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the Talk Classical Community's Favorite and Most Highly Recommend Works

220K views 2K replies 38 participants last post by  mmsbls 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)

Here is a prioritized list of classical music (inclusively defined) recommendations put together by members of the Talk Classical discussion forum and the (now defunct) Amazon.com classical music discussion forum.

Naturally, these recommendations represent the knowledge and tastes of the people who have helped build it. We do not claim that it is the official canon of art music, or that it is anything like an objective ranking of the greatness of each work!

However, to the best of our knowledge, nothing else like this exists -- no other list of prioritized recommendations including all genres of classical music, no other list as helpful to an old veteran looking for a surprise as to a newbie just familiarizing herself with the canon.


You can also view the list as an unranked, alphabetical list (though it may not be up-to-date). You can also see some simple statistical information here.

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Our project is ongoing, and we'd be very happy for you to add your own voice!

You can change our list in three ways:

1. The main way is to participate in the threads with titles like, "The first tier," "The second tier," and so on. You can find them in the polls sub-forum. Usually we have several going on at a time, but in order to avoid confusion, please don't bump the threads that have timed out!

2. The second way is to add new works to the list. If you want to recommend a work that is not already on our list, just post it in this thread. You can add up to 5 new works per day. All newly added works begin on the lowest tier, but they can move up from there.

One final way that you can contribute is simply by letting me know if you see errors in the list, such as incorrect dates, misspellings, and so on. You can do that in this thread, or if you prefer you can PM me.

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People might disagree with your votes, and you might disagree with theirs, but please be patient and persistent. Your participation will make our list better. We value everyone's participation.

If you are disappointed that a work you champion is not getting more community support, feel free to advocate for it, telling us why we should support it. Advocacy for a work will always be both more welcome and more productive than advocacy against a work.

Please be polite. Obviously we have different tastes and we don't all know the same things; we do not all agree about how strongly various works should be recommended, how great or important they are, or anything else.

The point is to learn from each other and help each other, to have a good time exploring music together.

Special thanks to Trout, who has maintained this list for years and years, and did a heck of a lot of work compiling recording recommendations, and to mmsbls, who has agreed to edit the posts in our thread when needed.

And thanks to all the people who have contributed in various ways to this project over the years! I personally have learned a lot from it, and I'm sure others have as well. I hope this will be helpful to people for many years to come, and I hope we continue to refine it as we all learn more about this amazing tradition.
 
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#60 · (Edited)
Our votes on the 67th tier selected the following works...

To move up 1 to the 66th tier:
Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, BWV 1027-1029 [1730s-40s]
Barber: Dover Beach, op. 3 [1931]
Bartók: Contrasts, Sz. 111 [1938]
Brahms: String Quartet #2 in A minor, op. 51/2 [1873]
Fauré: Mélodies (3), op. 7, including "Après un rêve" [1878]
Indy: Symphony on a French Mountain Air, op. 25 [1886]
Ligeti: Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano [1782]
Liszt: La lugubre gondola, S.200 [1882]
Martinů: Symphony #1, H. 289 [1942]
Mozart: Piano Sonata #11 in A, K. 331 [1784]
Poulenc: Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor [1949]
Prokofiev: Cinderella, op. 87 [1944]
Shostakovich: String Quartet #10 in A-flat, op. 118 [1964]
Shostakovich: Symphony #12 in D minor, op. 112 "The Year 1917" [1961]
Walton: Cello Concerto [1957]

To remain on the 67th tier:
Bach: Ascension Oratorio, BWV 11 "Lobet Gott In Seinen Reichen" [1735]
Bach: Harpsichord Concerto #4 in A, BWV 1055 [c. 1738]
Beethoven: String Quintet in C, op. 29 [1795]
Franck: Le Chasseur Maudit (The Accursed Huntsman) [1882]
Glazunov: Piano Concerto #1 in F minor, op. 92 [1911]
Handel: Athalia, HWV 52 [1733]
Ligeti: Cello Sonata [1953]
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio #2 in C minor, op. 66 [1845]
Messiaen: Chronochromie [1960]
Myaskovsky: Symphony #27 in C minor, op. 85 [1949]
Poulenc: Nocturnes [1929-1938]
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto #1 in F-sharp minor, op. 1 [1891]
Schumann: Symphony #2 in C, op. 61 [1847]
Szymanowski: Symphony #3, op. 27 "Song of the Night" [1916]
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini, op. 32 [1876]

To move down 1 to the 68th tier:
Shebalin: String Quartet #5 in F minor, op. 33 "Slavonic" [1942]
Sousa: The Washington Post [1889]
 
#69 ·
Our votes on the 14th tier selected the following works...

To move up 1 to the 13th tier:
Bartók: String Quartet #4, Sz. 91 [1928]
Debussy: Suite Bergamasque, L 75, including "Clair de lune" [1905]
Mahler: Symphony #3 [1896]
Mozart: "Great" Mass in C minor, K. 427 [1782]
Schubert: Piano Sonata #20 in A, D. 959 [1828]
Sibelius: Symphony #7 in C, op. 105 [1924]
Strauss, R.: Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) [1948]

To remain on the 14th tier:
Dvořák: Piano Quintet #2 in A, op. 81 [1887]
Dvořák: Symphony #8 in G, op. 88 [1889]
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 85 [1919]
Holst: The Planets, op. 32 [1916]
Mendelssohn: Symphony #3 in A minor, op. 56 "Scottish" [1842]
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit [1908]
Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte [1899]
Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat, op. 44 [1842]

To move down 1 to the 15th tier:
Haydn: Symphony #104 in D "London" [1795]
 
#71 ·
Our votes on the 95th tier, part 3 selected the following works...

To move up 2 to the 93rd tier:
Saariaho: Lichtbogen [1986]
Schnittke: Symphony #3 [1981]
Schumann, C.: Piano Trio in G minor, op. 17 [1846]
Szymanowski: Mythes, op. 30 [1915]
Szymanowski: String Quartet #1, op. 37 [1917]

To move up 1 to the 94th tier:
Röntgen: Cello Concerto #2 in G minor [1909]
Ropartz: Piano Trio in A minor [1918]
Rore: Missa Praeter rerum seriem [probably 1550s]
Roussel: Symphony #4 in A, op. 53 [1934]
Saariaho: Flute Concerto "L'aile du songe" (The Wing of the Dream) [2001]
Saygun: String Quartet #2, op. 35 [1958]
Schmidt: Symphony #3 in A [1928]
Schmitt: Piano Quintet, op. 51 [1908]
Schoenberg: Das Buch der hängenden Gärten (The Book of the Hanging Gardens), op. 15 [1909]
Schumann: Bunte Blätter (Colorful Leaves), op. 99 [1834-49]
Schwantner: Percussion Concerto #1 [1994]
Sibelius: Belshazzar's Feast, op. 51 [1906]
Stenhammar: Serenade in F, op. 31 [1913; rev. 1919]
Still: Symphony #1 in A flat, "Afro-American" [1930]
Strauss, R.: Songs (8) from "Letzte Blätter", op. 10, including "Zueignung" and "Allerseelen"
Striggio: Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno [c. 1566]
Szymanowski: King Roger, op. 46 [1924]
Szymanowski: Mazurkas (20), op. 50 [1925]
Takemitsu: Riverrun [1984]
Telemann: Viola Concerto in G, TWV 51:G9 [c. 1716-21]
Tubin: Symphony #8 [1966]
Varèse: Hyperprism [1923]
Vaughan Williams: Songs of Travel [1901-4]
Wuorinen: Piano Quintet #2 [2008]
Xenakis: Oresteia [1966]
Xenakis: Psappha [1975]
Zarębski: Piano Quintet in G minor, op. 34 [1885]

To remain on the 95th tier:
Respighi: Violin Sonata in B minor [1917]
Rey: Fatih (Le Conquerant) [1953]
Scarlatti, A.: Dixit Dominus [by 1725]
Scelsi: Anahit "Lyric Poem on the name of Venus" for violin and 18 instruments [1965]
Scelsi: Natura Renovatur for 11 strings [1967]
Schnittke: A Paganini [1982]
Shaw: Partita for 8 Voices [2013]
Stockhausen: Carré [1960]
Stockhausen: Tierkreis [1975]
Strauss, R.: Ariadne auf Naxos, op. 60 [1912]
Sullivan: The Mikado [1885]
Svendsen: Romance in G for Violin and Orchestra, op. 26 [1881]
Takemitsu: Waterways [1978]
Taneyev: Suite de Concert, op. 28 [1909]
Thompson: Symphony #2 in E minor [1931]
Tournemire: L'Orgue Mystique: Cycle après la Pentecôte, op. 57 [1927-32]
Ustvolskaya: Piano Sonata #6 [1988]
Varèse: Ecuatorial [1934]
Vierne: Organ Symphony #3 in F-sharp minor, op. 28 [1911]
Volans: String Quartet #2 "Hunting: Gathering" [1987]
Walton: Variations on a Theme by Hindemith [1963]
Weill: Das Berliner Requiem [1928]
Wetz: Symphony #2 in A, op. 47 [1919]
Wolf: Goethe-Lieder [c. 1875]
Wyschnegradsky: Préludes (24) dans tous les tons de l'échelle chromatique diatonisée à 13 sons (Preludes in Quarter-Tone System), op. 22 [1934]
Xenakis: Gmeeoorh [1974]
Xenakis: Nomos Alpha [1966]
Yoshimatsu: Piano Concerto, op. 67 "Memo Flora" [1997]

To move down 1 to the 96th tier:
Voříšek: Symphony in D, op. 24 [1821]
 
#75 ·
Our votes on the 81st tier selected the following works...

To move up 2 to the 79th tier:
Boulanger, L.: Psalm 130 "Du fond de l'abîme" [1917]

To move up 1 to the 80th tier:
Adams: Harmonium [1981]
Arnold: Guitar Concerto, op. 67 [1959]
Britten: The Turn of the Screw, op. 54 [1954]
Copland: Billy the Kid [1938]
Debussy: Chansons de Bilitis, L 90 [1898]
Enescu: Octet for strings in C, op. 7 [1900]
Juon: Rhapsodie (Piano Quartet #1 in D minor), op. 37 [1907]
Koechlin: String Quartet #1, op. 51 [1913]
Liszt: Dante Symphony, S.109 [1857]
Martinů: Piano Quartet, H. 287 [1942]
Martinů: The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca, H. 352 [1955]
Schoenberg: Suite for Piano, op. 25 [1923]
Victoria: Missa O quam gloriosum [1583]
Xenakis: Keqrops [1986]

To remain on the 81st tier:
Babbitt: Correspondences [1967]
Boulez: Notations (12) for piano [1945]
Brahms: Songs (4), op. 43, including "Von ewiger Liebe" and "Die Mainacht" [1864]
Brahms: Songs (5), op. 105, including "Wie Melodien zieht es mir" and "Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer" [1888]
Bruckner: Te Deum [1884]
Busoni: Fantasia Contrappuntistica, BV 256 [1910]
Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Guitar Concerto #1 in D, op. 99 [1939]
Dutilleux: Piano Sonata [1948]
Dvořák: Scherzo capriccioso, op. 66 [1883]
Erkin: Piano Concerto [1942]
Fibich: At Twilight, op. 39 [1893]
Froberger: Suite #20 (Partita) in D, FbWV 620 "Meditation sur ma mort future NB Memento mori Froberger" [mid-17th century]
Haydn: Symphony #46 in B [1772]
Hindemith: Harp Sonata [1939]
Martin: Concerto for 7 Winds, Timpani, Percussion, and Strings [1949]
Monteverdi: Madrigals, Book 3 [1592]
Monteverdi: Madrigals, Book 4 [1603]
Mozart: Violin Sonata #27 in G, K. 379 [1781]
Offenbach: Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) [1858]
Pachelbel: Hexachordum Apollinis [1699]
Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel, op. 37 [1927]
Rachmaninoff: Songs (14), op. 34, including op. 34/14 "Vocalise" [1912]
Raff: Piano Quintet in A minor, op. 107 [1862]
Rubinstein: Symphony #2 in C, op. 42 "Ocean" [1851, rev. 1863, 1880]
Schumann: Arabeske in C, op. 18 [1839]
Schumann: Piano Sonata #2 in G minor, op. 22 [1838]
Scriabin: Symphony #1 in E, op. 26 [1900]
Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles [1966]
Szymanowski: String Quartet #2, op. 56 [1927]
Takemitsu: Ran [1985]
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols [1912]
Verdi: Nabucco [1841]
Villa-Lobos: Chôros #8 for large orchestra and 2 pianos "Dance chôro" [1925]
Vine: Piano Sonata #1 [1990]
Vivaldi: Mandolin Concerto in C, RV 425 [1725]
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E, RV 271 "L'Amoroso" [1728?]

To move down 1 to the 82nd tier:
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, op. 37a [1876]
 
#82 ·
I can't add these works at the moment, but just prepping for when I can... here are the works to add from the first page of this thread:

Bach, C. P. E.: Sinfonias, Wq. 182 [1773]
Billone: FACE for voice and ensemble [2017]
Copland: Piano Variations [1930]
Goehr: String Quartet #3, op. 37 [1976]
Jadin: Fantaisie Concertante in G minor [1820]
Krenek: String Quartet #8, op. 233 [1980]
Martinů: Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra, H. 292 [1943]
Nørgård: Seadrift [1978]
Rameau: Les Fêtes d'Hébé [1739]
Ustvolskaya: Piano Concerto [1946]
Ustvolskaya: Octet [1950]
 
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