Thread: Favorite Symphonic Movements

In this thread, you need merely list your favorite movements from any number symphonies. List as many as you want. You may have ties if you really feel it necessary. Think carefully. Make your list as varied as possible. Add as much information (such as full composer name, number of symphony, opus number, title of movement, etc.) If you really want, you may upload mp3's. My list might be the following:

1. Antonin Dvorák -- Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, IV. Allegro con Fuoco

2. Dmitry Shostakovich -- Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47, IV. Allegro non Troppo

3. Antonin Dvorák -- Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, III. Molto Vivace

4. Ludwig van Beethoven -- Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, I. Allegro ma non Troppo

5. Ludwig van Beethoven -- Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, I. Allegro con Brio

6. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky -- Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64, I. Andante, Allegro con Anima

7. Felix Mendelssohn -- Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, IV. Saltarello, Presto

8. Sergey Rachmaninov -- Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27, II. Allegro Molto

9. Franz Schubert -- Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944, I. Andante, Allegro ma non Troppo

10. Ludwig van Beethoven -- Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, III. Allegro

11. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, K. 183, I. Allegro con Brio

12. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky -- Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, IV. Finale, Allegro con Fuoco

13. Felix Mendelssohn -- Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 11, IV. Allegro con Fuoco

14. Sergey Prokofiev -- Symphony No. 7 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 131, I. Moderato

15. Gustav Mahler -- Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor, II. Stürmisch Bewegt, mit Größter Vehemenz

My first thought was - how do you separate the movements of a symphony. It should be taken as a complete work. But that's not always true I think. There are many symphonies I like only parts of. My favorite single movements out of context will probably be like most others. Let's see:

Beethoven - No. 9, movement 4. This movement is close to a religious experience for me. Plenty more Beethoven movements move me too, of course.

Brahms - No. 4, movement 1. This is Brahms saying farewell.

Bruckner - No. 9, movement 2. This is awesome, ominous, and memorable. I wonder if it inspired Holst's Mars.

Mozart - No. 39, movement 3. I have always stated I don't like Mozart very much, but this one movement, if played fast enough gets me going. It's not a very famous Mozart symphony, but this movement is the one that is leading me to finally "get" Mozart. I love the itchy, itchy rhythm of the strings

There's many many more.

Some of my favourites:

Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 In Eb Major, Op. 82 - III. Allegro Molto
Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 In D Minor, Op. 104 - I. Allegro Molto Moderato
Brahms: Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90 - III. Poco Allegretto
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 In C# Minor - IV. Adagietto, Sehr Langsam
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 In C Minor, "Resurrection" - V. Mit Aufschwung, Aber Nicht Eilen
Schumann: Symphony No. 3 In Eb Major, Op. 97, "Rhenish" - I. Lebhaft

These are stand-out movements from symphonies that really move me

A few of mine. This is very hard:

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 - III. Romanza
Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony - III. Scherzo
Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 - IV. Allegro sanguineo
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 - II. Scherzo
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 - III. Adagio Langsam, feierlich
Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 - II. Adagio Sehr feierlich
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 - II. Scherzo - Allergro Moderato
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 - I. Trauermarsch
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 - IV. Adagietto
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 - II. Allegro
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 - I. Allegretto
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 - III. Adagio
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 - III. Allegro giocoso - Poco meno presto
Brahms: Symphony No. 3 - III. Poco allegretto
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3 - V. Finale: Allegro con fuoco
Langgaard: Symphony No. 1 - I. Braendinger og Solglimt (Surf and Glimpses of Sun): Maestoso
Bantock: A Celtic Symphony - V. Largamente maestoso
Elgar: Symphony No. 2 - II. Larghetto

Beethoven No. 5: Last movement
Beethoven No. 7: Slow movement and finale
Berlioz SF: Reveries/passions et Un Bal.
Mendelssohn No. 3: First movement
Brahms No. 4: I love every movement, but there is one special moment in 3rd, which makes me wet.
Brahms No. 1: First movement, especially opening.
Schumann No. 1: First movement
Haydn No. 53: 4rd movement
Recently: Sibelus No. 2, First movement

I won't mention Mozart, it's impossible to choose just few favourties.

Oy vey, this is impossible! So, an arbitrary limitation to a baker's dozen, and no more than one per composer, the central criterion being that I'm most aware of having hummed or whistled something from the chosen movement fairly frequently recently....

1) Rubinstein, #2 in C Major, Op. 42, "Ocean," mvt. 7
2) Beethoven, #9 in d minor, Op. 125, mvt. 1
3) Raichl, #2, mvt. 4
4) Creston, #2, mvt. 2
5) Bruckner, #8 in c minor, mvt. 4
6) Mahler, #6 in a minor, mvt. 4
7) Zweers, #3, "Aan mijn Vaderland," mvt. 2
8) Shostakovich, # 15 in a minor, mvt. 4
9) Sulek, #6, mvt. 2
10) Prokofiev, #5, mvt. 3
11) Haydn, #44 in e minor, 'Trauer," mvt. 1
12) Schumann, #1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 38, mvt. 1
13) Schubert, #9 in C Major, mvt. 2

Oh, man, I've had to leave out a great many, too many.... Okay, that's it; if the next one of these is 'Your favorite 37 consecutive measures in a symphony,' I'm giving up!

Originally Posted by LvB

Oy vey, this is impossible!

I couldn't agree with you more on that one...

Mahler 2 finale
Mahler 6 andante and finale
Mahler 8 II
Mahler 9 finale
Sibelius 3 II
Sibelius 6 I
Sibelius 7
Beethoven 3 II
Brahms 2 I
Haydn 88 finale
Bruckner 4 finale
Bruckner 8 III

I'll think of more, surely, but it's too late at night to think of very many...

Originally Posted by Aramis

Brahms No. 1: First movement, especially opening.

Oh! If you had selected the 4th movement I would have been right there with you. It's tough for me to select any single movements out of a symphony, but if I had to it would be that and the Allegretto from Beethoven's 7th--it defines the entire work.

Beethoven 7th, 2nd mov
Beethoven 6th, 5th mov
Dvorak 9th, 2nd and 4th mov
Brahms 4th, 2nd mov
Bruckner 4th, 4th mov
Bruckner 7th, 1th mov
Bruckner 9th, 2nd mov
Mahler 1st, 3rd mov
Mahler 9th, 1st mov
Prok 5th, 2nd mov
Berlioz, 1st, 2nd and 4th

No particular order

Schumann 3rd - last
Beethoven 9th - 1
Beethoven 3rd - 1
Beethoven 6th - last
Mozart 41st - 2nd
Haydn 97 - 3
Brahms 4th - 2
Bruckner 7th - 1
Mozart 34 - 2
Elgar 1st - 2
Tchaikovsky 5 - 2 or 4
Franck - last
Schubert 9 - 2
Mendelssohn 4th - 4
Sibelius 5th - last
Haydn 48 - 1
Brahms 2 - 4

There's a few, no doubt quite a few others I could add.

Any list I make will likely include all the movements of a small number of symphonies.

I agree with emiellucifuge, mostly I like Symphonies in their entirity but there are a few:

Vaughan-Williams - A Sea Symphony Mvt. 1
Arnold - Symphony No. 5 Mvt. 2
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique - Mvt. 2
Beethoven - Symphony 6 Mvt. 1
Dvorak - Symphony 9 - Mvt. 2

Originally Posted by Jess

I agree with emiellucifuge, mostly I like Symphonies in their entirity

Well I'm sure that's what most people like, but this thread is about picking out particular movements so that's what people are doing, doesn't mean they don't listen to the pieces in full.

Originally Posted by starry

Well I'm sure that's what most people like, but this thread is about picking out particular movements so that's what people are doing, doesn't mean they don't listen to the pieces in full.

Quite... I don't believe I implied as much.

Some that I particularly like:

Brahms Fourth--Third movement
Rachmaninov First--First and Fourth movements.
Sibelius First--First movement
Shostakovich Fifth--Second movement
Mahler First--Second movement
Rachmaninov Second--Third and fourth movements
Brahms Second--Second movement
Beethoven First--Fourth movement
Beethoven Seventh--First and Fourth movements
Beethoven Eighth--First movement
Beethoven Ninth--Second movement
Schumann First--First movement
Dvorak Sixth--First and Fourth movements
Dvorak Eighth--Third and Fourth movements

Tom