# must listen to symphonies



## gobaith

I am new to the forum and not very knowledgable of classical music. If you were asked to choose one symphony that you think I "need " to listen to, what would it be and why ?


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## Huilunsoittaja

One symphony.... _one_... _one_... ooh hard, but I'll stay with _sane_.

Prokofiev's 1st, the "Classical" Symphony. Very beautiful, tuneful. And watch for the finale, the flutes do some really cool things.


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## Manxfeeder

Beethoven's 5th. It shows what you can do with two notes. Beyond that, it touches a spiritual level in the way it struggles and finally rises from minor to major.


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## Falstaft

You know what gobaith, there are plenty of canonical masterworks out there, but I'm going to give you an unusual answer and say you "need" to listen to Kurt Atterberg's 3rd symphony. He is an obscure obscure composer, but the work really beautifully (and with extreme accessibility) demonstrates the visceral power of the medium. Here it is on youtube:


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## Sid James

Depends what you're interested in - what era? Symphonies have been written as far back as the Baroque era - but not necessarily called as such. For example, the overtures to Handel's operas were called sinfonias and have a fast-slow-fast format, like symphonies. So you can listen to anything from Baroque to now, depending what you like. Even Sibelius' _Four Legends (Lemminkainen Suite)_ & Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe's _Sun Music(s) I-IV_ are basically symphonies in all but name. Here are some of my favourites & good ones for newbies from each era:

Classical era - Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"
Romantic era - Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Modern era - Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10
"Post Modern" era (1980's) - Lutoslawski: Symphony No. 3


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## elgar's ghost

My advice would be to choose something from the core repertoire from the early-mid 19th century - and that can only mean Beethoven! His 5th is as good a place as any to start your exploration. If you want to go forward to near the end of that century then Dvorak's 9th may be a good way in, too. If you want to go back to the late 18th then go for Mozart's 40th and 41st. Obvious choices perhaps, but good places to embark on what will be a long and hopefully rewarding journey for you. Then perhaps you will eventually discover Mahler and that's when the fun really starts (and we haven't even got after 1910 yet!). Enjoy!


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## Saturnus

Dvorak 9 I'd say. 
First of all because it has been so extremely influential for 20th century "common" orchestral music. 
And secondly because, in my experience, it's the symphony who has gotten most newcomers hooked on classical music. Which is quite remarkable because this is by no means an easy listening, it's a very classical, complex and serious piece, highly regarded both by academics and experienced listeners. 
It's also a bonus that it's very often performed so you should be able to find a live concert.


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## Art Rock

Dvorak 9, Beethoven 6 or Schubert 8.


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## emiellucifuge

Take a look at our top recommended symphonies list in the orchestral forum!


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## Manxfeeder

Falstaft said:


> you "need" to listen to Kurt Atterberg's 3rd symphony.


Beautiful and evocative. Thanks.


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## superhorn

Good heavens ! There are so many wonderful symphonies out there !
I would suggest a roughly chronological approach to get an idea of how the symphony evolved over the centuries.
The most famous ones of Haydn and Mozart, then the nine of Beethoven, 
5,8, and 9 of Schubert, the 4 of Schumann, 3,4 and 5 of Mendelssohn, the 4 of Brahms,
no 3 of Camille Saint-Saens,the one symphony of Cesar Franck, nos 7,8, and 9 of Dvorak, 4,5 and 6 of Tchaikovsky. the one of George Bizet, 
4,7,8 and 9 of Anton Bruckner, 12,4,5 and 9 of Mahler, 1,2, and 5 of Sibelius, 
the two of Elgar, 2,4 and 5 of Vaughan Williams, 1 and 5 of Prokofiev, 1,5, 7, and 10 of Shostakovich , just for starters. 
You can google all of these and more, and wilipedia is a good source. 
And there are many others you should hear also. Take your time and get to know them. If you don't "get" one the first time you hear it,it's not your fault; it just takes repeated hearing to digest them in the mind very often. I know about this form over 40 years of listening. It often takes more than one hearing to grasp something.
You can't go wrong with recordings by such great conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Sir Georg Solti,Herbert von Karajan, Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Colin Davis, Claudio Abbado,Riccardo Chailly, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph von Dohnanyi,Bernard Haitink, 
Neeme Jarvi, Rafael Kubelik,Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Sir Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch,Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, Valery Gergiev etc.


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## Jean Christophe Paré

I would go with Beethoven's 5th. Not because it is my favourite, but it is a very well known symphony and will be enjoyable to most non-casual listeners.


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## bassClef

Mahler's 2nd - it has everything.


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## starthrower

Dvorak's 9th is a good choice for starters. A very inspired work with great melodies.
Get the Chicago Symphony recording with Sir George Solti.

Beethoven's 5th is always great. Nos. 6 & 9 are also essential.

Charles Ives Symphony No.1 is another beautiful work.

Tchaikovsky's No.5 is another famous work loaded with catchy melodies.

If you decide to progress to more modern works, there's always Lutoslawski, Dutilleux, William Schuman, and Ives No.4.

Although not Symphonies, by all means listen to Stravinsky's great ballets, the Firebird Complete, Petrushka, The Rite Of Spring. Check out Pierre Boulez's recordings on the DG label.

There are also many great instrumental works to enjoy like Tchaikovsky's March Slav, Borodin's In The Steppes Of Central Asia. Debussy's La Mer, Nocturnes.

Also highly recommended is Samuel Barber's Overture to the School For Scandal, and Bartok's Concerto For Orchestra/Music For Strings, Percussion, and Celesta. 

Use your library to get familiar with these works. Then you can decide what you really want to own.


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## gobaith

Thankyou all for your thoughtful replies. I haven't got back to you, as Ihave been so busy listening to ......symphonies ! I started with some I had heard in my childhood.Gustav Holst "The planets", which for some reason was the only classical recording we had in the house. Then, Beethoven's fifth. Followed by Sibelius' fifth, which I have found very moving - it's very "Finnish " somehow, and I can here echoes of my own Celtic culture in there. I've enjoyed Mozart's jupiter, which I really loved. Next will be Shostakovitch, which always has me sitting up when I hear his works on the radio, then Atterberg, as I very ignorantly, have never heard of this composer.
I will check out Elgar, which evokes English nationalism, so far from my own Welshness.It has always made me cringe up until now ( last night of the proms, union jack being waved, etc ....) I am surely being very narrow minded.
I am also trying to remember which Schubert symphony had a haunting oboe part, which I can often hear in my head .....Thank goodness for the internet, so much information to be had.
I feel like a child about to open a mountain of presents on Christmas morning !..


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## Saturnus

There's a ton of oboe solos in Schubert, what you have in mind is most likely the second movement of his 9th symphony or the 8th symphony (more likely, since the 9th is more pleasant than haunting, but it's in minor so you never know how other people feel it).

ps. you should _really_ check out Dvoraks 9th


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## Chris

gobaith said:


> I will check out Elgar, which evokes English nationalism, so far from my own Welshness.It has always made me cringe up until now ( last night of the proms, union jack being waved, etc ....)


Admit it gobaith, you're just envious of our indoor toilets


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## JAKE WYB

I would say you need to see live, exciting and gripping works like

*Mahler 1, 2, 5, 6
Shostakovich 10,11*

or atmospheric and colourful works like

*Sibelius 5
Bax 1,3*

i bet more newcomers to orchestral music would respond and enjoy those more than dry and crinkly works like beethoven 5th

late 19th early 20th century is the best place to start , and go see it live asap


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## Manxfeeder

JAKE WYB said:


> I would say you need to see live, exciting and gripping works like
> 
> *Mahler 2, *


*

Out in Nashville we inaugurated our new acoustically dynamite symphony hall with the closing of Mahler's 2nd. It had Garth Brooks standing up and cheering, among other country luminaries. If that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what is .*


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## starthrower

I recently purchased the Brilliant Classics 3-CD set of Complete Martinu Symphonies. Wow! This is some wonderful music that should appeal to late Romantic, and 20th century music fans. A beautiful package for only 15 bucks!


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## emiellucifuge

http://www.talkclassical.com/11038-tc-150-top-recommended.html


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## elgar's ghost

Gobaith - the more jingositic works of Elgar should be interpreted as pandering to British nationalism, not English - the Union Flag is your flag too, if you want it. The fault lies with the era - many people took England and the UK to mean largely the same thing. England has never really recovered from this narrow and divisive mindset and it has been mainly at the expense of her own identity while fuelling the intensity of those of Wales and Scotland. 

I'm glad you're enjoying your listening, anyway!


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## claroche

I'd start with the Dvorak 9. It's not long, dense, or immediately challenging, contains beautiful melodies, and captures a range of moods/feelings in isolated, easy-to-grip chunks. This isn't to put it down at all, but is to say that it is possibly the most accessible major symphony.

After this I would try (as recommended by others) the Beethoven 5. The 6th and 7th are good for a passing/newcomer listen as well. The 9th and 3rd are imminently listenable, but a lot is lost with the latter if you don't understand Beethoven's innovations in form, and the former can (Ode to Joy removed) be daunting/overbearing or confusing if you're unaccustomed to Romantic era symphonies or late-period Beethoven.

On this note while I think the Mahler 5 is perhaps the most complete symphony, I wouldn't recommend any of Mahler's symphonies to a newcomer apart from perhaps Symphony No. 1, much as I would not recommend attempting to swim across the English Channel to someone learning how to swim.


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## starry

elgars ghost said:


> Gobaith - the more jingositic works of Elgar should be interpreted as pandering to British nationalism, not English - the Union Flag is your flag too, if you want it. The fault lies with the era - many people took England and the UK to mean largely the same thing. England has never really recovered from this narrow and divisive mindset and it has been mainly at the expense of her own identity while fuelling the intensity of those of Wales and Scotland.
> 
> I'm glad you're enjoying your listening, anyway!


I consider his first symphony to be a personal and not a political piece.


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## Tracy

I find Milhaud's symphonies to be vastly underrated and very unique.

On an even more modern note, Taylor's symphonies, un-recorded at this point are quite impressive as well. Try to keep an eye out for them at your local concert hall.


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## gobaith

I have emptied the local library of classical cds, and am surprised and am delighted by what I have been listening to. I'm looking forward to listening to Mahler in the next week or so. There are a few symphonies that have been hard to "let go" of, ie I find myself listening to them over and over again.
Thanks for the post about Elgar, Elgars ghost. I won't comment on the Union Jack flag being relevant in wales, however interesting the debate would be, suffice to say that music is universal, and all music lovers find themselves waving the same flag !!!


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## JeremyMcGrath

Tracy said:


> I find Milhaud's symphonies to be vastly underrated and very unique.
> 
> On an even more modern note, Taylor's symphonies, un-recorded at this point are quite impressive as well. Try to keep an eye out for them at your local concert hall.


I don't know about Taylor's symphonies but there was a local performance of Taylor's La Premiere Neige D'Hiver here in San Diego recently, which knocked my socks off! Definately a composer to watch for.

2010-I finally delved into Edmund Rubbra's work.


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## Ravellian

Tchaikovsky is excellent for 'beginners' to classical music - his music is thrilling, emotional and easy to understand. Try listening to the 4th or 5th symphonies.


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## gobaith

I have very much enjoyed the fourth. Many thanks for the advice.


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## Guest

Listen to any of the Brahms symphonies (ideally all of them). Also, Mendelssohn 3 and 4, Dvorak 6-9, Sibelius 2-7, Prokofiev 1 and 5, Vaughan Williams 2 and 5, Shostakovich 5, Rachmaninoff 2. That's a good place to start before you go venturing into more esoteric works.


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## science

Almost no one is willing to stick to one, and I won't either. Here are the top four symphonies I think you "must" listen to - in the sense that you'll want to have them in your listening repertoire, and that you'll enjoy them immediately, but they'll never stop revealing new things to you: 

1. Dvorak 9 
2. Beethoven 5
3. Brahms 1
4. Mozart 40


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## KJohnson

Shostakovich 10, by all means.


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## Musicbox

Tchaikovsky 6th was where it all started for me. 22 years and 1300 classical discs and LPs later it still satisfies.


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## tdc

To start with maybe: (again too hard to stick to one). 

Mozart's 38th or 40th

Beethoven's 7th or 9th

Mahlers 2nd 3rd, or 6th


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## LordBlackudder

The Metal Gear Solid theme is great to watch. And To Zanarkand performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.


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## Comus

^^^^
Yes, those are must listen to _symphonies_.


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