# What is your favourite theme of all time?



## UnTalBilly (Apr 24, 2017)

There are literally thousands of beautiful themes and melodies, but if I had to choose one, I'd choose the beginning to the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1. What's your take on this?


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Tchaikovsky's Scene from Swan Lake, Saint Saen's the Swan, Vivaldi's Spring violin concerto 2nd movement, or Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess. Those are timeless, and the most emotional moments I feel in all music, and rarely do I feel emotional with music.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

UnTalBilly said:


> There are literally thousands of beautiful themes and melodies, but if I had to choose one, I'd choose the beginning to the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1. What's your take on this?


It's a memorable theme alright. A shame Tchaikovsky never brought it back in the concerto.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

For me, it would be the opening trumpet fanfare of Mahler 5; Mahler's tribute to Beethoven and the unique opening of the Beethoven Symphony No. 5...same distinctive rhythmic figure.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

I can't say I have an alltime favorite but the andante of the Mahler Sixth always pleases me.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Next to impossible to say. I find I am a lot less enamoured by themes alone these days than by their incorporation into greater musical structures. But just to play along, I'll pick the opening theme from Bach's G Minor ("Little") fugue BWV 578. (but I'll probably answer something else next time )


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

This is one of those where you change your mind after writing an answer.

So of the top off my head I'd say Fauré's Pavane. Itś very moving and beautiful, especially when the entire strings take the theme:


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Any theme from Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony.


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

MarkW said:


> I can't say I have an alltime favorite but the andante of the Mahler Sixth always pleases me.


I second this enthusiastically.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Maybe the second theme of the first movement of Schubert's string quintet:


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Too many to mention, but here's a few...

Grieg: The Last Spring
Brahms: Andantes from Symphonies 3 and 4 and the cello solo from Piano Concerto No.2
Dvorak: Adagio from Symphony 8
Tchaikovsky: Soaring melody from 1st movement of "Pathetique" Symphony


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

The one that comes to mind is Elgar's Enigma. So special.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

20centrfuge said:


> The one that comes to mind is Elgar's Enigma. So special.


Just one minute before I want to post this :tiphat:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> Next to impossible to say. I find I am a lot less enamoured by themes alone these days than by their incorporation into greater musical structures. But just to play along, I'll pick the opening theme from Bach's G Minor ("Little") fugue BWV 578. (but I'll probably answer something else next time )


The dilemmas of ones life, always having to choose.


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

20centrfuge said:


> The one that comes to mind is Elgar's Enigma. So special.


I suppose you refer to Nimrod. Good choice.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

The opening melody in Chopin's Barcarolle. Such a languid, dreamy opening. A bel canto aria for the piano! Then, in the final section, the melody returns in a dramatic fashion, supported by powerful chords and thundering octaves.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

The Adagio from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. One of those other-worldly melodies that he and Schubert seem to pull off the most.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Poème électronique


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

The "Menuet" from Ravel's _Tombeau de Couperin _always immediately puts me in a special place mentally, as does the _Pavanne pour une infante defunte_.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Das Rheingold overture


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## Melinda (May 9, 2017)

my fave is Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Totenfeier said:


> The "Menuet" from Ravel's _Tombeau de Couperin _always immediately puts me in a special place mentally, as does the _Pavanne pour une infante defunte_.


I'm playing Tombeau de Couperin right now on the piano- a delightful piece yet quite challenging- so far the Minuet is the only movement that I could perform right now... It does have a beautiful melody.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

I was thinking about Mozart's adagio from clarinet concerto, but the one that first came to mind and I have to give its due to this theme is from *Strauss final trio from Der Rosenkavalier.*


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

helenora said:


> I was thinking about Mozart's adagio from clarinet concerto, but the one that first came to mind and I have to give its due to this theme is from *Strauss final trio from Der Rosenkavalier.*


Also good just as one goes to sleep


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

Pugg said:


> Also good just as one goes to sleep


hahaha, yeah, undisturbing!


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## stejo (Dec 8, 2016)

There are lots of themes out there but the first come to my mind is Bolero, an easy listening and famous theme


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## arnerich (Aug 19, 2016)

I don't have an all time favorite but the second theme of Beethoven's violin concerto is incredible.


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

The theme beginning at *11:36* is beyond sublime.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

the big sweeping tune from the wasps overture

a tune that looks like it is going to resolve itself spectacularly in the final section of the piece but is dropped stone dead by RVW for some reason.


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## Schumanniac (Dec 11, 2016)

The incredibly dreamy, soft opening theme of Schumann's Fantasie in C minor, the 3rd slow movement would be a fine bet. Just sublime, ever since i first heard it hardly a day goes by that i dont massacre and shame it with my hopeless humming.

The sweeping folk melody of Grieg's piano concerto 1st movement or the Elgar nimrod as mentioned earlier are other possibles. The piano opening of mozart's Piano Concerto 27's slow movement is embedding itself in me lately too, the silences between notes somehow speak more than any notes themselves can. Who thought it possible


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Mozart: Symphony No. 40 intro theme
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 fate theme

(among many, many great choices, of course)


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## R3PL4Y (Jan 21, 2016)

The theme from the second movement of Samuel Barber's piano concerto
The first subject from the second movement of Elgar 2
The first theme from the third movement of Rachmaninoff 3 (the Symphony)
The first subject from Sibelius 7


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Hmm today I'll pick... Rachmaninoff - Elegie Op. 3 No. 1





 (from 00:00 - 1:41)


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Most of these favorite themes I never want to hear again. Jus' sayin'.


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## Melvin (Mar 25, 2011)

The theme of Peter from "Peter and the Wolf", for it's nostalgic value! Or "Bolero", because it is the longest theme ever, and it's fun to try to sing!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

The Wagner Ring Notung motif proclaimed by heroic trumpet, tends to stick in my mind quite often.


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

The rondo theme of the third movement of Beethoven's Waldstein sonata, *when heard in the context of the whole sonata*, rolls in like a wave to drench the ear in sheer bliss.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Vaneyes said:


> Most of these favorite themes I never want to hear again. Jus' sayin'.


For what reason?


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Well, I was thinking about the Sabre Dance, but now I can never think of that again thanks to Bettina! :lol:


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Klassik said:


> Well, I was thinking about the Sabre Dance, but now I can never think of that again thanks to Bettina! :lol:


Sorry!  I can never resist the temptation to crack a joke, but I now realize I've planted an image in people's heads and it can't be unseen! :lol:


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

Impossible.

But just to play along, it came to my mind right now the middle climax section "On the Summit" of Strauss's _Eine Alpensinfonie_. Makes me feel like I'm the king of the world after conquering the highest mountain .


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## Harmonie (Mar 24, 2007)

You may find it odd, but when I think of specific melodies that stick out to me and that I adore, I think of Renaissance dances.


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

Misterioooso... Misterioso-alteeeerooooo.....


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

eugeneonagain said:


> For what reason?


'Cause a little dab'll do yuh.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Vaneyes said:


> 'Cause a little dab'll do yuh.


I can honestly say I don't even know what that means and English is my first language.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

I actually really like the Theme and Variations from Biber's Harmonia Artificiosa Ariosa- Partita 6- especially when the continuo has the melody. Really effective.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

I favorite "theme" would be the diabelli waltz from beethoven's variations i suppose.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

The beginning of R. Strauss' Ein Heldenleben has been permanently imprinted on my brain thanks to a TV series a while back that had it as the opening credits background music.


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## arnerich (Aug 19, 2016)

The theme to Jurassic Park is pretty cool too.


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## Guest (Jun 3, 2017)

Haydn67 said:


> Too many to mention, but here's a few...
> 
> Grieg: The Last Spring
> Brahms: Andantes from Symphonies 3 and 4 and the cello solo from Piano Concerto No.2
> ...


I had never heard The Last Spring before today; it is beautiful. And I agree with the rest of your list too.


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

Hmm, let's see...

Sibelius: opening of Violin Concerto, finale of Symphony #2
Prokofiev: opening of String Quartet #1, and scherzo from Violin Concerto #1
Rimsky-Korsakov: Overture to Tsar's Bride
Rzewski: main theme of The People United Will Never be Defeated!
Kalinnikov: Symphony #1, the theme that comes a little bit after the introduction

Those were just the first ones I came up with, I know I'm missing maybe hundreds of my favorites, and probably some that I like more, but if I continue, I know I'll go overboard.


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## bigboy (May 26, 2017)

The first few measures "La fille au cheveux de lin" from Debussy's Preludes book 1. The whole prelude is just chock a block with some great melodies, but the main theme is something I will find myself humming on a regular basis.






Maybe this version is a bit slow for some tastes, but I think it really gets it right.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Currently, the main theme in the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5. It's such a beautiful waltz melody (one of the things he did best) and I love its rhythm - the sense of pushing and pulling, the way that it hesitates on a longer note and then rushes forward.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

Brahms Symphony No. 3, 3rd movement


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## Jacred (Jan 14, 2017)

Brahmsianhorn said:


> Brahms Symphony No. 3, 3rd movement


That always catches my attention after the slow second movement in C Major. I really like the 4th movement too.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

My favorite theme of all time?

When a self-centered mediocre man nobly sacrifices his own life for a greater good.

Sydney Carton, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.

Memorable!


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

The first theme/subject of the finale of Mozart's Jupiter: *C-D-F-E*; very uplifting. Some scholars go a bit too far to suggest that this theme might be even traced back to the Renaissance (Josquin seemed to use it in one of his mass). This brilliant video shows a compilation of its use:






Later on, when it enters the 5-part fugato, my hair stands on end:


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

At this current moment it is that jolly Ritornello theme from the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, 1st mvt.

Here: 



 !!


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

dzc4627 said:


> At this current moment it is that jolly Ritornello theme from the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, 1st mvt.
> 
> Here:
> 
> ...


Whenever I listen to it it gets stuck in my head for a week! Can be a good or bad thing.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

Tchaikov6 said:


> Whenever I listen to it it gets stuck in my head for a week! Can be a good or bad thing.


I have to say, I can relate to that big time. I'm able to whistle that tune (and others from the work) like no one's business!


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## Andrew Wassell (Jun 6, 2017)

Mine must be the first movement from Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, or Seventh Symphony 1st movement. Beautifulness!


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## lextune (Nov 25, 2016)

If I had to pick just one favorite, Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune would be a pretty solid pick.....


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Andrew Wassell said:


> Mine must be the first movement from Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, or Seventh Symphony 1st movement. Beautifulness!


Welcome to TC, Andrew! Which theme are you referring to in Beethoven's Seventh Symphony - the slow intro theme, or the faster main theme? For me personally, I love the transition between the slow intro and the faster theme, where Beethoven uses a single repeated note that gradually picks up speed.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Andrew Wassell said:


> Mine must be the first movement from Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, or Seventh Symphony 1st movement. Beautifulness!


Intriguing first post, welcome to TalkClassical Andrew.


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

TCHAIKOVSKY symphony 5 first themes they are played in each movement


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