# What is your favorite Romantic piece?



## quietfire (Mar 13, 2017)

What is your favorite musical work from the Romantic period (~1780-1910)?

I realise there is a lot of overlap in timing with the Classical period, so there is some leeway in interpreting what is considered Romantic music.


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor "Choral" - Ludwig van Beethoven (1824)


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Impossible to choose just one, sorry.


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## chill782002 (Jan 12, 2017)

No way I could choose one. Can I have 3?

Bruckner - Symphony 9
Mahler - Symphony 7
Sibelius - Tapiola


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Brahms String Quintet No. 2 in G Major.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

chill782002 said:


> No way I could choose one. Can I have 3?
> 
> Bruckner - Symphony 9
> Mahler - Symphony 7
> Sibelius - Tapiola


Now that's cheating.


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## chill782002 (Jan 12, 2017)

Pugg said:


> Now that's cheating.


I couldn't help it! I guess I should have followed your lead and stuck with the view that it would be too difficult to choose. Even now, I'm considering whether those 3 were the best choices. I'll leave it there though, you can drive yourself crazy that way.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Sorry, but it has been dealt with before in far too many similar kinds of ways.


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## Arent (Mar 27, 2017)

chill782002 said:


> No way I could choose one. Can I have 3?
> 
> Bruckner - Symphony 9
> Mahler - Symphony 7
> Sibelius - Tapiola


I was going to choose Bruckner 9. Music that has haunted me more than any other. I love Tapiola too, but can't stand the Mahler 7...so what is going on with your odd taste there?!


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## chill782002 (Jan 12, 2017)

Arent said:


> I was going to choose Bruckner 9. Music that has haunted me more than any other. I love Tapiola too, but can't stand the Mahler 7...so what is going on with your odd taste there?!


The Mahler 7 is wonderful. Particularly this version:









However, I'm glad to hear that you like Bruckner 9 and Tapiola. If you had one other suggestion, what would it be?


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14, followed closely by Liszt's Sonata in B Minor. Both of these monumental works are tightly integrated on a structural level, yet they have a stream-of-consciousness feel that appeals to me. Passion combined with structural unity...that's Romanticism at its best! (Romanticism at its worst would be passion _without _ any underlying musical structure - but I won't name any names here...)


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## quietfire (Mar 13, 2017)

Pugg said:


> Impossible to choose just one, sorry.


Three?..........................


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

If I had to choose a Beethoven work as an example of Romanticism, it would be the A minor String Quartet-Beethoven so far ahead of his time, the quartet sounds "Brahmsian" in texture. Incredible!

No doubt about it. The average Viennese music lovers had no idea of the immortal musical greatness living in their midst. How could they? This music was way, way over their heads!


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I consider even late Beethoven to be as much classical as romantic, also later Mahler is a lot more modern than romantic. Ergo the one real highlight of the romantic period would be Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique


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## Arent (Mar 27, 2017)

chill782002 said:


> The Mahler 7 is wonderful. Particularly this version:
> 
> View attachment 93184
> 
> ...


Totally different from the preceding, but I'm going to say Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. It may be just my mood today. Sheer enjoyment, and I don't always need the massive and profound like Bruckner...

That's the problem with picking one (or even three) pieces. There may be a "great" work that you only want to listen to a couple of times a year, but then there are many "lesser" pieces that are perfect for an ordinary evening and put a smile on your face. That's what Berlioz and Saint-Saëns are for.


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

Arent said:


> Totally different from the preceding, but I'm going to say Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. It may be just my mood today. Sheer enjoyment, and I don't always need the massive and profound like Bruckner...
> 
> That's the problem with picking one (or even three) pieces. There may be a "great" work that you only want to listen to a couple of times a year, but then there are many "lesser" pieces that are perfect for an ordinary evening and put a smile on your face. That's what Berlioz and Saint-Saëns are for.


There's nothing "lesser" about Berlioz.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

quietfire said:


> Three?..........................


That's better, will be back.


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## StDior (May 28, 2015)

If only one:
Mahler: Symphony No.2
But if Mahler is too late romantic, and excluding chamber music and I consider Beethoven as classical:
Early romantic: Schubert: Symphony No.9 (Great)
Mid: Verdi: Aida
Late romantic: Mahler: Symphony 2


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