# Symphony Recommendations



## Gray Bean

An acquaintance of mine (who knows of my love of classical music) recently asked me to recommend 14 symphonies as a way to begin listening to classical music. He has never been a classical music listener. I don’t know why he chose the number 14. Any suggestions?


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## Ekim the Insubordinate

Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Beethoven Symphony No. 9
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6
Mozart Symphony No. 40
Beethoven Symphony No. 3
Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Beethoven Symphony No. 6
Schubert Symphony No. 9
Dvorak Symphony No. 9
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2
Mahler Symphony No. 2
Haydn Symphony No. 104
Mozart Symphony No. 35
Mozart Symphony No. 41


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## leonsm

Based on my own experience, here 14 symphonies I enjoyed the most in the beginning of my journey through classical music:

Beethoven - no. 5 and 9
Brahms - no. 3 and 4
Dvorak - no. 9
Haydn - no. 103 and 104
Mendelssohn - no. 3 and 4
Mozart - no. 40 and 41
Saint-Saens - no. 3
Schubert - no. 8 ("Unfinished Symphony")
Tchaikovsky - no. 6

Some others that may be good door openers:

Atterberg - no. 6
Brahms - no. 1
Beethoven - no. 3
Dvorak - no. 7
Elgar - no. 1
Kalinnikov - no. 1
Mahler - no. 2
Prokofiev - no. 1
Sibelius - no. 2 and 5
Tchaikovsky - no. 4


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## Strange Magic

Mozart Symphony 41
Beethoven Symphony 3
Schumann Symphony 1
Brahms Symphony 1
Tchaikovsky Symphony 4
Rimsky-Korsakov "Antar" Symphony
Saint-Saëns Symphony 3
d'Indy Symphony on a French Mountain Air
Rachmaninoff Symphony 2
Prokofiev Symphony 3
Sibelius Symphony 2
Shostakovich Symphony 5
Vaughan Williams Symphony 5
Martinů Symphony 1

A spectrum of symphonies across time and space and styles to whet the appetite and show a bit of the range.....


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## Bulldog

Beethoven 6th and 9th
Brahms 4th
Chausson Symphony
Haydn 82nd "The Bear" and 104th
Mahler 4th
Nielsen 3rd
Pettersson 7th
Prokofiev 5th
Saint-Saens 3rd "Organ"
Shostakovich 9th and 10th
Sibelius 7th

Rats! I forgot about the Berlioz "Fantastique". It takes the place of the Sibelius.


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## Art Rock

Based on my own experience (mid 1980s), one per composer:

Beethoven 6
Berlioz 'Fantastique'
Bruckner 4
Dvorak 9
Mahler 4
Mendelssohn 4
Mozart 40
Rachmaninoff 2
Saint-Saens 3
Schubert 8
Schumann 3
Shostakovich 10
Sibelius 2
Tchaikovsky 6


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## Allegro Con Brio

Mozart 41
Beethoven 5
Beethoven 6
Berlioz Fantastique
Mendelssohn 4
Brahms 3
Bruckner 7
Dvorak 9
Mahler 2
Tchaikovsky 6
Saint-Saens 3
Sibelius 7
Shostakovich 5

And I feel like your friend might appreciate one “out-of-the-box” choice for the 14th pick, so I say either Martinu 6 or Balakirev 1!


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## D Smith

Beethoven 5
Beethoven 6
Brahms 2
Copland 3
Dvorak 8
Dvorak 9
Mendelssohn 3
Mozart 40
Schubert 8
Schubert 9
Schumann 3
Sibelius 5
Shostakovich 5
Tchaikovsky 5


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## Brahmsian Colors

Beethoven 9
Brahms 2
Brahms 4
Bruckner 7
Dvorak 8
Dvokak 9
Haydn 31
Mahler 1
Mendelssohn 4
Mozart 41
Rachmaninoff 2
Sibelius 5
Tchaikovsky 5
Vaughan Williams 5


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## howlingfantods

i'd assume that like most non-classical fans, your friend doesn't know the difference between symphony and other large orchestral works, so i'd include some tone poems, ballet, and film music. choices below picked for fun and entertainment more than anything else, since this is for a new listener:

beethoven 5
bruckner 9
dvorak 9
kodaly hary janos suite
liszt les preludes
mahler 2
mussorgsky/ravel pictures
prokofiev alexander nevsky
rachmaninov isle of the dead
ravel bolero
rimsky korsakov scheherazade
sibelius kullervo
smetana die moldau
stravinsky rite of spring



i think the beethoven 5th is the no-brainer beethoven pick--since everyone knows the initial motif so well, it functions as a lesson in thematic development in large scale forms. i think non classical fans would find rite, nevsky, les preludes, mahler 2 and bruckner 9 metal as hell, and bolero and scheherazade are fun exoticisms. pictures, hary janos, kullervo are vivid storytelling, and isle of the dead in case your friend has a bit of a goth streak.


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## UniversalTuringMachine

The uninitiated has a easier time to understand symphonies that

1) has many catchy melodies
2) has not too adventurous harmonic language
3) has great orchestration
4) has exciting sense of (regular) pulse
5) is popular

So I recommend:
Beethoven 5
Beethoven 9
Berlioz Symphony Fantastique
Bruckner 4
Mendelssohn 4
Schumann 3
Mahler 1
Shostakovich 5
Dvorak 9
Mozart 40
Rachmaninoff 2
Sibelius 2
Tchaikovsky 6


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## realdealblues

I picked 14 separate composers just to show a range of different styles but also went with works that I felt starting out were easiest to get into.

Mozart 40
Beethoven 5
Dvorak 9
Brahms 3
Haydn 104
Sibelius 1
Mendelssohn 1
Mahler 1
Tchaikovsky 6
Saint-Saens 3
Prokofiev 5
Shostakovich 10
Schubert 8
Rachmaninoff 2


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## StDior

Recommended 14 symphonies:

A. Listened to my heart - my favorite 14
Shostakovich 5
Schubert 8, 9
Mahler 2, 6, 7, 8
Haydn 88, 97, 104
Beethoven 3, 5, 6, 9

B. Listened to my mind - max. 2 symphonies per composer
Tchaikovsky 6
Shostakovich 5
Schubert 8, 9
Mozart 40
Mahler 2, 6
Haydn 88, 104
Brahms 1, 4
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
Beethoven 5, 9


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## mbhaub

Personally, I would never recommend symphonies as a way to enter the CM world. Sometimes novices use the term "symphony" quite loosely. I'd go for shorter, lighter things like Hungarian Rhapsody 2, the Moldau, 1812 overture, Espana and such. But, if it's really symphonies, go for lighter, tuneful, exciting stuff:

1. Tchaikovsky no. 2
2. Kalinnikov no. 1
3. Beethoven no. 5
4. Schubert no. 8
5. Dvorak no. 9
6. Beach "Gaelic"
7. Brahms no. 1
8. Schumann no. 2
9. Mendelssohn no. 4
10. Saint-Saens no. 3
11. Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
12. Tchaikovsky no. 5
13. Prokofiev no. 7
14. Shostakovich no. 9


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## Enthusiast

^ I half agree. I also feel that symphonies and only symphonies is a poor way to introduce someone to classical music. For a start it misses out the Baroque and much essential modern music. But I do feel that quite major works - taken slowly, one at a time - are the best way to go. I also feel that a long list (14 works) is probably not a good idea - better to follow lines from works that have been particularly enjoyed - unless it is deliberately a mixed bag allowing the friend to sample some of the wonderful variety that is classical music. This said, I would include a Mozart mature symphony or two; two or three Beethoven symphonies (the Eroica, the Pastoral and the 7th?); Dvorak's New World; Tchaikovsky's 5th; Schubert's Great; Prokofiev's 5th and Shostakovich's 5th. 

I am mindful of my various ways of trying to respond to a request from my daughter for some classical works she might enjoy. It turned out that she became symphony-phobic (after my recommendation that she tried Beethoven's 5th!) but developed a love for lots of Brahms and Debussy (and some Beethoven) chamber music and for Bartok's and Prokofiev's piano concertos and has gone on from these. These are not the works I would have expected a novice to warm to first. She still avoids symphonies.


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## Brahmsianhorn

Beethoven 3 - Klemperer stereo
Beethoven 5 - Kleiber
Beethoven 9 - Fricsay
Berlioz Symphonie fantastique - Beecham
Brahms 3 - Abbado
Brahms 4 - Kleiber
Bruckner 8 - Karajan
Dvorak 9 - Kubelik
Mahler 9 - Karajan
Mozart 40 - Bernstein
Schubert 8 - Sinopoli
Shostakovich 5 - Bernstein Sony
Sibelius 2 - Barbirolli
Tchaikovsky 6 - Mravinsky stereo


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## Joachim Raff

I would not recommend any symphonies. I would recommend a compilation album including short familiar tunes. EMI did some very good ones called ' Classic Experience' some years ago. Great way to get into classic music.


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## Enthusiast

^ That might work for some but if anyone had done that with me I don't think I would ever have loved classical music! Getting the whole work - whether it be miniature or a grand opera - has always (including as a child novice) been a very important part of the experience for me.


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## Ekim the Insubordinate

Joachim Raff said:


> I would not recommend any symphonies. I would recommend a compilation album including short familiar tunes. EMI did some very good ones called ' Classic Experience' some years ago. Great way to get into classic music.


I disagree. If the person wants symphony recommendations, give them symphony recommendations. Maybe don't start with a massive, lengthy symphony that stretches over an hour. But give them something pleasant by Mozart or Haydn, or even hook them with Beethoven's 5th, that they probably already partly know, and show them how much more there is beyond those opening 8 chords.


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## Joachim Raff

Ekim the Insubordinate said:


> I disagree. If the person wants symphony recommendations, give them symphony recommendations. Maybe don't start with a massive, lengthy symphony that stretches over an hour. But give them something pleasant by Mozart or Haydn, or even hook them with Beethoven's 5th, that they probably already partly know, and show them how much more there is beyond those opening 8 chords.


Some folk starting off, think every piece of classical music is a symphony. Giving him some of the quoted recommendations is totally unreasonable. I don't even listen to some these taxing pieces and I'm no 'spring chicken'


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## Ekim the Insubordinate

They can certainly explain it to the individual upon giving them the recommendations. Like I said, they could start with a Haydn symphony. Or just explain that, for symphonies, in many cases it is like listening to a whole album - the entire work is context, although individual movements can certainly be enjoyed.

The "best of" compilations are what kept me from truly enjoying classical music for so long.


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## Bulldog

Ekim the Insubordinate said:


> The "best of" compilations are what kept me from truly enjoying classical music for so long.


I've always thought that "best of" compilations were for folks with attention deficit disorder.


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## Brahmsianhorn

My classical starter kit, in order, is:

Pachelbel, Canon/Baroque favorites - Munchinger (Decca Ovation)
Beethoven, Symphonies Nos 5 & 7 - Kleiber
Mozart, Piano concertos Nos. 20, 23, 24, 27 - Curzon
Vivaldi, Four Seasons - Marriner
Beethoven, Piano sonatas Nos. 8, 14, 23 - Rubinstein
Mozart, Requiem - Marriner
Tchaikovsky, Ballet suites - Rostropovich
Bach, Cello suites - Fournier
Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 - Fricsay
Schubert, Death and the Maiden quartet - Italian Quartet
Brahms, Violin concerto - Perlman/Giulini
Chopin, selections - Rubinstein
Debussy/Ravel, String quartets - Melos Quartet
Stravinsky, Rite of spring/Petrushka - Dorati (Decca)
Bach, Brandenburg concertos - Britten
Handel, Messiah - Pinnock
Rachmaninoff, Piano concertos Nos. 2 & 3 - Janis/Dorati
Puccini, Tosca - Callas/De Sabata
Tchaikovsky, 1812 overture - Dorati (Mercury)
Dvorak, Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 - Kubelik
Wagner, Orchestral music - Karajan (EMI)
Verdi, Requiem - Giulini
Bach, Goldberg variations - Gould (1981)
Tchaikovsky, Symphonies Nos. 4-6 - Mravinsky
Haydn, String quartets, Op. 76 - Lindsay Quartet
Mozart, Symphonies Nos. 40 & 41 - Bernstein
Beethoven, Emperor concerto - Fleisher/Szell
Bach, Organ works - Walcha (DG Double)
Ravel, Bolero/Debussy, La mer, prelude a l'apres-midi - Karajan
Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 - Klemperer (stereo)
Mozart, Die Zauberflote - Fricsay
Schubert, Piano sonata No. 21 - Kovacevich
Mendelssohn, Violin concerto - Zukerman/Bernstein
Monteverdi, Vespers of 1610 - Gardiner
Brahms, Symphony No. 3 - Abbado
Gershwin, Rhapsody in blue, An American in Paris - Bernstein (Sony)
Mahler, Symphony No. 9 - Karajan
Bach, Well-temperered Clavier - Richter
Orff, Carmina burana - Jochum
Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique - Beecham
Sibelius, Violin concerto - Heifetz/Hendl
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 - Bernstein (Sony)
Mozart, Don Giovanni - Siepi/Krips
Bach, St Matthew Passion - Jochum
Beethoven, Violin concerto - Perlman/Giulini
Rossini, Overtures - Reiner
Brahms, Piano concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Gilels/Jochum
Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade - Kondrashin
Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 - Walter
Liszt, Piano sonata - Curzon
R. Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra
Schubert, Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 - Krips
Grieg, Peer gynt suites/Sibelius, Finlandia - Karajan
Holst, The Planets - Dutoit
Schumann, Dichterliebe/Schubert, Lieder - Wunderlich
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition - Reiner
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde - Flagstad/Furtwangler
Beethoven, Late string quartets - Takacs Quartet
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8 - Karajan
Allegri, Miserere/Palestrina, Missa Papae Marcelli - Tallis Scholars
Handel, Water music, Music for Royal Fireworks - Kubelik
Bach, violin concertos - Grumiaux/Krebbers
Bartok, Concerto for orchestra - Reiner
Schubert, Trout quintet - Curzon/Vienna Octet
Tchaikovsky, Piano concerto No. 1 - Argerich/Dutoit
R. Strauss, Four last songs - Schwarzkopf/Szell
Bach, Violin sonatas & partitas - Milstein (EMI)
Verdi, La Traviata - Carteri/Monteux
J. Strauss, Waltzes - Boskovsky
Brahms, Requiem - Gardiner
Bizet, Carmen - De Los Angeles/Beecham
Haydn, London symphonies - Jochum
Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet - Maazel
Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen - Bohm

.


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## Joachim Raff

Bulldog said:


> I've always thought that "best of" compilations were for folks with attention deficit disorder.


That's a rather snobbish comment. My friend you are better than that.


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## Bulldog

Joachim Raff said:


> That's a rather snobbish comment. My friend you are better than that.


There was a humorous element to my comment, but I get your point. My apologies.


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## MarkW

Fourteen symphonies for CM beginners:

Prokofiev: "Classical" (no.1)
Mozart: "Haffner" (no. 35)
Beethoven: 3
Schumann: 3
Mendelssohn: 3
Brahms: 1
Haydn: "Clock" (whatever the number)
Mahler: 5
Tchaikovsky: 4
Berlioz" Fantastique
Beethoven: 1
Beethoven: 6
Mozart: "Jupiter" (41)
Mahler: 4
Dvorak: 9


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## Strange Magic

I find some of these symphony lists somewhat lacking in a willingness to take a chance on the adaptability or openness to fresh sounds of a new listener to CM. Too conservative. One of the first symphonies I heard was the Shostakovich 5th, with Bernstein, and it blew me away with its raw searing energy, angst, darkness. I would like to see more variety sprinkled into the suggestions that move beyond so many of the "usual suspects" and present a more varied palette of symphonic musical colors.


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## Gray Bean

Thanks to everyone who posted. I enjoyed your lists and comments! Brahmsianhorn, you listed many of the recorded gems in my library!
Here is what I suggested, for better or worse:
Haydn Military Symphony
Mozart 40
Beethoven 5
Schubert Unfinished
Schumann 3
Mendelssohn 4
Brahms 1
Tchaikovsky 4
Dvorak 9
Saint Saens 3
Mahler 1
Bruckner 4
Rachmaninov 2
Shostakovich 5


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## Simplicissimus

I’ve been thinking about how to make these recommendations, and I settled on an approach in which both era and individual signal composers are represented. I think that getting into classical music, and the symphonic repertoire specifically, involves becoming “socialized” so that one can in the first instance communicate with other CM enthusiasts about well-known works. This communication usually leads to branching out and discovering more works by the members of one’s basic “vocabulary” of symphonic composers, as well as works by other composers from the eras having the most subjective appeal.

So, roughly in order from late Baroque to Classical to Romantic to Modern, with only one work per composer:

C.P.E. Bach – Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Wq. 183/(1-4)
Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 100 in G Major “Military”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 “Jupiter”
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 “Pastoral”
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy – Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 “Scottish”
Hector Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major “Romantic”
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
Antonin Dvořák – Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 “From the New World”
Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 2 in C Minor “Resurrection”
Edward Elgar – Symphony No. 1
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 5 in D
Charles Ives – Symphony No. 3 “The Camp Meeting”
Paul Hindemith – Symphony “Mathis der Maler”


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## howlingfantods

Strange Magic said:


> I find some of these symphony lists somewhat lacking in a willingness to take a chance on the adaptability or openness to fresh sounds of a new listener to CM. Too conservative. One of the first symphonies I heard was the Shostakovich 5th, with Bernstein, and it blew me away with its raw searing energy, angst, darkness. I would like to see more variety sprinkled into the suggestions that move beyond so many of the "usual suspects" and present a more varied palette of symphonic musical colors.


yeah, i agree with this. i personally went backwards, starting with avant composers like part, penderecki, and reich, then shostakovich, bartok and mahler, and only after that found myself going back and listening to earlier composers. And in terms of harmony and rhythm, most serious non-classical music fans are probably closer to speaking the language of early stravinsky than the language of mozart.


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## juliante

I'm surprised how many people suggest Symphony phantastique. I suggest that this wonderful piece is likely to be impenetrable to most newbies. If just the last movement that's another matter.


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## Enthusiast

^ I fell in love with it as perhaps my 20th piece of classical music (and as a child). What is difficult about it?


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## Art Rock

juliante said:


> I'm surprised how many people suggest Symphony phantastique. I suggest that this wonderful piece is likely to be impenetrable to most newbies. If just the last movement that's another matter.


It was one of my first 10 classical music CD's and I was hooked straight away.


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## leonsm

juliante said:


> I'm surprised how many people suggest Symphony phantastique. I suggest that this wonderful piece is likely to be impenetrable to most newbies. If just the last movement that's another matter.


I have the same experience with it, only after several listening along a couple of years I started to enjoy it.


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## CnC Bartok

leonsm said:


> I have the same experience with it, only after several listening along a couple of years I started to enjoy it.


Same experience here!!

I'm struggling to find anything wrong with any of these lists, though.


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## Allegro Con Brio

leonsm said:


> I have the same experience with it, only after several listening along a couple of years I started to enjoy it.


I still don't like it as much as many, but I've come to enjoy it a bit more. The barrier was due to finding the first and third movements dull, which I still do, especially that long Adagio. Also, I wish Berlioz would have come up with an "idee fixe" melody that was more memorable, because I can never remember what it sounds like to trace its reappearances throughout the symphony. I still don't think I've found _the_ performance for me - I've enjoyed Beecham, Paray, Davis, Gardiner in their own unique ways but they all seem like they're missing that little something to convince me that it is a masterpiece.


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## gvn

CnC Bartok said:


> I'm struggling to find anything wrong with any of these lists, though.


My feelings precisely!

The _Symphonie fantastique_ certainly does provoke disparate reactions. (Isn't that exactly what Berlioz wanted it to do?) I first heard it as a child, aged 6 or 7, and LOVED it--in fact, it was almost certainly the first symphony I really loved! To this day, the hairs rise on the back of my neck whenever I hear its opening bars. But that's an extreme response. So, would you try it on a neophyte? I'd say "Yes, if the said neophyte seems aurally adventurous--not otherwise."

As for the question of trying something near-contemporary, I'd say much the same.

50 years ago, many listeners were attracted to classical music by Berio's _Sinfonia_. I too, and many others, thought it a work of wonderful innovative genius--we expected that Berio would follow it with a whole life's output of amazing, unimaginably inventive, mind-expanding masterpieces. Returning to it now... ah well, I can hear exactly why that didn't happen.

But there may be some current equivalent--something that would suggest to a present-day neophyte that the symphony is capable of brilliant new developments. What might that be? Rautavaara 7 or 8, perhaps? Or just possibly Pärt 3??? (After all, he's the most frequently played living "classical" composer.)


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## Eclectic Al

The first piece of classical music which I listened to (in the sense of sitting there and listening to it) was Sibelius Number 1.
I reckon that all of his numbered symphonies (except number 4) are both highly accessible and great music. (Number 4 is great music, but on accessibility - not so much.)

I very much found that the symphonies I got into most easily were in the late-19th/early 20th era, and not "difficult". I'm thinking of pieces like Tchaikovsky 4, Rachmaninov 2, Shostakovich 5, Prokofiev 5, VW 2 and if you indulge me on definition pieces like Debussy's La Mer or Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. I then found Brahms 3 and 4 accessible, Beethoven later. Most recently I've got into Haydn in a big way.

Apologies that I have not read the thread in detail, but from my perspective it was Sibelius, followed by tuneful romantics and other early 20th century, and then a gradual journey backwards in time.

Starting with Beethoven would not have done it for me.


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## Coach G

I'm a few days late, but will offer my ideas on the subject just for the sake of lively discussion.

I don't think the novice need be concerned with a gradual approach, be it in terms of chronology or level of "difficulty". With almost no background in classical music, I gravitated very early on as a teenager to the symphonies of Beethoven and Shostakovich. Something about a very confused and lonely adolescence and young adulthood made me identify with Shostakovich's sad, sarcastic, and brooding tone. I also liked Sibelius' _Symphony #2_, Nielsen's _Symphony #3 "Sinfonia Espansiva"_, Hovhaness' _Symphony # 19 "Vishnu"_ and _Symphony #4_ by Ives. In those days, the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart mostly bored me. It was much later in life, during a more stable and satisfying middle age, that I began to enjoy Haydn and Mozart as fresh, beautiful and balanced.


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## Coach G

Gray Bean said:


> An acquaintance of mine (who knows of my love of classical music) recently asked me to recommend 14 symphonies as a way to begin listening to classical music. He has never been a classical music listener. I don't know why he chose the number 14. Any suggestions?


I'm a big believer that the art of teaching, at least in teaching anything having to do with the humanities, is as much a matter of teaching people how to love the subject. You say that you have a "love" for classical music, so if I were you I would share _your_ favorite symphonies with your friend, whatever they may be, and tell him (or her?) why you like it so much. Once a student learns how to love art, music, poetry, architecture, etc, then they can decide what they like and don't like, and learn the technical side of it later on their own.


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## JAS

I once made a sampler tape for someone to take on a long car trip, and included Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice, thinking that it would be familiar (being in Fantasia). She later told me that she liked everything except "That Devil music," which I eventually worked out was the Dukas piece.


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## BlackAdderLXX

This thread is a good read. I'm subscribing to keep it as a to do list. Lots of great suggestions here. I'm one of those new(er) listeners that love symphonies.



juliante said:


> I'm surprised how many people suggest Symphony phantastique. I suggest that this wonderful piece is likely to be impenetrable to most newbies. If just the last movement that's another matter.





leonsm said:


> I have the same experience with it, only after several listening along a couple of years I started to enjoy it.





CnC Bartok said:


> Same experience here!!
> 
> I'm struggling to find anything wrong with any of these lists, though.


Agreed. I'm still new and I'm going to try again once I've been at it longer. It just didn't do it for me.


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## Azol

I wonder if listening to any 14 symphonies with nothing inbetween is a good way to introduce anyone to classical music.
Maybe throw in an opera? or a song cycle? an interesting concerto or a chamber piece? etc

Or here's another idea: show them this short movie and ask which piece they enjoyed the best, base your next recommendation on their preferences:


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## Marc

Mozart 34
Haydn 85 "La Reine"
Beethoven 7
Schubert 8 "Unvollendete"
Mendelssohn 4 "Italienische"
Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Brahms 3
Bruckner 4
Tchaikovsky 4
Dvorak 9 "From the New World"
Mahler 4
Sibelius 5
Shostakovich 5
Górecki Symphony 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs"


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## starthrower

Why symphonies only? When I started listening 40 years ago I was inspired by many other orchestral pieces.

Smetana: The Moldau
Borodin: In The Steppes Of Central Asia, Polovtsian Dances
Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition
Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture
Debussy: Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun, Three Nocturnes, La Mer
Saint Saens: Dance Macabre
Bach: Brandeburg Concertos 1-3
Handel: Water Music
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Tchaikovsky ballets: Swan Lake, Nutcracker
Stravinsky: Petrushka, The Firebird


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## BlackAdderLXX

starthrower said:


> Why symphonies only? When I started listening 40 years ago I was inspired by many other orchestral pieces.
> 
> Smetana: The Moldau
> Borodin: In The Steppes Of Central Asia, Polovtsian Dances
> Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition
> Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture
> Debussy: Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun, Three Nocturnes, La Mer
> Saint Saens: Dance Macabre
> Bach: Brandeburg Concertos 1-3
> Handel: Water Music
> Copland: Appalachian Spring
> Tchaikovsky ballets: Swan Lake, Nutcracker
> Stravinsky: Petrushka, The Firebird


As usual coming with the goods... Looks like I'm adding a few more things to my list


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## Malx

My initiation into classical music, which occurred about 32 years ago, was aided significantly by listening to excerpts from works on Classical music magazine discs - now in theory listening to one movement might not be a sensible approach, but for someone like me who knew virutally zero about the vast majority of composers and indeed different forms it made me choose to find out more about pieces I simply liked the sound of. 
I didn't know/care if Haydn was a more recent composer than Berlioz or Sibelius or even Stravinsky, ok I soon began to learn *but* I could tell what my ears told me I liked and what I didn't - and I still trust my ears rather than critics recommendations as to what to buy and what not.

So no list I'm afraid, but with spotify and the like readily available just try things and likes and dislikes will fall into place.

Trust your ears because ultimately it will be you that is listening to the disc/download/stream.


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## JAS

starthrower said:


> Why symphonies only? When I started listening 40 years ago I was inspired by many other orchestral pieces.
> 
> Smetana: The Moldau
> Borodin: In The Steppes Of Central Asia, Polovtsian Dances
> Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition
> Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture
> Debussy: Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun, Three Nocturnes, La Mer
> Saint Saens: Dance Macabre
> Bach: Brandeburg Concertos 1-3
> Handel: Water Music
> Copland: Appalachian Spring
> Tchaikovsky ballets: Swan Lake, Nutcracker
> Stravinsky: Petrushka, The Firebird


And, actually, Borodin's two (three if you count the incomplete one) are pretty wonderful too. (As are symphonies by Tchaikovsky and Saint Saens.)

To your list, I will add the various Irish Rhapsodies by Charles Villiers Stanford, just because it happened to pop into my head at this moment. And I have always loved Glazunov's ballet Raymonda (as well as his symphonies).


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## sstucky

Here are 14 Anglo-American symphonies (or symphonic pieces) that I think would appeal to a novice:
Anglo:
Elgar 1
RVW 2 and 5
Holst Planets
Bax Colour Symphony
Walton 1
Moeran G Minor
American:
Harris 3
W. Schuman 3
Piston 2 and 3
Diamond 4
Copland 3
Mennin 3


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## GraemeG

UniversalTuringMachine said:


> The uninitiated has a easier time to understand symphonies that
> 
> 1) has many catchy melodies
> 2) has not too adventurous harmonic language
> 3) has great orchestration
> 4) has exciting sense of (regular) pulse
> 5) is popular
> 
> So I recommend:
> Beethoven 5
> Beethoven 9
> Berlioz Symphony Fantastique
> Bruckner 4
> Mendelssohn 4
> Schumann 3
> Mahler 1
> Shostakovich 5
> Dvorak 9
> Mozart 40
> Rachmaninoff 2
> Sibelius 2
> Tchaikovsky 6


I think your analysis is spot on, and your list almost perfect, except you were allowed 14. So I'd add Schubert 8 to round it out. But I might drop either Mendelssohn or Schumann and add Shostakovich, either 5,10 or 11.


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## NeilP

Had to think hard for 14 - here's mine:

Beethoven 5 & 7
Berlioz Symphonie Fansastique
Brahms 1&4
Dvorak 9 
Mahler 4
Mendelssohn 4
Schubert 8&9
Shostakovitsch 10
Rachmaninov 2
Tchaikosovsky 5
Vaughan Williams 5

Be interesting to know the most popular across the responses


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