# Your Favorite Orchestral Suites and Symphonic/Tone Poems



## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

What are your favorite orchestral suites and symphonic/tone poems?

My are:

Sibelius, Jean (1865 - 1957):

The Wood-Nymph, Op. 15 (1895)
Spring Song, Op. 16 (1895)
Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22 (1895)
Finlandia, Op. 26 (1900)
En Saga, Op. 9 (1902)
Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49 (1906)
Night Ride and Sunrise Op. 55 (1908)
Rakastava, Op. 14 (1912)
The Oceanides, Op. 73 (1914)
Respighi, Ottorino (1879 - 1936):

Suite for Strings, P.041 (1905)
Suite in Sol Maggiore, P.058 (1905)
Poema autunnale P.146 (1925)
Vetrate di Chiesa, P.150 (1926)
Trittico Botticelliano, P.151 (1927)
Gli uccelli (The Birds), P.154 (1928)
Feste Romane, P.157 (1928)
Delius, Frederick (1862 - 1934):

Florida Suite (1887)
The walk to the Paradise Garden (1901)
In a Summer Garden (1908)
On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring (1912)
A song before sunrise (1918)
A song of summer (1930)
Karłowicz, Mieczysław (1876 - 1909):

Returning Waves, Op. 9 (1904)
Lithuanian Rhapsody, Op. 11 (1906)
Stanisław and Anna Oświęcimowie, Op. 12 (1906)
A Sorrowful Tale (Preludes to Eternity), Op. 13 (1908)
Perosi, Lorenzo (1872 - 1956):

Suite No. 2 'Venezia' (1906)
Suite No. 5 'Tortona' (ca. 1908)
Suite No. 7 'Torino' (ca. 1912)
Różycki, Ludomir (1884 - 1953):

Anhelli Op. 22 (1909)
Król Kofetua, Op. 24 (1910)
Mona Lisa Gioconda, Op. 29 (1911)
Saint-Saëns, Camille (1835 - 1921):

Suite in D major, Op. 49 (1869)
Suite algérienne, Op. 60 (1880)
Sarabande, Op. 93, No. 1 (1892)
Noskowski, Zygmunt (1846 - 1909):

Morskie Oko (Lake in the Tatras), Op. 19 (1875)
The Steppe, Op. 66 (1897)
Howells, Herbert (1892 - 1983):

The B's, suite for orchestra, Op. 13 (1914)
Melartin, Erkki (1875 - 1937):

Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 22 (1904)
Moszkowski, Mortiz (1854 - 1925):

Johanna d'Arc, Op. 19 (1876)
Peterson-Berger, Wilhelm (1867 - 1942):

Earina Suite (1917)
Rachmaninoff, Sergei (1873 - 1943):

Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 (1909)
Reger, Max (1873 - 1916):

A Romantic Suite, Op. 125 (1912)
Żeleński, Władysław (1837 - 1921):

In the Tatra Mountains, Op. 27 (1870)


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## Ned Low (Jul 29, 2020)

Sibelius: En Saga and Finlandia
Strauss: Don Juan and Tod und Verklarung
Rachmaninoff: Isle of the dead
Dvorak: Water Goblin


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Early Favorites:

1. Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra
2. Igor Stravinsky: Rite of Spring
3. Dmitry Shostakovich: Age of Gold Suite
4. Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome
5. Modest Mussorsgky and Maurice Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition
6. Nikolai Rimsky-Kosakov: Russian Easter Overture
7. Peter Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite 
8. Gustav Holst: The Planets
9. Ferdinand Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite 
10. Aaron Copland: Rodeo Suite

And some newer ones:

Frederick Delius: Florida Suite
William Schuman: To Thee Old Cause 
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus
Adolphus Hailstork: An American Port of Call


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

I could post a long list in answer to this, but let's go with the top three:
Sibelius - The Oceanides
Rachmaninoff - Isle of the Dead
Borodin - In the Steppes of Central Asia

All three conjure a particular atmosphere. Great music.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

No one is mentioning Ma Vlast! There's more to it than the Moldau-- five other tone poems to be exact.

Sarka:





Tabor:


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Massenet, Jules (1842-1912):

•	Orchestral Suite No. 1, Première suite d'orchestre – 1867
•	Orchestral Suite No. 2, Scènes hongroises – 1870
•	Orchestral Suite No. 3, Scènes dramatiques – 1875
•	Orchestral Suite No. 4, Scènes pittoresques – 1874
•	Orchestral Suite No. 5, Scènes napolitaines – 1876
•	Orchestral Suite No. 6, Scènes de féerie – 1881
•	Orchestral Suite No. 7, Scènes alsaciennes – 1882

Godard, Benjamin (1849-95):

•	Suite for Flute and Orchestra, op. 116a – 1889


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

I'm not gonna stop myself in mentioning lots of tone poems and suites I really love!!

*Symphonic poems*

Atterberg - The River
Balakirev - Tamara
Bantock - Thalaba the Destroyer, Dante and Beatrice
Bartok - Kossuth
Bax - Tintagel, Nympholept, November Woods, Christmas Eve, In Memoriam
Bersa - Sunny Fields
Biarent - Trenmor
Bloch - Helvetia
Bridge - Enter Spring
Casella - Italia
Catalani - Ero e Leandro
Chausson - Viviane
Ciurlionis - The Sea, In the Forest
Debussy - Images for orchestra, Prélude à l'après midi d'un faune
Duparc - Lénore
Dvorak - The Watergoblin, The Golden Spinning Wheel, The Noon Witch, The Wild Dove
Eller - The Singing Fields, Phantoms, Dawn
Enescu - Vox Maris
Franck - Le Chasseur maudit
Freitas Branco - Vathek, Paraisos Artificiais
Gershwin - An American in Paris
Glazunov - Stenka Razin, The Sea
Gliere - The Sirens
Hanson - Pan and the Priest
Hausegger - Barbarossa, Wieland der Schmied
Holst - Egdon Heath, Indra
Honegger - Pacific 231
Ivanovs - The Rainbow
Koechlin - The Jungle of Book, Le Docteur Fabricius, Le Buisson ardent
Lindberg - From the Great Forest
Liszt - Héroïde funèbre, Tasso
Lyapunov - Hashish
Lyatoshinsky - Grazhyna
Madetoja - Kullervo
Magnard - Hymne à la Justice, Hymne à Venus
Martinu - The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca
Marx - Eine Frühlingsmusik, Eine symphonische Nachtmusik, Feste im Herbst
Melartin - Traumgesicht
Nielsen - Pan and Syrinx
Novak - In the Tatra Mountain
Rachmaninov - The Isle of the Dead
Respighi - Church Windows, Fontane di Roma, Pini di Roma, Poema Autunnale (if counts)
Rózycki - Boleslaw Smialy, Anhelli
Saint-Saens - Le rouet d'Omphale, Phaëton
Sainton - The Isle, Nadir
Sibelius - The Wood Nymph, Tapiola, En Saga, Spring Song
Smetana - My Country, Richard III
Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra, Don Quixote, An Alpine Symphony
B. Tchaikovsky - The Wind of Siberia
Tchaikovsky - The Voyevode (technically a tone poem), Francesca da Rimini, Romeo and Juliet
Vaughan Williams - In the Fen Country
Villa-Lobos - Uirapuru, Amazonas
Wagenaar - Saul and David
Weingartner - König Lear
Zemlinsky - Die Seejungfrau

*Suites (intended as independent works)*

Bridge - The Sea
Delius - Florida Suite
Dvorak - American Suite, Czech Suite
Grieg - Holberg Suite
Grofé - Grand Canyon Suite, Death Valley Suite
Hanson - Bold Island Suite
Holst - The Planets, Beni Mora, St Paul Suite, Japanese Suite
Klami - Kalevala Suite
Massenet - The seven orchestral suites
Melartin - Suite lyrique No. 3 _Impressions de Belgique_
Peterson-Berger - Last Summer
Reger - Ballet Suite
Respighi - Ancient Airs and Dances Suites 2 and 3
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade, Capriccio Espagnol
Roussel - Suite in F
Saint-Saens - Suite Algérienne
Schmitt - Antoine et Cleopatre Suites
Sibelius - Lemminkainen Suite, Karelia Suite
Suk - A Fairy Tale
Tchaikovsky - Orchestral Suites 1, 3 and 4
Tubin - Suite on Estonian Dances


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## Machiavel (Apr 12, 2010)

Sibelius: Tapiola
Bax: Tintagel, November Woods, Into the twilight, In the faëry hills, Rosc-catha
Suk: Fairy Tale, A Summer's tale, Ripening
Dvorak: Water Goblin
Debussy: Prélude de l'apres-midi d'un faune, La mer
Franck Le chasseur maudit, Les djinns
Respighi: Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome, Roman festivals
Smetana: MA vlast
Webern: In sommerwind
Strauss: Alpine
Bartok: Kossuth


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## leonsm (Jan 15, 2011)

*Orchestral Suites, Symphonic Poems and Other Orchestral Pieces:
*
Atterberg: Rhapsody; Ballad och passacaglia; A Varmland Rhapsody; Alven; Suite no. 1 "Orientale"
Avshalomov: Hutungs of Peking
Bax: In Memoriam; Christmas Eve; Tintangel; Winter Legends
Brucker: Helgoland
Chausson: Poém
Elgar: The Spirit of England; In the South
Finzi: Eclogue for Piano and String; Grand Fantasia and Toccata; Romance for Strings; Elegy for Orchestra
Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite
Hanson: The Lament for Beowulf; Lux aeterna
Holst: A Somerset Rhapsody; The Planets; A Severn Rhapsody; Beni Mora
Ireland: These things shall be
Kodaly: Hary Janos; Dances of Galanta; Dances of Marosszek; The Peacock; Psalmus Hungaricus
Martinu: Czech Rhapsody; Les fresques de Piero della Francesca
Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky
Respighi: Poema Autunnale; Trilogia Romana; Vetrata di Chiesa; Suite in Sol Maggiore; Impressioni brasiliane; Trittico 
botticelliano; Lauda per la nativita del Signore; Il tramonto; Gli uccelli
Schumann: Manfred Overture
Sibelius: En Saga; Finlandia
Strauss: Tod und Verklarung; Metamorphosen; Ein Heldenleben
Suk: Fantasy
Wetz: Hyperion


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Miraculous Mandarin suite
Appalachian Spring
Any good suite drawn from Swan Lake or Romeo and Juliet (not Prokofiev's own)
Nielsen's Dream Saga
Firebird Suite


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Chadwick: Symphonic Sketches.
Kalinnikov: "The Cedar and the Palm".


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I don't lump suits and tone poems together. Here are my favourite dozen of the latter category (in historical order):

Franz Liszt - Les preludes [1848]
Bedřich Smetana - Vltava (Moldau) [1874]
Richard Strauss - Don Juan [1888]
Claude Debussy - Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune [1894]
Richard Strauss - Till Eulenspiegel's lustige Streiche [1895]
Hamilton Harty - With the wild geese [1910]
Ottorino Respighi - Fontane di Roma [1916]
Arnold Bax - November woods [1917]
Arnold Bax - Tintagel [1917]
Ottorino Respighi - Pini di Roma [1924]
Jean Sibelius - Tapiola [1926]
Aaron Avshalomov - Hutongs of Peking [1931]


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## FastkeinBrahms (Jan 9, 2021)

I would add Mendelssohn's Hebrides and Fingal's Cave. Following the convention of his time, he called them "ouvertures", which was a misnomer. They are among the earliest pieces of "programme music", IMO.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Not possible for me, far too many favorites....
I would cite 2 more obscure favorites that are absolutely top- flight:
*Holst - Suite #1 in Eb* for Band.....a splendid masterpiece....a wind ensemble classic...lots of recordings, but go for *Fennell/EWE*...top of the line...one same disc as-
*VaughanWilliams- English FolkSong Suite*...another wind band classic..the tunes stick in your head most delightfully... again *Fennell/EWE*


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

*Symphonic Poems*

Franck - Les Djinns (1884)

Chausson - Soir de Fête (1898)

D'Indy - Jour d'été á la montagne (1906) 
- Poème des rivages (1921)

Koechlin - La Forêt (1896-1907)
- Vers la Voute étoilé (1923-33)

Samazuilh - Nuit ... (1925)


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

MusicSybarite said:


> *Symphonic poems*
> 
> Ciurlionis - The Sea, In the Forest
> Enescu - Vox Maris
> ...


MusicSybarite already listed many a fave ... but wait ... there are more!

*Suites*

1926, Chávez - Suite de Caballos de Vapor (Horse-Power Suite)
1937, Villa-Lobos - Discovery of Brazil, Suite Nos. 1 through 4
1943, Jolivet - Suite Delphique
1944, Skalkottas - Mayday Spell - A Fairy Drama, Symphonique Suite
1951, Farnon - Captain Horatio Hornblower Suite
1952, Englund - White Reindeer Suite
1960, Harrison - Suite for Symphonic Strings

*Tone Poems*

Geirr Tveitt's "Nykken" (water sprite)
+
this here thread I did 8 years ago on Jón Leifs:
https://www.talkclassical.com/23197-rank-these-4-tone.html

Must say, though, that my very favorites are by Charles Koechlin. _Le buisson ardent_ is most satisfying to me and his orchestrated version of his piano cycle _Les heures persanes_ is my favorite suite.
Also, the so-called "Jungle Book" is actually an umbrella term that covers 4 different Koechlin symphonic pieces (written throughout various years over a couple of decades) - all based upon Kipling - which each an individual opus onto itself.


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