Most astounding symphony or opera ever

it's not an opera or symphony, but the B minor Mass by J.S. Bach might be his greatest composition, which is saying a lot.

checking it out. listening to 20 second excerpts on itunes...so far i like it. it's a bit mournful like requiem, may i not be smitten by the god of classical music.

There are three. One was the Symphonie Fantastique, by Berlioz. I once had a violent reaction, that was shall we say, driven by hormones.

The second was Tchaikovsky's Symphony #4, which always sends me reeling.

The third is Mahler's 2nd Symphony, which is so astoundingly powerful.

The symphony I've always enjoyed the most is
Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 in E minor (From the New World)

oy, see how absent-minded i am? i have donated the 'from the new world' to smetana. and they both are my fellow countrymen, i should at least have those ducks in a row.

keep'em coming, i'm gonna make a list and listen to them all. if you care to describe why/what moved you so... if it's even possible, please do.

phoenix, i am most intrigued by your berlioz experience...pray, do tell more!

La Bourse by Telemann

link

I get a real kick out of well done programmatic music.

~~~~~~~

I've come to appreciate Lully and Monteverdi in the last 3 or 4 years. My ear wasn't well enough developed for them earlier <at least that's my excuse>.

i was on a lookout for offenbach - the tales of hoffmann - because of the Life is Beautiful movie, where Barcarole is played a few times. Love that bit, but the whole of the Tales is a tad too much for me, I think. I'm not a 'hard core' opera fan - i like mozart or bach... but verdi may be too much. dunno, i have to experiment. i can't claim i know didley squat, really.

ehBeth--that is fantastic! I'd forgotten how much I loved Baroque in my youth...

Jan Sibelius' Second, and the second symphonies of Rachmaninoff and Borodin are all amazing and dramatic. Sibelius' seventh is a very strange one, also, a single movement with several changes of tempo.

One of my favorite composers, however, is Tschaikovsky, and his last, sixth symphony is truly amazing. There are eight changes of tempo in the first movement--it is a stunning piece of work.

There's no particular opera which is my favorite, although Madama Butterfly comes close--my favorite arias, though, are by Puccini--Un bel di (from Madama Butterfly) and Mio bambino caro (from Gianni Schicchi).

Tchaikovsky's ouverture 1812, Smetana's Moldau and for opera (generally, I'm no opera friend at all) Mozart's Magic Flute.

The aria the Queen of the Night is obliged to sing in the Magic Flute separates the Women from the Girls . . .

The "St. Michael the Archangle" movement from Church Windows.

Mozart's Don Giovanni.

With reference to Mass in B minor of Bach, I much prefer St. Matthew Passion.

Ditto on Sibelius No. 2... I discover something new every time I listen to it.

A few more personal favorites:
Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Schubert's "Unfinished"
Henze's Symphony No. 1
Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms
Puccini's Turandot
Berg's Wozzeck

For sheer heart-rending catharsis, though, it's tough to beat Shostakovich. The man, the history and the music make the symphonies almost too much to bear.

Well, I started downloading some stuff for some self-education. First were cds my father has at home - Die Moldau (My country) is now on my puter. Did you know that the second..uhhhh...track (whatsit called?) - Libuse - is the Presidential fanfare in Czech Republic - played whenever the President enters the Parliament or any official event. Those Czechs. They had the best President (Havel) and the best fanfare ever.

Then I got some more Mozart, some Karajan conducting a mixture of things, Ravel's Bolero (eh, 's ok)... But, most importantly, I got Sibelius that I absolutely fell in love with. I have a live recording from 1939, where Sibelius is conducting Finnish radio symphony orchestra his Andante Festivo as part of the New Year's Day program, broadcasted over radio to New York....I think. It's bloody great. After the Andante, there is a piece conducted by David Oistrakh in 1954 during one of the Sibelius Weeks held in Finland- also phenomenal (Violin concerto in D minor, op. 47) and another by Paul Kletzki from 1958 (En Saga).
I think this cd will be playing on my computer for a few weeks non stop.

Libuse is this..?

http://www.classicalarchives.com/midi/s_hl.html
(Search "Libuse" in the linked page and find a MIDI file.)

(Sorry I have changed the link above.)

hmmm...the page doesn't load up. i am 'not authorized to view this page' it says.

It seems that the cd i have is a sampler - now that I look closer Libusa is a separate opera. The fanfare is the Overture from Libusa.

Well, you can access this page..
http://www.classicalarchives.com/
and try searching "Libuse."