The Greatest Symphony Ever ?

[Art Rock]

I don't think I have heard either Sessions or Searle, for Schuman I have his 3d and 10th.

One of these days when we have a rain spell I will catalogue my 2000+ classical CD collection....

[some guy]

Art Rock, I ask because I recently went on a Schuman binge, having only had the 10th and In Praise of Shahn, which was for a long time my first and only Schuman.

I also acquired Searle and Sessions and Nørholm around the same time, a spree that was preceded by a Wellesz, Krenek, Nørgård orgy.

And I was wondering if you'd had a similar experience with Schuman to mine. (I now have Schuman's Symphony for strings and numbers 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9, too, plus some smaller things, including Judith.)

Anyway, as far as recommendations go, I've had the most success with Francis Dhomont's Frankenstein Symphony. At least four people have listened to that and then bought it on my say so. Well, on my say so and on their liking what they listened to, of course.

Rojo might be interested in that. Dhomont made it by sewing together snippets from dozens of other works, of students and colleagues of his and of pieces of his own--hence the title. And while it's fun to listen to it and be able to say "that's Gobeil" or "that's Calon" from time to time, it's not at all necessary to know any of the sources. I knew only a few when I first heard it. (If you like it, it's a good way to get acquainted with a lot of music by a lot of different people, as the insert lists every piece that Dhomont used.)

[Rune Vejby]

Art Rock, you seem very much into orchestral music, so maybe I can ask you a small question I have never been interested in major orchestral works but that has changed lately - especially after listening to Gorecki's 3rd. So I would like to listen to his other symphonic works as well. I have heard that his 3rd symphony is very different - in terms of artistic expression and style - than his other works. Is that true? And are there any recordings of his 1st and 2nd symphonies that you can recommend? Thank you!

Btw. I am sorry if this post is considered off-topic!

[Art Rock]

Gorecki's third is indeed very different from his other works - as far as I heard them, which is six CD's in my collection. Apart from the third symphony with Dawn Upshaw, I have:

Kleines Requiem fuer eine Polka/Harpsichord concerto/Good night (Nonesuch)
Probably my second favourite Gorecki CD. The first piece has bewildering speed changes, the harpsichord concerto is short (under 9 min) but fun, and the closing Good Night is beautiful and sports my favourite soprano Dawn Upshaw (also on Sym3).

Old Polish music/Totus Tuus/Beatus Vir (argo)
I really need to play this one again as I am drawing a blank in my memory.

Miserere/Amen/Euntes ibant et flebant etc (nonesuch)
I really need to play this one again as I am drawing a blank in my memory.

Already it is dusk (SQ1)/Lerchenmusik (nonesuch)
Interesting works, the SQ performed by the Kronos.

Sonata for 2 violins/Genesis I/SQ 1+2 (Olympia)
A good introduction to his chamber music.

Apparently I do not have his first two symphonies. I know that there is a Naxos recording of the second though - this label usually has decent performances for very low prices.

Well, two Gorecki CD's go on the "to play" pile, and one Naxos CD on the "to buy" list. Thanks!

[Contratrombone64]

I've just been listening to a 20th century symphony that is almost NEVER heard, sadly as it's monumental in construction, granite like in texture, and full of typical contrapuntal tricks: Hindemith's glorious Symphony in E flat

[Contratrombone64]

Gorecki's third is indeed very different from his other works

I might just try and get acquainted with his other symphonic music, in that case because his Third bores me to tears (but that's just personal, please don't take offence.)

[Rune Vejby]

Well, two Gorecki CD's go on the "to play" pile, and one Naxos CD on the "to buy" list. Thanks!

True true - there will always be new (and old) music to explore!
Thanks alot for the information, Art Rock. I will head down to the library soon and have a look at which CD's are available

[Contratrombone64]

Rune - this has been a fascinating thread, I need to open my eyes (well ears actually) to much more 20th/21st century music I guess.

[rojo]

Rojo might be interested in that.

Definitely. As well as the Hindemith mentioned by CT64. Don't recall hearing anything by Hindemith that was "granite like" in texture. Intriguing.

But Muhammad Ali is the greatest. Ever!

I think Tyson might disagree.

[zoned]

Well not much beats Howard Hansons 1(nordic),2(romantic),and 3 for true beauty. Barbers symphonies are gems. Glazunov is underrated. Lazslo lajhta,hungarian,wrote some intriguiging stuff.Korgold's symphony contains an awe-inspiring adagio based on a mere 3 not theme.And,more conventional,Bruckners 7th contains one of the most profound adagios ever written,in my opinion!

[equalizer]

There's no such thing as the greatest symphony. Dependent on one's spiritual and emotional state at the time one's listening, the 9th could be the greatest one day, and maybe Mahler's 7th, would be considered greatest on another day, etc. Music is heavily dependent on one's mood at the time of listening.

[sunwaiter]

The first time i felt like " hey actually i like this so uncool thing they call classical music" was when i heard Shostakovich's fifth (to be honest i started with the fourth movement in "rollerball"'s original soundtrack... funk, waltz AND Shostakovitch by Previn ). Just to say that it seems to me music is the most subjective thing in the world, and sentiments, time, context get involved very easily. to me it was obvious that music was made to produce images, and classical more than any other genre, but the images can be so different from one mind to another. i don't like pretentions of summing up humanity, universe, time and space, ... so on. i understand pretention in music, but at one point, it's got to free itself from human standards, even universe-scale considerations.

Listening to gorecki's third, i quicly understood that the subject was not funny at all, but in a way of its own, the music kind of generated light, something so ethereal it could also be hopeful and even joyous. later i read notes about camps and all, but it didn't change my way of hearing beauty. to me that's why music is superior to its creators.

[Corno Dolce]

Aloha sunwaiter,

Have you perchance listened to any of Gorecki's early music? It is quite dissonant and atonal. When I heard his 3rd I was transfigured - here's a more graphic rendition of the *Lento* movement in his 3rd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miLV0o4AhE4&fmt=18

[Kuhlau]

This is impossible to answer, so I shall have to content myself with listing the five symphonies to which I most frequently return:

1) Vaughan Williams - 5th

2) Sibelius - 2nd

3) Saint-Saens - 3rd

4) Tchaikovsky - 6th

5) Beethoven - 3rd


There, of course, a good deal more symphonies I enjoy quite regularly, but to name the greatest one ever is a task I'm quite unequal to.

[Biret]

For me Beethoven's 9th is the best.