# In general, which do you prefer, Fast Movements or slow movements?



## mahlernerd (Jan 19, 2020)

I know that it is different for almost every work, but in general which do you prefer and why?

For me, I would choose fast. I love when things are taken at a fast pace, because it brings the great excitement that I love when I listen to classical music. How about you?


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

I'm afraid I have the concentration span of a gnat. Slow movements can be stunningly beautiful, but there's always the risk my mind will wander. The thrill of a good fast movement generally keeps my attention!

Oddly, I don't have this problem with slow choral music or operatic arias, say. I guess the words or the drama keeps my attention then.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

For great music, I don't care if it's fast, slow, or moderate. For sub-par music, a short number of minutes is appreciated.


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## chu42 (Aug 14, 2018)

I generally prefer fast movements but when a slow movement is really good, it's usually the highlight of the work.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

I prefer slow Bach, slow Haydn, and slow Beethoven. But I prefer fast Romantic music and fast modern music. My love of sonata-allegro wins the day, tipping my preference towards fast movements.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Fast. I'm built more for speed than comfort.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

AbsolutelyBaching said:


> I'm afraid I have the concentration span of a gnat. Slow movements can be stunningly beautiful, but there's always the risk my mind will wander. The thrill of a good fast movement generally keeps my attention!
> 
> Oddly, I don't have this problem with slow choral music or operatic arias, say. I guess the words or the drama keeps my attention then.


Yes, pretty much the same case here though somehow Wagner still manages to be one of my favourite composers - I don't know how this exactly works :lol:. There're some composers whose slow movements I really thoroughly enjoy, one of them is Shostakovich and the other one is probably Bruckner. Not that I don't enjoy the slow movements of other composers but usually just prefer their fast ones.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Wow, I’m clearly outnumbered in my preference for slow movements! For me they are the beating heart of most multi-movement works.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

When I started collecting classical music as a teenager back in the 1980s, I was always after the music that was familiar to me that had lots of movement (the endings to _1812_ and _William Tell Overture_, _Ride of Valkyries_, etc.); but then while I still a teenager I came across _Swan of Tounela_ by Sibelius, and in my mind I could just see the swan swimming through the marsh, and I found it to be very beautiful. I think that was a turning point for me, a new plateau, where I gained a deeper understanding.

Over time, I began to enjoy the slow movements more and more, but it was gradual. For years I found Wagner's _Siegfried Idyll_ to be the height of boredom, until one day it came to me all of the sudden how tender and gently moving it is.

For all Beethoven's dramatic tension and heroism, I find that he actually composed some of the most wonderful slow movements of all composers, _By the Brook_ from _Symphony #6_, the middle movement from _Piano Concerto #5_ and the _Violin Concerto_...

I generally believe that slow is most often better than fast. When cooking, slow and low is always better to bring out the flavor.


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## DaddyGeorge (Mar 16, 2020)

I really can't decide. I like contrasts in music, I feel that it is on them that most of the pieces are (among other things) based. I tried to listen only to slow movements from symphonies years ago and it was really useless... 

I really like to read posts on this forum and find inspiration here. I would also like to get more involved, but I have a problem with constant sorting and ranking. Nothing against it. I tried it a few times too, but in vain. My thinking in the field of music is not set up like this. I don't know which Mahler symphony I like best in which performance and whether I prefer Brahms or Beethoven, I also have no idea if a violin concerto is better than a piano sonata. And of course I don't know if slow or fast. I admire everyone who is clear about that. So much for explaining why I write even when I'm not voting. I'm sorry to answer a little offtopic.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

DaddyGeorge said:


> I really can't decide. I like contrasts in music, I feel that it is on them that most of the pieces are (among other things) based. I tried to listen only to slow movements from symphonies years ago and it was really useless...
> 
> I really like to read posts on this forum and find inspiration here. I would also like to get more involved, but I have a problem with constant sorting and ranking. Nothing against it. I tried it a few times too, but in vain. My thinking in the field of music is not set up like this. I don't know which Mahler symphony I like best in which performance and whether I prefer Brahms or Beethoven, I also have no idea if a violin concerto is better than a piano sonata. And of course I don't know if slow or fast. I admire everyone who is clear about that. So much for explaining why I write even when I'm not voting. I'm sorry to answer a little offtopic.


There's nothing wrong with that! We may get a little carried away with the various rankings, etc. for fun but when it comes down to it we're all just hear to learn about and discuss great music.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

I prefer fast movements that sound good fast, and slow movements that sound good slow. The material generally dictates the speed, although some work well, if differently, at either speed.


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## caracalla (Feb 19, 2020)

Fast, in general. Unless the musical ideas are unusually strong, my attention can easily start drifting in slow movements.

I remember being promised this would change when I got older. So far it hasn't.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I like slow, but not four in a row. Pacing is an art in itself.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

DaddyGeorge said:


> ...
> I really like to read posts on this forum and find inspiration here. I would also like to get more involved, but I have a problem with constant sorting and ranking. Nothing against it. I tried it a few times too, but in vain. My thinking in the field of music is not set up like this. I don't know which Mahler symphony I like best in which performance and whether I prefer Brahms or Beethoven, I also have no idea if a violin concerto is better than a piano sonata. And of course I don't know if slow or fast. I admire everyone who is clear about that. So much for explaining why I write even when I'm not voting. ....


Pssst...nobody is ever clear about that. It's opinion and taste, whatever the erudition (or pedantry) of the commenter. And I hear ya about the constant polls and rankings and whatnot, but to be fair I think it's mainly just to get a 
conversation started.
I like slow movements, I like fast movements, larghissimo or prestissimo, whatever...as long as I perceive that it's well-written.


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## caracalla (Feb 19, 2020)

AbsolutelyBaching said:


> Oddly, I don't have this problem with slow choral music or operatic arias, say. I guess the words or the drama keeps my attention then.


Yes, I find that too. Sung music can be as slow as it likes. I don't know that this has much to do with the words or drama, though. I find the same effect even when I've forgotten what the words mean and can't be bothered looking them up.


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## rice (Mar 23, 2017)

Generally, I prefer a fast finale in a multi movement work. I think an exciting or powerful end is essential to consolidate a work. Of course there're many situation where slow end works better, like Tchaikovsky 6


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I tend to prefer slower movements, albeit in the complete setting of e.g. a symphony, concerto or string quartet. I do not play them separately as bleeding chunks.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

In overfamiliar music I tend to hear (or play) the beginning and end and forget what's in the middle. Those tend to be the allegros or faster movements.

Seems to me most people that like repeats like the first exposition repeat as well -- not so much those that come in intervening movements.

Also, the main themes that drive people to most music come from the beginning or ending and less the middle. The Mahler adagietto from the Symphony 5 would be an example of the latter while Beethoven's "fate knocking at the door" motif from Symphony 5 the former. I think there is a lot more of this in classical music.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Americans of a certain age will remember the late and very idiosyncratic Seymour DeKoven, the radio CM disk jockey who played almost nothing but the fast movements of baroque pieces that caught his fancy. For DeKoven, such pieces were "OTW" his favorite phrase for the best of what he called "barococo" music. And OTW was only the minimum--there were pieces that were OTG, out of this galaxy. I once went to Town Hall in NYC to what was billed as a "free" as I recall concert of baroque music to be presented by DeKoven. When I got there, I found a man on the stage sitting in a chair with a stack of LPs and a small record player, in a hall filled by his loyal devotees and followers. Once one heard an "episode" of his radio program, _DeKoven Presents_, you would never forget it. The Wikipedia article provides the basic overview. DeKoven's view of any and almost all music post maybe CPE Bach was that it was almost all downhill. Fascinating character.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_DeKoven


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)




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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

In general, I prefer allegro ma non troppo.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Both. It depends on the individual piece


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## John Lenin (Feb 4, 2021)

To be honest it can be a lot like sex. It depends whose involved and what's going on. Sometimes you want it to be over very quickly, sometimes you want it to be as slow as possible and last all night. Quick Mendelssohn please....but very slow Mahler.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

I more often prefer slower movements, particularly andantes.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

I like fast movements that are not played too fast, and slow movements that are not played too slow.

It's just irritating if a virtuoso wants to show how fast they can play a piece at the expense of good judgement. Levit's Beethoven is amazing in many ways, but does some of it have to be so fast? Take the opening movement of Beethoven's 5th piano sonata. Kempff and Jando (say) recognisably play the notes, and Levit is good here. But then you come to the abomination which is Gould's ruin of the piece, which seeks to turn passages of notes into chords - and that's before coming to one of his more ridiculous accompanying pieces of singing. Sometimes, also, if a piece is not that difficult you get the impression that a virtuoso might want to make it harder by going faster (to show that they can) or emphasising something to demonstrate their skill. Gilels performance of Grieg's Lyric Pieces is a perfect example of how a great pianist can respect "salon music" and not destroy it by showing off.

Equally, taking slow movements too slowly, perhaps to show how deeply it is felt or in order to exaggerate some moments can ruin pieces which should have a bit of flow about them. Gould (again) takes 7 minutes over the slow movement of Beethoven's first piano sonata, perhaps in order to give him time for some irritating effects. OK it's adagio rather than andante, but that doesn't mean grinding to a halt so you can bore us with some mannered nonsense. Jando does it in under 5 minutes, as do Kempff and Perhaia. Levit takes very slightly over 5, and Kovacevich gets through it in less than 4:30.

I must admit that I'm a bit of a "consensus is best" guy, so if most performers/conductors take about X minutes for a piece (and then there may be some who take it much quicker or much slower), I'll tend to figure that X is about right.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

Brahmsian Colors said:


> I more often prefer slower movements, particularly andantes.


Wouldn't those be more along the lines of "medium movements"?


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

BachIsBest said:


> Wouldn't those be more along the lines of "medium movements"?


I'm looking at its meaning primarily in a relative sense.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I tend to prefer faster movements generally but that's only a generalisation. I do love a cracking scherzo.


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## cybernaut (Feb 6, 2021)

With symphonies, concertos, sonatas, I generally prefer the fast sections. And, as someone else wrote, my attention can wander a bit during slow sections.

But on the other hand, I'm a big fan of meditative music, ambient music, minimalism, etc.

So...I didn't vote.


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