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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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#1,358 ·
Our votes on what was then the 127th and is now the 129th tier, part 4 selected the following works...

To move up 2 to the 127th tier:
Klughardt: Schilflieder (5), op. 28 [1872]
Kuhnau: Magnificat in C [early 18th century]
La Rue: Missa L'Homme armé
Lobo, A.: Missa Maria Magdalene [1602]
Locatelli: Concerti grossi, op. 1 [1721]
Luchesi: Requiem [1771]
Lyapunov: Piano Sextet in B-flat minor, op. 63 [1916, rev. 1921]
Manoury: In Situ for soloists, string orchestra & large spatialized orchestra [2013]
Martinů: Piano Concerto #3, H. 316 [1948]
Massenet: Orchestral Suite #6 "Scènes de féerie" [1880-81]
Mendelssohn, Fanny: String Quartet in E-flat [1834]
Menuhin: Suite for two Pianos in the Baroque Manner [2016]

To move up 1 to the 128th tier:
Jacob TV: Jesus Is Coming [2003]
Jadassohn: Symphony #4 in C minor, op. 101 [1889]
Jolivet: Violin Concerto [1972]
Kalliwoda: String Quartet #1 in E minor, op. 61 [1835]
Kancheli: Silent Prayer [2007]
Knipper: Symphony #4 in D, op. 41 "Poem of the Komsomol Fighter" [1933-4, rev. 1966]
Kodallı: Piano Quintet, op. 23 [1971]
Korngold: String Quartet #1 in A, op. 16 [1921-1923]
Krenek: String quartet #6, op. 78 [1936]
Kreutzer, C.: Grand Septet in E-flat, op. 62 [c. 1816]
Kuhlau: Concertino for Two Horns in F minor, op. 45 [c. 1822]
Kurtág & Kurtág Jr.: Zwiegespräch [2006]
Kuusisto: Violin Concerto [2011]
Lachenmann: Sakura-Variotionen (Sakura Variations) [2000]
Landi: Il Sant'Alessio [1631]
Larsson: A Winter's Tale, op. 18 [1937-8]
Lazarof: Tableaux (after Kandinsky) for piano and orchestra [1989]
Lehár: Das Land des Lächelns [1929]
Lehár: Gold und Silber, op. 79 [1903]
Leshnoff: Rush [2008]
Lindberg: EXPO [2009]
Liszt: Tre Sonetti di Petrarca, S.270 [1845/1864]
Lloyd: Concerto for Violin and Strings [1977]
Lully: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme [1670]
Lyapunov: Hashish, op. 53 [c. 1913]
Mackenzie: La Belle Dame sans Merci, op. 29 [1883]
Madetoja: The Ostrobothnians, op. 45 (including the Suite, op. 52) [1917-23]
Magnard: Cello Sonata in A, op. 20 [1910]
Martinů: Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra, H. 292 [1943]
Mascagni: L'amico Fritz [1891]
Merikanto, A.: Symphony #3 [1953]

To remain on the 129th tier:
Indy: Piano Sonata in E, op. 63 [1907]
Ireland: Fantasy-Sonata in E-flat [1943]
Ishii: Synkretismen [1973]
Jadin: Fantaisie Concertante in G minor [1820]
Kahn: Serenade in F minor, op. 73 [1923]
Kalliwoda: Symphony #5 in B minor, op. 106 [1840]
Kancheli: Broken Chant [2007]
Karabits: Concerto for Orchestra #3 "Holosinnya (Lamentations)" [1989]
Kim-Harris and Topel: Ambient chaconne (after J.S. Bach's Ciaccona) [2019]
Kinsella: Symphony #9 for Strings [2004]
Kuula: South Ostrobothnian Suites (#1, op. 9; #2, op. 20) [1909, 1913]
Kvěch: Symphony in E-flat [1987]
Lachner: Symphony #8 in G minor, op. 100 [1851]
Lim: The Heart's Ear [1997]
Liszt: Berceuse, S.174 [1854/1862]
Liszt: Héroide funebre, S.102 [1850]
Lloyd Webber, A.: Requiem [1985]
Lourié: Poèmes (2), op. 8 [1912]
Lübeck: Prelude & Fugue in E [before 1740]
MacMillan: Symphony #5 "Le grand Inconnu" [2019]
Manoury: La Partition du ciel et de l'enfer for flute, 2 pianos, ensemble & live electronics [1989]
Marschner: Der Vampyr [1828]

To move down 1 to the 130th tier:
Kernis: Meditation (in memoriam for John Lennon) [1981]
 
#1,372 ·
Beethoven: Bagatelles (7), op. 33 [1801-02]
Beethoven: Bagatelles (11), op. 119 [1803-22]
Handel: Recorder Sonata in F, HWV 369 [1712]
Haydn: Piano Sonata #50 in D, Hob. XVI/37 [1780]
Joplin: The Entertainer [1902]
Mozart: Piano Sonata #9 in D, K. 311 [1777]
Volodos: Concert Paraphrase on Mozart’s Turkish March [1997]
 
#1,374 ·
Our votes on the 71st tier selected the following works...

To move up 2 to the 69th tier:
Bach: Easter Oratorio, BWV 249 [1725]
Brahms: Schicksalslied, op. 54 [1871]
Dvořák: Piano Trio #3 in F minor, op. 65 [1883]
Enescu: Octet for strings in C, op. 7 [1900]
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin, op. 24 [1878]
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) [1840]

To move up 1 to the 70th tier:
Bach, C. P. E.: Magnificat in D, Wq. 215 [1749]
Barber: Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, op. 26 [1949]
Birtwistle: Earth Dances [1986]
Brahms: Geistliches Lied (Sacred Song), op. 30 [1856]
Britten: A Ceremony of Carols, op. 28 [1942]
Dohnányi: Symphony #2 in E, op. 40 [1944; rev. 1950s]
Gubaidulina: Triple Concerto for violin, cello, banyan, and orchestra [2016]
Honegger: Symphony #4 "Deliciae Basiliensis" [1946]
Martinů: Symphony #5, H. 310 [1946]
Milhaud: Le bœuf sur le toit, op. 58 [1919]
Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), K. 384 [1782]
Rautavaara: Piano Concerto #1, op. 45 [1969]
Shostakovich: String Quartet #9 in E-flat, op. 117 [1964]
Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien, op. 45 [1880]
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #3 in D, op. 29 "Polish" [1875]
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge [1909]
Warlock: The Curlew [1922]

To remain on the 71st tier:
Beppe: Remote Galaxy, op. 81 [c. 2014]
Cage: Music of Changes [1951]
Carter: Double Concerto for harpsichord and piano with two chamber orchestras [1961]
Chopin: Rondo à la Krakowiak in F, op. 14 [1828]
Feldman: String Quartet #2 [1983]
Feldman: Three Voices [1982]
Frescobaldi: Fiori Musicali [1635]
Lawes: Consort Setts for 5 & 6 Viols and Organ [c. 1630s]
Ligeti: Viola Sonata [1994]
Ligeti: Volumina [1966]
Lucier: I Am Sitting in a Room [1969]
Messiaen: Saint François d'Assise [1983]
Nono: .....sofferte onde serene… [1976]
Nono: Intolleranza 1960 (Intolerance 1960) [1961]
Nono: Prometeo [1985]
Palestrina: Lamentations of Jeremiah [c. 1587]
Rzewski: Coming Together [1971]
Schnittke: Peer Gynt: Epilogue for cello, piano, and tape [1993]
Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118 [1814]
Scriabin: Piano Sonata #3 in F-sharp minor, op. 23 [1898]
Stockhausen: Gesang der Jünglinge [1955-6]
Strauss, J. II: Die Fledermaus [1874]
Strauss, R.: Sinfonia Domestica, op. 53 [1903]
Tavener: Song for Athene [1997]
Tchaikovsky: Marche Slave, op. 31 [1876]

To move down 1 to the 72nd tier:
Norman: Play [2013]
 
#1,376 ·
Our votes on the 116th tier, part 3 -- which was the 116th tier at the time of voting -- selected the following works...

To move up 2 to the 115th tier:
Haydn: Symphony #67 in F [1774-9]
Haydn: Symphony #76 in E-flat [1782]
Hensel (Mendelssohn), F.: Piano Trio in D minor, op. 11 [1846-47]
Hosokawa: Reminiscence [2002]
Hubay: Violin Concerto #3 in G minor, op. 99 [1908]
Hygons: Salve Regina (from the Eton Choirbook) [c. 1500]
Juon: Piano Quartet #2 in G, op. 50 [1912]
Kabalevsky: Piano Concerto #3 in D, op. 50 "Dedicated to Soviet Youth" [1952]
Kalabis: Symphony #2, op. 18 "Sinfonia pacis"
Lalo: Concerto russe, op. 29 [1879]
Larsson: Förklädd Gud (God in Disguise), op. 24 [1940]
Lloyd: Symphony #6 [1956]
Maderna: Quartetto per archi in due tempi [1955]
Medtner: Piano Concerto #1 in C minor, op. 33 [1914-8]
Mendelssohn: Piano Quartet #3 in B minor, op. 3 [1825]

To move up 1 to the 116th tier:
Harvey: Bird Concerto with Pianosong [2001]
Hauer: Nomos, op. 19 [1919]
Ibert: Concertino da Camera [1935-6]
Ireland: A Downland Suite [1932]
Irgens-Jensen: Symphony in D minor [1941]
Isaac: Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen [c. 1485]
Josquin: Stabat Mater dolorosa [1498]
Kabeláč: Cello Sonata, op. 9 [1941]
Lachenmann: Mouvement (-vor der Erstarrung) [1982-4]
Lilburn: Symphony #2 [1951]
Liszt: Réminiscences de Norma, S.394 [1841]
Liszt: Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe, S.107 [1882]
Maderna: Concerto per due pianoforti e strumenti [1948]
Manoury: Jupiter for flute and live electronics [1986-1987; rev. 1992, 1996]
Medtner: Sonaten-Triade, op. 11 [1904-7]
Melartin: Symphony #2 in E minor [1904]
Mendelssohn: Concerto for Two Pianos in E [1823]
Mennin: Moby Dick [1952]
Messiaen: Fête des belles eaux [1937]
Messiaen: O sacrum convivium [1937]

To remain on the 117th tier:
Harvey: String Quartet #4 with live electronics [2003]
Haydn: Symphony #79 in F [1784]
Herrmann: Symphony [1941]
Holst: Hymns (9) from the Rig Veda (Vedic Hymns), op. 24 [1907-8]
Holst: Savitri, op. 25 [1916]
Hosokawa: Hanjo [2004]
Hosokawa: Utsurohi [1986]
Howells: Concerto for Strings [1938]
Ireland: Greater Love Hath No Man [1912]
Ireland: Sea Fever [1913]
Karkowski & Furudate: World as Will [1998]
Kodallı: Cello Concerto, op. 28 [1983]
Lang, D: Cheating, Lying, Stealing [1993]
Leighton: Symphony #1, op. 42 [1964]
Lilburn: Symphony #1 [1949]
Melartin: Symphony #1 in C minor, op. 30 [1902]
Melartin: Violin Concerto in D minor, op. 60 [1913]
Menotti: The Old Man and the Thief, including "What a Curse for a Woman is a Timid Man" [1939]
Meyerbeer: L'Africaine [1864]

To move down 1 to the 118th tier:
Harvey: Advaya [1994]
 
#1,377 · (Edited)
Here are the works that I need to add to the list:

Assandra: Duo Seraphim [1609]
Bach: Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127 [1713]
Beethoven: Bagatelles (7), op. 33 [1801-02]
Beethoven: Bagatelles (11), op. 119 [1803-22]
Beethoven: Sextet in E-flat, op. 71 [1796]
Bergman: Flute Concerto, op. 89 "Birds in the Morning" [1979]
Berio: Mutazione for tape [1955]
Billone: Mani.Giacometti [2000]
Birtwistle: Clarinet Quintet [1980]
Brumel: Lamentations of Jeremiah
Busnois: Missa L'homme armé [1468]
Buxtehude: Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein, BuxWV 210 [c. 1700]
Carrillo: Mass for Pope John XXIII [1960]
Castiglioni: Attraverso lo specchio [1961]
Cerha: String Quartet #3 [2001]
Clemens non Papa: Ecce quam bonum [1558]
Clemens non Papa: Magnificat octavi toni
Clemens non Papa: Missa Gaude lux Donatiane [1557]
Compère: Crux triumphans [1502]
Dench: Piano Sonata [2015-6]
Ferneyhough: String Trio [1995]
Finnissy: String Trio [1986]
Freitas Branco: Vathek [1913]
Gordon: Clouded Yellow [2010]
Halffter, C.: String Quartet #7 "Espacio de silencio" [2007]
Hämeenniemi: Clarinet Sonata [1984]
Handel: Recorder Sonata in F, HWV 369 [1712]
Haydn: Piano Sonata #50 in D, Hob. XVI/37 [1780]
Haubenstock-Ramati: Für Kandinsky [1987]
Hensel (Mendelssohn, Fanny): Piano Sonata in G minor [1843]
Holst: Ode to Death, op. 38 [1919]
Joplin: The Entertainer [1902]
Kaipainen: Horn Concerto, op. 61 [2000-1]
Kokkonen: String Quartet #3 [1976]
Lassus: Cantiones sacrae a 6 [1594]
Maderna: Ages [1972]
Maderna: Continuo [1958]
Maderna: Notturno [1956]
Massenet: Le Roi de Lahore [1876]
Meriläinen: String Quartet #2 "Kyma" [1979]
Mozart: Piano Sonata #9 in D, K. 311 [1777]
Nanino: Mass for 8 Voices
O'Regan: Fragments from a Gradual Process [2007]
Orrego-Salas: Sextet for Clarinet, Piano and String Quartet, op. 38 [1955]
Poleva: Messages for onesimpleman [2009]
Reinken: An Wasserflüssen Babylon [before 1700]
Reynolds: Whispers Out of Time [1988]
Salmenhaara: Symphony #2 [1963-6]
Schreker: Der Schatzgräber [1920]
Schütz: Magnificat anima mea [1665]
Schütz: Veni, Sancte Spiritus [1664]
Shymko: Double Concerto [2014]
Tarrodi: String Quartet No. 2 (Madardal) [2013]
Veress: String Trio [1954]
Victoria: Missa O Magnum Mysterium [1592]
Volodos: Concert Paraphrase on Mozart’s Turkish March [1997]
Willaert: O magnum mysterium [1545]
Wolf-Ferrari: La vedova scaltra [1931]
Wolpe: Quartet for Trumpet, Tenor Saxophone, Percussion and Piano [1950-4]
 
#1,379 · (Edited)
Now that we can apparently edit posts indefinitely, there is no particular reason for me to be using a google doc or a neocities page, both of which (the latter in particular) are rather inconvenient for me.

Unless anyone can think of a particular reason not to, I will soon create a new thread with the list of recommendations in the opening posts.

I have removed the reference thread option from the OP, since that was done so rarely, almost always by me. I'll also remove the links to those threads from the list, since we made so few of them.

And lastly, I am considering enlisting the participation of another site in addition to TC. We would vote on different tiers at different times.
 
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