# Those perfect works



## Guest (Jan 30, 2011)

Have you ever listened to a piece of music and thought, "Gosh, I wouldn't change a thing about this. It's absolutely perfect." Prokofiev 5 does that for me. The mastery of form (varying all the recapitulations and developing his themes to the max), the control of orchestration (beautifully placed muted trumpets, carefully used piano parts), the balance between melody and harmony and consistency of scale and language. Nothing about Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony strikes me as being unnecessary or poorly written or anything of the sort. It's just perfect. 

Anybody else have a piece(s) they consider "perfect"?


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

I feel that way about most of the Beethoven piano sonatas I've heard (or played, or attempted to play). If I were only allowed to play one composer's piano works for the rest of my life, I could probably live on Beethoven sonatas. Everything that happens in them seems perfectly inevitable, like it couldn't have happened any other way, even when he does delightfully startling things (particularly harmonically-- out-of-the-blue common-note modulations to distant keys, deceptive cadences that are _also_ modulations, etc.). It is quite possible that I prefer his sonatas to his symphonies.

So that's a large body of work and not a piece. But whatever.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Sibelius' third symphony above all his others has made that impression on me. With other composers, there's Bach... obviously. Same with Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde among his output. It's just plain perfect.

Schubert's Winterreise is quickly making this impression on me as well.

Despite Enescu's third symphony being one of my favorite symphonies by anyone, there have been a few times in the first movement when I wished he would move on, but I think I was just in a bad mood during those listenings.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez

Ravel's Pavane pour une infante defunte (most of Ravel's stuff for that matter, and a lot of Debussy's compositions as well as J.S. Bach's - too numerous to get into)

A couple of really famous ones: 

Vivaldi's 3rd (presto) movement from Summer

Mozart's Dies Irae from his Requiem

Those ones instantly stand out in my mind as perfect or near perfect compositions, but I'm sure I could think of far more - the 3rd movement of Mahler's second - see there is another one right there.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Meaghan said:


> I feel that way about most of the Beethoven piano sonatas I've heard (or played, or attempted to play). If I were only allowed to play one composer's piano works for the rest of my life, I could probably live on Beethoven sonatas. Everything that happens in them seems perfectly inevitable, like it couldn't have happened any other way, even when he does delightfully startling things (particularly harmonically-- out-of-the-blue common-note modulations to distant keys, deceptive cadences that are _also_ modulations, etc.). It is quite possible that I prefer his sonatas to his symphonies.
> 
> So that's a large body of work and not a piece. But whatever.


Heh, my thoughts exactly. Since B's piano sonata's have already been mentioned, I guess my next choice would by Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony. After reading through the score while listening to it, I couldn't find a single thing I'd want to change about it. A single note out of place would have diminished its effect. A phrase out of place would have ruined it.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

*Prokofiefv's 5th symphony or piano concerto?*

Jeff?

I love his 5th symphony and would change nothing about it...I also love enormously the rite of Spring and the only thing I'd change about that I would have killed Stravinsky avoiding he compose stupid neo-classic stuff afterwards. Not the rite, it is the perfection as l'incoronazzione di Poppea by Monteverdi or le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart or Lulu by Alban Berg or Wozzeck by Berg also....So many perfect things!!!!! Ah!

Martin, imperfect


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I agree with Meaghan on Beethoven's sonatas, especially all the later ones. His symphonies, while some of my favorite works, are flawed at times. Even the mighty 9th has parts that are clearly not inevitable, rather more thrown together. But the sonatas and the late quartets too are just perfect.

Virtually all of Bach's work of course fits the bill. Most of D. Scarlatti's little sonatas are also perfect. Each is a flawless gem.

For a more modern perfect jewel I would go with Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1.

Edit: I meant to add that perfection is not necessarily a goal music should have. While Mozart's work may be perfect, it often has nothing to convey to me.


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## Pieck (Jan 12, 2011)

World Violist said:


> Sibelius' third symphony above all his others has made that impression on me. With other composers, there's Bach... obviously. Same with Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde among his output. It's just plain perfect.


Woohoo! Sibelius 3rd is amazing, particulary 2nd movement. 
I tend to think that bach violin concerti are pure perfection.
Dvorak ninth.
Most of Brahms chamber works.
I can also agree with Das Lied 1st movement. Truly amazing.


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## Musicbox (Jan 20, 2011)

Agree with several of the above, especially the late Beethoven + Schubert Sonatas (and Improptus), LvB Razumovsky quartets.

Sibelius 3 + 7

Bach's Passcaglia and Fugue & the whole of the St Matthew Passion

But the one work above all which I'd put in this category is Mozart's Clarinet Quintet.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

A lot of Weberns music is like this.

Short enough, but everything is said so concisely and with such perfection.


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## Guest (Jan 30, 2011)

World Violist said:


> Sibelius' third symphony above all his others has made that impression on me.


Agree completely. It's the symphony that got me into Sibelius and I still say it's his best.

Other perfect works for me are Brahms 4, Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, Barber's Adagio for Strings, Britten's Four Sea Interludes...so many!


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Thats it, Sibelius' 3rd Symphony is officially next on my list of things to get. That and the rest of Britten's Sea Interludes. Ive only heard the one entitled 'Sunday Morning' on a compilation I have, and I agree with Jeff N that its a near perfect piece of music.


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## Edward Elgar (Mar 22, 2006)

The works of Mozart:

"Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall."


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

tdc said:


> Thats it, Sibelius' 3rd Symphony is officially next on my list of things to get. That and the rest of Britten's Sea Interludes. Ive only heard the one entitled 'Sunday Morning' on a compilation I have, and I agree with Jeff N that its a near perfect piece of music.


And after you listen to the Sea Interludes, listen to Peter Grimes because the whole thing is as terrific as its interludes!


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I'd say Beethoven's 9th symphony, _Hammerklavier_ sonata or the late string quartets - the perfection of these is amazing, especially as he was completely deaf when he wrote them...


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Jeff N said:


> Have you ever listened to a piece of music and thought, "Gosh, I wouldn't change a thing about this. It's absolutely perfect." Prokofiev 5 does that for me. The mastery of form (varying all the recapitulations and developing his themes to the max), the control of orchestration (beautifully placed muted trumpets, carefully used piano parts), the balance between melody and harmony and consistency of scale and language. Nothing about Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony strikes me as being unnecessary or poorly written or anything of the sort. It's just perfect.
> 
> Anybody else have a piece(s) they consider "perfect"?


I would completely agree. 

I would also put his 7th sonata on there. Not one note should be changed in it, in all the movements.

Also, I think Glazunov's Lyric Poem is a perfect work too.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Hmm... I would say,

Symphony No. 5 - Sibelius
Symphony No. 6 - Tchaikovsky
Piano Sonata No. 30 - Beethoven

these pieces move me to tears with their beauty every time


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Mahler probably more than any other composer: Symphonies 4 and 9, all three major orchestral song cycles 　（Ｋindertotenlieder, Rueckertlieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesｅllens)　and above all Das Lied von der Erde.


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## Guest (Jan 31, 2011)

The second movement of Dvorak 7. As much as I love Dvorak, I think his orchestration suffers and his use of form isn't quite smooth. But the second movement of his 7th Symphony is just fantastic, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

The two movements of Schubert's Unfinished symphony. Absolute perfection.. I wouldn't remove a single note of it.

The 2nd movement of Schubert's String Quintet. It's like something hangs on the air.. a suspension of reality. I can't explain it. It's supernaturally perfect.

Herr Beethoven 7th symphony is perfect, too..


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

"Perfect" is a big word, but one piece which perfectly suits its setting is Erik Satie's Sports et Divertissements. It's 20 pieces, and on one side of the page is a drawing, and the other is a one-page musical depiction of the drawing with an underlying commentary. He did a masterful job here of combining music, prose, and art.


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## Vor Gott (Jan 26, 2011)

Andre said:


> I'd say Beethoven's 9th symphony, _Hammerklavier_ sonata or the late string quartets - the perfection of these is amazing, especially as he was completely deaf when he wrote them...


I completely agree. Also, as was mentioned above: perfect _is_ a big word and thus Beethoven's Ninth is the only work I can attribute this to, despite whatever anyone may think concerning the popularity of the piece.


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