List your 5 favorite classical pieces

[Gothic Sponge]

Mine:

1. Rimsky-Korsakov's - Sherezade
2. Gustav Holst - The Planets
3. Shostakovich - Symphony #5
4. Schubert - Symphony #8 "Unfinished"
5. Beethoven - Symphony #9

[Longhorn]

1. I'm not knowledgeable enough to put a name to many pieces that I like.

That's one reason I'm looking forward to this group -- as a catalyst for more discovery in classical music.

Two that I do know well enough to name and go out and buy are:

1. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto (Two of my daughters played it for competition and I just love it -- plus I've noticed that some of the melodies are echoed in other of his pieces. The clarinet concerto is featured in "Out of Africa.")

2. Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture (It brings me to tears nearly every time I hear it.)

[MuseRider]

2. VERY difficult

lets see...not in order

1)Anything by Richard Strauss
Der Rosenkavalier
Salome
2)Beethoven - Symphony #9
3)Shostakovich - Symphony #7
4)Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet
5)Orff - Carmina Burana

That is just for today.
Anything by Dvorak could always be in that list, particularly his Cello Concerto. Kodally? So muc to choose from but for today I will have to say those are the ones I could not live without.

[ironflange]

3. Damn right it's difficult

Beethoven - Piano Concerto #4
Mahler - Symphony #9
Haydn - Symphony #44 (Trauersymphonie)
Schubert - String Quintet in C
Chopin - Barcarolle

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. You don't ask easy questions, do you?

Sorry, can't boil it down to just five.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

5. Classical music lists are difficult-but here goes:

1. F.J. Haydn's cello concerto #1 (Rostropovitch!)
2. Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky film soundtrack
3. Prokofiev's Piano Concerto #2
4. J.S. Bach - Brandenburg Concertos (hard to pick a favorite among the six)
5. Shostakovitch - Symphony #11 "1905"

[Ilsa]

6. I love your picks of Beethoven's Ninth and The Planets.

I also like Shostakovich's 5th, but it didn't make my top five. I'd have to add Prokofiev's Piano Concerto #3, maybe Respighi's Pines of Rome, and some Debussy. I also would like to add some Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.

[FuzzySlippers]

7. Five things I love:

Bach - Mass in B Minor
Mozart - Requiem
Elgar - The Enigma Variations
Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet
Barber - Violin Concerto

[leyton]

9. Yay! Elgar and Barber!

I love both of those pieces, and the piano concerto is just magnificent, IMO.

[curse10]

13. I just bought the Enigma Variations

brilliant stuff

[non sociopath skin]

8. Almost impossible but ...

1. The Tales of Hoffman - Jacques Offenbach
2. La Boheme - Giacomo Puccini
3. New World Symphony - Antonin Dvorak
4. Requiem - Gabriel Faure
5. Octet - Franz Schubert
6. Four Last Songs - Richard Strauss

Yes, I know that's 6 but I tried my bloody best, didn't I????

The Skin

[troubleinwinter]

10. Thank you all!

I will be doing some listening!

[Barad Simith]

11. In alphabetical order (since order of preference would be impossible)...

It was almost impossible to narrow it down to five. And I'm sure the list will be different in a month.

So, as hard as this is, I won't make it harder by trying to put these in any order other than alphabetical:

Beethoven: The Sonatas for Piano and Violin
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Schubert: Symphony No. 9 (although it was hard to choose 9 over 8 or 1)
Schumann: Symphony No. 2
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15

As you can see, I like symphonies.

[curse10]

12. 1. Brahms- Academic Overture

2. Schubert- Death and the Maiden string quartet
3. Shostakovch- String Quartet #8
4. Brahms- Requiem
5. Bach- Cello Suite #5

[lastliberalintexas]

24. Ah, another Death and the Maiden fan!

I see from a couple of your other picks that you like the strings as much as I do. Though I love Beethoven and think he's the master of all, I'd have to rank Vivaldi, Schubert and Shostakovich just below his genius.

[curse10]

25. I am a violist so I lean toward string pieces

Beethoven gave me some juicy parts in his quartets, but I'm really a Brahms girl at heart.

[robbedvoter]

14. Chaikovski Piano concerto # 5., Liszt Preludes, Grieg's Peer Gynt

symphony, Chopin's nocturnes, Brahms concerto # 4

[IA_Seth]

15. Pachabel

I like Pachabel's Cannon, however we used it during my "practice-wedding" as I like to call it so it kind of brings back some bad memories.

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. It's tough to limit, but if I were stranded, here are the five recordings

I'd need to have with me:

1 - Mahler No. 2
2 - Glass' "Einstein On the Beach"
3 - Penderecki "War Requiem"
4 - Reich "Music for 18 Musicians"
5 - Wagner "Ring Cycle"

If I somehow could manage to cheat, and add five more:

6 - Beethoven No. 9
7 - Crumb "Ancient Voices for Children"
8 - Stockhausen "Helicopter Quartet"
9 - Penderecki "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima"
10- Varese "Ionisation"

[curse10]

21. I think the ring cycle should count for all five

that thing is a monster. A hideous monster. :P

[Rabrrrrrr]

23. it is not hideous!

Though it's definitely a monster.

[Rabrrrrrr]

30. Whoops! Just realized I made a mistake -

The Penderecki is the "Polish Requiem".

It was Britten who did the War Requiem. Oops! This was a simple mistake; I knew even before I made the first post it was the Polish Requiem. I just erred.

[fortyfeetunder]

17. Just 5? Dang!

Here it goes. Based on what I've played and enjoyed listening to later.

1) Mahler's 5th Symphony
2) Mahler's 4th Symphony
3) Sibelius 2nd Symphony
4) J. S. Bach, Sheep may safely graze
5) (this is one I have not played...yet) Barber, Adagio for Strings

[rasputin1952]

18. I am terrible w/names of pieces...but will try for some of them...

If I was stranded and had access to music, these are what I would like to have:

Fantasia on a Theme... by: Thomas Tallis...Vaughn Williams interpretation. If there is any piece that transports me mentally to anywhere where I wish to be serene...this is the one. I have never come acroos a piece that has affected me personally quite like this one. I have no idea why, but it virtually a part of my very being.

Anything by Tchaichovsky, Liszt, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler.

Anything by Wagner...just to remind me that bush is a fascist...:D

[leyton]

19. Okay I'll try

No particular order, and my tastes vary so I'll pick stuff that's representative.

Barber piano concerto + Barber violin concerto
Chopin waltz in C-sharp minor
Gershwin piano concerto in F
Mozart piano concerto in D-minor
Gorecki symphony no. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)

I like piano stuff, and for some reason I need a solo instrument to focus on. Anybody feel this way?

[2sheds]

20. Yeah, so difficult ...

- Purcell, Chacony in g minor, Z 730
- Bach, Harpsichord Concerto in f minor, BWV 1056
- Bach, Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
- Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 8 in c minor ("Pathetique"), Op. 13
- A.D. Kastalsky, "All Night Vigil"

Ummmmm, hm. This isn't in order, and -- actually, it's probably more of a set of representatives of my favorite types of classical music ... or something.

[curse10]

22. Oh man. The Goldberg Variations are piece of heaven

I forgot about them.

[ironflange]

26. Ever heard Uri Caine's take on the Goldberg?

What a hoot! Some are straight arrangements of Bach vars., some are weird arrangements, and some are brand new variations. Some work a lot better than others, but it's great fun.

[radfringe]

27. kinda hard - but will give it a try -- in no particular order

Rachmaninov - variations on a theme by Paganini
Copeland - Appalachian Spring
Pachelbel - Magnificat
Schubert - Symphony #8 "Unfinished"
Beethoven - Symphony #9

[Seabiscuit]

28. Only 5??? Just about my entire collection is "favorite", but...

these 5 just popped into my head:

1. Bach's Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould)
2. Bach's Brandenberg Concertos
3. Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto
4. Sibelius' Violin Concerto
5. Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto

[Lydia Leftcoast]

29. Okay, I'm ready, but I'll have separate instrumental and choral sections

Instrumental:

1. Variations on a Theme by Tallis--Vaughan Williams
2. Octet--Mendelssohn
3. Romeo and Juliet ballet--Prokofiev
4. Barber's First Piano Concerto
5. Beethoven's late string quartets

Choral:

1. Cantate Domino from Cantiones Sacrae--Heinrich Schutz
2. Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence--Bairstow
3. O Magnum Mysterium--Morten Lauridsen
4. E'en So Lord Jesus, Quickly Come--Paul Manz
5. Laetentur Caeli--William Byrd

[Tangledog]

31. OK

Charles Ives: piano sonata #2, "Concord"
Bela Bartok: 15 Hungarian peasant songs (also acts as a place-holder for his solo piano music in general)
Anton Bruckner: symphony #4 (and #7 coming along strong, and whichever one I last listened to)
Alexander Borodin: string quartet #1
Gyorgy Ligeti: études

Regarded in the proper spirit, that really is just five! :D :D

[0rganism]

32. 1 - Ravel, String Quartet in F

2 - Faure, Piano Trio in d

3 - Stravinsky, Rites of Spring

5 - Bartok, Violin & Piano Sonata No. 2

5 - Shostakovich, Cello Concerto in Eb

Of course, this is all highly subjective and subject to instantaneous change....

[Endangered Specie]

33. Oh man... tough one:

(off the top of my head, this list is biased bc I actually know the names of these pieces)

Mouret - Rondeau in D
Beethoven 5th and 9th (of course, who doesnt like the 9th? :P)
1812 Overture :)
Listz - Hungarian Rhapsody #2


Not in that particular order.

oh and also: Planets (especially Mars) and I can't stand Eine Kline Nachtmusik *runs away*

[Endangered Specie]

34. here is a good guide:

http://theclassicalstation.org/top100.shtml