# Top 10 Symphonies By Country & Top 10 Symphonic Countries



## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

My opinions, you don't have to agree with them, but here goes:

*(1) Austria* (For Austria there's no point in attempting to rank these or limit myself to only 10.)

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 "Romantic"
Bruckner: Symphony No. 5
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Haydn: The "Paris", "London" & "Sturm und Drang" series & most nicknamed symphonies are highlights. 
Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"
Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 "Tragic"
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Mozart: Symphony No. 25
Mozart: Symphony No. 29
Mozart: Symphony No. 35 "Haffner"
Mozart: Symphony No. 36 "Linz"
Mozart: Symphony No. 38 "Prague"
Mozart: Symphony No. 39
Mozart: Symphony No. 40
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"
Schubert: Symphony No. 5
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"
Schubert: Symphony No. 9 "The Great"

**Honorable Mention*:

Bruckner: Symphony No. 3
Bruckner: Symphony No. 6
Mahler: Symphony No. 3
Mahler: Symphony No. 8
Mahler: Symphony No. 10

*(2) Germany*

(01) Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
(02) Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"
(03) Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"
(04) Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"
(05) Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
(06) Brahms: Symphony No. 4
(07) Brahms: Symphony No. 3
(08) Brahms: Symphony No. 1
(09) Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 "Italian"
(10) Brahms: Symphony No. 2

**Honorable Mention*:

Bach, C.P.E.: The sets of "Hamburg" and "Berlin" Symphonies are the best.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 1
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8
Hindemith: Mathis der Maler Symphony
Hindemith: Symphony in E-flat major
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 "Scottish"
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 "Reformation"
Schumann: Symphony No. 1 "Spring"
Schumann: Symphony No. 2
Schumann: Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish"
Schumann: Symphony No. 4

*(3) Russia*

(01) Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique"
(02) Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
(03) Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
(04) Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5
(05) Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10
(06) Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
(07) Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1
(08) Scriabin: Symphony No. 4 "The Poem of Ecstasy"
(09) Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8
(10) Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 "Classical"

**Honorable Mention*:

Borodin: Symphony No. 2
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2
Rachmaninoff: "The Bells" (Choral Symphony)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 2 "Antar"
Scriabin: Symphony No. 5 "The Poem of Fire"
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad"
Stravinsky: Symphony in C
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 "Winter Dreams"

*(4) Finland*

(01) Sibelius: Symphony No. 5
(02) Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
(03) Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
(04) Sibelius: Symphony No. 4
(05) Sibelius: Symphony No. 3
(06) Sibelius: Symphony No. 1
(07) Sibelius: Symphony No. 6
(08) Sibelius: Kullervo Symphony
(09) Madetoja: Symphony No. 2
(10) Melartin: Symphony No. 4

**Honorable Mention*:

Sibelius: Lemminkainen Suite (I consider this a program symphony. If you agree, swap Melartin for this.)

*(5) Czech Republic*

(01) Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"
(02) Dvorák: Symphony No. 7
(03) Dvorák: Symphony No. 8
(04) Suk: Asrael Symphony
(05) Dvorák: Symphony No. 6
(06) Martinů: Symphony No. 1
(07) Martinů: Symphony No. 6 "Fantaisies symphoniques"
(08) Martinů: Symphony No. 4
(09) Dvorák: Symphony No. 5
(10) Suk: Symphony in E major

**Honorable Mention*:

Martinů's Symphony No. 2
Martinů's Symphony No. 3
Martinů's Symphony No. 5
Dvorák: Symphony No. 1 "The Bells of Zlonice"
Dvorák: Symphony No. 4

*(6) France*

(01) Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
(02) Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 "Organ"
(03) Franck: Symphony in D Minor *(He was Belgian, technically)
(04) Bizet: Symphony in C
(05) Roussel: Symphony No. 3 
(06) Honegger: Symphony No. 2
(07) Roussel: Symphony No. 1 "Poem of the Forest"
(08) d'Indy: Symphony On A French Mountain Air (Or is it a concerto?)
(09) Roussel: Symphony No. 4
(10) Honegger: Symphony No. 3 "Liturgique"

**Honorable Mention*:

Roussel: Symphony No. 2
Chausson: Symphony in B-flat
Dukas: Symphony in C
d'Indy: Symphony No. 2
Lalo: Symphony in G minor

*(7) Britain*

(01) Elgar: Symphony No. 1
(02) Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4
(03) Walton: Symphony No. 1
(04) Elgar: Symphony No. 2
(05) Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5
(06) Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 2 "A London Symphony"
(07) Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 8
(08) Britten: Sinfonia da requiem
(09) Bax: Symphony No. 1
(10) Bax: Symphony No. 3

*Honorable Mention: *

Britten: Simple Symphony
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 7 "Antarctica"
Bax: Symphony No. 2
Bax: Symphony No. 4

*(8) United States of America*

(01) Barber: Symphony No. 1
(02) Harris: Symphony No. 3
(03) Copland: Symphony No. 3
(04) Bernstein: Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety"
(05) Hanson: Symphony No. 2 "Romantic"
(06) Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain"
(07) Ives: Symphony No. 3 "Camp Meeting"
(08) Ives: Symphony No. 2
(09) Ives: Holidays Symphony
(10) Ives: Symphony No. 4

*Honorable Mention*:

Chadwick: Symphony No. 2
Thomson: Symphony On A Hymn Tune
Still: Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"
Copland: Dance Symphony
Thompson: Symphony No. 2

*(9) Denmark* (I could list works by Gade & Langaard but I'll spare Denmark that)

(01) Nielsen: Symphony No. 5
(02) Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 "Inextinguishable"
(03) Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 "Expansive"
(04) Nielsen: Symphony No. 6 "Simple"
(05) Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 "Four Temperaments"
(06) Nielsen: Symphony No. 1

*(10) Hungary*

Liszt: A Faust Symphony


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Austria:


Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
Bruckner - Symphony 9 (3 mvmt version)
Mahler - Symphony 4
Schubert - Symphony 9 'Unfinished'
Mahler - Symphony 9
Mahler - Symphony 6
Bruckner - Symphony 8
Mahler - Symphony 2
Schmidt - Symphony 4
Mahler - Symphony 10

Germany:


Beethoven - Symphony 6 'Pastoral'
Brahms - Symphony 4
Mendelssohn - Symphony 3 'Scottish'
Brahms - Symphony 3
Beethoven - Symphony 5
Brahms - Symphony 2
Mendelssohn - Symphony 4 'Italian'
Hindemith - Mathis der Maler symphony
Schumann - Symphony 3 'Rhenish'
Brahms - Symphony 1


UK:


Vaughan Williams - Symphony 5
Vaughan Williams - Symphony 7 'Antartica'
Arnold - Symphony 9
Moeran - Symphony 1
Vaughan Williams - Symphony 2
Bax - Symphony 6
Bax - Symphony 3
Vaughan Williams - Symphony 3 'Pastoral'
Elgar - Symphony 2
Elgar - Symphony 1


Russia:


Shostakovich - Symphony 7 'Leningrad'
Shostakovich - Symphony 10
Shostakovich - Symphony 14
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6 'Pathetique'
Shostakovich - Symphony 13
Shostakovich - Symphony 5
Shostakovich - Symphony 4
Tchaikovsky - Symphony 5
Kalinnikov - Symphony 2
Tchaikovsky - Manfred Symphony 

Maybe other countries later.

Wrt the list in the OP: I think you should check out Magnards four symphonies - they should be right up your alley.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

I don't have the breadth of listening experience to make a list of more than Austria, Germany, and Russia; however, I am surprised that neither Art Rock nor christomacin has mentioned Balakirev Symphony no. 1 for Russia.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

ORigel said:


> I don't have the breadth of listening experience to make a list of more than Austria, Germany, and Russia; however, I am surprised that neither Art Rock nor christomacin has mentioned Balakirev Symphony no. 1 for Russia.


Actually, I was going to mention the Balakirev 1st along with the Kalinnikov and several others (there are quite of lot of excellent Russian symphonies), but in the end decided to limit myself to my Top 10 and 5 alternates.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

France:


Saint-Saens - Symphony 3 'Organ'
Berlioz - Sinfonie Fantastique
Franck, C. - Symphony in D minor
Magnard - Symphony 4
Magnard - Symphony 3
Messiaen - Turangalila symphony
Roussel - Symphony 3
Dutilleux - Symphony 2 'Le Double'
Magnard - Symphony 2
Magnard - Symphony 1

Franck was born in Belgium (when it was still the Netherlands), but became a French citizen later. Honegger on the other hand was Swiss even though he lived and worked in France most of his life.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Art Rock said:


> Wrt the list in the OP: I think you should check out Magnards four symphonies - they should be right up your alley.


I have to say I gave Magnard's 4 Symphonies a whirl some time back, but, for what ever reason, I haven't quite cottoned to them yet. Perhaps I should hear them again. The 4 Symphonies of Mehul are interesting.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Austria:
1. Schubert Symphony no. 9 "Great"
2. Bruckner Symphony no. 8
3. Bruckner Synphony no. 9
4. Bruckner Symphony no. 7
5. Mahler Symphony no. 9
6. Mahler Symphony no. 2 "Resurrection"
7. Mahler Symphony no. 6
8. Mozart Symphony no. 41
9. Bruckner Symphony no. 5
10. Mozart Symphony no. 40

Unfortunately, I had no space for Haydn.

(This list may change because I am not yet familiar with Mahler Symphonies nos. 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10. DLVDE would be #5 or #6, if not higher, if it is counted as a symphony.)

Germany:
1. Beethoven Symphony no. 9
2. Beethoven Symphony no. 7
3. Beethoven Symphony no. 5
4. Brahms Symphony no. 4
5. Brahms Symphony no. 1
6. Brahms Symphony no. 2
7. Brahms Symphony no. 3
8. Beethoven Symphony no. 6 "Pastoral"
9. Beethoven Symphony no. 3 "Eroica"
10. Beethoven Symphony no. 4

Russia:
1. Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 6 "Pathetique"
2. Shostakovich Symphony no. 10
3. Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 5
4. Shostakovich Symphony no. 5
5. Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 2 "Little Russian"
6. Borodin Symphony no. 2
7. Balakirev Symphony no. 1
8. Shostakovich Symphony no. 7 "Leningrad"
9. Shostakovich Symphony no. 15
10. Schnittke Symphony no. 8


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

For Britain, Cipriani Potter is probably an important symphonist judging by the one I've listened to-- Symphony no. 6 (1832).

For USA, I love Ned Rorem's Symphony no. 3-- it was one of the first symphonies I listened to.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

It's astonishing that for the UK it is possible to name 20 symphonies of high quality without repeating a single composer, many of whom have several excellent symphonies to their name.

*UK*

_*This*_:

1. Arthur Bliss - A Colour Symphony
2. Elgar 2
3. RVW 9
4. Havergal Brian 10
5. Bax 2
6. Walton 2
7. Malcolm Arnold 5 
8. Moeran in G minor
9. David Matthews 6
10. Humphrey Searle 3

_*That*_:

1. Rubbra 6
2. Malcolm Lipkin 2 'The Pursuit'
3. Hoddinott 6 
4. Grace Williams 2 
5. Britten - Sinfonia Da Requiem
6. Daniel Jones 4
7. Maxwell Davis 1
8. Bob Simpson 5
8. Arthur Benjamin 1
9. Michael Tippett 3
10. Rawsthorne 3

So many others, including Alwyn and Arnell had to be left out.

*Austria
*
1. Bruckner 3
2. Bruckner 8
3.Mozart 38
4. Mozart 39
5. Mozart 40
6.Mozart Jupiter
7. Mahler 3
8. Mahler 9
9. Mahler 6
10 Schubert 8

More countries to follow ...........


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

christomacin said:


> *(1) Austria* (For Austria there's no point in attempting to rank these or limit myself to only 10.)
> Mozart


The sole reason why Mozart is considered "Austrian" by some today is because Salzburg officially became a part of Austria decades after his death. Mozart, like his father who was born and grew up in Augsburg, considered himself a native Bavarian. Beethoven and Brahms spent greater fractions of their lives in Vienna than Mozart did.

"there was no country called "Germany" in Mozart's day; rather, there were hundreds of independent or quasi-independent German-speaking states. Of these, Prussia was already on the rise, expanding its territory, and it was under Prussian leadership that Germany was ultimately unified in 1871. It was only as of that year that one could speak of a German nation-state.
However, the word "German" (in German: deutsch) was in use well before this time, designating the people of central Europe who shared German language and culture. To give an example, when in 1801 Mozart's old colleague Emanuel Schikaneder opened the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, a Leipzig music journal praised the new theater as "the "most comfortable and satisfactory in the whole of Germany". The city of Salzburg, owing to its fine ecclesiastical architecture, was sometimes called "the German Rome"."

"For administrative purposes, the Holy Roman Empire was divided into "circles". The Austrian Circle included the original Archduchy of Austria, as well as a number of other areas now part of modern Austria. Salzburg was not included; it was part of the Bavarian Circle.
"Austria" in Mozart's time could mean (in increasing order of size), the Archduchy of Austria, the Austrian Circle, and the Habsburg-ruled lands. None of these included Salzburg."

_"If Germany, my beloved fatherland, of whom you know I am proud, will not accept me, then must I, in the name of God, again make France or England richer by one capable German; - and to the shame of the German nation."_


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Mentally and emotionally, Mozart himself felt more connection and lineage to "Germany" rather than the "Habsburg Austria".

"This also explains why Mozart was not a political animal: the state was of even less interest to him than society, with political theories belonging in the realm of abstraction, a world that could not be grasped through the senses and for which he therefore had no time. Here, as elsewhere, there was a vast gulf between him and his father, who was unusually interested in both the theory of practice and politics. For Mozart, conversely, political principles were a matter of almost total indifference and he had time only for the people who represented them, hence the fact that in his choice of friends he never allowed himself to be influenced by political considerations. Very rarely do we find sudden outbursts of the kind that occurred in 1782, following the British successes at Gibraltar, when he proudly called himself an 'out-and-out-Englishman.' But these were no more than passing moods and they fade into total insignificance beside the fact that the most important political event that he lived to witness, the French Revolution, receives not a single word of mention in his letters. Never once do we hear him speak of freedom, equality, human rights, and so on as universal demands. Whenever he came into contact with individuals who championed these principles, as occasionally happened in Masonic lodges, it was again the people who fascinated him, not the principles. As a result, readers will search his letters in vain for a political creed. [...] 
Striking, by contrast, are the frequent professions of Germanness that we have already encountered and that we shall encounter on many further occasions in the course of the following pages. In this, Mozart was markedly different from both Haydn and Beethoven. That these were not merely occasional outbursts is clear from their sheer number. Nor was this the egoistical patriotism of his father, a sentiment born of hatred and envy of the Italians, but the increasingly clear awareness that, thanks to the actions of Frederick the Great, intellectual forces were beginning to stir in Germany that he recognized as more closely related to his own view of the world than the spirit that blew in from abroad. As a result, he was not a patriot in the modern, middle-class sense of the term and was probably something more than this: he was pleased to have discovered new wellsprings of artistic strength on German soil and insisted on their exploitation in order to increase Germany's might and prestige. Even today, we may reckon this to his credit."
[ W.A. Mozart | Hermann Abert | P. 736~737 ]


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

hammeredklavier said:


> Mentally and emotionally, Mozart himself felt more connection and lineage to "Germany" rather than the "Habsburg Austria".
> 
> "This also explains why Mozart was not a political animal: the state was of even less interest to him than society, with political theories belonging in the realm of abstraction, a world that could not be grasped through the senses and for which he therefore had no time. Here, as elsewhere, there was a vast gulf between him and his father, who was unusually interested in both the theory of practice and politics. For Mozart, conversely, political principles were a matter of almost total indifference and he had time only for the people who represented them, hence the fact that in his choice of friends he never allowed himself to be influenced by political considerations. Very rarely do we find sudden outbursts of the kind that occurred in 1782, following the British successes at Gibraltar, when he proudly called himself an 'out-and-out-Englishman.' But these were no more than passing moods and they fade into total insignificance beside the fact that the most important political event that he lived to witness, the French Revolution, receives not a single word of mention in his letters. Never once do we hear him speak of freedom, equality, human rights, and so on as universal demands. Whenever he came into contact with individuals who championed these principles, as occasionally happened in Masonic lodges, it was again the people who fascinated him, not the principles. As a result, readers will search his letters in vain for a political creed. [...]
> Striking, by contrast, are the frequent professions of Germanness that we have already encountered and that we shall encounter on many further occasions in the course of the following pages. In this, Mozart was markedly different from both Haydn and Beethoven. That these were not merely occasional outbursts is clear from their sheer number. Nor was this the egoistical patriotism of his father, a sentiment born of hatred and envy of the Italians, but the increasingly clear awareness that, thanks to the actions of Frederick the Great, intellectual forces were beginning to stir in Germany that he recognized as more closely related to his own view of the world than the spirit that blew in from abroad. As a result, he was not a patriot in the modern, middle-class sense of the term and was probably something more than this: he was pleased to have discovered new wellsprings of artistic strength on German soil and insisted on their exploitation in order to increase Germany's might and prestige. Even today, we may reckon this to his credit."
> [ W.A. Mozart | Hermann Abert | P. 736~737 ]


Get over it, perception is reality! Until further notice, Mozart is Austrian.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Austria & Germany (excluding Beethoven):
1. Mozart 35 "Haffner"
2. Mozart 40
3. Mozart 41 "Jupiter"
4. Schubert 8 "Unfinished"
5. Schumann 3 "Rhenish"
6. Brahms 2
7. Bruckner 9
8. Mahler 4
9. Haydn 82 "The Bear"
10. Haydn 95 "Surprise"

Russia:
1. Tchaikovsky 4
2. Tchaikovsky 6 "Pathetique"
3. Rachmaninoff 2
4. Shostakovich 5
5. Shostakovich 11 "1905"
6. Shostakovich 15
7. Prokofiev 5
8. Prokofiev 1 "Classical Symphony"
9. Gliere 3 "Ilya Muromets"
10. Borodin 2 

USA:
1. Charles Ives 4
2. Aaron Copland 3
3. Florence Price 1
4. William Schuman 9
5. Walter Piston 8
6. Roy Harris 1 "1933"
7. Ned Rorem 3
8. Lou Harrison 2 "Elegiac Symphony"
9. Alan Hovhaness 19 "Vishnu" 
10. Philip Glass 11


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

U.S.A

1. Ives 2
2. Ives 4
3. Piston 2
4. Copeland 3
5. Hanson 2
6. Schuman 3
7. Harris 3
8. Creston 2
9. Barber 1
10. Hovhaness 'Mysterious Mountain'

Mennin 3 and a few others left out ...........


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

ORigel said:


> For Britain, Cipriani Potter is probably an important symphonist judging by the one I've listened to-- Symphony no. 6 (1832).
> 
> For USA, I love Ned Rorem's Symphony no. 3-- it was one of the first symphonies I listened to.


...and at the age of 98, Ned Rorem is the last surviving link to a generation of American composers that also included the likes of Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Virgil Thomson, Walter Piston, William Schuman, Roy Harris, and Roger Sessions.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Let me try (favorites _today_):

*Austria*

1. Bruckner: Symphony no. 8
2. Schubert: Symphony no. 8 "Unfinished"
3. Bruckner: Symphony no. 9
4. Mahler: Symphony no. 9
5. Bruckner: Symphony no. 7
6. Mahler: Das Lied von Der Erde
7. Schubert: Symphony no. 9 "Great"
8. Mahler: Symphony no. 2 "Resurrection"
9. Bruckner: Symphony no. 6
10. Mahler: Symphony no. 4

*Germany*

1. Beethoven: Symphony no. 9 "Choral"
2. Beethoven: Symphony no. 5
3. Brahms: Symphony no. 4
4. Beethoven: Symphony no. 3 "Eroica"
5. Brahms: Symphony no. 3
6. Beethoven: Symphony no. 6 "Pastoral"
7. Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 2 "Lobgesang"***
8. Beethoven: Symphony no. 7
9. Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 3 "Scottish"
10. Brahms: Symphony no. 2

*Russia*

1. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6 "Pathétique"
2. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 5
3. Shostakovich: Symphony no. 11 "The Year 1905"
4. Prokofiev: Symphony no. 7
5. Prokofiev: Symphony no. 5
6. Shostakovich: Symphony no. 5
7. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4
8. Shostakovich: Symphony no. 7 "Leningrad"
9. Rachmaninoff: Symphony no. 2
10. Prokofiev: Symphony no. 4 (first version)

*France*

1. Saint-Saëns: Symphony no. 3 "Organ"
2. Berlioz: Symphony no. 4 "Funèbre et Triomphale"
3. Berlioz: Symphony no. 3 "Roméo et Juliette"
4. Franck: Symphony in D minor
5. Berlioz: Symphony no. 1 "Fantastique"
6. Bizet: Symphony in C
7. Messiaen: Turangalila symphony
8. Honegger: Symphony No. 3 "Liturgique"
9. Dukas: Symphony in C
10. Berlioz: Symphony no. 2 "Harold en Italie"

*UK*

1. Arnold: Symphony no. 5
2. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 5
3. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 7 "Antartica"
4. Bax: Symphony no. 6
5. Elgar: Symphony no. 2
6. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 2 "London"
7. Bax: Symphony no. 3
8. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 8
9. Elgar: Symphony no. 1
10. Bliss: A Colour Symphony

*: Considering it a choral symphony.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

I suppose I should attempt to whittle my list of Austrian Symphonies down to just ten... very difficult!

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Haydn: Symphony No. 103 "Drum Roll"
Haydn: Symphony No. 104 "London"
Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 "Tragic"
Mozart: Symphony No. 40
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"
Schubert: Symphony No. 9 "The Great"


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

Based on my 50 favorite symphonies.

GERMANY:
Reinecke - Symphony No. 1 in A major, Op. 79 (1858, rev. 1863)
Bruch - Symphony No. 2 in F minor, Op. 36 (1870)
Reinecke - Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 134 (1875, rev. 1888)
Brahms - Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 (1877)
Bruch - Symphony No. 3 in E major, Op. 51 (1882, rev. 1886) 
Brahms - Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90 (1883)
Gernsheim - Symphony No. 3 in C minor "Mirjam", Op. 54 (1887)
Reinecke - Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 227 (1894)
Wetz - Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 40 (1916)
Graener - Wiener Sinfonie in F major, Op. 110 (1941)

POLAND:
Dobrzyński - Symphony No. 2 in C minor "Characteristic", Op. 15 (1831)
Noskowski - Symphony No. 1 in A major (1875)
Noskowski - Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1879)
Wieniawski, J. - Symphony in D major, Op. 49 (1890)
Stojowski - Symphony in D minor, Op. 21 (1897)
Karłowicz - Symphony "Rebirth" in E minor, Op. 7 (1902)
Noskowski - Symphony No. 3 in F major "From Spring to Spring" (1903)
Paderewski - Symphony in B minor "Polonia", Op. 24 (1908)
Młynarski - Symphony in F major "Polonia", Op. 14 (1910) 

FINLAND:
Sibelius - Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 (1899)
Melartin - Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 30 No. 1 (1902)
Sibelius - Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63 (1911)
Melartin - Symphony No. 5 "Sinfonia Brevis" in A minor, Op. 90 (1915)
Sibelius - Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 (1921)
Melartin - Symphony No. 6, Op. 100 (1924)
Sibelius - Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 (1924)

RUSSIA:
Glazunov - Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 33 (1890)
Glazunov - Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, Op. 48 (1893)
Gretchaninov - Symphony No. 1 in B minor, Op. 6 (1894)
Rachmaninov - Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13 (1895)
Gretchaninov - Symphony No. 2 in A major "Pastoral", Op. 27 (1908)
Rachmaninov - Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 (1908)
Gretchaninov - Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 (1927)

SWEDEN:
Olsson - Symphony in G minor, Op. 11 (1902)
Peterson-Berger - Symphony No. 2 in E-flat major, "The Journey of Southerly Winds" (1910)
Peterson-Berger - Symphony No. 3 in F minor, "Lappland Symphony" (1915)
Berg, N. - Symphony No. 4 "Pezzo Sinfonico" (1918)
Peterson-Berger - Symphony No. 5 in B major, "Solitude" (1933)

AUSTRIA:
Fuchs - Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 37 (1884)
Fuchs - Symphony No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 45 (1887)
Fuchs - Symphony No. 3 in E major, Op. 79 (1906)

ITALY:
Sgambati - Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 16 (1881)
Sgambati - Symphony No. 2 in E-flat major (1895)
Martucci - Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75 (1895)

FRANCE:
Saint-Saëns - Symphony in F major "Urbs Roma" (1856)
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3 in C minor "Organ Symphony", Op. 78 (1886)

HUNGARY:
Dohnányi - Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 9 (1901)
Dohnányi - Symphony No. 2 in E major, Op. 40 (1944)

LIECHTENSTEIN:
Rheinberger - Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 10 "Wallenstein" (1866)
Rheinberger - Symphony No. 2 in F major, Op. 87 "Florentine Symphony" (1875)


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Xisten267 said:


> Let me try (favorites _today_):
> 
> *France*
> 
> ...


It seems strange to see the Berlioz works listed as numbered symphonies. Can't quite get my head around that.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

*Russia:*
Tchaikovsky 2
Tchaikovsky 5
Tchaikovsky 4
Tchaikovsky 6
Tchaikovsky 1
Tchaikovsky 3
Borodin 2
Borodin 3 (Unfinished)
Borodin 1
Kalinnikov 1
Kalinnikov 2
Rachmaninoff 2
Shostakovich 5
Shostakovich 9
Shostakovich 7
Shostakovich 10
Would include Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade if we define it as a symphony
Rimsky-Korsakov 2 'Antar'
Glazunov 5
Glazunov 4
Glazunov 1
Prokofiev 1

*Germany:*
Beethoven 5
Beethoven 9
Beethoven 3
Beethoven 7
Beethoven 6
Beethoven 4
Beethoven 8
Beethoven 1
Beethoven 2
Mendelssohn 4
Mendelssonh 3
Brahms 1
Brahms 2
Brahms 3
Brahms 4
Mozart 39 (_German or Austrian?_)
Mozart 40
Mozart 41

*Czech Republic/Slovakia/Bohemia:*
Dvořák 5 
Dvořák 6 
Dvořák 8
Dvořák 9
Dvořák 3
Dvořák 1
Dvořák 7

*Finland:*
Sibelius 2
Sibelius 5
Sibelius 1
*
Honorable mentions:*
_England:_ Elgar 2 and 1
_Austria:_ Schubert 8 'Unfinished', Mahler 4, and "bleeding chunks" of Mahler's 2 and 6
_USA:_ Amy Beach - Gaelic Symphony


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

christomacin said:


> It seems strange to see the Berlioz works listed as numbered symphonies. Can't quite get my head around that.


Well, it's true that they usually aren't ordered and numbered, but I like to stress the fact that as great as the _Symphonie Fantastique_ may be, it's only his first of a very strong set of compositions (in my opinion at least).

Here is what wikipedia tells us about the symphonies by Berlioz:

"Berlioz wrote four large-scale works he called symphonies, but his conception of the genre differed greatly from the classical pattern of the German tradition. With rare exceptions, such as Beethoven's _Ninth_, a symphony was taken to be a large‐scale wholly orchestral work, usually in four movements, using sonata form in the first movement and sometimes in others. Some pictorial touches were included in symphonies by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and others, but the symphony was not customarily used to recount a narrative.

All four of Berlioz's symphonies differ from the contemporary norm. The first, the _Symphonie fantastique_ (1830), is purely orchestral, and the opening movement is broadly in sonata form, but the work tells a story, graphically and specifically. The recurring idée fixe theme is the composer's idealised (and in the last movement caricatured) portrait of Harriet Smithson. Schumann wrote of the work that despite its apparent formlessness, 'there is an inherent symmetrical order corresponding to the great dimensions of the work, and this besides the inner connexions of thought', and in the 20th century Constant Lambert wrote, 'Formally speaking it is among the finest of 19th-century symphonies'. The work has always been among Berlioz's most popular.

_Harold in Italy_, despite its subtitle 'Symphony in four parts with viola principal', is described by the musicologist Mark Evan Bonds as a work traditionally seen as lacking any direct historical antecedent, 'a hybrid of symphony and concerto that owes little or nothing to the earlier, lighter genre of the symphonie concertante'. In the 20th century critical opinion varied about the work, even among those well-disposed to Berlioz. Felix Weingartner, an early 20th century champion of the composer, wrote in 1904 that it did not reach the level of the Symphonie fantastique; fifty years later Edward Sackville-West and Desmond Shawe-Taylor found it 'romantic and picturesque ... Berlioz at his best'. In the 21st century Bonds ranks it among the greatest works of its kind in the 19th century.

The 'Dramatic Symphony' with chorus, _Roméo et Juliette_ (1839), is still further from the traditional symphonic model. The episodes of Shakespeare's drama are represented in orchestral music, interspersed with expository and narrative sections for voices. Among Berlioz's admirers the work divides opinion. Weingartner called it 'a style-less mixture of different forms; not quite oratorio, not quite opera, not quite symphony - fragments of all three, and nothing perfect'. Countering accusations of lack of unity in this and other Berlioz works Emmanuel Chabrier replied in a single emphatic word. Cairns regards the work as symphonic, albeit 'a bold extension' of the genre, but he notes that other Berliozians including Wilfrid Mellers view it as 'a curious, not entirely convincing compromise between symphonic and operatic techniques'. Rushton comments that 'pronounced unity' is not among the virtues of the work, but he argues that to close one's mind on that account is to miss all that the music has to give.

The last of the four symphonies is the _Symphonie funebre et triomphale_, for giant brass and woodwind band (1840), with string parts added later, together with optional chorus. The structure is more conventional than the instrumentation: the first movement is in sonata form, but there are only two other movements, and Berlioz did not adhere to the traditional relationship between the various keys of the piece. Wagner called the symphony 'popular in the most ideal sense ... every urchin in a blue blouse would thoroughly understand it'."

The first movement of the _Symphonie funèbre et triomphale_ and the third and the fifth of _Roméo et Juliette_ are amongst my favorite by Berlioz.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Xisten267 said:


> Well, it's true that they usually aren't ordered and numbered, but I like to stress the fact that as great as the _Symphonie Fantastique_ may be, it's only his first of a very strong set of compositions (in my opinion at least).


I think it's all great music, so I suppose what he called it is less important. No issue there.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I am primarily interested in the music of one country: the *United States*.

Major symphonists from the US include:

Charles Ives
Roger Sessions
Leonard Bernstein
William Schuman
Aaron Copland
David Diamond
Walter Piston
George Rochberg
Howard Hanson
Roy Harris
Philip Glass

The symphonies by these composers occupy my time more than the European Classical literature. IMO the USA has produced the greatest music of any country. And I include in that calculation Jazz, Blues, musical theater, and other genres of popular music as well as the rich body of works in the Classical genre written by American composers.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

SanAntone said:


> I am primarily interested in the music of one country: the *United States*.
> 
> Major symphonists from the US include:
> 
> ...


Boldly stated. Your candor is admirable. I will simply say that if we are talking about music IN GENERAL it is very easy to underestimate the significance in particular of American and British music. As you state, there was much going on in Ragtime, Blues, Jazz, Rock and film scoring that American either invented or was very adept in. The British have their folk music, madrigals, and of course all the influential rock bands from the 60s and 70s. My general dislike of Atonal, Serial and Minimalist music has tended to skew my tastes away much American Classical music. This is for the simple reason that American music was mostly too timid before the 20th century (Gottschalk and Ives excepted) and didn't have much of a honeymoon in the 20th Century (the 20s, 30s and 40s) before this type of music became common. So a certain lack of enthusiasm for American classical music is one of the unfortunate by-products of that. Having said that, I tend to prefer more popular music derived forms in the second half of the 20th century so perhaps that offsets that bias somewhat.

Anyway, what did you think of my selections for Best American Symphonies?

*(8) United States of America

(01) Barber: Symphony No. 1
(02) Harris: Symphony No. 3
(03) Copland: Symphony No. 3
(04) Bernstein: Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety"
(05) Hanson: Symphony No. 2 "Romantic"
(06) Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain"
(07) Ives: Symphony No. 3 "Camp Meeting"
(08) Ives: Symphony No. 2
(09) Ives: Holidays Symphony
(10) Ives: Symphony No. 4

Honorable Mention:

Chadwick: Symphony No. 2
Thomson: Symphony On A Hymn Tune
Still: Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"
Copland: Dance Symphony
Thompson: Symphony No. 2
*


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

christomacin said:


> ... what did you think of my selections for Best American Symphonies?
> 
> *(8) United States of America
> 
> ...


You have highlighted a good subset of the orchestral music of American composers. But also have left out many works. I have an advantage: I don't spend much time listening to the European Classical canon, and hence, have more time to spend with the composers which some consider marginal. For me they are the centerpiece of my listening.

All three of Bernstein's symphonies are more than worthwhile.
All of David Diamond's symphonies, all of Walter Sessions.; all of Roy Harris, etc.

This does even touch on composers such as *John Luther Adams* and *Elliott Carter* - both idiosyncratic composers for orchestra. *Morton Feldman*, *John Cage*, *Philip Glass* - I can't say it strongly enough that I believe these composers to be far and way very interesting composers and more than enough to occupy my time.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

I enjoy Diamond's first three symphonies. especially the 3rd, and Rounds for Orchestra is indeed a classic. I have it on CD played by Gerard Schwarz. He got a bit samey and stale after a while though. William Schuman's Symphony No. 5 for Strings is rather good too. I forgot about that one. I wouldn't exactly say I NEVER listen to American music, as you can perhaps tell. Ned Rorem's symphonies were recommended on this site and I particularly liked the No. 2. Oddly, although not surprisingly, this one was the least known and most forgotten, even though it was the most enjoyable. It seems as the more enjoyable something was, the more aggressively it was suppressed back in the 50s and 60s. It's a time period of Classical music I simply cannot relate to.


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