# The miracle decade



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The miracle decade, from 1819 through 1828. Beethoven wrote:
Hammerklavier Sonata
Piano sonatas Op. 109-111
Diabelli Variations
Missa Solemnis
Choral Symphony
Op. 126 Bagatelles
String quartets Op. 127 through 135.

Schubert wrote:
Symphonies 8 and 9
String Quintet in C
String Quartet "Death and the Maiden," and the G major
Trout Quintet
Arpeggione Sonata
Piano Trios 1 and 2
Several great piano sonatas ending with the "big three"
Multiple smaller piano works, revered today
Any number of great songs and song cycles.

Mendelssohn wrote:
String Quartet #2
Octet for Strings
Midsummer Night's Dream Overture.

How much poorer we would be if it weren't for this single decade! Are there any comparable 10-year periods?


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

For a single composer? I'm sure someone has the knowledge to back me up, but somewhere in the 1890-1920 span, there is a composer lurking who exactly fits your premise. Schoenberg, perhaps? Berg or Webern? Mahler? Bartók?


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

What about the "symbolic" decade from 1902 (Pelleas et Melisande) through 1913 (Le Sacre du Printemps)?
Yes, two years more of a true decade, but in that period we had:
- Mahler 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Das Lied Von der Erde
- Sibelius 2, 3, 4
- Strauss Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier
- Stravinsky L'Oiseau de Feu, Petrushka, Le Sacre
- Debussy Pelleas, La Mer and some of his mais works for piano (Estampes, Images, Preludes I and II, etc)
- Schoenberg's free atonal works such as 3 Klavierstucke op.11, 5 Orchesterstucke op.16, Erwartung, Pierrot Lunaire, ect.
and surely I'm forgetting many other works which set the foundation of modern and contemporary music...


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

1901-1910 saw Mahler alone compose his symphonies 4-10, Das Lied von der Erde, Kindertotenlieder, Ruckertlieder - the latter 3 and symphonies 4, 6, 9 being among my all-time favourite compositions (out of a few dozen in total).


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

The 1720s gives us a big chunk of Bach - the St John and St Matthew Passions, Easter Oratorio, Brandenburg concertos, keyboard partitas, French suites, Well-Tempered Clavier book 1, Herz und Mund..., Vergugnte Ruh, Ich habe genug, maybe the solo cello suites
...Handel's Giulio Cesare and several other operas, Coronation anthems, and 8 Great Suites
...Vivaldi's Il Cimento (including the Four Seasons), La Cetra, and op.10 flute concertos
...Rameau's Pieces de clavecin


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

1781-1791: The best of W.A. Mozart.


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

There was a quite incredible 'decade' (more like, 11 year span) of Romantic symphonies from 1885 - 1896:

Brahms, 4
Tchaikovsky, 5 & 6
Dvorak, 9
Mahler 1 - 3
Bruckner 8 & 9


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## Saintbert (Mar 12, 2015)

Skilmarilion said:


> There was a quite incredible 'decade' (more like, 11 year span) of Romantic symphonies from 1885 - 1896:
> 
> Brahms, 4
> Tchaikovsky, 5 & 6
> ...


I don't know what's romantic and what is not, but I'd like to mention Carl Nielsen's first symphony which falls into that period (1892), and is, as far as first symphonies go, very impressive.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I'm going to agree with GioCar: 1904-1913.

1904 La Mer, M Butterfly, Mahler 6
1905 Salome, Siblius vc (redo), Mahler 7
1906 Mahler 8
1907 Sibelius 3, Rach Symphony 2, Brigg Fair
1908 Schoenberg SQ 2
1909 DLVDE, Elektra, Elgar vc
1910 Mahler 9, Schoenberg 5 pieces, Mahler 10, Firebird
1911 Gliere 3, Nielsen vc, Petrushka, Der Rosenkavalier, Sibelius 4
1912 Daphnis and Chloe
1913 St Paul's Suite, Rite of Spring 

plus the rise of jazz

plus the birth of many including
HvK, Elliot Carter, Lutosławski and my grandparents


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

The last decade of Schubert's life.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

KenOC said:


> The miracle decade, from 1819 through 1828. Beethoven wrote:
> Hammerklavier Sonata
> Piano sonatas Op. 109-111
> Diabelli Variations
> ...


Also Carl Maria von Weber composed Der Freischütz, Euryanthe and Oberon during that period.

And Der Vampyr by Heinrich Marschner from 1828.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

KenOC said:


> The miracle decade, from 1819 through 1828. Beethoven wrote:
> Hammerklavier Sonata
> Piano sonatas Op. 109-111
> Diabelli Variations
> ...


We must add Weber's _Der Freischutz_ (1821), one of the seminal works of German Romanticism.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Skilmarilion said:


> There was a quite incredible 'decade' (more like, 11 year span) of Romantic symphonies from 1885 - 1896:


12-year span


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Art Rock said:


> 1901-1910 saw Mahler alone compose his symphonies 4-10, Das Lied von der Erde, Kindertotenlieder, Ruckertlieder - the latter 3 and symphonies 4, 6, 9 being among my all-time favourite compositions (out of a few dozen in total).


A decade which also includes Madama Butterfly, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2, Salome and Electra, Sibelius Symphony #2, La Mer, and The Firebird, among many other works. Pretty good variety.


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## Trout (Apr 11, 2011)

How about 1967-1976?

Andriessen: De Staat
Berio: Coro
Berio: Sequenza VIII
Berio: Sinfonia
Bernstein: Mass
Boulez: ...explosante-fixe...
Boulez: Messagesquisse
Boulez: Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna
Britten: Cello Suites Nos. 2-3
Britten: Death in Venice
Britten: String Quartet No. 3
Carter: A Symphony of Three Orchestras
Carter: Concerto for Orchestra
Carter: String Quartet No. 3
Carter: Syringa
Cerha: Spiegel
Crumb: Ancient Voices of Children
Crumb: Black Angels
Crumb: Makrokosmos I-III
Crumb: Vox Balaenae
Davies: Eight Songs for a Mad King
Dutilleux: Ainsi la nuit
Dutilleux: Tout un monde lointain...
Feldman: Rothko Chapel
Ferneyhough: Sonatas for String Quartet
Glass: Einstein on the Beach
Glass: Music in 12 Parts
Glass: Music with Changing Parts
Górecki: Symphony No. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs"
Grisey: Partiels
Ligeti: Chamber Concerto
Ligeti: Clocks and Clouds
Ligeti: Double Concerto
Ligeti: Lontano
Ligeti: Melodien
Ligeti: San Francisco Polyphony
Ligeti: String Quartet No. 2
Lutosławski: Cello Concerto
Lutosławski: Les Espaces du Sommeil
Lutosławski: Livre pour Orchestre
Messiaen: Des Canyons aux étoiles...
Messiaen: La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ
Nono: Como una ola de fuerza y luz
Nono: .....sofferte onde serene...
Nørgård: Symphony No. 3
Nørgård: Voyage into the Golden Screen
Pärt: Fratres
Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus
Reich: Clapping Music
Reich: Drumming
Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
Reich: Piano Phase
Riley: A Rainbow in Curved Air
Rochberg: Violin Concerto
Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Schnittke: Piano Quintet
Schnittke: Requiem
Schnittke: Symphony No. 1
Shostakovich: Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 13
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 15
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15
Shostakovich: Viola Sonata
Stockhausen: Hymnen
Stockhausen: Momente
Stockhausen: Stimmung
Stockhausen: Tierkreis
Takemitsu: November Steps
Ustvolskaya: Composition No. 1 "Dona Nobis Pacem"
Ustvolskaya: Composition No. 2 "Dies Irae"
Xenakis: Evryali
Xenakis: Kraanerg
Xenakis: Nuits
Xenakis: Synaphaï
Zimmermann: Photoptosis
Zimmermann: Requiem for a Young Poet


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

KenOC said:


> The miracle decade, from 1819 through 1828. Beethoven wrote:
> Hammerklavier Sonata
> Piano sonatas Op. 109-111
> Diabelli Variations
> ...


By my judgement, yes.....between 1903 and 1913 you have a lot written by ravel, Stravinsky, debussy, Strauss, etc. that, regardless of taste, are among the most lavish, opulent scoring in the repertory.....even if it's not to everyone's taste, it is a golden age of sorts for that kind of thing......afterward it wasn't quite the same - ravel clearly moved into a different phase from the aesthetic that reached its apogee in Daphnis and Chloe.....Stravinsky completely changed in typical Stravinsky manner, Debussy died not long after and Strauss' works become much more precious.


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

How about 1835-45?

Bruckner: early masses
Cherubini: D Minor Requiem, late String Quartets
Chopin: Ballades, Scherzi, Etudes op. 25, Préludes, Sonatas 2 and 3
Mendelssohn: Symphony 3 "Scottish", Violin Concerto
Schumann: Kreisleriana, Kinderszenen, Piano Concerto, Symphonies 1 and 4
Verdi: early operas
Wagner: Rienzi, Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser

Born in this period: Bizet, Dvorak, Fauré, Grieg, Mussorgsky, Saint-Saens, Tchaikovsky


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I remember being pretty impressed by 1968-78, but I don't have time to document its highlights.


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

science said:


> I remember being pretty impressed by 1968-78, but I don't have time to document its highlights.


Some personal favourites:
Baird, Psychodrama
Boulez, ...explosante-fixe...
Górecki, Symphony 3
Hovhaness, Symphony 22 "City of Light"
Nono, ...Sofferte onde serene...
Pärt, Spiegel im Spiegel
Penderecki, Utrenja
Reich, Music for 18 Musicians


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2015)

KenOC said:


> The miracle decade, from 1819 through 1828. Beethoven wrote:
> Hammerklavier Sonata
> Piano sonatas Op. 109-111
> Diabelli Variations
> ...


Probably 2005-2014. Perhaps they weren't all writing their Missa Solemnis at the time, but good thing there are quite a few more than 3 composers to listen to


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Andreas said:


> Some personal favourites:
> Baird, Psychodrama
> Boulez, ...explosante-fixe...
> Górecki, Symphony 3
> ...


Some great works there! And there are some more:

Andriessen: Die Staat 
Berio: Sinfonia 
Boulez: Rituel: in memorium Bruno Maderna
Britten: Death in Venice
Cage: Cheap Imitation 
Cage: Etudes Australes 
Carter: Concerto for Orchestra
Carter: A Symphony of 3 Orchestras
Carter: String Quartet #3
Dutilleux: Tout un monde lointain...
Feldman: Why Patterns?
Feldman: Rothko Chapel
Glass: Einstein on the Beach
Glass: Music in 12 Parts 
Henze: El Cimarron 
Ligeti: Le grand macabre 
Ligeti: String Quartet #2
Ligeti: Ramifications 
Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto 
Maderna: Quadrivium 
Rautavaara: Cantus arctics
Reich: Drumming 
Rzewski: Coming Together 
Rzewski: Variations on The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Shostakovich: String Quartets #12, #13, #14, #15
Shostakovich: Violin Sonata 
Shostakovich: Viola Sonata
Shostakovich: Symphonies #14 & #15
Stockhausen: Stimmung
Wuorinen: A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky
Young: The Well-Tuned Piano

There are more! Scelsi, Penderecki, Takemitsu, Sculthorpe... But I have to stop! It's past my bedtime.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Out of curiosity, does anyone know of a good timeline for classical music on the web?


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

science said:


> There are more! Scelsi, Penderecki, Takemitsu, Sculthorpe...


I forgot Schnittke, Violin Sonata 2



science said:


> But I have to stop! It's past my bedtime.


Always the best time.


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2015)

Mozart's decade of the 1780s by itself is the greatest decade in the history of musical creation:

Piano Concertos Nos. 11-26
Three Horn Concertos
The last 6 symphonies including Nos. 40 & 41
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Gran Partita Serenade
The "Haydn" Quartets
The Piano Quartets
Quintet for Piano and Winds
Cosi Fan Tutte
Don Giovanni
Le Nozze Di Figaro
"Great" Mass in c minor

That's 40 masterpieces right there and I'm sure there are many more that I didn't include.


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2015)

Jerome said:


> Mozart's decade of the 1780s by itself is the greatest decade in the history of musical creation:
> 
> Piano Concertos Nos. 11-26
> Three Horn Concertos
> ...


I find it to be a fairly strange notion that one composer can outdo _hundreds_ of solid composers in a decade of his life, Mozart or not. Dozens? Maybe Mozart could manage it. But the wide variety of music coming out every single year right now can't possibly be outdone by a year from a single catalogue.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

The decade that I live in right now is a miracle decade.... Mason Bates, Helen Grime, etc. etc.

Lots of wonderful new compositions popping out today.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Why not? 95%+ of all Art is mediocre at best. I suspect there are more than a few who would trade nearly everything composed over the last decade for the final decade of Mozart's oeuvre.


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2015)

nathanb said:


> I find it to be a fairly strange notion that one composer can outdo _hundreds_ of solid composers in a decade of his life, Mozart or not. Dozens? Maybe Mozart could manage it. But the wide variety of music coming out every single year right now can't possibly be outdone by a year from a single catalogue.


I respectfully disagree. In my most humble opinion your are absolutely and completely wrong.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Jerome said:


> I respectfully disagree. In my most humble opinion your are absolutely and completely wrong.


Now that's humility I can _believe_ in. _;D_


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2015)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Why not? 95%+ of all Art is mediocre at best. I suspect there are more than a few who would trade nearly everything composed over the last decade for the final decade of Mozart's oeuvre.


Of course there are. There are also more than a few that would trade Mozart's entire oeuvre for a Justin Timberlake single, but I was never big on popularity contests.

And I even agree with your figure of 95%+...good thing everyone and their mother is making music nowadays on our rather populous planet! Leaves you with a rather handsome 1%.


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