Complete the Nielsen set
Sample Martinu, you will probably like him.
Also look at Eduard Tubin, George Lloyd & Edmund Rubbra
For something very new (last year) David Matthews' #9
And last but not least, Graville Bantock - Hebridean, Pagan & Celtic

 

P.S. Why no Mahler 10th? Forget the Cooke 1st nonsense, it is pure Mahler.

 

Turns out my set does have Mahler 10, (Chailly).

 

Be prepared for a variety of responses. Looking at what you have already, I'd recommend sampling Rachmaninoff 2 & 3; Prokofiev 1,3,6; Nielsen 3,5; Copland 3; Franck; Shostakovich 1,4,5,7,8; Syzmanowski 3; Walton 1. That's keeping it strictly to symphonies and are 'safe' choices. If you are open to other forms the choices widen considerably. I'd certainly suggest any of Richard Strauss' tone poems.

 

FWIW, of Shostakovich, I only ever listen to 5, 9, 11 & 15. For Rachmaninoff, the 1st and occasionally the 3rd.
Incidentally, I should have added the Elgar 1st to the earlier list.

 

The only one that has really kind of bored me has been Haydn (I find them pleasant but never remember them afterwards).

I suspect that you may be listening to the wrong recordings....

 

Is there one in particular you would recommend?

 

Coming out of left field, try Scriabin. Symphonies 1 and 2 are conventional but still very opulent. Symphonies 3 and 4 (The Divine Poem and The Poem of Ecstasy) are other-worldly.

 

Scriabin purchased just now. It does look up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

All three Rachmaninoffs, both Elgars. The Myaskovsky symphonies are very much worth exploring, but varied and uneven in inspiration. #6, 21 and 27 are good bets. If you like him there's a complete set under Svetlanov. From Finland come Melartin and Madetoja, and from Sweden come Stenhammar and Atterberg. Tubin is interesting but uneven; start with his lovely 4th.

 

More Berlioz, I say. Harold en Italie and Roméo et Juliette are both really good.

As for Haydn, definitely check out the Colin Davis/Concertgebouw recordings of the so-called London symphonies. Check out that team for the Berlioz, too, now that I think about it.

 

If you are to dip your toes into one late 20th-century cycle, my pick would be Schnittke (composed 1957-1997). Without wanting to overwhelm, I highly recommend the following recordings:

Symphony #1: USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony Orchestra / Roshdestvensky (Melodiya)

Symphony #2: Mikaeli Kammarkör, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra / Segerstam (BIS)

Symphony #5: Royal Concertgebouworchestra / Chailly (Decca)

Symphony #8: Norrköping Symphony Orchestra / Lü Jia (BIS)

Here's the First Symphony. If you like this crazy, chaotic, yet spellbinding music, there is so much more where it came from.

 

Let's be honest, your original list probably covers about 90+% of the best Symphonies out there. But there are gems aplenty beyond the core. I cannot disagree with a single suggestion here, apart from the horrific suggestion that implies Tubin is uneven. :angel: He's not, all of his Symphonies are excellent! I'd definitely fill up on Nielsen and Martinu. Some one-off works I'd consider essential:

Suk: Asrael Symphony
Berwald: Sinfonie singuliere
Magnard: Symphonies 3&4
Madetoja 3
Messiaen Turangalila
Panufnik Sinfonia Sacra
Liszt: Faust and Dante
Fibich 3
Hindemith Mathis Der Maler
Sallinen 3&4

And if you do try Bruggen's Haydn, it will indeed help you reassess!

I'll bore you senseless with more as I think of them!

 

So I've been collecting in earnest for about a year, and I've been building a collection of symphonies especially (I really like a full orchestral sound, moreso that chamber works or piano sonatas). Here is what I've amassed so far:

Beethoven symphonies 1-9
Brahms symphonies 1-4
Bruckner symphonies 1-9 (no 0)
Dvorak symphonies 1-9
Mahler symphonies 1-9
Mendelssohn symphonies 1-5
Mozart symphonies 1-41
Schubert symphonies 1-9
Schumann symphonies 1-4
Sibelius symphonies 1-7 (plus Kullervo)
Tchaikovsky symphonies 1-6
Vaughan Williams symphonies 1-9
-----
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
Copland symphony 3
Haydn symphonies 22,44,64,82-87, 93-104
Honegger symphonies 2-3
Nielsen symphony 4
Prokofiev symphony 5
Saint Saens symphony 3
Shostakovich symphony 10

So my question is this - what composers of symphonies do you think I should move into collecting and/or completing next? The ones I've responded to most strongly have been Beethoven, Bruckner, Brahms, and Sibelius. I really like German romanticism. I enjoy most all of the others. The only one that has really kind of bored me has been Haydn (I find them pleasant but never remember them afterwards).

Any and all suggestions welcome - whether it is from a personal preference perspective or from a "completist" perspective.

Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony, particularly if you like that big Romantic sound. It is wonderfully beautiful. Maybe more like Tchaikovsky than the Germans. I love this symphony.

Hovhaness wrote a LOT of symphonies - being a completist there might be daunting. Still, get his Op. 132, Mysterious Mountain. The Fritz Reiner recording is a great one.

Go with something completely different - try Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony. It definitely isn't German romanticism, but you might be surprised by it.

You have some Copland - why not try another American. Barber's 1st and 2nd Symphonies are quite good - Marin Alsop has both of them on one disk on Naxos. For that matter, you can buy all his orchestral works conducted by her on the Naxos label for really pretty cheap, and his Knoxville: Summer of 1915 is well worth hearing.

Past that, I would dip into the tone poems. Strauss has some very good ones, including his Also Sprach Zarathustra and his Alpine Symphony (not really a symphony).

You mention you have Mahler's symphonies 1-9. There is debate about his 10th - is it or isn't it his or Cooke's. Try it anyways. But if you don't have it, get his other "10th" symphony - Das Lied von der Erde. Peak Mahler, peak German romanticism.

 

Past that, I would dip into the tone poems. Strauss has some very good ones, including his Also Sprach Zarathustra and his Alpine Symphony (not really a symphony).

You mention you have Mahler's symphonies 1-9. There is debate about his 10th - is it or isn't it his or Cooke's. Try it anyways. But if you don't have it, get his other "10th" symphony - Das Lied von der Erde. Peak Mahler, peak German romanticism.

I do have a pretty complete R. Strauss collection. Love it, especially Metamorphosen, Alpensinfonie, Ein Heldenleben and Zarathustra.

 

Totally forgot: probably (to steal a tagline from a famous Danish advert) the last of the greats: Vagn Holmboe. Try 6&8!

Oh, and get a copy of this month's Gramophone. A very good article about the"forgotten" American symphonists. Gems aplenty there too.

 

Oh, and get a copy of this month's Gramophone. A very good article about the"forgotten" American symphonists. Gems aplenty there too.

I don't have a Gramophone subscription, but by reading the first page it seems that this article leaves out Sessions!

 

Really, though, it isn't about getting more different symphonies at this point. Now you get to go from the breadth of your collection to adding depth - different recordings of the same works. You'll notice people filling a whole page listing all the recordings they have of one particular work. Just as an example, I believe I currently have 9-10 different recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations. I have three complete sets of Beethoven's symphonies (Immerseel, Vanska, Szell) along with various partial sets (Klemperer, Karajan, Fricsay, Toscanini, etc.).

 

I do have 9 Beethoven cycles (Karajan x4, Gardiner, Chailly, Bernstein, Toscanini, and Morris), but not many alternates of the others.

 

Get Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff complete cycle, Khatchatourian #2, Elgar 1, Carl Maria von Weber #1, Dutilleux #2 Le Double.
I think Bruckner 0 is needed if you are a bruckner fan. And probably a lot more...

 

Yes, as mentioned a couple times already, get Rachmaninoff, complete cycle (1,2 & 3).

 

Ordered the Ashkenazy/Concertgebouw recording today. Thanks to all who suggested this!

 

Hmmm, did somebody mention

 

The Naxos series from Malipiero symphonies is well worth hearing

(Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Antonio de Almeida)

 

Tastes are of course personal, but I could not do without the cycles of Schmidt, Bax and Alfven.

 

Roussel’s symphonies, beautiful and unique symphonies.

 

One can collect 1000s of different symphonies, if one has enough determination.

Here's an interesting source as regards more or less all recorded, Russian/Soviet symphonies:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/Ntl_discogs/Russian_symphonies/Russian_Symphonies_RZ.pdf

 

If you'd ever want to try something rather more adventurous, the 8 symphonies of Per Nørgård are worthy of attention. The 3rd is the most accessible so a good place to start.

 

The 1st can be somewhat compared to late Sibelius too.

 

I would also go back in time a little and add Handels concerti grossi and Bach's Orchestral suites and the Brandenburgs to your collection. And there are some great recordings of Rameau suites (orchestral parts from his operas, no singing involved). I would absolutely go for lively HIP style, like Bruggen, Koopman or Pinnock.

All others already have been recommended. I would also recommend to search for other recordings of music you like. One recording can sweep you off your feet while another can just pass unnoticed. The most significant individual recordings are in many cases not represented in complete cycles.

 

I would also go back in time a little and add Handels concerti grossi and Bach's Orchestral suites and the Brandenburgs to your collection. And there are some great recordings of Rameau suites (orchestral parts from his operas, no singing involved). I would absolutely go for lively HIP style, like Bruggen, Koopman or Pinnock.

All others already have been recommended. I would also recommend to search for other recordings of music you like. One recording can sweep you off your feet while another can just pass unnoticed. The most significant individual recordings are in many cases not represented in complete cycles.

The larger Pinnock Bach set is on its way to me presently. I do have two other Brandenburg recordings.

 

In my case, it took quite a while in my collecting until I began really caring about the different, musical approaches to standard works.

 

Same here, but I didn't start with complete cycles of many composers, but with getting to know and internalize individual works and slowly digging my way into musical history.

PS: I would suggest to add to the list the orchestral works of the French composers Debussy, Dutilleux and Ravel and of the Hungarian composer Bartok (concerto for orchestra).

 

In addition to some of the suggestions above, Stravinsky is, for me, a glaring omission here--I'd start with Stravinsky conducting his own Symphony in 3 Movements, Symphony in C, and Symphony of Psalms.

 

If you enjoy symphonies you'll want to hear Edward Elgar's Symphonies 1 and 2, No. 3 if you want something akin to Mahler's 10th -- something that may or may not represent the composer.

The Shostakovich symphonies are the last great set written on this planet. No one has come close to his inspiration since he died.

Englishman Robert Simpson wrote 11 symphonies of varying noise levels and imagination. There is an integral set available though I'd recommend hearing the first one and see what you think.

Weber's two symphonies are worth hearing; so is Webern's only symphony.

Prokofiev's symphonic canon is all over the place in my opinion. I think No. 6 the best as it captures both the sadness and optimism of the postwar world.

Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements and Symphony of Psalms are often linked together.

The American "band of brothers" -- Walter Piston, William Schuman, Roy Harris et al -- were good 20th century writers whose sound is very similar. Try Piston 2, Schuman 3 and Harris 7.

Howard Hanson's "Romantic" Symphony 2 is the greatest American symphony in my opinion. He wrote others but none at that level of inspiration. Some say Copland's No. 3 the greatest American symphony.

I find the Haydn "sturm und drang" symphonies a bit more mysterious than either the Paris or London sets. Bruggen's set with his period band is, like most sets, inconsistent in performance but he includes symphonies normally not so and exploits the colors of the orchestra more than others.

It is probably unlikely you don't know Richard Strauss's two "symphonies" -- the one on the mountain (Alpine), the other in the family (Domestic). Both are extended orchestral suites even though they are called symphonies. His other symphony-length works in this vein are Also Sprach Zarathustra and Ein Heldenleben (A hero's life with Strauss being the hero.)