20. I haven't yet really familiarised myself with the 21st as much as I have with the 20th concerto. But as I mentioned in another post, I heard the Moonlight sonata for a few seconds in the slow movement of the 21st , so it's probably as good, if not better, than the slow movement of the 20th.

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Regards,
Navneeth

The slow movement that springs to my mind is Saint-Saens 3rd Symphony 2nd mvnt.

Well I thing Mozart's PC no21 is more appealing than no 20, but of course it is a matter of taste.

ChamberNut,
Try Herbert Kegel's interpretation....I think it is the best so far.

I find it strange how "inspired" is interchanged with "heartbreaking" and "sorrow". I personally don't think that an inspired work has to be sorrowful, take an example Schubert's unfinished symphony (no8) the second movement.

Slow movements are often either sad or relaxing. The inspiration stems from the manipulation of these emotions into a finely constructed work of art.

Elgar,
I don't think that "relaxation" is an emotion, I think it is the relief from emotions.
I also think that there are other emotions that had been expressed in slow movements.

One thing I would just like to ask....is it really the sadness that is inspiring in the music or the emotion of "love" that is behind that sadness; i.e. loss of a loved one,...etc?

Tchaikovsky 6th- 4th Movement, VC in D, 2nd Movement.
Brahms 3rd- 3rd Movement

You've just said sadness can be induced by love, so can't pleasure be induced by relaxation? Also, I clearly stated that it's most commonly saddness and relaxation felt in slow movements; I didn't rule out the possibility of other emotions being felt in slow movements.

I'd also like to credit Notserp89m on his great taste!

I see that no one has mentioned Beethoven S3M2 until now.

--> To Terotero,


What a genius realization! I mean the original idea mixing up the concepts like "inspiration, heartbreaking and sorrow etc. with most inspired mvmts".

Surely, they don't mean the same thing... but surprisingly often people tend to think so? As odd would be to claim that music like Albinoni Adagio could be relaxing?! No waaay...! definitely not. On the contrary, what an emotional turmoil there is!

So it is not only the tempo of music, which matters... Surely the chords, modulations, genres, colors have their effect. Hmmm... feels that it is difficult to define some "absolute limits" - U C, people tend to link their own experiences to those melodies, which they were listening at the moment when things happened. For somebody they can be totally different than for the others. Final conclusion: the main thing is, I guess, that important thing is that everybody could find their own preferitions and enjoy them fully... Chaque-un a son propre goût!

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"Silence is the Greatest Music" - Herbert von Karajan

many slow movements that Bruckner wrote are beautiful beyond words can describe

May be the true meaning of "inspired" is in Gustav's comment "beyond words can describe".
However, I feel that it is the outpouring emotion "whatever it is and even sometimes not fully understood, but well felt" that makes a work inspired.

Nocturno of Borodin's second SQ. One of the most beautiful mouvements
ever composed for any ensamble.
Also one of the greatest italian melodies ever; second mouv.of Paganini's
second v.c.