# 10 Works You Never Need to Hear Again



## mbhaub

I recently read Leonard Slatkin's book on conducting, and he had a list of music he never needs (or wants) to hear again. I got to thinking that there is a lot of music I feel the same way about. Needless to say, this list could be much, much longer, but I'll keep it to 10 so as not to get boring. And I'm limiting it to *orchestra music only*: no operas, concertos, solo instrumentals, etc. *What's on your list?
*
1. Schubert - symphony 9
2. Brahms - Tragic Overture
3. Mendelssohn - symphony 5
4. Shostakovich - symphony 2
5. Liszt - Dante Symphony
6. Dvorak - Golden Spinning Wheel
7. R. Strauss - Ein Heldenleben
8. Nielsen - Helios Overture
9. Gershwin - Cuban Overture
10. Gorecki - Symphony 3


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## Bulldog

I doubt I can come up with 10 orchestral works, because they are not one of my primary interests, but here's my list in no particular order:

Hanson - Romantic Symphony (actually anything by Hanson)
Shostakovich - Festive Overture (makes me cringe)
Mendelssohn - Italian Symphony
Gershwin - An American in Paris
Copland - Rodeo
Elgar - Symphony no. 1
Tchaikovsky - Symphony no. 6
Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

And I'll top it off with the only solo keyboard piece I love to hate:
Handel - Harmonious Blacksmith


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

1. Tchaikovsky - 2nd movement from Symphony no. 5
2. Bizet - March of the Toreadors (Carmen Overture)
3. 2nd Movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony 
4. 2nd Movement of Ravel's "String Quartet in F Major"
5. O Fortuna" from Orff's "Carmina Burana"
6. "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi"
7. "Gymnopédie No. 1" by Erik Satie 
8. "The Flower Duet" from Delibes' "Lakmé"
9. "The Blue Danube Waltz" by Johan Strauss II 
10. "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt


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## elgar's ghost

I think in my case there would be relatively few, but the orchestral works below came quickly to mind. I don't usually go in for culling but if I think seriously about works which have always been fairly dead in the water within my collection then I wouldn't lose too much sleep if I got rid of the following or never heard them again:

*Mikhail Kollontai* - Six Sacred Symphonies op.3 (little more than sub-Gorecki droning - hard to tell the six works apart)

*Mozart* - symphonies 1-20 (apart from some early works by Erich Korngold I'm not particularly interested in juvenilia or works from early adolescence - not even Mozart's. These were actually bought in error from a music club - I actually ordered Symphonies 21-41 - and I rue the day when I didn't bother asking for a replacement or a refund)

*Bruch* - symphonies 1-3 (never liked them - I know they have their adherents but they just sound too _pro forma_ to me)

*J. Strauss II* - waltzes (ok for a couple of listens to begin with but that relentless snare drum _RAT-tat-tat_ ends up doing my crust in, however inventive the melodies)

Any discs of symphonic works by Russian romantic second-raters such as *Anton Rubinstein**, *Maximilian Steinberg* and *Sergei Lyapunov*.

(* I must admit to liking Rubinstein's _Ivan the Terrible_ symphonic poem but unfortunately it shares a disc with his first symphony which I find thoroughly devoid of interest, not to say derivative)


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## GraemeG

* Franck symphony in d
* Eine kleine nachtmusik
* Tchaikovsky 2
1812 Overture
Scherherazade
New world symphony
Sorcerer's Apprentice
Beethoven 6
Bolero
Symphonie Fantastique

The * items I don't want to hear again.
The others I don't need to and would generally avoid (in live concerts).
cheers,
Graeme


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## MusicSybarite

It's really curious: I love many works that other members have posted, which I'd hear over and over again :lol: I see some overexposed examples (I understand it can be bothering).

I consider myself very tolerant to most music, but there are some works I can't simply stand. Anyway, this is my list: 

Miaskovsky - Any of these early symphonies: 2, 3, 4
Carter - Symphonia - sum fluxae pretium spei (something really annoying)
Milhaud - Pacem in terris
Messiaen - Chronochromie (an unmerciful Bacchanalia of dissonances)
Phillip Glass - Symphony 5
Schumann - Symphony 1 (it's a possibility)
Reinecke - Children's Symphony (abusively childish)
d'Indy - Souvenirs, op. 62
Ives - Universe Symphony
Karl Amadeus Hartmann - Any of his symphonies


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## Strange Magic

Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade 
Schubert 9
Tchaikovsky 5
Tchaikovsky 6
Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet
Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures
Dvořák 9
Wagner Tannhäuser Overture
Wagner Ride of the Valkyries
Rachmaninoff Isle of the Dead

Just heard 'em too many times. Nothing wrong (or not much wrong) with the music, but other things I've heard a zillion times and never tire of.


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## Pugg

I am not greater then any composer, so no voting.


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## superhorn

The only one of these works I wouldn't mind not hearing again is Bolero . I'm surprised nobody listed Vivaldi's 4 Seasons , which I definitely wouldn't mind never herring again . I don't know several but am very familiar with most of the pieces listed here .


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## Heck148

"Tacobelle" Canon.....if I never heard it again, it would be too soon.
Rachm'noff Sym #2....no thanx.


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## fluteman

1. Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
2. Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
3. Schubert, "Unfinished" Symphony No. 8
4. Verdi, March from "Aida"
5. Weinberger, Schwanda the Bagpiper
6. Pachelbel, Canon in D
7. Strauss, Tritsch-Tratsch Polka
8. Schubert, Marche Militaire
9. Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1
10. Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 2

honorable mention: Bruckner, Symphony No. 7


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## LezLee

Mussorgsky - Pictures
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Clog Dance from La Fille Mal Gardée
Farandole from L’Arléssiene


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## Sonata

superhorn said:


> The only one of these works I wouldn't mind not hearing again is Bolero . I'm surprised nobody listed Vivaldi's 4 Seasons , which I definitely wouldn't mind never herring again . I don't know several but am very familiar with most of the pieces listed here .


String quartet, so not really orchestral. Maybe that's why?

1) Handel Water Music
2) Handel Music for Royal Fireworks
3) Tchaikovsky Symphony #2
4) Beethoven Symphony #1
5) Mahler #1
6) Ravel Bolero
7) Schumann Symphony #1
8) Schumann Symphony #2
9) Schumann Symphony #3
10) Schumann Symphony #4

For the Handel, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky works listed, I just plain don't like them. Bolero I like somewhat but it's just too long. I would enjoy it as a 4-5 minute piece. Beethoven and Mahler #1 is a simple case of overexposure. When I was in my completionist faze, I was trying to more or less memorize some composer's early pieces before moving on to the next, which led to some overhearing of some early symphonies. Even though I did list Mahler #1, it may fall of the list in a few years once I've caught up with his other symphonies


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## Olias

Since I have taught middle school music students for 23 years my list would be:

Hot Cross Buns
Twinkle Twinkle
Merrily We Roll Along
Go Tell Aunt Rhode
Lightly Row
Yankee Doodle
Aura Lee
Jingle Bells
Old MacDonald
When the Saints Go Marching In


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## kyjo

Most of these I'm just including due to over-exposure:

Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4, Romeo and Juliet, Violin Concerto
Dvorak: Symphony no. 9
Bruch: Violin Concerto no. 1
Elgar: Cello Concerto (*ducks for cover*)
Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto no. 1 (particularly the first movement)
Copland: Rodeo
Bruckner: Symphony no. 3
Barber: Symphony no. 2

...not to mention a lot of 12-tone/serialist/avant-garde stuff...


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## Haydn man

I think the only thing I could honestly say I never want to listen to again is Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture
Other works such Vivaldi Four Seasons I could get fed up with but wouldn't say 'never again'


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## licorice stick

1 Carmina Burana
2 Carmina Burana
3 Carmina Burana
4 Carmina Burana
5 Carmina Burana
6 Carmina Burana
7 Carmina Burana
8 Carmina Burana
9 Carmina Burana
10 Carmina Burana

That's what the piece sounds like.


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## elgar's ghost

^
^

All of it, or just _O Fortuna_?


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## MarkW

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
The Four Seasons
Scheherazade
Tragic Overture
Meistersinger Overture
Polovtsian Dances
Franck Symphony
The Moldau
Any Bruckner Scherzo
Theme from Gilligan's Island


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## Heck148

"Carmina" is one I can do without as well. A little goes a long way. It does have a good bassoon solo...the "cooked goose" screech solo, which is fun....but the rest of it.....ehhhh


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## licorice stick

elgars ghost said:


> ^
> ^
> 
> All of it, or just _O Fortuna_?


Actually, O Fortuna is the only part I like. But I can live without the repetition of it at the end of the piece.


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## campy

MarkW said:


> Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
> The Four Seasons
> Scheherazade
> Tragic Overture
> Meistersinger Overture
> Polovtsian Dances
> Franck Symphony
> The Moldau
> Any Bruckner Scherzo
> Theme from Gilligan's Island


Wow, and after I listed to _Scheherazade _*twice* yesterday. [CSO/Reiner]


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## MarkW

It's not awful. . . just doesn't wear well with me. And in the 1960s it was the music of choice for female Olympic figure skaters.


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## Brahmsian Colors

On second thought, not worth bothering over.


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## Totenfeier

MarkW said:


> Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
> The Four Seasons
> Scheherazade
> Tragic Overture
> Meistersinger Overture
> Polovtsian Dances
> Franck Symphony
> The Moldau
> Any Bruckner Scherzo
> Theme from Gilligan's Island


Nailed it in one (but give me back the Bruckner scherzi!)


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## Brahmsian Colors

Page two does not appear without adding a post first.


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## Merl

Tchaikovsky's Manfred symphony. Please don't say "But have you heard the _________ (insert conductor name here) version? I don't care who has recorded it. It bores me rigid.


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## Triplets

MarkW said:


> Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
> The Four Seasons
> Scheherazade
> Tragic Overture
> Meistersinger Overture
> Polovtsian Dances
> Franck Symphony
> The Moldau
> Any Bruckner Scherzo
> Theme from Gilligan's Island


Theme from Gilligan's Island? No way. My wife loves to do House Tours when we go on vacation. Whenever the docent starts off with "This tour will last 3 Hours" it gives me something to hum


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## Joe B

Bulldog said:


> I doubt I can come up with 10 orchestral works, because they are not one of my primary interests, but here's my list in no particular order:
> 
> Hanson - Romantic Symphony (actually anything by Hanson)
> Shostakovich - Festive Overture (makes me cringe)
> Mendelssohn - Italian Symphony
> Gershwin - An American in Paris
> Copland - Rodeo
> Elgar - Symphony no. 1
> Tchaikovsky - Symphony no. 6
> Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
> 
> And I'll top it off with the only solo keyboard piece I love to hate:
> Handel - Harmonious Blacksmith


Hanson - Romantic Symphony (actually anything by Hanson)zz:scold:
Shostakovich - Festive Overture (makes me cringe)
Mendelssohn - Italian Symphony
Gershwin - An American in Pariszz
Copland - Rodeozz
Elgar - Symphony no. 1
Tchaikovsky - Symphony no. 6
Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik








*WELL!!!*


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## Neward Thelman

*We're So Musically Smart & Superior, Aren't We?*

Yup. That Schubert 9th and Strauss Heldenleben - who needs that crap when you've got genius such as Fity Cent, Jay-Z, or Snoop Dog? Now there's genius you can listen to again and again, 24/7/365.

Don't stop dat beat. Never.

Otherwise, I've pretty much excluded every 20th century radicalist, serial/atonal/aleatory thing to which I dutifully subjected my ears as trusting, naive teenager. Life's way too short to waste on....


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## laurie

Neward Thelman said:


> *We're So Musically Smart & Superior, Aren't We?*
> Yup. That Schubert 9th and Strauss Heldenleben - who needs that crap when you've got genius such as Fity Cent, Jay-Z, or Snoop Dog? Now there's genius you can listen to again and again, 24/7/365.
> 
> Don't stop dat beat. Never.


You're So Rude & Insulting, Aren't You?


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## laurie

Joe B said:


> Hanson - Romantic Symphony (actually anything by Hanson)zz:scold:
> Shostakovich - Festive Overture (makes me cringe)
> Mendelssohn - Italian Symphony
> Gershwin - An American in Pariszz
> Copland - Rodeozz
> Elgar - Symphony no. 1
> Tchaikovsky - Symphony no. 6
> Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *WELL!!!*


*LOL, Joe B!! I just spit my water on the screen when I saw this, :lol:*

_(and I think, from now on, that I'll picture you as Jack Benny, lol!)_


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## maestro267

*Insert any 10 works you care to list from before Beethoven's time*

Piece of cake.


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## Kjetil Heggelund

I actually don't remember which works I don't want to hear again...


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## starthrower

MusicSybarite said:


> Karl Amadeus Hartmann - Any of his symphonies


And to think I bought two complete sets.


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## MusicSybarite

starthrower said:


> And to think I bought two complete sets.


At least you do enjoy them


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## MusicSybarite

There are some new works I'll never listen to again:

Silvestrov - Symphony No. 2 and _Meditation_ for cello and orchestra. This kind of stuff is not for me.


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## Beet131

Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (I've just heard it way too much)
Bruch - Symphonies 1-3 (As great as his violin concerto is, his symphonies are pedestrian)
Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on Greensleeves (A real pest at Christmas)
Offenbach - Gaite Parisienne 
Ravel - Bolero (I've just heard it way too much)
Suppe - The Beautiful Galatea Overture
Tchaikovsky - Marche Slave
Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries
Cage - String Quartet, 3rd Mov't - "Nearly Stationary" (So True!)
Carter - Tempo e Tempi


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> I actually don't remember which works I don't want to hear again...


4'33" ????


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## Barbebleu

Any ten operas by Rossini.


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## Blancrocher

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> 4. 2nd Movement of Ravel's "String Quartet in F Major"


Pretty ruthless, Eddie.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Blancrocher said:


> Pretty ruthless, Eddie.


Take no prisoners here


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## hpowders

Barbebleu said:


> Any ten operas by Rossini.


Ouch...you Thieving Magpie, you!!!! :lol:


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## hpowders

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> *Answer:* Take no prisoners here


*Question:* What did Trump say at the Canadian/US border?


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

hpowders said:


> Question: What did Trump say at the Canadian/US border?


Celine Dion no doubt


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## Pugg

Barbebleu said:


> Any ten operas by Rossini.


Just this:


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## Larkenfield

Maybe it wouldn't make a difference, but I wonder how people would feel about those pieces they list if they were somehow _forbidden_ never to hear them? No early Mozart ever again, some of which are full of genius and brilliance? No cheerful, sparkling Italian symphony ever? No soulful and thrilling new world symphony ever again? No colorful, imaginative Scheherazade ever? For me, I don't think so. Never permanently X anything out even if one might imagine they'd never like to hear it again, because sometimes it can take a lifetime for things to come around full circle for an unexpected thrill.


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## hpowders

mbhaub said:


> I recently read Leonard Slatkin's book on conducting, and he had a list of music he never needs (or wants) to hear again. I got to thinking that there is a lot of music I feel the same way about. Needless to say, this list could be much, much longer, but I'll keep it to 10 so as not to get boring. And I'm limiting it to *orchestra music only*: no operas, concertos, solo instrumentals, etc. *What's on your list?
> *
> 1. Schubert - symphony 9
> 2. Brahms - Tragic Overture
> 3. Mendelssohn - symphony 5
> 4. Shostakovich - symphony 2
> 5. Liszt - Dante Symphony
> 6. Dvorak - Golden Spinning Wheel
> 7. R. Strauss - Ein Heldenleben
> 8. Nielsen - Helios Overture
> 9. Gershwin - Cuban Overture
> 10. Gorecki - Symphony 3


I agree with EVERYTHING on OP's list.

Some of my own:

1. Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 2

2. Beethoven Symphony No. 2

3. Beethoven Symphony No. 8

4. Beethoven Raz. Quartet No. 1

5. Beethoven Raz. Quartet No. 2

6. Beethoven Raz. Quartet No. 3

7. Schubert Unfinished Symphony

8. Vivaldi Four Seasons

9. Bruckner Symphony No. 4

10. Bruckner Symphony No. 5

So many, many more, but OP's 10 plus my 10 are 20 already!!


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## Barbebleu

mbhaub said:


> I recently read Leonard Slatkin's book on conducting, and he had a list of music he never needs (or wants) to hear again. I got to thinking that there is a lot of music I feel the same way about. Needless to say, this list could be much, much longer, but I'll keep it to 10 so as not to get boring. And I'm limiting it to *orchestra music only*: no operas, concertos, solo instrumentals, etc. *What's on your list?
> *
> 1. Schubert - symphony 9
> 2. Brahms - Tragic Overture
> 3. Mendelssohn - symphony 5
> 4. Shostakovich - symphony 2
> 5. Liszt - Dante Symphony
> 6. Dvorak - Golden Spinning Wheel
> 7. R. Strauss - Ein Heldenleben
> 8. Nielsen - Helios Overture
> 9. Gershwin - Cuban Overture
> 10. Gorecki - Symphony 3


I have a question. Are these works on your never to be heard again list because of a) heard them once and hated them or b) heard them a million times and they are indelibly printed on my psyche forever?


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## elgar's ghost

Strange how great works are being dismissed due to over-familiarity. I don't think that such pieces should be castigated due to over-exposure - surely the purpose of this thread is for people to explain how certain works that found themselves into their collections became surplus to requirements due to musical reasons and not because how likely they will be heard on the TV or radio?


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## Blancrocher

elgars ghost said:


> Strange how great works are being dismissed due to over-familiarity. I don't think that such pieces should be castigated due to over-exposure - surely the purpose of this thread is for people to explain how certain works that found themselves into their collections became surplus to requirements due to musical reasons and not because how likely they will be heard on the TV or radio?


I was taking it as purely personal reflections on people having over-consumed masterpieces. In some ways, the better the works mentioned, the more impressive the listener as far as I'm concerned--though I'll admit that hpowders has shocked me a little bit :lol:


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## hpowders

Blancrocher said:


> I was taking it as purely personal reflections on people having over-consumed masterpieces. In some ways, the better the works mentioned, the more impressive the listener as far as I'm concerned--though I'll admit that hpowders has shocked me a little bit :lol:


We cannot all like the same works in lockstep!! Be glad I didn't write "Fidelio"!! I like Fidelio! I like Missa Solemnis and the 32 piano sonatas and the early string quartets and the Pastoral Symphony.....sheesh!!! :angel:

Pretty soon, the wet season where I live will commence:

And it will rain 4-ever and ever.....


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## mbhaub

Larkenfield said:


> Maybe it wouldn't make a difference, but I wonder how people would feel about those pieces they list if they were somehow _forbidden_ never to hear them? No early Mozart ever again, some of which are full of genius and brilliance? No cheerful, sparkling Italian symphony ever? No soulful and thrilling new world symphony ever again? No colorful, imaginative Scheherazade ever? For me, I don't think so. Never permanently X anything out even if one might imagine they'd never like to hear it again, because sometimes it can take a lifetime for things to come around full circle for an unexpected thrill.


Interesting thought you have. I wonder what people living in Nazi Germany thought about this. Did it ever occur to them that they could never again hear the music of Mendelssohn, Weill, Schoenberg, Korngold, Mahler and that of other "degenerates". Stalin, too, had his list of banned music. Scary thought.


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## CnC Bartok

They also had the musings of the likes of Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Planck, that chap with the bad haircut whose name escapes, banned. I reckon these Nazi chaps were a bit narrow minded, or have I got them wrong?

The Earth is flat, Eugenics is a real science, beach volleyball is a serious Olympic sport, Corbyn is a viable prime minister, tattoos are attractive, etc etc


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## AeolianStrains

kyjo said:


> Most of these I'm just including due to over-exposure:
> ...not to mention a lot of 12-tone/serialist/avant-garde stuff...


Toss all of it. Sometimes, even once is far too much.



EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> 4'33" ????


The only Cage I actually enjoy. Sometimes, silence is nice. A chorus of coughing and shuffling audience members, though? Pass.

Most of the overplayed stuff listed here I thankfully still enjoy, since I do not listen to the radio. I may not be thrilled to hear Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or Canon in D, but every once in a while they still please. I just don't let myself become burnt out on it.


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## Bulldog

Larkenfield said:


> Maybe it wouldn't make a difference, but I wonder how people would feel about those pieces they list if they were somehow _forbidden_ never to hear them?


I'd feel the same way but would be up in arms about the "forbidden" thing.


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## hpowders

AeolianStrains said:


> Toss all of it. Sometimes, even once is far too much.
> 
> The only Cage I actually enjoy. Sometimes, silence is nice. A chorus of coughing and shuffling audience members, though? Pass.
> 
> Most of the overplayed stuff listed here I thankfully still enjoy, since I do not listen to the radio. I may not be thrilled to hear Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or Canon in D, but every once in a while they still please.* I just don't let myself become burnt out on it.[*/QUOTE]
> 
> That's the hard part. I could live very happily, never having listened to any more Beethoven for the rest of my life. Burnt out, to the extreme. So tired of it. Not HIS fault! :lol:


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## Pugg

Ligeti: Études for piano, book 1 (études 1-6)

One more time and I have to #### the pianist.


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## geralmar

I'm relieved to see no mention (so far) of Holst's The Planets. Everybody must still enjoy it.


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## DeepR

Anything with sprechgesang, helicopters or cacti. I'm open to everything else.


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## Art Rock

Most of the famous pieces that I once liked, I still like. Of these, I would only nominate one for this thread:

[1] Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart)

Then there are famous and/or widely loved pieces that I never liked, and prefer not to hear again. Most notably:

[2] Symphony 9 (Beethoven)
[3] Triple concerto (Beethoven)
[4] Cello sonatas (Beethoven)
[5] Messiah (Handel)

That's enough for now.


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## geralmar

DeepR said:


> Anything with sprechgesang, helicopters or cacti. I'm open to everything else.


Instrumentation for Antheil's Ballet Mecanique includes siren and three airplane propellers.


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## classfolkphile

I have not heard any piece that I've liked so often that I can imagine hating the idea of ever hearing it again. Even though there are a lot of works that I've heard often enough for now _or_ the foreseeable future. :lol: Ten years from now, who knows? (Assuming I live that long.)

But works that I've heard that I really don't like (usually to put it mildly) and would run from hearing? Sure.

Any R. Strauss tone poem

Any J. Strauss waltz of polka (ok, I liked the Blue Danube when very young and played the accordion  but I'd have a hard time listening to it now)

Franck Symphony in D

Most Shostakovich symphonies

Almost any 12 Tone, serial work

And a bunch of others that I disliked so much I've totally forgotten them.


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## AeolianStrains

classfolkphile said:


> I have not heard any piece that I've liked so often that I can imagine hating the idea of ever hearing it again. Even though there are a lot of works that I've heard often enough for now _or_ the foreseeable future. :lol: Ten years from now, who knows? (Assuming I live that long.)
> 
> But works that I've heard that I really don't like (usually to put it mildly) and would run from hearing? Sure.
> 
> Any R. Strauss tone poem
> 
> Any J. Strauss waltz of polka (ok, I liked the Blue Danube when very young and played the accordion  but I'd have a hard time listening to it now)


Strauss' waltzes are quite lovely when coupled with the actual Danube. Walking along the coast listening to, say, Marek Weber's medley album really enhanced the experience. Other than that it's not bad to add to a Classical music playlist for a dinner party.


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## Dan Ante

There is not one piece of classical music that I could put on this list, all of the music that I enjoy can be listened to whenever I have the whim even the ones that get played a lot on the radio, different conductors bring different interpretations, the ones that I don’t like such as a lot (not all) of avant garde is not included as that should be obvious.


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## classfolkphile

AeolianStrains said:


> Strauss' waltzes are quite lovely when coupled with the actual Danube. Walking along the coast listening to, say, Marek Weber's medley album really enhanced the experience.


I could see that.


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## Star

Any opera by Wagner - Is that seven?
Berg's Wozzek and Lulu
Brahms Tragic Overture


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## BRHiler

Interesting thread. Been a while since I've been on here, but it's good to be back 

I have some pieces that I'll break into 2 sections.

Section 1: Pieces that I recognize are great/important, but could care less if I hear them ever again.
1. Copland: Organ Symphony
2. Bernstein: Symphony #3 "Kaddish"
3. RVW: A Sea Symphony
4-12 (13? 14?). Bruckner: All of his symphonies

Section 2: Pieces that I just don't care for in any way shape or form
1. Mozart: Eine Kleine Nacthmusik
2. Shostakovich: Symphony #2
3. Shostakovich: Symphony #3
4. Stravinsky: Symphony in Eb


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## Oldhoosierdude

Shostakovich symphony no. 7, Ravel Bolero, and Stravinsky Soldiers Tale are three off the top of my head. There are some Mahler and Prokofiev symphonies also but can't think of which ones.

That first movement of Shostakovich no. 7 could be used to get information from terrorists.


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## Pugg

wrong thread ..................


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Ooops, Wrong Planet


----------



## Vahe Sahakian

Anything from Haydn
Beethoven Symphony #9
Beethoven Symphony #6
Beethoven Symphony #3
Tchaikovsky Symphony #5
Tchaikovsky 1812
Shostakovich Symphony #7
Granados piano works orchestrated
Albeniz piano works orchestrated
Chopin piano works orchestrated


----------



## jim prideaux

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Ooops, Wrong Planet


Utopia?........

1812 Overture.
Rachmaninov PC 2
Handel Messiah...that chorus thing.
Carmina B, the famous part......

and most definitely-Ravel's Bolero and Strauss (whole family) any waltz.


----------



## Mal

Vahe Sahakian said:


> Anything from Haydn


That's a bit harsh

Haydn Symphony 18
Haydn Symphony 19
Haydn Symphony 20
Haydn Symphony 22
Haydn Symphony 23

Haydn Symphony 24
Haydn Symphony 25
Haydn Symphony 26
Haydn Symphony 27
Haydn Symphony 35


----------



## Reichstag aus LICHT

I wouldn't care if I never didn't hear 4' 33" again.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Reichstag aus LICHT said:


> I wouldn't care if I never didn't hear 4' 33" again.


So you have heard it enough then?


----------



## KJ von NNJ

There are works that I just don't like and there are works that I'm really tired of hearing. 
Some of the ones I dislike are standard repertoire pieces. Others are obscure.

I had gotten to a point where I could not bear hearing Mozart 40. I avoided it whenever possible. Last time I listened to it, twas the Gardiner version with all the repeats. Some kind of Mozart reckoning. I actually liked it. I think it's the pacing....the liveliness of the playing. Like a swift current that go's on and on and on. I had a choice to either take it off, submit or lose my mind.
I never really liked the work very much. There are moments of brilliance. I tend to agree with Glenn Gould's assessment of it. My preferences are Barenboim ECO and Gardiner Revolutionaire. I'm still trying!


----------



## Weird Heather

I saw this thread a few days ago, but I had to give it some thought. It is hard for me to pick out a classical work that I truly hate. I find merit even in those I might not want to hear frequently. For me, a list of works I truly never want to hear again may be impossible because those works are likely in the "forgettable" category. These would be works that I may have heard once in a concert, online, or from a recording, and found thoroughly unmemorable and forgot soon after I heard them. So the list would look like this:

1. Something I heard once and forgot
2. Something I heard once and forgot
... and so on and so on

That is naturally not useful. Perhaps a slight reinterpretation of this idea would be more valuable. I certainly can think of works that I don't want to hear again in certain forms and certain contexts. This list would consist of works that tend to be overplayed, taken out of their original context, poorly performed, and/or cut into small fragments. Typically, they are used for specific events or purposes, often (but not always) in ways that distort or cheapen the work. Here is a list, in no particular order of preference. Since I have a lot to say about each one, I'll limit the list to 5 to avoid having a book-length post.

1. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. I love this work in its entirety, and it is high on my list for repeated listening. However, the first movement, or fragments thereof, is often taken out of context and used for all kinds of purposes. Often, the first few bars are used as a signifier for all of classical music. I get tired of hearing tiny snippets or rearrangements of this work, often poorly performed. (There is one exception - "A Fifth of Beethoven" from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me.)

2. Rossini's William Tell Overture - Again, themes from this work are pulled out of the context of the piece and used for all kinds of purposes, the Lone Ranger theme being merely one of the best known examples. I just get tired of hearing fragments of this piece everywhere. However, I recently heard the overture in a concert and enjoyed it.

3. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture - This isn't Tchaikovsky's best work, but I must admit that it is a fun piece. For me, it has a dosage limit. On occasion, I like to hear a good recording, such as the famous Mercury Living Presence recording with all of the cannons. But I don't need to hear it all the time, and I am tired of hearing fragments of this piece pulled out of context. (I still remember a TV commercial, probably from the late 1970s/early 1980s, for a long-defunct candy called Pom Poms. It even annoyed me way back then.)

4 and 5. The ubiquitous wedding marches: Wagner - Lohengrin and Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream. I love the works that include these marches, and the marches are great in context. If they were only used for weddings every now and then, that would be fine too. But why do they have to be used in weddings again and again and again. And in cheesy organ arrangements on top of that? A wedding should be a special day. Can't people be more creative in their choices of music? (Given my jaundiced view of marriage, if I ever got married, I would probably want to use a funeral march instead.)


----------



## Tchaikov6

1. Kottos- Xenakis

2. Music of Changes- Cage

3. Sonata for 2 Pianos in D- Mozart

4. Piano Trio No. 2- Arensky

5. Quattro Pezzi su una nota sola (Four Pieces on a Single Note)- Scelsi

6. Requiem for a Young Poet- Zimmermann

7. Piano Sonata No. 1- Boulez

8. Piano Concerto No. 1- Glazunov

9. The Tempest- Ades

10. Symphony for one Man Alone- Schaeffer and Henry


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Tchaikov6 said:


> 1. Kottos- Xenakis
> 
> 2. Music of Changes- Cage
> 
> 3. Sonata for 2 Pianos in D- Mozart
> 
> 4. Piano Trio No. 2- Arensky
> 
> 5. Quattro Pezzi su una nota sola (Four Pieces on a Single Note)- Scelsi
> 
> 6. Requiem for a Young Poet- Zimmermann
> 
> 7. Piano Sonata No. 1- Boulez
> 
> 8. Piano Concerto No. 1- Glazunov
> 
> 9. The Tempest- Ades
> 
> 10. Symphony for one Man Alone- Schaeffer and Henry


You just picked one of my top tens, who freaky is that


----------



## Tchaikov6

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> You just picked one of my top tens, who freaky is that


Oops... which one?


----------



## Rogerx

> Sonata for 2 Pianos in D- Mozart


You can not be serious.


----------



## Pat Fairlea

Vivaldi. Four Seasons.
Love the pizza, never want to hear the music again.
Sorry.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Steve Reich's _Clapping Music_. I played ten discs of Reich recently and realised how little I'd missed this compared to the rest.


----------



## laurie

Pat Fairlea said:


> Vivaldi. Four Seasons.
> Love the pizza, never want to hear the music again.
> Sorry.


Umm ..... pizza?


----------



## Pat Fairlea

laurie said:


> Umm ..... pizza?


Pizza Quattro Stagioni.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_quattro_stagioni


----------



## Dima

Never once more:
1. Schostakovich opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (trash)
2. Bartok opera Bluebeard's Castle (talanted maniac music)


----------



## Oshino

Noticed that Tchaikovsky’s may be the most frequent to to be mentioned


----------



## Merl

Beethoven - Wellington's Victory. Utter horseshite. Ludwig must have been been smoking something when he composed that bilge.


----------



## Bulldog

Merl said:


> Beethoven - Wellington's Victory. Utter horseshite. Ludwig must have been been smoking something when he composed that bilge.


If Ludwig had been smoking something, the result would have been much better.


----------



## Merl

All of Peter Maxwell Davies' 10 symphonies. Gawdawful.


----------



## Bulldog

Merl said:


> All of Peter Maxwell Davies' 10 symphonies. Gawdawful.


What do you think of his string quartets?


----------



## Barbebleu

Bulldog said:


> What do you think of his string quartets?


Not as good as his symphonies I would think!


----------



## Barbebleu

I originally posted any ten Rossini operas on this thread. I've had a change of heart. Any five Rossini operas and any five Mozart operas will suffice unto the day. 

That should send somebody's blood pressure on a journey to a new high surely!:lol:


----------



## Merl

Bulldog said:


> What do you think of his string quartets?


I'll be honest, I've never heard them. If they're like his symphonies I doubt I'll like them but I've not got a closed mind so I may like them (inversely I may detest them) . Who knows? I think the symphonies have put me off investigating any more of his music.


----------



## Merl

Strangely enough I've had this disc for over 10 years (I paid 50p for it) and I don't think I've ever played it. That's not good. I'll give it a try this weekend, Bulldog.


----------



## Bulldog

Merl said:


> Strangely enough I've had this disc for over 10 years (I paid 50p for it) and I don't think I've ever played it. That's not good. I'll give it a try this weekend, Bulldog.
> 
> View attachment 104017


I might have given you the wrong impression. I've not heard any of his symphonies, only the string quartets because they were in a game I was running - didn't like them at all.


----------



## Merl

Bulldog said:


> I might have given you the wrong impression. I've not heard any of his symphonies, only the string quartets because they were in a game I was running - didn't like them at all.


Just listened. I know why I've left it unplayed for so long now. Even paying 50p for that disc I feel cheated.


----------



## Josquin13

I agree with composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle, who once cautioned actor Simon Callow that "listening to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov is bad for your health". There are certain works by both composers that I like well enough to occasionally listen to, and other works that I admire (mostly by Tchaikovsky, such as his ballets), but overall, I don't do well with either composer in large doses. For instance, the idea of attending a music festival devoted exclusively to Rachmaninov is unappealing to me. Although I'll occasionally reach for Eugene Ormandy's recording of the "Symphonic Dances" (once in a blue moon), or "The Isle of the Dead", or the "Vespers", or the "Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini", or some of Rach's solo piano music. But I'm already beginning to feel a sense of fatigue and overload, just by mentioning those works together. So maybe Sir Birtwistle is onto something.

But then I don't do well with large doses of Sir Birtwistle's music, either. The problem is I don't know his music extensively enough to name specific pieces that I don't want to hear again (except for the incidental music to Sir Peter Hall's lengthy production of "The Oresteia" at the National Theater). It's been, more or less, a general impression, and I don't have the desire to go through his works, one by one, over the weekend, to figure it out.

Though I always enjoy hearing Sir Birtwistle interviewed,

Interviewer: "Sir Birtwistle, do you consider that your music has been influenced by the twilight of the second Viennese school?"

Birwistle: Yes... no.

I have the same general impression about Brian Ferneyhough's music too.

Though I'm sure there are works by both composers that I wouldn't mind hearing again, if I sat down and listened to their music over the weekend. (But I've got other plans.)

Staying with British composers, does Andrew Lloyd Weber qualify as a composer? If so, then he's the first composer that came into my mind. "Jesus Christ Superstar" is a good night out, but I never want to hear "The Phantom of the Opera" again. I think it's the most uninteresting piece of music ever composed. & it's huge popularity proof that Weber made an early pact with the devil.

On the other hand, Maurice Ravel is one of my favorite composers, and yet I've never been able to warm to his "Tzigane" (or "Gypsy") for violin. Maybe one day I'll see the light, as I did eventually with Debussy's 12 Etudes (who's another favorite composer of mine). But it's unlikely, since not even David Oistrakh has been able to convince me of the merits of "Tzigane".

I also don't have much patience these days for some of the old "warhorse" violin concertos. Are they not as good as people think?, or have I simply heard them one too many times? I'm speaking of Elgar's VC, Bruch's 2 VCs, and Mendelssohn's VC. I don't have much desire to hear them again. I even recall Itzaak Perlman once implying or rather insinuating that he never wished to play the Mendelssohn VC again. I get that. It doesn't surprise me. If I had played the Mendelssohn VC 200+ times in my life, I'd dread playing it again too. It would probably give me nightmares.

I'd much rather be listening to some of the newer, less familiar violin concertos by post WW2 & contemporary composers: such as those by Magnus Lindberg, Per Norgård, Allen Pettersson, Vagn Holmboe, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Oliver Knussen, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Poul Ruders, Jaakka Kuuisisto, etc.. They may not have (yet) entered the "standard repertory", but I'd bet good money that Lindberg's VC will one day, at least. Violinists Lisa Batiashvili & Pekka Kuusisto have convinced me of that, with their brilliant performances of Lindberg's concerto:















I also found this recent VC interesting:






Finally, I don't need to hear any music by Modest Mussorgsky ever again (except for maybe "Night on Bald Mountain"). Although I should probably credit Emerson, Lake, & Palmer's "Pictures at an Exhibition" for influencing my transition into classical music from classic rock. Suffice it to say, the piano version of "Pictures" is the only recording by Ivo Pogorelich that I don't own, even though I'm a devoted fan of this pianist.


----------



## EdwardBast

The question would be a lot easier if Bruckner had published one more symphony.


----------



## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

EdwardBast said:


> The question would be a lot easier if Bruckner had published one more symphony.


He did! Symphony 0, although he didn't want it to count as a symphony.


----------



## kyjo

Merl said:


> All of Peter Maxwell Davies' 10 symphonies. Gawdawful.


I've only heard the 1st, which is indeed godawful. Ditto the first two Naxos Quartets. His shorter, more accessible pieces, such as the tone poem _Mavis in Las Vegas_ and piano piece _Farewell to Stromness_, are significantly more enjoyable.


----------



## MarkW

It's "Sir Harrison."


----------



## geralmar

Tchaikovsky Symphony #6. Weepy neurotic does nothing for me.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Merl said:


> All of Peter Maxwell Davies' 10 symphonies. Gawdawful.


Ooh - I might have to fight Max's corner here. But not now - I'm tired.


----------



## Guest

Merl said:


> I'll be honest, I've never heard them. If they're like his symphonies I doubt I'll like them but I've not got a closed mind so I may like them (inversely I may detest them) . Who knows? I think the symphonies have put me off investigating any more of his music.


Yeah his later works, particularly the symphonies and the Strathclyde Concertos have a very Romantic flair, a lot of cantabile melodic lines but with a chromatic language that emphasises the _less_ dissonant (but still dense) harmonies of a non-tonal language. I would probably think of his music as neo-romantic, sort of like the neo-Romantic music of Wolfgang Rihm. Perhaps if you're interested in the edgier side of contemporary orchestral music there are things to explore by Lachenmann, Finissey, Adámek, Bernhard Lang, Neuwirth and others which are extremely well crafted an a lot of attention to timbral and rhythmic detail that aren't so prominent in Peter Maxwell Davies' works.


----------



## geralmar

Copland, "Fanfare for the Common Man". Unless it's supposed to be satirical it sounds pompous and stuffed full of itself. It ruins his third symphony. It's also inescapable on classical radio stations in the U.S around the Fourth of July. I know it won a prize; but even John Williams writes better fanfares.


----------



## fluteman

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto no. 1
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2
Gliere, Symphony no. 3
Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite no. 1
Grieg, Piano Concerto
Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1
Lehar, The Merry Widow
Wagner, Die Meistersingers von Nuremberg
Strauss, Tritsch Tratsch Polka
Weinberger, Schwanda the Bagpiper

I could easily name another ten, but it would be no where near enough fun.


----------



## Dan Ante

fluteman said:


> Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto no. 1
> Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2
> Gliere, Symphony no. 3
> Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite no. 1
> Grieg, Piano Concerto
> Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1
> Lehar, The Merry Widow
> Wagner, Die Meistersingers von Nuremberg
> Strauss, Tritsch Tratsch Polka
> Weinberger, Schwanda the Bagpiper
> 
> I could easily name another ten, but it would be no where near enough fun.


You missed 4:33 ..................


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Dan Ante said:


> You missed 4:33 ..................


It should be compulsory on any TC list


----------



## fluteman

Dan Ante said:


> You missed 4:33 ..................


How could I never hear it again?


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

fluteman said:


> How could I never hear it again?


Keep your TV turned on


----------



## Dan Ante

I had to play it for an audition with the STSO but made a mess of it.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

I hear Norman Gunston played it in a Silent Movie and it was pitch perfect.............


----------



## Siri von Thyssen

Heck148 said:


> "Tacobelle" Canon.....if I never heard it again, it would be too soon.
> Rachm'noff Sym #2....no thanx.


Ditto. And every time I wake up, all I hear is 4'33'' by John Cage. If I never heard it again, etc., ...

... and I see I'm not the only one.


----------



## fluteman

Dan Ante said:


> I had to play it for an audition with the STSO but made a mess of it.


You seem to have successfully derailed this thread, Dan Ante. I'll bring it back by listing another ten:

Verdi, March from Aida
Schubert, Marche Militaire
Schubert, "Unfinished" Symphony
Sousa, The Stars and Stripes Forever
Pachelbel, Canon in D (already mentioned, but deserves another mention)
Rossini, William Tell Overture
Ponchielli, Dance of the Hours
Anderson, Sleigh Ride
Waldteufel, The Skater's Waltz
Wagner, The Ride of the Valkyries


----------



## Thomyum2

I'll preface this by saying I've hesitated to add my list here because a lot of what's on it are actually good pieces of music. So this is not a commentary on the quality of the music or my opinion of the pieces, but the fact that I've heard these played SO often in so many venues that I just almost can't take them any more. 

Debussy, Claire de Lune for piano
Debussy, Claire de Lune arranged for harp
Bizet, Carmen Suite
Beethoven, Symphony #9
Mozart, Symphony #40
Mendelssohn, Symphony #4 "Italian"
Dvorak, "New World" Symphony
Orff, Carmina Burana


----------



## Roger Knox

MarkW said:


> It's "Sir Harrison."


Ah, _Gawain_. The opera. (If it's Sir Gawain, I don't care.)


----------



## fluteman

Thomyum2 said:


> I'll preface this by saying I've hesitated to add my list here because a lot of what's on it are actually good pieces of music. So this is not a commentary on the quality of the music or my opinion of the pieces, but the fact that I've heard these played SO often in so many venues that I just almost can't take them any more.
> 
> Debussy, Claire de Lune for piano
> Debussy, Claire de Lune arranged for harp
> Bizet, Carmen Suite
> Beethoven, Symphony #9
> Mozart, Symphony #40
> Mendelssohn, Symphony #4 "Italian"
> Dvorak, "New World" Symphony
> Orff, Carmina Burana


I would say, anything routinely used for telephone rings or caller hold music, TV commercials or doctors' waiting rooms, or routinely played by high school orchestras, is a potential candidate for a list like this.


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund

Sorry folks, still don't remember. Doesn't matter though, I like to hear music I like again and again


----------



## Dan Ante

fluteman said:


> You seem to have successfully derailed this thread, Dan Ante. I'll bring it back by listing another ten:


OMG I am so sorry how could I have committed such a heinous act, please forgive me o mighty FLUTEMAN and I will try to keep on topic and not stray from the straight and narrow perhaps you could ask your favourite mod to delete all posts that offend you.


----------



## MusicSybarite

An update: The majority of Rautavaara's concertos (except the Piano Concertos and the Cello Concerto 1)


----------



## kyjo

MusicSybarite said:


> An update: The majority of Rautavaara's concertos (except the Piano Concertos and the Cello Concerto 1)


Interesting. I love the Piano Concerto no. 1 but haven't listened to any other of his concertos.


----------



## MusicSybarite

^^I found them not very interesting to be honest, they are rather pessimistic and somber (Violin, Flute, Harp and Double bass concertos). They didn't click on me. However, the Ballade for harp and strings (not being properly a concerto) is much better. Possibly others may like them.


----------



## Guest

Rautavaara's earlier works are pieces I find a whole lot more interesting really. The Violin Concerto is my favourite concerto of his.

Symphony no. 2 is also terrific.


----------



## fluteman

Dan Ante said:


> o mighty FLUTEMAN


Finally, someone here recognizes my glorious might, even if it doesn't extend past my ability to name overplayed classical music themes after a lifetime of hearing them. Ten more:

Bizet, Torreador's song
Schumann, Spring Song
Schumann, The Happy Farmer
Gounod, Funeral March of a Marionette
Mendelssohn, Wedding March
Saint Saens, Le Cygne
Leoncavallo, Vesti la giubba
Martini, Plaisir d'amour
Handel, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Beethoven, Fur Elise

That makes 30 from me, a mighty large number.


----------



## Dan Ante

fluteman said:


> Finally, someone here recognizes my glorious might, even if it doesn't extend past my ability to name overplayed classical music themes after a lifetime of hearing them. Ten more:
> 
> Bizet, Torreador's song
> Schumann, Spring Song
> Schumann, The Happy Farmer
> Gounod, Funeral March of a Marionette
> Mendelssohn, Wedding March
> Saint Saens, Le Cygne
> Leoncavallo, Vesti la giubba
> Martini, Plaisir d'amour
> Handel, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
> Beethoven, Fur Elise
> 
> That makes 30 from me, a mighty large number.


I look forward to the next 10 and the next 10 and the next 10 and the next 10 and the next 10.


----------



## fluteman

Dan Ante said:


> I look forward to the next 10 and the next 10 and the next 10 and the next 10 and the next 10.


No, I think I already have enough to put a CD together.


----------



## Dan Ante

fluteman said:


> No, I think I already have enough to put a CD together.


Oh come on you are not trying.


----------



## Pat Fairlea

I have just remembered another 'never again' piece: Schumann's 'Traumeri'


----------



## Star

I completely dislike much of the modern avant-gard stuff. Not that I do not wish to hear it again - I do not wish to hear it at all


----------



## Dan Ante

Star said:


> I completely dislike much of the modern avant-gard stuff. Not that I do not wish to hear it again - I do not wish to hear it at all


I am with you on that.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Star said:


> I completely dislike much of the modern avant-gard stuff. Not that I do not wish to hear it again - I do not wish to hear it at all


Well 4'33" is the modern avant-gard piece for you...............


----------



## St Matthew

Star said:


> I completely dislike much of the modern avant-gard stuff. Not that I do not wish to hear it again - I do not wish to hear it at all


If you said the complete opposite of this, I would be agreeing with you 100%


----------



## Guest

Star said:


> I completely dislike much of Classical, Bel Canto Opera and Verdi. Not that I do not wish to hear it again - I do not wish to hear it at all


_Now_ we have similar dislikes.


----------



## les24preludes

- anything before Vivaldi
- all church music sung in plummy reverential tones, e.g. Kings Cambridge. A choir is a group of Welsh miners singing Myfanwy. 
- all early Mozart and a lot of Mozart in general before he pulled his finger out and wrote some late masterpieces. 
- Pachelbel's Canon. Should be blown up once and for all. 
- Philip Glass and boring repetitive systems music. 
- Ludovico Einaudi. There isn't enough vomit in the world to do him justice
- Videos of Bernstein conducting Mahler, swooning about and pretending he's God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all in one. 

I like sensitive deep music full of nostalgia and regret, like Mossolov's Zavod played by the L.A.Phil. Now that's motoring!


----------



## Bulldog

les24preludes said:


> - anything before Vivaldi


I could be more empathetic if you included Vivaldi in your exclusions.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

anything by ALW


----------



## les24preludes

Bulldog said:


> I could be more empathetic if you included Vivaldi in your exclusions.


I feel your pain.... it was a close one


----------



## KenOC

Anything with airplane propellers, factory sirens, car horns, or whoopee cushions.


----------



## elgar's ghost

^
^

Whoopee cushions? I bet that wasn't Stockhausen.


----------



## les24preludes

elgars ghost said:


> ^
> ^
> 
> Whoopee cushions? I bet that wasn't Stockhausen.


Probably Mozart - he was a bit of a joker.


----------



## KenOC

elgars ghost said:


> Whoopee cushions? I bet that wasn't Stockhausen.


Could have been. Sir Thomas Beecham was once asked about that worthy composer. He replied, "I've not heard any Stockhausen, but I think I've trodden in some."


----------



## St Matthew

KenOC said:


> Could have been. Sir Thomas Beecham was once asked about that worthy composer. He replied, "I've not heard any Stockhausen, but I think I've trodden in some."


Oh, the "_I think I accidentally stepped in a puddle of_" joke, yeah I think I accidentally trodden on that joke myself once. Mankind wasn't made with a jawbone huge enough for yawning that far.


----------



## St Matthew

KenOC said:


> Anything with airplane propellers, factory sirens, car horns, or whoopee cushions.


Bad characterization, unlike Cage, with Stockhausen the only valid jokes you can make are:

*1. Look at the freak, he used a helicopter* (which is considered a very edgy remark and will get lots of applause by all fellow associates)
*2. Doesn't he use speaking and linguistic puzzles in some of his vocal music? how weird of him!* (this will show that you've listened to his operatic and vocal music, you'll be considered the cool guy of the neighborhood) 
*3. He wrote maximized serialism? how pretentious of him!* (this remark will get you tickets anywhere, just say it and you have anything you want at the palm of your hands)


----------



## LezLee

fluteman said:


> Finally, someone here recognizes my glorious might, even if it doesn't extend past my ability to name overplayed classical music themes after a lifetime of hearing them. Ten more:
> 
> Bizet, Toreador's song
> Schumann, Spring Song
> Schumann, The Happy Farmer
> Gounod, Funeral March of a Marionette
> Mendelssohn, Wedding March
> Saint Saens, Le Cygne
> Leoncavallo, Vesti la giubba
> Martini, Plaisir d'amour
> Handel, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
> Beethoven, Fur Elise
> 
> That makes 30 from me, a mighty large number.


Well done, Fluteman! This is the first list I've agreed with completely! :tiphat:


----------



## GraemeG

So having put Symfonie Fantastique on my list, I now find myself buying a ticket to hear it in September. Why? Cause it's the only chance I'll get to hear Blomstedt conduct live...
Ah well, you take what you can get sometimes.
Graeme


----------



## Dan Ante

GraemeG said:


> So having put Symfonie Fantastique on my list, I now find myself buying a ticket to hear it in September. Why? Cause it's the only chance I'll get to hear Blomstedt conduct live...
> Ah well, you take what you can get sometimes.
> Graeme


That is one work that I have never got into.


----------



## Biffo

GraemeG said:


> So having put Symfonie Fantastique on my list, I now find myself buying a ticket to hear it in September. Why? Cause it's the only chance I'll get to hear Blomstedt conduct live...
> Ah well, you take what you can get sometimes.
> Graeme


Blomstedt is a fine conductor and I adore the Symphonie Fantastique. Given a choice I would go for the SF over almost any living conductor. I have heard Blomstedt live just once (as far as I can recall) - in London with the San Francisco SO many years ago.

Enjoy your concert, Blomstedt might just open your ears to the SF.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

elgars ghost said:


> Whoopee cushions? I bet that wasn't Stockhausen.


Fartein Valen, perhaps?


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

MarkW said:


> It's "Sir Harrison."


Indeed. The basic rule is "Sir [forename]", "Lord [surname]" - e.g. the zoologist is "Sir David" not "Sir Attenborough", but it's the other way round for his late brother: "Lord Attenborough" not "Lord Richard".


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## DeepR

les24preludes said:


> - Ludovico Einaudi. There isn't enough vomit in the world to do him justice
> - Videos of Bernstein conducting Mahler, swooning about and pretending he's God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all in one.


I very much agree. 
I'm willing to believe Bernstein couldn't help himself and it was simply his passion showing, but it is excruciating to watch.


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## endelbendel

i own a fine CD which is all Ravel's Bolero. Many forms and instrumentations. Some historical which is interesting. Outstanding is the Munch, BSO which made me weep.


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## endelbendel

For intensifying a moment of personal pain, Tchaikovsky, Sym 6 with its heartbreaking adagio; i avoid it these many years later.
For it's tangible hatred, Berlioz, Sym Fantastique; after a fine live performance i felt like i needed a shower.


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## Heck148

les24preludes said:


> Probably Mozart - he was a bit of a joker.


Haydn - Sym #93/II.....the great bassoon f*rt!!


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