


> * Ravel * > Bolero


Strongly disagree. Though I do agree that one theme that carries on again and again for around 13 minutes _is_ rather lovely. But I wouldn't put it in his top anything compositions, I would place it near the bottom of his works and I think Ravel would agree with me.


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## clavichorder

One of these days, I'll come to a conclusion as to Medtner's Magnum Opus. Right now, I'm leaning on the Night Wind Sonata.


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## Klavierspieler

I find composers' Magnus Opium much more interesting.


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## Art Rock

jalex said:


> *Mahler*/_Symphony #8_...


Really? The 8th? Am I alone in thinking that is by far his weakest symphony?


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## Air

For Ravel, the strongest contenders are _Daphnis et Chloe_ and _Gaspard de la nuit_. They represent the pinnacles of his orchestral and pianistic outputs, respectively.

From the Medtner I have listened to, I might have to agree with you clavi. _Night Wind_ is by far the most complex and ambitious of his sonatas. Though if one wanted to pick a more mature work, the 2nd and 3rd piano concertos and the op. 53 sonatas (_Romantica_ and _Minacciosa_) are strong contenders. Personally, I might pick the posth. _Piano Quintet_, finished two years before his death and not published until afterwards.

_Dichterliebe_, _Fantasy in C_, etc. are masterpieces of the highest order, but for me, there really isn't a dispute about what Schumann's magnum opus is. It is a mid-career work, the _Piano Concerto_ in a, op. 54. In the "pick your top 5 schumann" thread, this work appeared on every single list and at the top of exactly half of the lists. It's the closest Schumann ever got to composing a "warhorse". On the other hand, Schumann himself might have picked the extremely obscure choral work _Das Paradies und die Peri_, which I myself am completely enamored with (listen to that ending!). But the strongest contenders besides the three mentioned above are probably _Frauenliebe und -leben_, the op. 39 _Liederkreis_, _Kreisleriana_, _Davidsbundlertanze_, _Carnaval_, and the groundbreaking quintet and quartet for piano.

Some composers intentionally worked towards a "magnum opus". Off the top of my head: Stockhausen's _Licht_, Ligeti's _Etudes_, Wagner's _Ring_, Berlioz's _Les Troyens_, and Prokofiev's _War and Peace_ (though I would disagree that this is his greatest work). Others composed works that in some way or another defined their entire career - for example Stravinsky's _Rite_, Liszt's _Sonata in B minor_, Messiaen's _Quartet for the End of Time_, Janacek's _Mass_, Pachelbel's _Magnificat-Fugues_, Walton's _Belshazzar's Feast_, Alkan's minor key etudes, and Verdi's _Otello_.

*Some other choices, conventional or unconventional...*

For Brahms, I yield to Polednice. 

For Handel, I would not pick the _Messiah_, but rather the opera _Giulio Cesare_.

For Bach, there are four: the _Art of the Fugue_, _Mass in B minor_, _St. Matthew Passion_, and the _Well-Tempered Clavier_.

For Beethoven, there is a similar situation: the late piano sonatas, _Missa Solemnis_, 9th symphony, and 14th string quartet all have a good case going for them.

For Mozart, I may pick _Le Nozze di Figaro_ over _Don Giovanni_, though both are strong contenders. He wrote a million other good works too - so take your pick: _Requiem_, _Mass in C minor_, late piano concerti, etc. I still think it should be an opera though, because that was the realm in which he dominated the most (well, besides Wagner).

For Prokofiev, I would disagree with the composer's pick of _War and Peace_ and choose instead the three War Sonatas. Piano Concerto #2 and #3 are perhaps his best works, but they are a little too early in his career to be "magnum opuses". Also, _Romeo and Juliet_ makes a good case for itself.

For Schubert, I agree with the three that Art Rock named.

For Richard Strauss, any of the three greatest operas would work. I would probably pick _Der Rosenkavalier_ because of its popularity. However, the _Four Last Songs_ might be even better picks, due to their sheer beauty and the place they held in Strauss's life. One can't ignore his orchestral works, of course, and gigantic masterpieces like _Eine Alpensinfonie_, _Ein Heldenleben_, and _Tod und Verklarung_ certainly make good cases for themselves.

Of Bartok's many masterpieces, I might pick the _Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta_.

Bruckner's and Mahler's 9th symphonies are in many ways, culminating works of their entire symphonic careers.

Chopin's _Ballades_ make a good case for themselves, though as a set, his op. 28 _Preludes_, may have to grab the spot.

Villa-Lobos's _Choros_ and _Bachianas Brasileiras_ are logical choices, but the oddball piano masterpiece _Rudepoema_ seems to me equally ambitious and groundbreaking.

For Domenico Scarlatti, pick one of the 555 sonatas at random. It's too hard to choose. But if forced, I might pick the e minor sonata, K. 402, which Weston introduced me to.


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## Manxfeeder

If there are any Erik Satie followers out there, I think "magnum opus" would most apply to Socrate. Alan Gilmore says, "In no other work has the composer so completely removed his own personality. In this sense, all of Satie's works are contained in Socrate."


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## jalex

Art Rock said:


> Really? The 8th? Am I alone in thinking that is by far his weakest symphony?


I don't think it's the weakest (nor the best).

Check the Wiki discussion of 'Magnum Opus':



> The term "magnum opus" is distinguished in usage from "masterpiece" by a requirement that it is a work on a large scale, and by the absence of a requirement that it is generally regarded as among the creator's most successful works. A masterpiece may be small, short or slight, but still highly successful. For example, several 19th century composers devoted enormous amounts of time to writing operas, but are mainly remembered for much shorter works for smaller forces. Examples include Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Isaac Albéniz, and Franz Liszt. Similar examples in literature include William Wordsworth and John Keats. With other artists, such as Beethoven, Wagner, Michelangelo, and Raphael, the two terms coincide in their work: their largest works are among those regarded as their best.


Bearing that in mind, #8 seems to fit best.


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## violadude

Art Rock said:


> Really? The 8th? Am I alone in thinking that is by far his weakest symphony?


No you are not.


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## Lipatti

jalex said:


> I don't think it's the weakest (nor the best).
> 
> Check the Wiki discussion of 'Magnum Opus':
> 
> Bearing that in mind, #8 seems to fit best.


By those criterias, surely his second symphony and Das Lied von der Erde fit just as well?


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## jalex

Lipatti said:


> By those criterias, surely his second symphony and Das Lied von der Erde fit just as well?


His third would win in sheer length, but for scale of conception I'd say #8 takes it.


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## Olias

Dvorak - Cello Concerto

Copland - Appalachian Spring

Beethoven - Cases could be made for the 9th Symphony, Missa, SQ 14 and Hammerklavier Sonata (my personal choice would be the 9th)

Mozart - cases could be made for Figaro, Don Giovanni, Clarinet Concerto, and Requiem (my personal choice is Figaro)

Rossini - Barber of Seville

Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto

Stravinsky - ROS

Holst - Planets

Haydn - Creation

Debussy - La Mer

Brahms - cases could be made for the clarinet quintet, German Requiem, Symphony 4, Piano Concerto 2, and Violin Concerto (my personal choice is Symphony 4)

Shostakovich - cases could be made for Symphony 5 or 10 and SQ 8 (my personal choice is Symphony 5)

Bach - so many to choose from but I'll go with the B Minor Mass


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## Couchie

Bach: Mass in B Minor
Beethoven: Symphony no. 9
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Wagner: Tristan & Isolde
Verdi: Otello
Mahler: Symphony 9
Handel: The Messiah
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto no. 3
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6
Chopin: Ballade no. 1


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## starthrower

Bartok-Music For Strings, Percussion, Celesta
Penderecki-St Luke Passion
Lutoslawski-Symphony No.3
Alban Berg-Lulu
Ives-Symphony No.4
Ligeti-Violin Concerto


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## grocklin

Bach - Goldberg Variations. Close call over WTC (too broad in scope) and Mass in b (also too hodgepodge)
Mozart - Marriage of Figaro. Close call over Don Giovanni (most of Mozart isn't actually devilish) and Clarinet Concerto
Beethoven - Symphony 9. Not a close call.
Brahms - Clarinet Quintet. Close call over Symphony 4, chamber music seems more fundamental here.
Schubert - Quintet in C
Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in e
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6
Sibelius - Symphony 7? (A bit of a trap to keep picking composers final symphonies)
Prokofiev - Piano Sonata 8
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto 1. Personal preference there. Quartet 8 would follow, though it feels wrong to dodge the symphonies.


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## Manxfeeder

Jacob Obrecht's Missa Maria Zart is definitely a magnum opus: Brucknerian in length (clocking in at over an hour), intricate in details, and written towards the end of his life (though at the time, he didn't know the Reaper was coming to visit).


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## DavidMahler

peeyaj said:


> *Question*
> 
> In your opinion...
> 
> *
> What do you think is the one work that represents the culmination of artistic achievement and highest musical artistry of a composer/s?*
> 
> 
> 
> Here's my mine:
> 
> *Schubert* > Winterriese (song), the greatest song cycle ever written. Winterriese is the pinnacle of Lieder and has never been surpassed.
> 
> *Beethoven*> String Quartet no. 14 in C sharp Minor (chamber), after hearing the work, Schubert said ''Who else can write after him[/b]
> 
> *Mahler* > Symphony no. 5 (orchestral)
> 
> *Bach* > The Art of Fugue .
> 
> *Mozart* > Don Giovanni (opera)
> 
> *Wagner* > Ring Cycle (opera)
> 
> I'm not familiar with moderm music, and I hope some of our knowledgable members would share what they think is the magnum opus of modern composers.
> 
> What's yours?


No way! I love the 5th, and I know this is just an opinion list, but no


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## brianwalker

Haydn - Opus 76 quartets- this takes the cake. This is easily one of the most underrated set of music in the repertoire, and Haydn at his best.

Verdi - Otello, Falstaff

Berg - Violin Concerto

Shostakovich (I'll get shot for this but here goes nothing) - Jazz Suite, Festive Overture



jalex said:


> His third would win in sheer length, but for scale of conception I'd say #8 takes it.


So Gurrelieder is Schoenberg's Magnum Opus? Schumann's Magnum Opus are to be found in his... symphonies?

The eight is usually considered to be his worst jalex. Haitink called it a "monster" that he doesn't understand.

I can't decide which one I would nominate as Mahler's - the sixth, ninth, or Das Lied.


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## jalex

brianwalker said:


> So Gurrelieder is Schoenberg's Magnum Opus?


No, it isn't a 'mature' work.



> Schumann's Magnum Opus are to be found in his... symphonies?


Presumably he wanted his magnum opus to be Genoveva but that didn't work out. Did you read the Wiki quote in my other post?



> The eight is usually considered to be his worst jalex.


I know, but I don't agree. I think it's better than #3 and #4 at the least, and possibly better than #2 and #7. Then again, my taste in Mahler symphonies seems to be atypical; I think #1 is one of his best and #2 no better than middling.


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## violadude

jalex said:


> No, it isn't a 'mature' work.
> 
> Presumably he wanted his magnum opus to be Genoveva but that didn't work out. Did you read the Wiki quote in my other post?
> 
> I know, but I don't agree. I think it's better than #3 and #4 at the least, and possibly better than #2 and #7. Then again, my taste in Mahler symphonies seems to be atypical; I think #1 is one of his best and #2 no better than middling.


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## jalex

Upon reflection, I think as a whole it's better than #7 as well. Although the interior three movements of #7 are some of the best Mahler wrote, the first is one of the worst things he wrote and the finale isn't spectacular. And it just feels unbalanced.


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## brianwalker

jalex said:


> Upon reflection, I think as a whole it's better than #7 as well. Although the interior three movements of #7 are some of the best Mahler wrote, the first is one of the worst things he wrote and the finale isn't spectacular. And it just feels unbalanced.


Wow, the finale is one of my favorite Mahler movements...


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## DavidMahler

Bach - Matthew Passion

Brahms - Piano Concerto 2

Mahler - 9

Beethoven - Symphony 5

Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6

Schubert - D956

Mozart - Piano Concerto 23

Dvorak - Symphony 9

Elgar - Cello Concerto

Ravel - Daphnis

Debussy - Images for Piano

Schumann - Piano Concerto

Sibelius - 7

Bruckner - 7

Handel - Messiah

Haydn - Creation

Wagner - Tristan

Stravinsky - Le Sacre du Printemps

Bartok - Violin Concerto 2

Mendelssohn - Octet

Shostakovich - Symphony 5

Prokofiev - Symphony 5

Borodin - String Quartet 2

Verdi - Requiem

Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhib

Schoenberg - Gurrelieder

Hindemith - Mathis der Maler

Liszt - Sonata in b

Chopin - Ballade 4

Puccini - La boheme

Berlioz - Fantastique

Saint-Saens - Symphony 3

Barber - Violin Concerto

Faure - Requiem

Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto 2

Copland - Appalachian Spring

Ligeti - Etudes for Piano

Rameau - Suite in a

Strauss - Don quixote


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## elgar's ghost

Mahler's 8 is for me far more 'Magnum' than 'Optimum' - a grand work indeed but not what I'd call a masterpiece.


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## Manxfeeder

I'd say Schoenberg's magnum opus is Moses und Aron. Though it's incomplete, as it is, it is remarkable; the whole piece is based on one tone row, and it combines serialism with sprechstimme and contrasts cold logic with emotionalism.


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## Alberich

Huh. I always liked Beethoven's Third at least as much as the Ninth (quite a bit more, now).


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## TresPicos

Bartok - Concerto for orchestra


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## Op.123

Bach - Goldberg variations, mass in B minor and the well tempered keyboard.
Beethoven - Symphonies Nos 3 & 9, string quartet No. 13 and the late piano sonatas
Brahms - Symphony No. 4 and piano concerto No. 2
Chopin - Piano concerto No. 1 and nocturnes Op. 27
Dvorak - Cello concerto & symphony No. 9
Grieg - Piano concerto and peer gynt suite
Liszt - Piano sonata and piano concerto No. 2
Mendelssohn - Violin concerto and symphony No. 4
Mozart - Symphony No. 40 and piano concerto No. 20
Rachmaninoff - Piano concertos Nos 2 & 3
Saint-Saens - Piano concerto Nos 2 & 5 and symphony No. 3
Schubert - Piano sonata No. 21 and wanderer fantasy
Schumann - fantaisie Op. 17 and piano concerto
Tchaikovsky - Piano concerto No. 1 and symphony No. 6


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## Cosmos

My list agrees with a lot of what other's said

Bach
Beethoven - Symphony 9
Brahms - German Requiem
Bruckner - Symphony 9
Busoni - Fantasia Contrappuntistica
Chopin - The Ballades
Liszt - Sonata in B minor
Mahler - Symphony 5
Mendelssohn - Symphony 5
Mozart - Symphony 41 
Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet
Rachmaninov - All Night Vigil
Ravel - Daphnis et Chloe
Schubert - Winterreise
Scriabin - Sonata 5
R.Strauss - Alpine Symphony (probably a stretch)
Stravinsky - Rite of Spring
and Wagner - The Ring


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## Air

It really depends on how you define "Magnum Opus". The simplest definition is a composer's greatest work, which is fairly straightforward, albeit slightly more subjective (Wagner's _Tristan_ or his _Ring_... and is it fair to classify the latter as one work?). The way I see it used by many music scholars and composers is in such a way that it means a large-scale, usually mature, work that represents the culmination of a composer's artistic career. _Scenes from Goethe's Faust_ can hardly be considered Schumann's greatest work, yet it is often labeled as his "Magnum Opus". Personally, the work doesn't break his top ten for me, and I would even venture the question "why doesn't his Piano Concerto represent the culmination of his artistic career?". But most of the time, these things aren't decided by us, but by the composer, his colleagues, his critics, and his historians, who (by their reckoning) are more able to discern which works composers felt were their "Magnum Opuses" (or Opi... but that doesn't seem right) than us laymen. For example, Prokofiev considered the opera _War and Peace_ to be his "Magnum Opus" and the culmination of his efforts as a composer, but even he would probably be hard pressed to say that it was better written or more important in its respective genre than the third piano concerto, or the war sonatas, or even the fifth symphony. However much I like Bach's _Well-Tempered Clavier_ and _St. Matthew Passion_, can they really be considered "Magnum Opuses" over late masterpieces like the _Mass in B minor_ and _Die Kunst der Fugue_ if we are to go by the second definition? Again, that depends on how you view Bach's career, and the importance of each work within his career. Some composers don't care about writing "Magnum Opuses". And some composers, even Bach perhaps, don't even give the idea of writing one any thought.


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## schuberkovich

The plural of opus is "opera" as it is a neuter noun. That's where the word opera comes from.


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## Kieran

schuberkovich said:


> The plural of opus is "opera" as it is a neuter noun. That's where the word opera comes from.


Okay, so the Magnum Opera is _*Don Giovanni*_ - and that's Mozart's Magnum Opus too. See how simple this all gets?

:tiphat:


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## trazom

wouldn't Beethoven's magnum opus be the Missa Solemnis?

Bach- WTC I and II
Mozart- The Magic Flute (the culmination of his studies in counterpoint and opera)
Brahms- The clarinet quintet
Schubert- Winterreise


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## starry

Air said:


> And some composers, even Bach perhaps, don't even give the idea of writing one any thought.


Probably most composers. And I think it just helps distort the perspective of a composer's work anyway, as if everything is supposed to lead up to one piece.


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## HaydnBearstheClock

Hm, I wouldn't agree with the Nelson mass as Haydn's magnum Opus - it's great of course but the Creation is a more original composition using much more elaborate orchestration and containing a wide spectrum of Haydn's styles.


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## Avey

trazom said:


> wouldn't Beethoven's magnum opus be the Missa Solemnis?


YES! YES, it would!

+ that one heroic piece, _Bonaparte_, or something like that.


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## Celloman

No, _Wellington's Victory_ is OBVIOUSLY his magnum opus. Everyone knows that! :lol:


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## DavidA

Haydn - The Creation
Mozart - the three Da Ponte operas. 
Beethoven - Missa Solemnis or Diabelli variations
Bach - St Matthew
Liszt - Sonata
Handel - Messiah
Schubert - Wintereisse
Schumann - Fantasie
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique


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## HaydnBearstheClock

those who don't have Haydn on their lists are missing out .


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## Op.123

Bach: Mass in B Minor, Well Tempered Keyboard
Beethoven: Symphony 9, Piano Concerto 4
Brahms: Symphony 4, A German Requiem
Chopin: Piano Concerto 1, Fantasy in F Minor
Liszt: Faust Symphony, Piano Concerto 2
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto, Symphony 4
Mozart: Symphony 40, Piano Concerto 20
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto 2, Piano Concerto 3
Schubert: Symphony 8, Symhony 9
Schumann: Piano Concerto, Fantasy in C Major 
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Piano Concerto 1


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## Skilmarilion

My completely subjective take for these five composers:

Tchaikovsky - Symphony #6
Mendelssohn - Symphony #3
Beethoven - Symphony #5
Mozart - Piano Concerto #20
Mahler - Symphony #9


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## hpowders

Haydn, The Creation.
Mozart, String Quintet in g minor.
Beethoven, Missa Solemnis.
Bach, WTC.
Berlioz, Les Troyens.
Schubert, String Quintet in C.
Bruckner, Symphony #8.
Mahler, Symphony #9.
Shostakovich, Symphony #8.
Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet Ballet.
Schumann, Fantasie in C.
Schuman, Symphony #6.
Ives, Concord Piano Sonata.
Tchaikovsky, Sleeping Beauty Ballet.


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## QuietGuy

I agree with composers/works so far.

To this I'd add:

Copland: Appalachian Spring
Debussy: Afternoon of a Faun
Griffes: Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan


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## Roi N

D. Scarlatti - K. 490 Sonata 'Cantabile' in D Major (A truely unbelieveable yet somehow unknown piece)
G.F Handel - Julius Caesar (By far the best Baroque opera)
J.S Bach - 'The Well-Tempered Clavier' (Seems as if he ment it to sum up everything, using every key twice...)
Franz Joseph Haydn - The London Symphonies (The best set of symphonies to ever be composed)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - 41st Symphony (That Fugue, am I right?), 22nd Piano Concerto
Beethoven - 5th symphony (The second movement is the best slow movement in existence)
Mendelssohn - String Octet in E-Flat Major (I know it's an early piece, but it's a peak not him nor any other composer would reach again).
Brahms - Orchestral Variations on a theme by Haydn (Show me a better set of variations then that please)
Tchaikovsky - String Serenade (Constructing the entire finale on the introduction of the 1st movement? And then revealing it in the most clever of ways? Yes, it is the peak of string serenades as a whole)


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## hpowders

Agree on Handel and Bach.


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## Op.123

Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Schumann: Piano Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Puccini: Madama Butterfly
Mozart: Symphony No. 40
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21
Dvorak: Symphony No. 4/8
Verdi: Requiem
Faure: Requiem
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Frank: Symphonic Variations
Grieg: Piano Concerto
Liszt: Piano Sonata
Chopin: Fantasy in F Minor
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto No. 2
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
Bach: Goldberg Variations
Handel: Messiah
Haydn: Symphony No. 99
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No. 2
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Mahler: Symphony No. 2
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Stravinsky: Sacre du Printemps
Berg: Violin Concerto
Schoenberg: Piano Concerto
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Ravel: Piano Concerto for Left Hand
Korsakov: Scheherazade
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
Paganini: Caprices
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
Copland: Appalachian of Spring
Debussy: Preludes


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## hpowders

FJ Haydn, The Creation.

You can take this one to the bank.


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## Dustin

Mozart - The Magic Flute
Beethoven - String Quartet 14, Op 131
Schubert - String Quintet
Bach - WTC
Brahms - Clarinet Quintet
Chopin - Barcarolle
Haydn - Op 76 Quartets (Couldn't pick one but the first is as good as any)
Handel - Messiah (Its popularity doesn't affect my opinion of it at all, it's simply unreal. I think it was Beethoven who also was described as marveling in awe over it and praising it on his deathbed)


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## Morimur

K. Stockhausen: Licht (Opera Cycle)


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## Murray

Beethoven's Opus 97 trio; each listening and every performance brings more from the music. Among the highest achievements of the human intellect.


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## hpowders

For Beethoven, I would say either the 4th Piano Concerto or A Minor Quartet, the latter is more Brahmsian in parts than Brahms.


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## hpowders

For Brahms, it's the fourth symphony.


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## hpowders

For Prokofiev, it's Romeo and Juliet.


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## Guest

Mozart - K299, K361, K364, K466, K467, K525, K550, K551, K595, K622
Bach - Brandenburg Concertos
Handel - Concerti Grossi, Op. 6
Vivaldi - "Il Cimento Dell'Armonia E Dell'Inventione", Op. 8
Beethoven - Symphony 7
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6
Dvorak - Symphony 9
Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Schubert - "Trout"
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring


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## Op.123

Time to revive this thread xD

Albéniz - Iberia
Allegri - Miserere 
Alwyn - Lyra Angelica 
Bach- Mass in B Minor
Barber - Violin Concerto
Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Beethoven - Symphony #9
Bellini - Norma
Berg - Wozzeck 
Berlioz - Les Troyens
Bizet - Carmen
Borodin - Symphony #2
Brahms - Symphony #4
Britten - War Requiem
Bruch - Scottish Fantasy
Bruckner - Symphony #8
Chausson - Poème de L'amour et de la Mer
Cherubini - Medea
Chopin - Fantasy in F Minor
Copland - Appalachian Spring
Debussy - La Mer
Delibes - Lakme
Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor 
Dvorak - Cello Concerto
Elgar - Cello Concerto
Falla - Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Faure - Requiem
Franck - Symphony in D Minor
Gershwin - Porgy and Bess
Giordano - Andrea Chenier 
Glazunov - The Seasons
Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice
Gorecki - Symphony #3
Gounod - Faust
Grieg - Piano Concerto
Handel - Giulio Cesare 
Haydn - The Creation
Holst - The Planets
Janacek - Jenufa
Korngold - Die Tote Stadt
Leoncavallo - I pagliacci 
Ligeti - Etudes
Liszt - Piano Sonata
Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
Massenet - Thais
Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto
Messiaen - Quartet for the End of Time
Monteverdi - Vespers
Mozart - Don Giovanni
Mussorgsky - Boris Godunov 
Myaskovsky - Cello Concerto
Nielsen - Symphony #5
Poulenc - Gloria
Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet
Puccini - Tosca
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto #2
Ravel - Daphnis et Chloe
Respighi - Fountains of Rome
Rimsky-Korakov - Scheherezade
Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia 
Saint-Saens - Symphony #3
Schoenberg - Moses und Aaron
Schubert - Winterreise 
Schumann - Piano Concerto
Shostakovich - Symphony #5
Sibelius - Violin Concerto
Strauss, R - Four Last Songs
Stravinsky - Rite of Spring
Tchaikovsky - Symphony #6
Verdi - La Traviata
Vivaldi - The Four Seasons
Wagner Tristan und Isolde
Weber - Clarinet Concertos


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## mathisdermaler

Erik Satie - Sports et divertissements OR Socrate (as another member suggested)

Berio - Sinfonia

John Cage - Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano

Stockhausen - Gesang der Junglinge OR Licht opera cycle

Bruckner - Symphony No. 8


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## hpowders

Ives Concord Piano Sonata

Beethoven Hammerklavier Piano Sonata

Brahms Fourth Symphony

Mozart Don Giovanni

Bach Well Tempered Clavier

Schumann Kreisleriana

Mahler Eighth Symphony

Schoenberg Gurrelieder

Schuman Sixth Symphony 

Mennin Seventh Symphony

Persichetti 12 Piano Sonatas

Handel Jephtha

Tchaikovsky Piano Trio

Gershwin Porgy and Bess

Ravel Daphnis et Chloe

Debussy Etudes for Piano

Chopin Mazurkas

Wagner Götterdämmerung

Berlioz Les Troyens

Verdi Requiem

Britten Peter Grimes

Puccini Tosca


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## Woodduck

A great composer can be expected to reach his highest level more than once and thus have no "magnum opus" as defined in the OP. But if "magnum" implies "big and impressive," there are some obvious choices. Myself, I tend to prefer works that are less "magnum," more subtle and intimate, and often feel that such works embody more profound thoughts and represent finer achievements. In many cases a magnum opus may clearly be a composer's most profound or moving work, but I frequently feel that it isn't. Examples:

Haydn - The Creation vs. the string quartets.
Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro or Don Giovanni vs. the string quintets.
Beethoven - Symphony #9 or Missa Solemnis vs. the late quartets and piano sonatas.
Brahms - Symphony #4 vs. the chamber music for piano, or clarinet, and strings.
Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen vs. Parsifal.
Mahler - Symphony #8 vs. Das Lied von der Erde.


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## Bulldog

Some of my choices:

Bach - Well Tempered Clavier
Beethoven - Choral Samphony
Dvorak - Dumky Piano Trio
Haydn - The Creation
Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
Ravel - Gaspard de la nuit
Shostakovich - Preludes and Fugues, op. 87
Wagner - Der Ring....


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## DaveM

Woodduck said:


> A great composer can be expected to reach his highest level more than once and thus have no "magnum opus" as defined in the OP. But if "magnum" implies "big and impressive," there are some obvious choices. Myself, I tend to prefer works that are less "magnum," more subtle and intimate, and often feel that such works embody more profound thoughts and represent finer achievements. In many cases a magnum opus may clearly be a composer's most profound or moving work, but I frequently feel that it isn't. Examples:
> 
> Haydn - The Creation vs. the string quartets.
> Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro or Don Giovanni vs. the string quintets.
> Beethoven - Symphony #9 or Missa Solemnis vs. the late quartets and piano sonatas.
> Brahms - Symphony #4 vs. the chamber music for piano, or clarinet, and strings.
> Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen vs. Parsifal.
> Mahler - Symphony #8 vs. Das Lied von der Erde.


I see where you're going, but there are some pretty subtle and intimate moments in Figaro:


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## Woodduck

DaveM said:


> I see where you're going, but there are some pretty subtle and intimate moments in Figaro:


Yeah, but then there's the rest of it (not to knock it, of course)! For some reason that "Contessa, perdono," lovely as it is, doesn't send me to heaven as it seems to send others. Maybe I just don't believe the jerk, and recognize that forgiving him (for now) is more or less a forced option for a woman in her position. In any case there's richer and more subtle musical thinking in some of Mozart's other works.


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## Pugg

Bellini: Norma
Donizetti: Lucia di lammermoor.
Verdi: La Travaiata.
Rosdini : Semiramide
Puccini : Tosca.


Beethoven: Egmont complete
Mozart: Grand Partita.
Mahler: Symphony 8 .
Will do for starters.


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## christomacin

grocklin said:


> Sibelius - Symphony 7? (A bit of a trap to keep picking composers final symphonies)


The tone poem Tapiola (his last major work) in many ways took the procedures of the Symphony No. 7 even further - to their logical conclusions, in fact.


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## Woodduck

christomacin said:


> The tone poem Tapiola (his last major work) in many ways took the procedures of the Symphony No. 7 even further - to their logical conclusions, in fact.


_Tapiola_ may take Sibelius's drive toward formal unification to its extreme point, but surely the piece lacks the emotional range of the 7th, which seems much more of a summation of the different aspects of the composer's nature. _Tapiola_ is magical and impressive, but more of a tour de force: not a profound reflection on life, but a fragment of it magnified to terrifying intensity.


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## billeames

I see that Beethoven has a lot of 9th's, but I say and its is documented in one of his biographies say that the Missa Solemnis is Magnum which I think is beyond the 9th in creativity. Beethoven was 48 when he composed the Missa. 
Bach: Mass b minore. Arguable, as Saint Matthew (John too) and Art of Fuge are super great too.
Beethoven Missa Solemnis 
Bruckner Symph 8 or 9 TeDeum is terse but a possibility.
Berlioz Requiem. Playing in Seattle Nov 9, 11!! 2017.
Mahler 9th. (I think the 8 is great in contrast to what others think)
Mozart Don Giovanni as most posters say. Mass in c minore possible. Requiem too.
Prokofiev 5th symphony in my opinion. Possible Romeo Juliet.
Wagner Ring. Tristan is an interesting choice, but the unity of the Ring is compelling. 

Ones I have not commented on, I am not sure which work may be Magnum. Beethoven late quartets + sonatas would be interesting choice but I have not listened enough to know. 

Bill


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## eric1

Bach: B Minor Mass
Handel: Messiah
Mozart: Figaro
Haydn: London symphonies 
Beethoven: Symphony 9
Schubert: String Quintet
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Chopin: nocturnes 
Wagner: Ring
Verdi: Requiem
Brahms: Symphony 4
Dvorak: Symphony 7
Tchaikovsky: symphony 6
Puccini: La Boheme
Mahler: Symphony 2
Rachmaninov: piano concerto 2
Stravinsky: Rite of Spring
Shostakovich: symphony 5
Strauss: 4 last songs
Vaughan Williams: symphony 5


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## Fabulin

Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov
Borodin: Prince Igor
Lalo: Le Roi d'Ys
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 / Symphony No. 6
Kalinnikov: Bylina / Symphony No. 1
Scriabin: Mysterium
Respighi: The Roman Trilogy
Korngold: Violin Concerto
Khachaturian: Gayane
Rózsa: Ben Hur
Herrmann: Wuthering Heights
Williams: The Star Wars Saga


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## Allegro Con Brio

The composers I listen to most regularly (plus other major ones that may not be among my favorites), the works that I believe represent the pinnacle of their unique styles and voices:

Vivaldi - Stabat Mater
Handel - Solomon (sleeper pick!)
Bach - St. Matthew Passion
Haydn - Nelson Mass
Mozart - Last three symphonies
Beethoven - Late string quartets
Schubert - String Quintet
Mendelssohn - Scottish Symphony

Berlioz - Requiem
Schumann - Fantasie in C
Chopin - Barcarolle
Liszt - B Minor Sonata
Brahms - Piano Quintet
Wagner - Gotterdämmerung
Bruckner - Symphony No. 8
Dvorak - Stabat Mater

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6
Faure - Requiem
Mahler - Symphony No. 9
Strauss - Four Last Songs
Debussy - Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit
Puccini - Turandot

Elgar - Symphony No. 2
Rachmaninoff - All-Night Vigil
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 5
Britten - Peter Grimes
Ives - Concord Sonata
Stravinsky - Threni
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7
Nielsen - Symphony No. 5

Schoenberg - Moses und Aron
Berg - Violin Concerto
Webern - Symphony
Bartok - Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Shostakovich - String quartets (cheating)
Prokofiev - Three War Sonatas
Messiaen - Les corps glorieux


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## Edward Elgar

Albéniz - Iberia
J.S. Bach - Well Tempered Clavier
Beethoven - Ninth Symphony
Berg - Violin Concerto
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
Brahms - Third Symphony
Copland - Appalachian Spring
Dvorak - Ninth Symphony
Elgar - Enigma Variations
Falla - Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Granados - Goyescas
Grieg - Piano Concerto
Handel - Water Music
Holst - The Planets
Liszt - Piano Sonata
Mahler - Fifth Symphony
Mozart - Don Giovanni
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet
Puccini - La Boheme
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Rimsky-Korakov - Scheherezade
Saint-Saens - Third Symphony
Schubert - Second Piano Trio
Robert Schumann - Piano Concerto
Clara Schumann - Piano Trio
Shostakovich - Fifth Symphony
Sibelius - Fifth Symphony
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake
Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Verdi - La Traviata
Vivaldi - The Four Seasons


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