# Your Top 10 Seventh Symphonies!



## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Continuing the quest.
What are, in your opinion, the greatest, or just your personal favorite_ seventh _symphonies?

My list, boring as ever:

1. Beethoven
2. Bruckner
3. Prokofiev
4. Sibelius
5. Mahler
6. Dvorak
7. Pettersson
8. Shostakovich
9. Vaughan Williams
10. Bax


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Here we go again....


Shostakovich 
Vaughan Williams 
Sibelius 
Bruckner 
Mahler
Dvorak
Beethoven
Bax
Tabakov
Rautavaara


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## allaroundmusicenthusiast (Jun 3, 2020)

A top 7 for the 7th's

1. Beethoven
2. Mahler 
3. Bruckner
4. Sibelius
5. Weinberg
6. Shostakovich
7. Nørgård


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Sibelius
Pettersson
Dvořák
Vaughan Williams
Sessions 
Henze
Schnittke
Wellesz
Nørgård
Prokofiev


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Favorite 7ths:

1. Beethoven
2. Sibelius
3. Vaughan Williams "Sinfonia Antarctica"
4. Shostakovich "Leningrad"
5. Mahler
6. Bruckner
7. Walter Piston
8. William Schuman
9. Rautavaara "Angel of Light"
10. Dvorak


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

1. Beethoven
2. Dvořák
3. Shostakovich
4. Tchaikovsky: Symphony in E-flat (completed by Bogatyrev)
5. Sibelius
6. Glazunov


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## Philidor (11 mo ago)

1. Bruckner
2. Beethoven
3. Sibelius
4. Dvořák
5. Vaughan Williams
6. Mahler
7. Shostakovich
8. Prokofieff
9. Rautavaara
10. Nørgård 

Schubert's D 759 is not a valid choice, I suppose?


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Beethoven
Mahler
Shostakovich
Frankel


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Today:

1. Tchaikovsky (No. 6 in B minor "Pathétique", Op. 74)***
2. Beethoven
3. Shostakovich
4. Dvorák
5. Sibelius
6. Bruckner (No. 5 in B-flat major, WAB 105)****
7. Prokofiev (revised No. 4 in C major, Op. 112)*****
8. Mahler
9. Vaughan Williams
10. Bax

*: Considering that _Manfred_ is the true No. 5, and that the _Pathétique_ is actually Tchaikovsky's seventh symphony;
**: Considering that Bruckner has two "zero" symphonies (so No. 5 is actually his seventh);
***: Considering that Prokofiev has nine symphonies: seven numbered, plus a second version of No. 4 (his seventh) and the symphony-concerto (his eighth).


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## Anooj (Dec 5, 2021)

Beethoven
Shostakovich
Mahler
Vaughan Williams
Bruckner
Dvorak
Glazunov
Sibelius
Prokofiev


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2013)

I'm not going to be able to fill this list, but here are my top 9


Weyse
Penderecki
Haydn
Beethoven
Shostakovich
Mennin
Pettersson
Sibelius
Piston


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

The greatest no. 7
Sibelius

Then some equal sevenths:
Beethoven
Bruckner
Shostakovich

Then the rest:
Mahler


Gotta love them sevenths!


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Beethoven
Bruckner
Dvorak
Mahler
Sibelius

(All but Mahler's are among my 3 favorite symphonies of these composers, Bruckner and Dvorak probably my top favorites)
I am not going to fill up to 10, the interminable behemoth of the "Leningrad" will never appear on any best-list of mine, I am not sure about the Prokofiev 7 either and I don't remember Gade, Vaughan Williams, Hartmann or Lajtha well enough to list them.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

1. Malcolm Arnold (1973)
2. Benjamin Frankel (1970)
3. "Ballet for Orchestra" (1980) by Irwin Bazelon
4. Pierre Wissmer (1984) 
5. Robert Simpson (1977)
6. Symphony No.7 for strings (1985) by Malcolm Williamson
7. "delle canzoni" (1948) by Gian Francesco Malipiero
8. Svend Erik Tarp (1977)
9. Havergal Brian (1948)
10. Herman D. Koppel (1961)


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Kreisler jr said:


> Beethoven
> Bruckner
> Dvorak
> Mahler
> ...


I have a similar principle here — if I do not remember a certain symphony well, I will not list it. I have heard many symphonies but do not attach myself to all that many.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Philidor said:


> Schubert's D 759 is not a valid choice, I suppose?


I suppose not, since there's reasonable consensus on the numbering of Schubert's symphonies.
And no-one in his right mind would include what we now call the 7th (E major, D 729) in a list of favorites. No matter what completion you chose, it remains a dull and shallow piece.
But then again, see below...



Xisten267 said:


> *: Considering that _Manfred_ is the true No. 5, and that the _Pathétique_ is actually Tchaikovsky's seventh symphony;
> **: Considering that Bruckner has two "zero" symphonies (so No. 5 is actually his seventh);
> ***: Considering that Prokofiev has nine symphonies: seven numbered, plus a second version of No. 4 (his seventh) and the symphony-concerto (his eighth).


Now there's some creative accounting!


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Pettersson
Dvorak 
Sibelius 
Bruckner 
Shostakovich 
Henze 
Holmboe
Penderecki
Schnittke 
Rautavaara


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

Shostakovich
Pettersson
Beethoven
Penderecki
Myaskovsky
Vaughan Williams
Brian
Arnold
Dvorak
Mahler


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Favorite 7th Symphonies (in Alphabetical Order):
Beethoven
Bruckner
Dvorak
Haydn
Mahler
Mozart
Prokofiev
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Vaughan Williams

There are others I enjoy, but as far as ones I consistently listen to frequently, these would be it.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

RobertJTh said:


> Continuing the quest.
> What are, in your opinion, the greatest, or just your personal favorite_ seventh _symphonies?


Beethoven
Bruckner
Shostakovich
Mennin

Mahler
Sibelius
Dvorak
VWms


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Beethoven
Bruckner
Sibelius
Pettersson
Prokofiev
Rautavaara
Dvorak
Shostakovich
Penderecki
Mahler


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Beethoven
Mahler
Bruckner
Sibelius
Dvořák
Terterian


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Beethoven
Sibelius
Dvorak
Shostakovich
Bruckner
Prokofiev


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## golfer72 (Jan 27, 2018)

Nice to see a few mentions of the 7th from Arnold Bax. I like it and kind of view it as his "American Symphony" since it was first performed in America I believe and commissioned as well from America.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I need to revisit many that I haven't listened to recently including Arnold, Bax, Bruckner, Schnittke, Penderecki, Prokofiev, and Sibelius. The ones I'm sure about are Mahler, William Schuman, VW, and Beethoven, of course.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

Sevenths currently or perennially of interest to me:

Sibelius
Schnittke
Weinberg
Myaskovsky
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Beethoven
Dvorak
Bax


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

Glazunov - Symphony No. 7 in F major "Pastoral", Op. 77 (1902)
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 (1924)


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Vaughan Williams
Bax
Dvorak
Bruckner (mainly for the first movement)


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## leonsm (Jan 15, 2011)

Shostakovich
Pettersson
Atterberg
Dvorak
Sallinen
Penderecki
Prokofiev
Vaughan Williams
Mahler
Lloyd, G


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

*1. Sibelius*

Then these (in any order):

*Beethoven
Bruckner
Shostakovich
Dvorak
Vaughan Williams
Arnold
Weinberg
Rautavaara
Tubin*


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