# Most loved works of famous musicians



## 444mil (May 27, 2018)

Does anyone know a thread, video or anything related about what works/composers do famous musicians like the most?


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Of the top of my head - Maria Callas's favourite opera was Bellini's Norma closely followed by Verdi's Traviata. Horowitz was especially fond of Liszt's consolation in D-flat major, and Lotte Lehmann's favourite role was Heliane in Korngold's Das Wunder der Heliane.


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

I remember reading a story that Maria Callas was in a car with someone and Beethoven 8th symphony was on the radio. She wanted silence and when it over and heard it was George Szell, conductor of the piece, she stated the best was Furtwangler who she had heard live and that no one could shape musical lines as he did. Of course I am trying to remember this and someone else was remembering the story so take it for what it is worth.


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## 444mil (May 27, 2018)

In an interview Argerich stated that Beethoven's 4th piano concerto was the most impactful musical experience she'd ever had (not her favourite piece)


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

444mil said:


> In an interview Argerich stated that Beethoven's 4th piano concerto was the most impactful musical experience she'd ever had (not his favourite piece)


Not sure who he is (Beethoven?) but Argerich was moved by Arrau playing Beethoven 4th concerto. And apparently she loves Beethoven (though she seldoms records/plays Beethoven) and no surprise as Beethoven being the volatile composer and M Argerich is a rather stormy person herself I guess it makes sense.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

I believe Sviatoslav Richter once said his three favorite pieces were Bach's Saint Matthew Passion, Wagner's Ring Cycle, and Debussy's La Mer.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

444mil said:


> In an interview Argerich stated that Beethoven's 4th piano concerto was the most impactful musical experience she'd ever had (not his favourite piece)


Argerich is a her, and I also remember her saying that Schumann was her favorite composer.


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

[One of her lasting childhood memories is of hearing Claudio Arrau playing the Beethoven 4th piano concerto, jolting through her body like electricity. "I still do" love Beethoven, she says now. "That's a long-lasting love. I mean, I love him more than anything" - more, even, than Prokofiev and Ravel, whom she consistently refers to as her "best friends," or Schumann, "who touches me, so personally. When I play some phrases, I really have tears." But Beethoven remains at the top of the list. You might think this would make her a Beethoven specialist; but she has not performed many of the 32 sonatas, though they are staples of the piano repertory. As for the 4th concerto, she loves it so much that - counter to what one might expect - she has never played it in public.]

This excerpt came from a Washington Post article. Sounds to me like Beethoven gets the prize on most nights.....


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Does this count: on an interview that was included with his Mahler 6th, Jascha Horenstein said the worst thing about dying would never being able to hear Das Lied von der Erde again.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

When Leonard Bernstein was asked to choose music for the funeral of Robert Kennedy, he chose a movement from Mahler's Symphony No. 5. The piece clearly meant a lot to Bernstein, and when he died in 1990, he was buried with a copy of the score laid across his chest.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Both Sarah Chang and Julia Fischer have stated in interviews that they are on a mission to promote Dvorak's Violin Concerto more. Hilary Hahn is all about Bach and has stated that she "warms up" on the partitas.


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