# The Greatest Tone Poet?



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Who's your pick?

For me, (big surprise), it's Sibelius. And what about you?


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## handlebar (Mar 19, 2009)

I like Bax,Morean,Strauss and Delius.

Jim


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Richard Strauss


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Richard Strauss


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Richard Strauss


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Wow...a lot of support for Strauss so far!


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## Bach (Jun 2, 2008)

Richard Strauss, Harrison Birtwistle


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## handlebar (Mar 19, 2009)

Tone poem is such a relative term. I feel that many composers would have named them such but didn't due to the "program music" feel. I wouldn't put Strauss at the top as I really am not a big fan of his music. I own a whole 2 cd's of Strauss right now with Lieder being the favourite.

Jim


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## Bach (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm treating 'Tone Poem' to mean programmatic orchestral work. Hence, I can legitimately suggest Birtwistle.


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## handlebar (Mar 19, 2009)

Bach said:


> I'm treating 'Tone Poem' to mean programmatic orchestral work. Hence, I can legitimately suggest Birtwistle.


I agree. While the audiences liked it back in turn of the century Europe, the composers did not as most rejected calling them as such.

Jim


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Bach said:


> I'm treating 'Tone Poem' to mean programmatic orchestral work. Hence, I can legitimately suggest Birtwistle.


In that case the Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave) is a tone poem, and I might have suggested Mendelssohn, but not on the strength of that one work. Besides, programmatic or not, it doesn't really have that tone poem feel. So a tone poem is a programmatic orchestral work that we _feel _is a tone poem -- which could well be Birtwistle.

I'll go with* Rachmaninoff* though.


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

I'm not sure about the greatest, but here are four I enjoy the most:

Richard Strauss










Jean Sibelius










Arnold Bax










Bedrich Smetana


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## Lisztfreak (Jan 4, 2007)

Sibelius, Delius and Richard Strauss. In my order of preference.


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

Oh and one more that I can't believe I forgot!

Frederick Delius


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Surprised no one has yet mentioned Liszt, who is often thought of as the father of the tone poem!

And I agree with Bach, a tone poem is a work with a program, thus a work like Fingal's Cave is definitely a tone poem, and thus it makes Mendelssohn the occasional tone poet.


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## Lisztfreak (Jan 4, 2007)

Tapkaara said:


> Surprised no one has yet mentioned Liszt, who is often thought of as the father of the tone poem!


He is the father, but not the best tone poet.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Lisztfreak said:


> He is the father, but not the best tone poet.


Well, that is a very good point, isn't it?


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

Jean Sibelius


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

I ask the thread: what is it exactly that makes a good "tone poet?" Obviously, the technical aspects apply: orchestration, form, etc. But is there also that something extra: in other words, since tone poems have a specific program, must the composer have a special skill to properly and artfully evoke the program's contents in musical detail?

Is Strauss better at this than Sibelius? Sibelius better than Bax? Bax better than Liszt?


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Well, it's probably not strictly a tone poem, but *Debussy*'s_ La Mer_ does the job for me. Whether it be a symphony or a tone poem, or both, it's an awe inspiring piece, continually offering new insights.

Some more favourites:

*Bax* - _Tintagel_

*Mendelssohn* - _The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave)
_
*Sibelius* - _Lemminkainen Suite (Four Legends); The Oceanides
_
& I'd also argue that* Britten*'s _Four Sea Interludes_ from _Peter Grimes_ are tone poems, painting pictures of the seaside setting of the opera; they also stand up very well as independent pieces in the concert hall.

It's interesting how most of the above pieces deal with the sea as their main subject matter. Perhaps the mystery, vastness & beauty of the ocean has drawn composers to picturing it in their music?

& I'm not a big fan of *Richard Strauss*' tone poems. They are too long & seem to lack any proper focus. The only one I can stomach at all is_ Don Quixote_, mainly because it has three soloists playing with the orchestra. This provides some focus, I feel.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

A vote for Sibelius here


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## Bach (Jun 2, 2008)

Tapkaara said:


> Surprised no one has yet mentioned Liszt, who is often thought of as the father of the tone poem!
> 
> And I agree with Bach, a tone poem is a work with a program, thus a work like Fingal's Cave is definitely a tone poem, and thus it makes Mendelssohn the occasional tone poet.


I agree that fingal's cave should be viewed as a tone poem, but technically speaking it's an overture in the vein of Beethoven's various overtures - rendering Beethoven a tone poet too


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