What do you consider the greatest works of western music? - Page 2

This requiem not being completed, along with the nuclear attacks on Japan in World War 2 would have to be the two things I would change about history first if I invented a time machine.

No ~ and I'm not a mezzo-soprano either!

I do like Elgar's Cello Concerto, particularly it's elegiac vein which runs along the vein of Myaskovsky's underrated masterpieces although the two differ dramatically on an emotional level: Myaskovsky's cello concerto is firmly orientated in the inner world view, shaped by external events; Elgar's seems to approximate along this axis, however has its grandiose and pompous state moments, betraying the introspective insights which his music alludes to and fixing itself for its audience. I'm not interested in music made to please or crafted to fit in for others expectations; but that's just me.

Like Myaskovsky's work, Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No.2 is way up there too for me, uncompromising in his inner vision but maybe too modern in idiom, rather like Panufnik;s work to gain a more universal appeal.

I did grow up listening to Gabriel Faure's cello works (Isserlis) and Rostropovich hammering it from Boccherini to Tchaikovsky and back to Cherubini. Can't say those easy going MOR classical ditties are my thing now, although Gabriel Faure still holds my respect across the whole body of his work, particularly his chamber music (string quartet and piano quartets). I guess you appreciate them from a more technical level. It's not that I'm in different to technical expertise; there has to be a basic foundation of it too make emotionally charged music. Technically perfect music like Saints Saensl ~ perfectly emotionless ~ isn't my cup of tea. That's all

Beethoven 5th Symphony
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture
Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Bach Toccata And Fugue
Rossini William Tell Overture
Pachelbel Canon In D
Strauss Blue Danube
Orff O Fortuna
Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra
Offenbach Infernal Galop
Handel Hallelujah
Bizet Les Toreadors
Khachaturian Sabre Dance
Beethoven Ode To Joy
Elgar Pomp And Circumstance
Grieg In The Hall Of The Mountain King
Ponchielli Dance Of The Hours
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Mendelssohn Wedding March
Rimsky-Korsakov Flight Of The Bumblebee
Gershwin Rhapsody In Blue
Beethoven Moonlight Sonata
Ravel Bolero
Tchaikovsky Nutcracker: Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy
Rosas Over The Waves
Williams Imperial March
Mozart Queen Of The Night
Beethoven Für Elise
Fucik Entry Of The Gladiators
Delibes Flower Duet
Dukas Sorcerer's Apprentice
Copland Hoedown
Wagner Ride Of The Valkyries
Bach Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
Tchaikovsky Nutcracker: Waltz Of The Flowers
Bizet Habanera
Jenkins Palladio
Chopin Funeral March
Mozart Rondo Alla Turca
Mussorgsky Night On Bald Mountain
Boccherini Minuet
Grieg Morning
Mozart Marriage Of Figaro Overture
Sousa Stars And Stripes Forever
Wagner Wedding March
Vivaldi Spring
Beethoven Minuet In G
Barber Adagio For Strings
Tchaikovsky Nutcracker: Dance Of The Mirlitons
Bach Air On A G String
Arnaud Bugler's Dream
Bach Cello Suite No. 1
Rossini Largo Al Factotum
Mouret Rondeau
Brahms Lullaby
Bach Minuet In G
Rachmaninov Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini (18th Variation)
Copland Fanfare For The Common Man
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Rossini La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie)
Beethoven 9th Symphony
Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5
Mozart Piano Sonata No. 16 In C
Handel Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba
Tchaikovsky Nutcracker
Bach Brandenburg Concerto
Prokofiev Peter And The Wolf
Tchaikovsky Romeo And Juliet
Verdi La Donna È Mobile
Bach Bourrée In E Minor
Saint-Saëns Carnival Of The Animals
Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor
Waldteufel Skater's Waltz
Mozart Dies Irae
Suppé Light Cavalry Overture
Debussy Clair De Lune
Sousa Liberty Bell march
Saint-Saëns Carnival Of The Animals
Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty
Mozart Symphony No. 40
Rossini Barber Of Seville Overture
Sousa Washington Post
Ricketts Colonel Bogey March
Gardel Por Una Cabeza
Verdi Anvil Chorus
Strauss Tritsch-Tratsch Polka
Clarke Prince Of Denmark's March
Handel Water Music: Suite 2 (Alla Hornpipe)
Mozart Marriage Of Figaro Wedding March
Strauss Vienna Blood
Delibes Pizzicato
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 In C
Denza Funiculi, Funicula
Mozart Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Mozart Symphony No. 25
Verdi Dies Irae
Tchaikovsky Marche Slave
Strauss Radetzky March



This is my "to study" list, so someday I can post a response in a list like this one.

heh heh, yeah I liked the incongruity of listing Coltrane there. Mostly though I took the "greatest" in more of a historical or musical significance way, as it's hard for me to separate music from the context it appears in. So that also accounts for selections like Rite of Spring, selections that I think historically might be more significant and lend to their "greatness," while in reality, for just sitting down and listening, I actually prefer his more neo-classical stuff, for example.

Same idea for Prelude - there might be more monumental or "greater" works than that, but Debussy really helped usher in a new era and I think was a *huge* influence beyond what might be recognized generally, accounting for his greatness. And Bach's WTC was arguably more hugely influential than anything, almost single handedly defining the entire scalar or interval schemata of western music. That's pretty great.

As for Mahler, thanks for the detailed response. I've heard bits and pieces of his symphonies here and there, on the radio, etc. and from the perspective of half-paying attention usually have found it interesting. I remember when I was reading a lot of Bukowski years ago he absolutely loved Mahler, and that always intrigued me and made me want to go check out some Mahler - just never got around to it for some reason.

But like I said regarding Stravinsky, and from what you can probably glean from me mentioning Debussy, I tend to go more for that airy kind of impressionistic or atmospheric music rather than the really heavy thematic kind of works. I really detest opera, for example - just can't get into it no matter how many times I try - while I usually really like ballet music. So maybe that helps narrow down what Mahler might be best to start with, otherwise I'll just go for the 2nd. Although then I will be curious to hear how the 4th is so different. In what way does that depart from his usual sound? Maybe if it leans more impressionistic that would be better. And by impressionistic I don't necessarily mean pastoral, either. Maybe atmospheric is the best word. I also really like listening to film scores, for example. Thanks


p.s. that list sounds fantastic. definitely post that.

Just curious: why the Sibelius Violin Concerto? In the pantheon of violin concertos, I guess one would typically see the the Brahms, or Beethoven, or even Mendelssohn being mentioned. Granted between the Brahms and the Sibelius I'd just as soon choose the Sibelius to listen to but does it make it any more "greater" than the Brahms or Beethoven? I guess that's the great difficulty with lists; it's hard to be "objective" without exposing some biases (and I am guilty of this as well). Any universal list, to be useful, would by necessity have to be somewhat objective. This is from the point of view of a lay listener, but a professional musician or conductor might (and will) come up with a different list. Likewise a music critic. Nevertheless there are some works that are universally considered "great", such as Beethoven's 9th and 3rd which changed symphonic tradition and paved the way for Brahms and Mahler to extend the form. To quote Haydn upon hearing the Eroica, "Everything is different from today."

Also Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 -- you probably meant the 24th? Looking forward to your list.

You may just need to go there and curb his life of excess so that he could have lived another 40 years. Now THAT would be changing music history forever. Beethoven would probably be just as famous, but imagine what Mozart symphonies 42 and onwards would have sounded like (probably some duds though unlikely if the Jupiter was any indication of his symphonic development).

I agree with Mozart's 23rd piano concerto as well - the loveliest piano concerto in existence in my opinion (Beethoven 4 after that)

Pat Metheny, "The Way Up"