I don't want to seem autistic to you guys, but I do like lists. And from all the 'big' classical music genres, there seem to be only two genres totally missing these kind of ranking lists. These are 'song cycles' and 'ballet music'. I am glad TC recommended lists made one such list of 'song cycles'. But ballet music has not yet one here on TC. I understand why it's not easy to compare this kind of classical music, there are no clear boundaries to the genre and some people may argue that it isn't to be 'judged' without the ballet itself.
Well, I don't think so!
The music alone is worth it!
So I ask you to give what you think are the top 10 ballet music.
I've made a top 8 myself, which I think is unchangeable (some may discuss the order, but that's not the point of this thread):
1. The Rite of Spring - Stravinsky
2. The Nutcracker - Tchaikovsky
3. Petrouchka - Stravinsky
4. Swan Lake - Tchaikovsky
5. The Sleeping Beauty - Tchaikovsky
6. The Firebird - Stravinsky
7. Daphnis et Chloé - Ravel
8. Romeo and Juliet - Prokofiev
I think these 8 are indisputably the most important. So in fact, I ask you to come up with the next 10 best ballet music. This way we can all learn from each other, learn to know new pieces of classical ballet music instead of always having new people to change the order of these 8.
Some rules:
- The piece should be written as a ballet, not used afterwards as ballet music. Also ballet music from an opera doesn't count. This means music such as Mendelssohn's 'midsummer night's dream' and 'dance of the hours' from 'la gioconda' is not allowed.
- Only the ballet in its entirety counts. That means no suites are allowed, these are only recuctions to make the music more popular. For example 'The Firebird' in my list is the full 50 minutes during ballet, and not the 20 minutes during suite! Another example: 'Appalachian spring' by Copland was originally written as a ballet, but now, the condensed version is played the most. If you want to add this work, it should be in the form of the original ballet.
- try to be objective (I know that seems strange, it's an opinion). Parameters could be: aesthetic importance, the influence on later compositions, innovation at the time, but also it's popularity. What I mean to say is: Try not to pick your temporary favourite, but try to see big picture. For example: Last week I was completely in love with Schumann's second symphony. last week I'd rather listen to schumann's symphony than Beethoven's 5th. But if I was asked to objectively rank these 2 symphonies, I would have to rank the Beethoven higher then the Schumann, because you can easily argue that it should be placed higher. (There is no way to put this right, because we're talking art, but try to understand!)
- it's no problem to make your list smaller or bigger. Top 5 is fine, Top 20 is fine, Top 68 is fine.
Well, I don't think so!
The music alone is worth it!
So I ask you to give what you think are the top 10 ballet music.
I've made a top 8 myself, which I think is unchangeable (some may discuss the order, but that's not the point of this thread):
1. The Rite of Spring - Stravinsky
2. The Nutcracker - Tchaikovsky
3. Petrouchka - Stravinsky
4. Swan Lake - Tchaikovsky
5. The Sleeping Beauty - Tchaikovsky
6. The Firebird - Stravinsky
7. Daphnis et Chloé - Ravel
8. Romeo and Juliet - Prokofiev
I think these 8 are indisputably the most important. So in fact, I ask you to come up with the next 10 best ballet music. This way we can all learn from each other, learn to know new pieces of classical ballet music instead of always having new people to change the order of these 8.
Some rules:
- The piece should be written as a ballet, not used afterwards as ballet music. Also ballet music from an opera doesn't count. This means music such as Mendelssohn's 'midsummer night's dream' and 'dance of the hours' from 'la gioconda' is not allowed.
- Only the ballet in its entirety counts. That means no suites are allowed, these are only recuctions to make the music more popular. For example 'The Firebird' in my list is the full 50 minutes during ballet, and not the 20 minutes during suite! Another example: 'Appalachian spring' by Copland was originally written as a ballet, but now, the condensed version is played the most. If you want to add this work, it should be in the form of the original ballet.
- try to be objective (I know that seems strange, it's an opinion). Parameters could be: aesthetic importance, the influence on later compositions, innovation at the time, but also it's popularity. What I mean to say is: Try not to pick your temporary favourite, but try to see big picture. For example: Last week I was completely in love with Schumann's second symphony. last week I'd rather listen to schumann's symphony than Beethoven's 5th. But if I was asked to objectively rank these 2 symphonies, I would have to rank the Beethoven higher then the Schumann, because you can easily argue that it should be placed higher. (There is no way to put this right, because we're talking art, but try to understand!)
- it's no problem to make your list smaller or bigger. Top 5 is fine, Top 20 is fine, Top 68 is fine.