# Your favorite Non-Romantic era classical piece ~ any genre.



## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Your favorite *Non-Romantic* era classical piece ~ any genre.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

What it says


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Whatever aggravates the most people.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

One of my favorites, as these are also one of the most popular pieces of works ever written, Bach's six Brandenburg concertos. Epic pieces.


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## Queen of the Nerds (Dec 22, 2014)

ArtMusic: Totally agree!


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Blake said:


> Whatever aggravates the most people.


Around these [virtual] parts, that often enough seems to be the nearly 100 year-old music of Herr Schönberg !

Unfortunately, I could not offer the same in this OP: the music which aggravates me the most is from the Romantic Era


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

J.S. Bach Keyboard Partitas, especially on harpsichord.

I suppose you never heard of them. Written for conno-sewers.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

hpowders said:


> J.S. Bach Keyboard Partitas, especially on harpsichord.I suppose you never heard of them. Written for conno-sewers.


Well, the piano versions are more accessible to real people. Had to say that. 

You *do* know that Bach sold pianos, right?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Ummmm... this would be impossible. Okay what about Schoenberg's Guerrelieder then?


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

ArtMusic said:


> One of my favorites, as these are also one of the most popular pieces of works ever written, Bach's six Brandenburg concertos. Epic pieces.


A little clarification

Usually when people say the phrase "...as these are..." in that context, it's a fancy way of saying "because". So are you saying that you like the Brandenburg Concertos because they are popular?


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## trazom (Apr 13, 2009)

Whichever piece is the most lacking in "profundity" or "transcendence" or "depth" or "doesn't have enough innovation" oh and it has to be "homogenous" as well; whichever fulfills all those requirements is probably one of my favorite pieces.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

albertfallickwang said:


> Ummmm... this would be impossible. Okay what about Schoenberg's Guerrelieder then?


LOL. Another thread "Favorite Romantic Symphony" has romantic era at a generally accepted set of dates: 1825 - 1910. That Lumps _Gurrelieder (1900) _ in Romantic... (where I know that you know that is what it is and where it belongs) and those dates _excluded from "Romantic"_ Beethoven's _Symphony No. 9_ (Classical 

so... Bubeleh, if you were one of those yearning to pop in Luigi's 9th symphony on a TC favorites list, here is _The Right Place_


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

PetrB said:


> LOL. Another thread "Favorite Romantic Symphony" has romantic era at a generally accepted set of dates: 1825 - 1910. That Lumps _Gurrelieder (1900) _ in Romantic... (where I know that you know that is what it is and where it belongs) and those dates _excluded from "Romantic"_ Beethoven's _Symphony No. 9_ (Classical
> 
> so... Bubeleh, if you were one of those yearning to pop in Luigi's 9th symphony on a TC favorites list, here is _The Right Place_


Well, then. I choose Beethoven's 9th. ;-)

Also...

Mozart's _38th_ and _40th_
Schoenberg's _String Quartet 2_
Debussy _La Mer_
Stravinsky _Rite of Spring_ (or _Violin Concerto_)
Bartok _String Quartet 4_
Nono _Il Canto Sospeso_


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)




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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

-------------------------------------------------


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## Giordano (Aug 10, 2014)

That's easy... I don't listen to _Romantic_ music... if I can help it...

My all time favorite is Bach's Chaconne (from Violin Partita in D minor).


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

PetrB said:


> ... Another thread "Favorite Romantic Symphony" has romantic era at a generally accepted set of dates: *1825 - 1910.* ....
> so... Bubeleh, if you were one of those yearning to pop in Luigi's 9th symphony on a TC favorites list, here is _The Right Place_


... so avoiding that 85-year span, here's a list of a few favourites 

Mozart -- Piano concerto #18, #24, #25
Beethoven -- Piano sonata #21 _"Waldstein"_, String quartet #10 _"Harp"_, Symphony #5
Sibelius -- Symphony #7
Prokofiev -- Piano concerto #2
Rachmaninov -- Piano concerto #4, _Vocalise_, Symphonic Dances
Ravel -- Piano Trio
Shostakovich -- Piano concerto #2
Glass -- String quartet #3 _"Mishima"_
Part -- _Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten_


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

I don't have any favourite that I can single out as "the one and only", there's to much good music around for anyone to be single minded! 

/ptr


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Well, the piano versions are more accessible to real people. Had to say that.
> 
> You *do* know that Bach sold pianos, right?


Yes. He sold them at Ohrbachs Department store in NYC. (It closed in 1987).


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

hpowders said:


> Yes. He sold them at Ohrbachs Department store in NYC. (It closed in 1987).


Hasn't he been seen playing the Wanamaker Organ at the Macy's in Philly?


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I feel exactly like ptr. I am totally stumped  One piece? As soon as I mention one, I will have negated 1000s of others!


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

I also find it very difficult to narrow things down to a single work. Here are a few favourites from post 1910

Webern 5 Movements for String Quartet
Berg - Piano Sonata (OK, 1908 - so sue me!)
Hindemith - Piano Sonata No 1
Hindemith - Violin Concerto
Bridge - String Quartet No 4
Bartok - Violin Concerto No 2
Britten - The Holy Sonnets of John Donne
Kurtag - Nine pieces for solo viola
Ligeti - String Quartet II

Too many, and every time I think of a work I'm put in mind of another, so I'll stop there

My favourite amongst these is definitely, almost certainly, probably, possibly - the Bartok violin concerto No 2


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Well, the piano versions are more accessible to real people. Had to say that.
> 
> You *do* know that Bach sold pianos, right?


All kidding aside, the incomparable nobility and spirituality of J.S. Bach's keyboard works are brought out most convincingly by the harpsichord. For example, in the first keyboard partita's sarabande, compare the anguished trill in the second section on harpsichord vs. piano. The piano simply cannot emulate the emotion one feels at that wonderful moment, that the harpsichord can and does elicit.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2015)

I tried to make a list Petr. It was too much. Then I tried to make a post-1910 list. It was too much.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

violadude said:


> A little clarification
> 
> Usually when people say the phrase "...as these are..." in that context, it's a fancy way of saying "because". So are you saying that you like the Brandenburg Concertos because they are popular?


No, I like it regardless of popular or unpopular the pieces are, but in many cases it just happens to be popular almost a corollary.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

A few years ago I would have knee-jerked into picking Vaughan William's Tallis Fantasia. Now that I am getting more and more into a more experimental style, I'm not so sure. 

I'll compromise and choose Ligeti's Requiem.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2015)

I'll say that my 2nd choice to the legendary piece "Anonymous" is the LICHT cycle because it covers all my bases


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I'll have to put Sibelius's 7th in there next to everyhting Boulez every wrote (but particularly his Dérives and Sur Incises and Messagesquisse). I do love Ligeti's works, especially the chamber concerto, cello concerto, second string quartet, requiem, atmosphères, piano concerto and Le Grand Macabre....but also I might put Terrain by Ferneyhough into the category of my favourite works too. Then there's all that Schnittke, especially the concerti grossi and the symphonies and the viola concerto, Schoenberg's piano concerto, suite op. 24, Pierrot Lunaire, 5 pieces for orchestra, Ode to Napoleon, A Survivor from Warsaw!!!! Can't forget Webern's symphony, concerto for 9 instruments, variations for piano, bagatelles for string quartet, String Quartet.....Jeux by Debussy as well as his études for piano, Sonic Eclipse and the 5 orchestral pieces by Pintscher, the violin concerto, viola concerto, Polysomnography and the opera Bliss by Brett Dean! I can't forget the concerto for strings and the two cello concertos by Ginastera...or even Living Toys, Polaris, the violin concerto and the piano quintet and the opera The Tempest by Adès! And a whole heap of orchestral music by Xenakis, especially Jonchaies and Ata, and as for his chamber music there's Tetras for string quartet which I'm particularly fond of. Elliott Carter: Horn Concerto, Luimen, Cello Concerto, Clarinet Concerto, Violin Concerto, A Symphony of 3 Orchestras, Symphonia Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei...Stravinsky too! There's his Symphony in 3 movments, The Rake's Progress, The Rite of Spring, Requiem Canticles, Threni, Epitaphium...Kontra-Punkte by Stockhausen I must not forget either....

and Gesualdo's 5th and 6th books of madrigals!!!!!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I'll have to put Sibelius's 7th in there next to everyhting Boulez every wrote (but particularly his Dérives and Sur Incises and Messagesquisse). I do love Ligeti's works, especially the chamber concerto, cello concerto, second string quartet, requiem, atmosphères, piano concerto and Le Grand Macabre....but also I might put Terrain by Ferneyhough into the category of my favourite works too. Then there's all that Schnittke, especially the concerti grossi and the symphonies and the viola concerto, Schoenberg's piano concerto, suite op. 24, Pierrot Lunaire, 5 pieces for orchestra, Ode to Napoleon, A Survivor from Warsaw!!!! Can't forget Webern's symphony, concerto for 9 instruments, variations for piano, bagatelles for string quartet, String Quartet.....Jeux by Debussy as well as his études for piano, Sonic Eclipse and the 5 orchestral pieces by Pintscher, the violin concerto, viola concerto, Polysomnography and the opera Bliss by Brett Dean! I can't forget the concerto for strings and the two cello concertos by Ginastera...or even Living Toys, Polaris, the violin concerto and the piano quintet and the opera The Tempest by Adès! And a whole heap of orchestral music by Xenakis, especially Jonchaies and Ata, and as for his chamber music there's Tetras for string quartet which I'm particularly fond of. Elliott Carter: Horn Concerto, Luimen, Cello Concerto, Clarinet Concerto, Violin Concerto, A Symphony of 3 Orchestras, Symphonia Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei...Stravinsky too! There's his Symphony in 3 movments, The Rake's Progress, The Rite of Spring, Requiem Canticles, Threni, Epitaphium...Kontra-Punkte by Stockhausen I must not forget either....
> 
> and Gesualdo's 5th and 6th books of madrigals!!!!!


Is that all you can come up with?


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

I think this question is utterly unanswerable. I tried about eight times and failed. Even listing the eight would make me fell like I was sidelining all the other fantastic non-romantic works.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

starthrower said:


> Is that all you can come up with?


They're just a selection of favourites.


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## SottoVoce (Jul 29, 2011)

The ones I take the most undisturbed pleasure in, and which really move me in a very deep way, is the op 95 and 127 Quartet, the K503 Concerto, and the Symphony of Psalms. I go back to these pieces pretty much constantly and never get tired of then. They seem to be a pretty random batch, so I'm not sure I can make sense of them. I can't reduce the number anymore without doing more injustice than now.


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2015)

OP: Caldara: Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo:


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

trazom said:


> Whichever piece is the most lacking in "profundity" or "transcendence" or "depth" or "doesn't have enough innovation" oh and it has to be "homogenous" as well; whichever fulfills all those requirements is probably one of my favorite pieces.


Ravel's Bolero. Seriously.


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

les barricades mystérieuses by couperin, played the right way, which is a little bit fast, and questioning, as the
title implies. You can hear about 7 variations in playing on YouTube.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tallis: _Spem in alium_ (40-voice motet)
Monteverdi: "Possente spirto" from _L'Orfeo_
Purcell: "When I am laid in earth" from _Dido and Aeneas_
Bach: _Brandenburgs; Double Violin Concerto; Chaconne (solo violin); Goldberg variations; B-minor Mass_
Gluck: "O malheureuse Iphigenie" from _Iphigenie en Tauride_
Beethoven: _Violin Sonatas #7 and 10; "Archduke" Trio; "Pastoral" Symphony; Symphony #9; Late Cello Sonatas; Late Quartets_
Sibelius: _Symphonies #4, 5, 6 and 7; Tapiola_
Nielsen: _Symphony #4_
Elgar: _Piano Quintet; Symphony #3 _
Vaughan Williams: _Symphony #5; Prelude to "49th Parallel" _
Warlock: _The Curlew_
Rachmaninoff: _The Bells; Piano Sonata #2; Symphony #3; Piano Concerto #4; Symphonic Dances_
Kalman: _Countess Maritza_
Strauss: _4 Last Songs_
Bartok: _Bluebeard's Castle_
Prokofiev: _Romeo and Juliet__; Violin Concertos_
Copland: _Appalachian Spring_

Holy @#$%! This is like a Rorschach test! It's harsh of PetrB to make us expose our secret selves this way! But I guess it'll come in handy if I ever decide to consult a therapist.

[_dissolve to psychiatrist's office_]

"OK, Doc. That's the list. That's my favorite music from before and after the Romantic era."

[_brief pause_]

"Hmmmmmmmm..."

[_longer pause_]

"What is it?"

[_very long pause_]

"Hmmmmmmmm. Mmmmmm-hmmmmmmmmmm..."

[_excruciatingly long pause_]

"So, Doc! Tell me! What's my problem? Am I repressed?"

"Repressed? Quite the contrary, Woodduck. It's much worse than that. You have Pre- and Post-Romantic Hyperromantic Syndrome."

"Jeez! Wh...what do you do for that?"

"Unfortunately there is no effective treatment. At your age the condition is terminal. All you can do now is make yourself comfortable."

"But... I'm already comfortable."

"Then why are you here?"

"Well, PetrB said Rachmaninoff was bad for my teeth. I was afraid it might be bad for my mind too."

"Heh heh. Your mind is just fine, Woodduck. Rachmaninoff only gives you a temporary loss of ego-consciousness, much as orgasm does."

"Oh... Well... Well, yeah! Yeah! That's just how it feels! That's _exactly_ how it feels! _Oh my_ _gosh_! Thanks, Doc!"

"You're welcome."

"I'm going home to listen to the _Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini_ right now!"

"Not so fast! Was that composed after 1910? It's critical that you be certain of that."

"Damn straight! 1934!"

"Heh heh heh. You're right on the ball, aren't you, Woodduck? Take care."

"Thanks. You too. And happy new year, Doc."

"Happy new year."


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

that is an unexpected question PetrB

because how is it possible to choose just one piece fron any genre, any era except romantic?

I am thinking... and thinking... and thinking

my most favorite...

what is yours? any of Herr Schönberg's?


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Tallis: _Spem in alium_ (40-voice motet)
> Monteverdi: "Possente spirto" from _L'Orfeo_
> Purcell: "When I am laid in earth" from _Dido and Aeneas_
> Bach: _Brandenburgs; Double Violin Concerto; Chaconne (solo violin); Goldberg variations; B-minor Mass_
> ...


Happy new Year Woodduck

excellent post

by the way Valentina Lisitsa and William Kappell had two very strong recordings of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

clara s said:


> Happy new Year Woodduck
> 
> excellent post
> 
> by the way Valentina Lisitsa and William Kappell had two very strong recordings of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini


Thanks. I have Kappell's. Happy new year to you too.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

For me this question is the same as "favorite classical piece," and is impossible. The first thing that popped in my head was Bach's St. John Passion, so I'll say that.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Tallis: _Spem in alium_ (40-voice motet)
> Monteverdi: "Possente spirto" from _L'Orfeo_
> Purcell: "When I am laid in earth" from _Dido and Aeneas_
> Bach: _Brandenburgs; Double Violin Concerto; Chaconne (solo violin); Goldberg variations; B-minor Mass_
> ...


Duckie, you never needed to consult Doktor Freud to begin with: Stockhausen's people really_ don't_ come from the planet Sirius.


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2015)

MoonlightSonata said:


> I think this question is utterly unanswerable.


It's also unaskable...if you see what I mean? I guess PetrB thought he'd get his retaliation in first.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

hpowders said:


> All kidding aside, the incomparable nobility and spirituality of J.S. Bach's keyboard works are brought out most convincingly by the harpsichord. For example, in the first keyboard partita's sarabande, compare the anguished trill in the second section on harpsichord vs. piano. The piano simply cannot emulate the emotion one feels at that wonderful moment, that the harpsichord can and does elicit.


You do know J.S. Bach's personal favorite at-home keyboard of those which fall under his general usage of Clavier of the plinkety-plonk variety was the Clavichord, don't you? Once you hear a decent recording of those suites on a clavichord, I think you'll realize a large and looming regret you ever spent money on all those harpsichord recordings 

For that matter, if you can find the out of print recording of Ralph Kirkpatrick performing the _Goldberg Variations_ on the clavichord, that might make for another bit of rep where you rue the investment in the harpsichord recordings.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

clara s said:


> Valentina Lisitsa and William Kappell have two very strong recordings of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini


... that Lisitsa disk will come in very handy as a protective coaster for your drink while listening to the Kappell recording.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

arcaneholocaust said:


> I tried to make a list Petr. It was too much. Then I tried to make a post-1910 list. It was too much.


Lists and requests for lists are generally a pain in the [email protected]@. I created the thread for any who, like me, noticed at least three concurrently running threads on "Favorite Romantic Symphony" / "Favorite Romantic (something, and ditto, something)" and began to have the impression TC was perilously close to appearing to be an "All Romantic Era Music All The Time" channel.

So I thought I'd punch through those and give a hair more of a semblance of balance to the board.

The more I've been on TC, I have become near to wholly desensitized in having any curiosity about anyone's favorite anything, to be truthful....


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

Well... I, for one, find it quite easy to reply.
It's Prokofiev's 2nd piano concerto.


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

PetrB said:


> ... that Lisitsa disk will come in very handy as a protective coaster for your drink while listening to the Kappell recording.


sir, all that can be said here is ... ROFL. :tiphat:


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I'll narrow it down to three (reluctantly):

Bach - St Matthew's Passion
Mozart - Clarinet concerto
Gorecki - Symphony 3


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Skilmarilion said:


> sir, all that can be said here is ... ROFL. :tiphat:


meaning

Rolling On the Floor, Laughing

or

Ran Out For Lunch?


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

All kidding aside, the incomparable nobility and spirituality of J.S. Bach's keyboard works are brought out most convincingly by the harpsichord. For example, in the first keyboard partita's sarabande, compare the anguished trill in the second section on harpsichord vs. piano. The piano simply cannot emulate the emotion one feels at that wonderful moment, that the harpsichord can and does elicit.

Absolute nonsense. I have no use whatsoever for such purism. I have recordings of Bach on piano, harpsichord, clavichord, and a slew of other instruments. What matters is the individual performance and some of the finest performances I have heard do not happen to be on instruments beyond the harpsichord.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Carlo Gesualdo- Tenebrae
J.S. Bach- Well Tempered Clavier, Cello Suites
G.F. Handel- Messiah
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber- Rosary Sonatas
W.A. Mozart- Die Zauberflöte, Clarinet Quintet
Haydn- The Creation
Gabriel Fauré- Requiem
Igor Stravinsky- Le sacre du printemps, Le Rossignol
Richard Strauss- Salome, Der Rosenkavalier, For Last Songs
Béla Bartók- Bluebeard's Castle
Peter Lieberson- Neruda Songs

At least such is my list today.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

A lot of my favorites come from the "Romantic" era!!! 

So, here's a narrowed down list of some of my non-romantic favorites, only one per composer

Bach - Goldberg Variations
Stravinsky - Violin Concerto
Busoni - Fantasia Contrappuntistica
Glass - Einstein on the Beach
Gorecki - Symphony 3
Kilar - Angelus
Mozart - The Magic Flute
Part - Tabula Rasa
Poulenc - Organ Concerto
Prokofiev - Piano Concerto 5
Ravel - Left-Handed Piano Concerto
Clementi - Sonata in b minor, op. 40 no. 2
Reich - Different Trains
Schoenberg - Chamber Symphony 2
Scriabin - Sonata 8
Hindemith - Kammarmusik 1
Shostakovich - Symphony 10
Webern - Symphony no. 21


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