# Classical pieces you never get tired of



## TudorMihai (Feb 20, 2013)

Do you have any classical pieces/works that, no matter how many times you listen to them, you never get tired of them and you want to listen to them over and over again. Here are mine (well, some of them actually 

- Bach: Harpischord Concerto in D minor
- Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Violins in A minor, Op. 3, No. 8
- Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20
- Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor
- Chopin: Polonaise No. 1 in C-sharp minor, Op. 26
- Mahler: Symphony No. 3
- Ravel: Pavane pour une infante defunte
- Debussy: Reverie, Clair de Lune
- Gershwin: An American in Paris, Rhapsody in Blue
- Holst: The Planets
- Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
- Korngold: Violin Concerto


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Vaughan-Williams - Tallis Fantasia, Sinfonia Antartica

Beethoven - Piano concerto No. 5, Violin concerto (arranged for piano), Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 "Pathetique"

Stravinsky - A Card Game

Bach - The Art of the Fugue

Those are off the top of my head. There are probably several others.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Handel's Messiah
Beethoven's Symphonies, Missa Solemnis, and Opera Fidelio
among others.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

FJ Haydn's Symphony #94, "Surprise". 

I have 4 performances of it. Never get tired of Haydn's creative genius.


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## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

For years, I was kind of tired of classical music and music in general, and my response would have been: maybe Bach's three-voice Ricercare or the organ prelude & fugue BWV 543.

I recently started familiarising myself with Renaissance choral music, and a bit after that found new interest in post-Renaissance classical music as well. Anyway, I did notice that particularly the best of early Renaissance choral music is difficult to get tired of, it's so elaborate and about as characterful as music that varying and elaborate can be. I've listened to the credo from Dufay's "Missa L'homme arme" dozens of times and, although I remember the top voice rather well when listening to it, most of the counterpoint I still can't predict.

I don't have a truly good recording of the mass though, so I tend to put aside listening to it, the credo being an exception -- when I learned how it should really go I had already listened to the Oxford Camerata recording of it so much I had come to love it, flaws and all.

I'd also mention Dufay's "Missa Se la face ay pale", "Missa Ave regina caelorum", and "Mass for Saint Anthony of Padua". The Binchois Consort made just about perfect recordings of the first and last mentioned. The last is a mass that Dufay himself is known to have been very fond of. I don't have a compulsive desire to listen to these all the time, but I'd say they'll be some of my most listened to pieces for the next several years regardless. In addition to their characterfulness and polyphony I like their rhythmic unusualness & complexity. I can compose some bars of interesting polyphony in common time but what Dufay does is beyond my abilities, and he does it with ease and he does a lot of it. He even uses mixed time signatures and polyrhythm.

From later music, there's Cesar Franck's prelude op 18, which I've listened to at least a hundred times. There's Vivaldi's Cello Sonata in E Minor, 3rd movement, RV 40. There's this by Antoine Forqueray. There's Bach's organ prelude & fugue in C minor, BWV 546 -- recently if I listen to something on repeat it's probably, though not necessarily, this piece. (Yes, my tastes are grim.) Also, the piano version of "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr", "Christ unser Herr, zum Jordan kam" BWV 684, the first movement from Mozart's first G minor symphony no 25, and "Die wunde!" from the second act of Parsifal.

There are some others I've liked to listen to on repeat but usually this sort of thing doesn't last, and I'd say most of the pieces I've mentioned here don't really belong to the category "want to listen to them all the time forever". That's probably some failing on my part and not on the part of the music though.


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## Andolink (Oct 29, 2012)

Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde and Symphony No. 6
Bach: many parts of many different sacred cantatas; the Concerto for 2 violins and strings in D minor, BWV 1043
Brian Ferneyhough: String Quartet No. 6
Michael Finnissy: String Quartet No. 2
Beethoven: String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131
Per Norgard: Symphony No. 7

I realize I could go on and on for a very long time with this list so I'll stop.

But no matter how much I love any these works, I never want to listen to any one of them "over and over again" per the OP. There's just to much else that needs listening to, too.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I don't know, since I never listen to anything often enough to get tired of it. On the other hand, there's music I was tired of before I finished listening to it once. And I'm sure there's plenty of music I'm tired of even though I've never listened to it at all.


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## Mister Man (Feb 3, 2014)

I try to go easy with the listens. It would be tragic to have a good composition ruined by over-exposure.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Mister Man said:


> I try to go easy with the listens. It would be tragic to have a good composition ruined by over-exposure.


My feeling exactly.


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## Duggr (Mar 30, 2014)

Bach: Cello Suite No. 2
Debussy: Deux Arabesques
Brahms: Hungarian Dances (especially 1)
Chopin: Op 55 no 1
Elgar: Serenade for Strings, Cello Concerto 1st mvmt.
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto 2


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## GraemeG (Jun 30, 2009)

Sibelius 6.
As fundamentally sustaining as the pure cold spring water which constitutes half that famous quote about the man's symphonies...
GG


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

TCHAIKOVSKY symphony 5,BEETHOVEN symphony 7,DVORAK symphony 9,SCHUBERT symphony 8,ELGAR symphony 1,BRAHMS symphony 1,SCHUMANN symphony 1 & Mendelssohn symphony 1


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

The Brahms and Schumann symphonies and Schubert's "Great"


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I'll do one or two composers at a time, coming back if the thread continues.

*Mahler*:
Kindertotenlieder
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Rueckert Lieder
Das Lied von der Erde
Symphony 2
Symphony 4
Symphony 6
Symphony 9

*Beethoven*:
Symphony 6


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Mister Man said:


> I try to go easy with the listens. It would be tragic to have a good composition ruined by over-exposure.


Good point. At one time I was collecting my Beethoven Ninth's (have about 32 now) and I remember having about 17 of them on an MP3 player--and nothing else--and listening to them all the time, over and over. I never took the Ninth off my player, but did go down to just one, and then it was not so exciting anymore. However, then I started exploring other Beethoven symphonies and got really into the Eroica for a while. After that the Ninth became very wonderful again. So I guess one can burn out on a piece, but if it is good enough, you can take a breather and come back to it and will still love it. Anyway, it worked for me.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

hpowders said:


> FJ Haydn's Symphony #94, "Surprise".
> 
> I have 4 performances of it. Never get tired of Haydn's creative genius.


I'm thinking of starting a thread entitled "How many times did you have to listen to Haydn's Surprise Symphony before you were no longer surprised, and how much time had to elapse before it surprised you again, and was any of this a surprise to you?"

What do you think?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I'm thinking of starting a thread entitled "How many times did you have to listen to Haydn's Surprise Symphony before you were no longer surprised, and how much time had to elapse before it surprised you again, and was any of this a surprise to you?"
> 
> What do you think?


Well, the conductor I find most in tune with Haydn's many musical jokes is George Szell.

Not only does he play up the surprise, but listen also in symphony #93, the second movement toward the end, the terrific bassoon joke-only Szell has the bassoonist play as vulgarly as possible.
I believe Haydn would have been happy!

So disappointed Szell didn't get to record # 101 and 103.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Bach Brandenburg Concerti
Beethoven Symphonies, generally all of them, but especially #3
Dvorak Cello Concerto
Falla Nights in the Garden of Spain
Mahler #5
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Prokofiev Symphony #1, and Romeo and Juliet
Sibelius #5
Shostakovich Symphony #5
Stravinsky Petrushka 
Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings
Villa Lobos Bachianas Brasileras #5 for soprano and celli

_I looked through my collection briefly to find these. I never tire of these and return frequently. But I am also mindful that they don't over stay their welcome_.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Well, the conductor I find most in tune with Haydn's many musical jokes is George Szell.
> 
> Not only does he play up the surprise, but listen also in symphony #93, the second movement toward the end, the terrific bassoon joke-only Szell has the bassoonist play as vulgarly as possible.
> I believe Haydn would have been happy!
> ...


I wasn't even aware of that bassoon fart, but I've just put the piece on and, sure enough, there it is, played as if no one else were aware of it either. Cummerbunds too tight, no doubt. I'll keep an ear out for the Szell, whose Haydn I admire.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

hpowders said:


> Well, the conductor I find most in tune with Haydn's many musical jokes is George Szell.
> 
> Not only does he play up the surprise, but listen also in symphony #93, the second movement toward the end, the terrific bassoon joke-only Szell has the bassoonist play as vulgarly as possible.
> I believe Haydn would have been happy!
> ...


Yes, I agree, Haydn would have approved greatly .


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

hpowders said:


> FJ Haydn's Symphony #94, "Surprise".
> 
> I have 4 performances of it. Never get tired of Haydn's creative genius.


I must second that. I generally don't get tired of anything by Haydn. It only gets better with time, I think .


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I wasn't even aware of that bassoon fart, but I've just put the piece on and, sure enough, there it is, played as if no one else were aware of it either. Cummerbunds too tight, no doubt. I'll keep an ear out for the Szell, whose Haydn I admire.


Yes. Nobody does the bassoon joke as well as Szell/Cleveland.

If you never noticed it before, it's because the conductor refused to vulgarize the bassoon note and that's really a shame.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

HaydnBearstheClock said:


> I must second that. I generally don't get tired of anything by Haydn. It only gets better with time, I think .


I'm liking Davis/Concertgebouw the best in the Surprise at this time. His is the most extroverted performance, in my opinion.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Beethoven: Symphony no. 7 and 8
Bach: Goldberg Variations
Chopin: Nocturnes Op. 9
Schumann: Kinderszenen
Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

Beethoven Piano Cto no. 4, quartet Op 127, Bach Goldbergs, Mahler 4,6,9, Das Lied, Brahms 1,4, both sextets, Mozart Clarinet Cto, Vaughan Williams no.5, Tallis Fantasia, Tippett Piano Cto, Midsummer Marriage, Mussorgsky Boris Godunov, Strauss last scene of Der Rosenkavalier, Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (excerpts), Piano Cto no. 2, . . .


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

I must have listened to Joyce DiDonato's delightful album Drama Queens ten times now - it's soulful, uplifting, lively, joyful, comforting, sensual. Such an eclectic variety of potent, poignant, dramatic music.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Chopin - selected Etudes from Op. 10 and Op. 25
Scriabin - selected Etudes from Op. 8 and Op. 42


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## billeames (Jan 17, 2014)

Brahms 1 (most anybody conducting), Mahler 8 (an odd choice, Bernstein, Kubelik, Sinopoli, Solti, Thomas?), Beethoven Lenore 2 and 3 (Furtwangler) and Missa Solemnis (Bernstein Klemperer), Shostakovich 8 (most anybody, a great piece!). I do grow weary of Beethoven 9th last movement. 

Bill


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

billeames said:


> I do grow weary of Beethoven 9th last movement. Bill


That may be because you have not been listening to the right one. Try Ferenc Fricsay's Ninth (1958).


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I can't easily imagine getting tired of anything. There's too much; I don't get around to anything often enough to tire of it. 

I know that a lot of people get tired of stuff you hear in restaurants or as ringtones or whatever, but really, I don't pay attention to the music when I'm in a restaurant so that just doesn't affect me.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Again, the Haydn London Symphonies and 6 late masses astonish me. They wear well; very, very well.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I've yet to grow tired of any music. Once I like something, I seem to like it forever (at least so far). Similar to some others here, I generally don't listen to works repeatedly over many years so perhaps if I did hear something once a week for 5 years I might grow tired of it, but my guess is I would continue to enjoy the music. In particular I'll just mention some works that many others here have tired of but I still find beautiful and love hearing:

Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Pachelbel: Canon in D

They're wonderful works of music that I always love hearing.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I guess I might get tired of some of those works if I had to perform them very often. But as a listener, hearing them every couple of years or so... no chance to get tired of them!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, especially as conducted by Valery Gergiev leading the Kirov Orchestra.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Never get tired of Messiah or Magic Flute, to name just a couple.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Mozart's Jupiter symphony, Bach's Brandenburg concertos and Goldberg Variations. Beethoven's Op. 130 string quartet.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Appalachian Spring by Copland.

Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and Hammerklavier keyboard sonata.

Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony.

Haydn's London Symphonies.

Mozart's 23rd Keyboard Concerto and Third and Fourth Violin Concertos.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

I never get tired of:

Mozart's Symphonies, Serenades, Operas, Requiem, Piano Concertos, Piano Sonatas
Beethoven's Symphonies, Overtures, Piano Concertos, Piano Sonatas
Mahler's Symphonies
Schubert's Symphonies
Schumann's Symphonies
Tchaikovsky's Symphonies, Overtures, Piano Concerto No. 1
Vivaldi's Four Seasons
Holst's The Planets
Haydn's Symphonies
Bernstein's Symphonies
Bach's Keyboard Works, Brandenburg Concertos
Dvorak's Symphonies
Bruckner's Symphonies
Grieg's Peer Gynt Suites
Bizet's Carmen Suites, L'Arlesienne Suites
Joly Braga Santo's Symphonies
Havergal Brian's Symphonies
Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, especially No. 2
Sibelius's Symphonies
Chopin's Nocturnes, Fantasie In F Minor, Ballades, Piano Concertos

I could go on and on, but I've probably written enough. Honestly, all the works I really like I don't get tired of. It's quite common for me to listen to the same symphony 2 or 3 or even 4 times in a row from different conductors and orchestras.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I agree with mmsbls: once I have determined that I like a piece of classical music, I like it. Period. This is one of the inherent qualities of classical music that appeals to me and is not shared with other music genres: good classical music just doesn't wear out. That's why I am willing to spend money on classical albums, but I only use free services like You Tube for other genres. Classical is a long-term investment that never fails to continue to please.


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

Too many for a single post, too little time to make a list for this post


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

The past few months I've listened to Schumann's Second and Schubert's Ninth quite a few times and I never tire of them.



Itullian said:


> The Brahms and Schumann symphonies and Schubert's "Great"


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Mister Man said:


> I try to go easy with the listens. It would be tragic to have a good composition ruined by over-exposure.


That's a very good point. The more the exposure, the lesser of the novelty of a given work it becomes (though why certain pieces get overplayed yields all sorts of answers). There are some (or many) compositions, however, that provoke greater appreciation given its uniqueness, communicative power, innovation, profundity, and what not (of, say, Bruckner, Nielsen, Braga-Santos, Bax, Ireland, Myaskovsky, Tubin for instances).

But this topic is interesting because, as a friend reminded me over a decade ago, repeated listening is an essential ingredient of music appreciation, due to opportunities to define and redefine, assess and re-assess a particular work, especially one that is complex and/or very unique (particularly) during its conception and after its completion. Bruckner's Eighth Symphony is a case in point, where one can listen to it a multiple of times and come away with different feelings or assessments each time. And there are performers who aid us in that, like Serebrier in his Glazunov set, which had me re-thinking the Russian's symphonies in ways I never anticipated. Karajan's Bruckner cycle is worth mentioning also.


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

dholling said:


> That's a very good point. The more the exposure, the lesser of the novelty of a given work it becomes (though why certain pieces get overplayed yields all sorts of answers). There are some (or many) compositions, however, that provoke greater appreciation given its uniqueness, communicative power, innovation, profundity, and what not (of, say, Bruckner, Nielsen, Braga-Santos, Bax, Ireland, Myaskovsky, Tubin for instances).


Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

musicrom said:


> Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility


A more succinct way of putting it. You're right. Thank you.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

musicrom said:


> Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility


I'm actually in a microeconomics college course right now so thanks for bringing that up. Now I can act like the time I spent on here was spent studying my economics.


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