# Do you have a single favorite work of music?



## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Title says it all. Is there one work you can single out above the rest of the CM canon?

If you do, feel free to comment what it is.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

For me, it's Bach WTC followed closely by a few other Bach works and a large number of works by other composers.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

The closest thing for me would be the WTC - in the other poll I voted that it was my favorite. But I don’t elevate it above everything else since it’s not that far from my other favorites on my personal rankings. So my answer to this poll is probably “no."


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Not by a landslide, but more primus inter pares, but yes, always Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde.


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## Ravn (Jan 6, 2020)

Yes. My favorite is Stravinsky’s «Rite of Spring», a hairwidth ahead of Bruckner’s ninth symphony (the version with three movements, of course).


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Ravn said:


> Yes. My favorite is Stravinsky's «Rite of Spring», a hairwidth ahead of Bruckner's ninth symphony (the version with three movements, of course).


Lovely. Completely agree on Bruckner in three movements (in fact, he also comes in at #2 in my top 50 I posted today). The Stravinsky is in that list as well.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

For a long time I called Beethoven's 9th symphony my favorite work. Perhaps it still is, but it's probably less clear to me now. I find just about every second of the work beautiful and moving. It's hard to say that of extended works, and I'm not sure I would say that of any long work including Mozart's (my favorite composer).


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

No, I don't. It seems I can never really pick a single favorite thing with anything music or otherwise. Too much to choose from.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

My issue isn't so much that there's too much to choose from, but that I just think that beyond a certain point (albeit a point which very few composers have reached) I just can't make these sort of preferential comparisons. I bet I could come up with a list of about 50 or so works (dominated of course by just a few composers) that I consider my absolute favorites. But one work? No.


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## poconoron (Oct 26, 2011)

Don Giovanni and Le Nozze de Figaro by Mozart.


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## periphery (Jul 11, 2020)

If any member can come up with a list of favorite works, or just has 1 or 2 favorite works of all time, they can submit it anonymously to be represented in the new Talk Classical Favorites List. Change or edit your entry anytime in the future. We're looking for a few more contributors before presenting the first update.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

My favorite work is the Durufle _Requiem_.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

My three favorite pieces of classical music are Beethoven's _Symphony #6 "Pastorale"_, Wagner's _Siegfried Idyll_, and Barber's _Knoxville: Summer of 1915_.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The piece that I have most anticipated hearing over the decades is probably the Brahms Second Piano Concerto.. Fully satisfying, always. You asked for one and I will not (this time) short-circuit the intention and will Stop At One.:angel:


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

No - more like a top group...no special order - (for today)
Bach b minor Mass
Mahler Sym #9
Stravinsky - Le Sacre
Beethoven - 4tet #14
One of Beethoven Syms - 3, 7, 9
Maybe -
Verdi - Requiem

Subject to change.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> My issue isn't so much that there's too much to choose from, but that I just think that beyond a certain point (albeit a point which very few composers have reached) I just can't make these sort of preferential comparisons. I bet I could come up with a list of about 50 or so works (dominated of course by just a few composers) that I consider my absolute favorites. But one work? No.


I agree - I can't even decide on my favorite recording of any given work, so how am I supposed to rank musical compositions?


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

I have the Grosse Fugue, Beethoven String Quartet 13 w/ Grosse Fuge, and Beethoven String Quartet 14.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

wkasimer said:


> I agree - I can't even decide on my favorite recording of any given work, so how am I supposed to rank musical compositions?


The same way you make all your other decisions on a daily basis would be a good way to start.


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## Caroline (Oct 27, 2018)

Difficult question. Beethoven Symphony No. 3 by Gardiner - that being said one doesn't always want to listen to one's 'favorite' any time.


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## Caroline (Oct 27, 2018)

I find I love different movements from each of the SQs and same for the GF. How have you been learning about the GF? I am searching for answers.


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## Music Snob (Nov 14, 2018)

No doubt Parsifal


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## ThaNotoriousNIC (Jun 29, 2020)

My favorite classical music piece of all time is Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (Pastoral). Every movement is full of beautiful melodies and a storyline that brings together each unit in one complete and very strong symphony. This is the piece that I can never grow tired of.

Runner ups include the following:

1. Die Walkure, Wagner: My favorite opera
2. Water Music, Handel: My favorite piece of Baroque music
3. Horn Concerto No. 1, Strauss: I am a French horn player and this is my favorite horn piece to play/listen to
4. Scheherezade, Korsakov: Love it
5. Violin Concerto in D Minor, Sibelius: Favorite concerto and most emotional piece for me


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

The Brahms Third..........


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Bulldog said:


> The same way you make all your other decisions on a daily basis would be a good way to start.


So how can I rank, for example, the Goldberg Variations, Wagner's T&I, Mahler's 9th, and Beethoven's Op. 132? You might as well ask me to rank my children.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

wkasimer said:


> So how can I rank, for example, the Goldberg Variations, Wagner's T&I, Mahler's 9th, and Beethoven's Op. 132? You might as well ask me to rank my children.


It's hard to rank masterpieces. The only way I could give an answer would be if I was coerced, but that would not reflect my true feelings for a piece.


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## Ich muss Caligari werden (Jul 15, 2020)

Coach G said:


> My three favorite pieces of classical music are Beethoven's _Symphony #6 "Pastorale"_, Wagner's _Siegfried Idyll_, and Barber's _Knoxville: Summer of 1915_.


Agree, _Knoxville_ is an extraordinary evocation of a time and place that concludes with a startlingly universal question. Who do you prefer performance-wise, Coach?


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

wkasimer said:


> So how can I rank, for example, the Goldberg Variations, Wagner's T&I, Mahler's 9th, and Beethoven's Op. 132? You might as well ask me to rank my children.


Just to be clear, I don't rank my kids or pets. I do rank my wife - no. 1.

Of your four examples, ranking them is easy for me. I go with the enjoyment meter plus bonus points for illumination.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I have more favored works than the one I'll name here, but the one I name here is that first piece that brought me into "classical music" and to which I now owe so much. What work could be more a favorite than that? Tchaikovsky's _Capriccio Italien_.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

SONNET CLV said:


> I have more favored works than the one I'll name here, but the one I name here is that first piece that brought me into "classical music" and to which I now owe so much. What work could be more a favorite than that? Tchaikovsky's _Capriccio Italien_.


A most excellent composition, often underrated. I have never failed to enjoy it. It has a certain distinction also, or had such--it would appear as part of a ''twofer" on LPs, appearing with R-K's _Capriccio Espagnol_. Like the eternal linking of the Grieg and Schumann piano concertos. _Cav_ and _Pag_ at the opera? Pines and Fountains.....


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I have had favorites over the years -- Bach's Orchestral Suites, Tchaikovsky 4th symphony, Bruckner 5th symphony, Strauss's 4 Last Songs, Haydn's Theresa mass -- but no more. There is just too much to choose from to select one over all others.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

FWIW, my favourite piece has remained so for the last 2+ years - Sibelius's Seventh Symphony.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

Interesting - I assumed it would be a landslide for 'no'. Turns out I was in my own echo chamber


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## Agamenon (Apr 22, 2019)

Bach: Goldberg variations.
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde.
Brahms: Symphony 4.


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## Shosty (Mar 16, 2020)

I voted no. I love 4 works more than any other ones: Bach's WTC and St. Matthew Passion, Beethoven's SQ 14 Op. 131 and Shosty's Symphony No. 5. And of these I listen to WTC (or selections from it) most often.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

juliante said:


> Interesting - I assumed it would be a landslide for 'no'. Turns out I was in my own echo chamber


Have you considered that people who answered yes might be more motivated to answer because they want to state their favorite, wheres those who don't have a favorite have less motivation to participate? Given this asymmetry, I'd say the nos _are_ winning by a landslide.


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

I had to vote no. My favourite piece frequently changes. I'm also making a conscience effort to listen to new works by new composers (for me), so I am finding new 'can't stop listening' pieces all the time -though whether they have the requisite 'sticking power' to become favourites is another matter.

I can't even decide on my favourite Britten piece from week to week


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Not really, but I will mention Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy since I've probably listened to it more than any other favorite piece I would consider posting here.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I voted no. I don't really understand how having a favourite piece of music is possible! It must involve comparing music from all eras and in all genres and arriving at a winner. My moods anyway are not stable enough for that.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I went with the notion of which piece, from beginning to end, over decades of listening, consistently made me smile from its beginning notes right through to the end. And no--or the least--sense that I've heard this for the umpteenth time. From its opening horn, the Brahms 2nd PC most completely fills that bill. Familiarity breeds, in this case, true and lasting affection and attention moreso than any other work. But of course as with almost everyone's top tier of favorites, the Brahms' concerto's head sticks up only fractionally above a sea of other gems.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Nope. There's just too much great, really great music that I love that choosing just one work would be impossible. But I suppose if the question were "what would you like to hear one more time before you die?" then the field narrows. Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty - just one more time. It was the work that got me hooked on classics.


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## Caroline (Oct 27, 2018)

SONNET CLV said:


> I have more favored works than the one I'll name here, but the one I name here is that first piece that brought me into "classical music" and to which I now owe so much. What work could be more a favorite than that? Tchaikovsky's _Capriccio Italien_.


Well said. I heard the Eroica when I was 8 - during a thunderstorm. It is a crystal clear memory. Another 'favorite' piece is Mendelssohn's Die Hebriden - also a piece that introduced to me to the genre.

I would have trouble ranking my pets too....


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Enthusiast said:


> I voted no. I don't really understand how having a favourite piece of music is possible!


It's in my nature and was an integral element of my profession to take a large number of items and narrow the list down until only one item is standing.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

I'm in the WTC camp. To go a bit further, if I was on the fabled desert island and I could only have 1 piece, I think it would be Book 1 Number 1 C major - Prelude.
It's not my "favourite" piece, no way, but it's so unassuming and pure. It comes over like the genesis of it all. By "it all" I mean everything.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Enthusiast said:


> I voted no. I don't really understand how having a favourite piece of music is possible! It must involve comparing music from all eras and in all genres and arriving at a winner. My moods anyway are not stable enough for that.


My "yes" vote was an obvious choice for me. The *Durufle* _Requiem_ has been my favorite work since I first heard it probably around 1970, my first year at music school. There is no contest, really, this is not to say that I do not have other favorites, but the top of the list has never been contested.

I have no idea what this says about me ...


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

SanAntone said:


> My "yes" vote was an obvious choice for me. The *Durufle* _Requiem_ has been my favorite work since I first heard it probably around 1970, my first year at music school. There is no contest, really, this is not to say that I do not have other favorites, but the top of the list has never been contested.
> 
> I have no idea what this says about me ...


It speaks to your consistency and loyalty (with beats mine). Twenty years ago the Goldberg Variations was my favorite work. More recently, it is the WTC. However, Art of Fugue is getting close.


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## EmperorOfIceCream (Jan 3, 2020)

I would love to make a playlist of all of these! Mine is Correspondances by Dutilleux. To me, it is just the most perfect and beautiful 25 minutes of music ever. Close contenders are Spem in alium, Mahler 9, DLVDE, Beethoven 7, Beethoven late quartets, and Brahms 4.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

janxharris said:


> FWIW, my favourite piece has remained so for the last 2+ years - Sibelius's Seventh Symphony.


Could you please tell me which is your favorite performance of this symphony?


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## 444mil (May 27, 2018)

Enthusiast said:


> I voted no. I don't really understand how having a favourite piece of music is possible! It must involve comparing music from all eras and in all genres and arriving at a winner. My moods anyway are not stable enough for that.


No, it's just a favourite work, not the best nor similar.

As someone already said, just fractionally above other gems, but decidedly my favourite work, for me:

Beethoven Piano sonata op. 110. (especially the 3rd movement)


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Allerius said:


> Could you please tell me which is your favorite performance of this symphony?


Leif Segerstam and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. I love the pacing and there is a lot to contend with in the score in this regard. The final climax is particularly impressive.

I often wonder if it was this performance alone that unlocked the work for me because I never liked it formerly (I had the Ashkenazy / Philharmonia Orchestra).






I also love Daniel Harding's proms account with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra:


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## Guest (Jul 24, 2020)

On the one hand, no. I can't even decide which of Sibelius' symphonies is my favourite, for none of them individually is completely satisfying, regardless of the enjoyment they give me.

On the other hand, the Berceuse from Fauré's _Dolly Suite _is neat, simple, completely satisfying.

But then, so is _Sea Song _by Robert Wyatt.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

MacLeod said:


> On the one hand, no. I can't even decide which of Sibelius' symphonies is my favourite, for none of them individually is completely satisfying, regardless of the enjoyment they give me.
> 
> On the other hand, the Berceuse from Fauré's _Dolly Suite _is neat, simple, completely satisfying.
> 
> But then, so is _Sea Song _by Robert Wyatt.


I often wonder if difficulties rise exponentially with each additional minute of composition.


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## Guest (Jul 24, 2020)

janxharris said:


> I often wonder if difficulties rise exponentially with each additional minute of composition.


I would say yes. The longer a piece, the more likely the listener is to come across a passage less euphonious to their ears.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

janxharris said:


> I often wonder if difficulties rise exponentially with each additional minute of composition.


I was thinking of starting a thread asking if people had pieces of music where they felt they were great, except they were let down by one movement (or even moment). You see I like to listen to pieces complete, as if the composer wrote it that way then I feel I should try to listen to it all: but sometimes one bit spoils the rest.

For example: I find Walton's Symphony 1 and RVW's piano concerto are both let down by their last movements. In The Planets, there are one or two which might happily leave orbit. In most Mahler symphonies there is a bit which I wish wasn't there. Movements labelled intermezzo are often tricky too: can't we have another mezzo instead?


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

MacLeod said:


> I would say yes. The longer a piece, the more likely the listener is to come across a passage less euphonious to their ears.


Maybe Sibelius was concious of as much when he said:

"I admire the symphony's style and severity of form, as well as the profound logic creating an inner connection among all of the motives."

Not much room for the superfluous there.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Eclectic Al said:


> I was thinking of starting a thread asking if people had pieces of music where they felt they were great, except they were let down by one movement (or even moment). You see I like to listen to pieces complete, as if the composer wrote it that way then I feel I should try to listen to it all: but sometimes one bit spoils the rest.
> 
> For example: I find Walton's Symphony 1 and RVW's piano concerto are both let down by their last movements. In The Planets, there are one or two which might happily leave orbit. In most Mahler symphonies there is a bit which I wish wasn't there. Movements labelled intermezzo are often tricky too: can't we have another mezzo instead?


I feel exactly the same Eclectic Al...almost all long works especially.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

EdwardBast said:


> Have you considered that people who answered yes might be more motivated to answer because they want to state their favorite, wheres those who don't have a favorite have less motivation to participate? Given this asymmetry, I'd say the nos _are_ winning by a landslide.


Cant be proved


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## Guest (Jul 24, 2020)

EdwardBast said:


> Have you considered that people who answered yes *might be *more motivated to answer because they want to state their favorite, wheres those who don't have a favorite have less motivation to participate? Given this asymmetry, I'd say the nos _are_ winning by a landslide.


Might be? Well, it's certainly easier to get a minimum length post with, "Yes, and it's xxx". But it's not necessarily the case that the 'Noes" would only want say 'No' and not elaborate.

So, only 'might be'.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

If I could break it down into different genres then I do have a favorite for each. That's about as far as I can go.

Opera - Mozart's Marriage of Figaro
Symphony - Beethoven 7
Concerto - tough one between Mendelssohn VC and Dvorak CC
Cantata - Bach's Coffee Cantata
Ballet - Copland's Appalachian Spring
Symphonic Suite/Tone Poem - Holst's Planets
Chamber Music - Beethoven Op 18 Quartets
Wind Music - Mozart Wind Quintet K452
Concert Overture - Beethoven Egmont


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## pianoville (Jul 19, 2018)

Yes, Mahler's 10th symphony. Even though Mahler never got to finish it, I strongly believe that the last 10 minutes of that symphony contains the most profound music ever written. (Even though the ending of Das Lied von der Erde comes close.)


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## Caroline (Oct 27, 2018)

ThaNotoriousNIC said:


> My favorite classical music piece of all time is Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (Pastoral). Every movement is full of beautiful melodies and a storyline that brings together each unit in one complete and very strong symphony. This is the piece that I can never grow tired of.


It is one of my favorite works as well. If you enjoy historically informed performances on period instruments, you might enjoy this recording by the Handel and Haydn Society. It is part of their 'Summer of Beethoven' and they have posted pre-recorded (live) Beethoven works. https://handelandhaydn.org/summer-of-beethoven/

It's lovely.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I used to have one favorite piece, and that was the piece that got me into classical music in the first place; The Rite of Spring.

That was the piece that enlightened my that classical music was not all the same stuff that came across, to me, as (whether true or not) cliche, and (again, to me), boring. Those are my personal impressions, and I am well aware, that I am in the minority.

But, The Rite was the piece that opened the flood gates, that lead me to: Bartok, Schoenberg, Barber, Carter, Berg, Tower, Birtwhistle, Schwantner, Wourinen, etc, etc. It was the piece that turned me into a full fledged classical fanatic, that keeps me seeking out new (to me) composers and pieces.


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## PierreN (Aug 4, 2013)

My favourite composer is Bach and my second favourite composer is Beethoven (while Mozart is third). If I must choose one single favourite masterpiece from any composer, though, it would be Beethoven's Grosse Fuge. It's not so much that it's better than anything Bach wrote. It isn't. I can't really compare Bach's greatest masterpieces to Beethoven's. They stand on their own in their own (Bachian or Beethovenian) universes.

But there is nothing Bach wrote that I feel is clearly superior to everything else that he wrote. Beethoven's Grosse Fuge, though, seems to me to edge out everything else that he wrote, albeit barely so, in some cases. The Missa Solemnis, the five late quartets and the three late piano sonatas, for instance, come very close to achieving The Grosse Fuge's transcendence.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I have favourites of each genre, but to compare my favourites between genres is impossible.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

I already mentioned the WTC as probably being my overall favorite work, but in terms of individual pieces my vote might have to go to this:


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

PierreN said:


> ...
> Beethoven's Grosse Fuge, though, seems to me to edge out everything else that he wrote, albeit barely so, in some cases. The Missa Solemnis, the five late quartets and the three late piano sonatas, for instance, come very close to achieving The Grosse Fuge's transcendence.


I think the final movements of Opp. 106 and 111 edge out most everything else except the Missa solemnis.

I don't have one favorite work, but if I had to narrow everything down to only one it would be Bach's B Minor Mass.


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