[One Eye]

For me my favourite Beethoven Symphony is the Seventh. A fine disc is the Vienna / Abbado one on DG coupled with another fine recording of the Eight.
 
There seems to be a huge group of composers between the years 1830 - 1900 who produced a huge amount of fantastic music. These seem to be caught between Beethoven and the advent the late romantic's Bruckner and Mahler who led the way into the 20th century. A point I like to make in this discussion is to ask people to compare Schumann's Rheinish with Smetana's Ma Vlast. Both are thematically linked yet each is unique and equally beautiful.
 
The above point may seem facile but it has always seemed to me that when one finds an unfamiliar piece which appeals then one should enjoy it and be happy.    

 

[aroldan]

The greatest for me:
 
Mozart's 41th (Neville Marriner)
Beethoven's 9th (Claudio Abbado)
Schubert's 8th (Neville Marriner)
Bruckner's 4th (Philippe Herreweghe)
Mahler's 5th (Jonathan Darlington)
Shostakovich's 5th (Mstislav Rostropovich)
 
There are certainly others, but those come to my mind right now.

 

[liuzerus87]

Another vote for Brahms 4. That wonderful passacaglia 4th movement might be the greatest symphonic movement ever written - how he could write something that powerful in basically variation form with a completely simple and unassuming bass line is astonishing to me.
 
There's a youtube clip of Furtwangler rehearsing the second half of the movement. There's really nothing like Furtwangler conducting Brahms; he's the closest anybody could come to definitive, even with the bad audio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leYbb5KZYDg

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Another vote for Brahms 4. That wonderful passacaglia 4th movement might be the greatest symphonic movement ever written - how he could write something that powerful in basically variation form with a completely simple and unassuming bass line is astonishing to me.
 
There's a youtube clip of Furtwangler rehearsing the second half of the movement. There's really nothing like Furtwangler conducting Brahms; he's the closest anybody could come to definitive, even with the bad audio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leYbb5KZYDg

Wow! got a shiver up my spine watching that. Now thats how Brahms should be played!  
 

 

[One Eye]

I just reacquainted myself with Sir Charles Mackerras recording of the William Walton Symphony No 1 with the London Philharmonic. Wow what a recording. I have the original version on EMI Eminence but I believe it's now available on Classics For Pleasure.
It's the only version I have heard which truly captures the malevolence of the second movement.
If you are planning a concert evening for yourself play it last.  

 

[nikp]

Don't forget Beethoven's Symphony no. 9! 

 

[Lex2]

Not strictly a symphony, but a Mass. I think Beethoven's Missa Solemnis is the greatest piece of work ever composed. My favorite recording is Klemperer's on EMI Classics.

 

[LFF]

Extremely tough, but the ones that reign supreme to me are Beethoven's 5th and 9th.
 
I would highly recommend the following recordings:
 

 
 

 

[DavidMahler]

Mahler's 9th is the greatest symphony ever written....it touches on things that no other composer ever managed.
 
Beethoven's 9th (popular answer) isn't even that composer's greatest symphony...and the beloved finale is the weakest movement in the work.... but its influence is and fame makes it the most highly acclaimed work in classical music.
 
but here are the other ones which I enjoy the most:
 
Bruckner 9
Sibelius 5
Mahler 3
Brahms 4
Mahler 7
Brahms 1
Mahler 2
Mahler 5
Mahler 4
Sibelius 7