Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Beethoven Symphony No. 9
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6
Mozart Symphony No. 40
Beethoven Symphony No. 3
Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Beethoven Symphony No. 6
Schubert Symphony No. 9
Dvorak Symphony No. 9
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2
Mahler Symphony No. 2
Haydn Symphony No. 104
Mozart Symphony No. 35
Mozart Symphony No. 41

 

Based on my own experience, here 14 symphonies I enjoyed the most in the beginning of my journey through classical music:

Beethoven - no. 5 and 9
Brahms - no. 3 and 4
Dvorak - no. 9
Haydn - no. 103 and 104
Mendelssohn - no. 3 and 4
Mozart - no. 40 and 41
Saint-Saens - no. 3
Schubert - no. 8 ("Unfinished Symphony")
Tchaikovsky - no. 6

Some others that may be good door openers:

Atterberg - no. 6
Brahms - no. 1
Beethoven - no. 3
Dvorak - no. 7
Elgar - no. 1
Kalinnikov - no. 1
Mahler - no. 2
Prokofiev - no. 1
Sibelius - no. 2 and 5
Tchaikovsky - no. 4

 

Mozart Symphony 41
Beethoven Symphony 3
Schumann Symphony 1
Brahms Symphony 1
Tchaikovsky Symphony 4
Rimsky-Korsakov "Antar" Symphony
Saint-Saëns Symphony 3
d'Indy Symphony on a French Mountain Air
Rachmaninoff Symphony 2
Prokofiev Symphony 3
Sibelius Symphony 2
Shostakovich Symphony 5
Vaughan Williams Symphony 5
Martinů Symphony 1

A spectrum of symphonies across time and space and styles to whet the appetite and show a bit of the range.....

 

Beethoven 6th and 9th
Brahms 4th
Chausson Symphony
Haydn 82nd "The Bear" and 104th
Mahler 4th
Nielsen 3rd
Pettersson 7th
Prokofiev 5th
Saint-Saens 3rd "Organ"
Shostakovich 9th and 10th
Sibelius 7th

Rats! I forgot about the Berlioz "Fantastique". It takes the place of the Sibelius.

 

Based on my own experience (mid 1980s), one per composer:

Beethoven 6
Berlioz 'Fantastique'
Bruckner 4
Dvorak 9
Mahler 4
Mendelssohn 4
Mozart 40
Rachmaninoff 2
Saint-Saens 3
Schubert 8
Schumann 3
Shostakovich 10
Sibelius 2
Tchaikovsky 6

 

Mozart 41
Beethoven 5
Beethoven 6
Berlioz Fantastique
Mendelssohn 4
Brahms 3
Bruckner 7
Dvorak 9
Mahler 2
Tchaikovsky 6
Saint-Saens 3
Sibelius 7
Shostakovich 5

And I feel like your friend might appreciate one “out-of-the-box” choice for the 14th pick, so I say either Martinu 6 or Balakirev 1!

 

Beethoven 5
Beethoven 6
Brahms 2
Copland 3
Dvorak 8
Dvorak 9
Mendelssohn 3
Mozart 40
Schubert 8
Schubert 9
Schumann 3
Sibelius 5
Shostakovich 5
Tchaikovsky 5

 

Beethoven 9
Brahms 2
Brahms 4
Bruckner 7
Dvorak 8
Dvokak 9
Haydn 31
Mahler 1
Mendelssohn 4
Mozart 41
Rachmaninoff 2
Sibelius 5
Tchaikovsky 5
Vaughan Williams 5

 

i'd assume that like most non-classical fans, your friend doesn't know the difference between symphony and other large orchestral works, so i'd include some tone poems, ballet, and film music. choices below picked for fun and entertainment more than anything else, since this is for a new listener:

beethoven 5
bruckner 9
dvorak 9
kodaly hary janos suite
liszt les preludes
mahler 2
mussorgsky/ravel pictures
prokofiev alexander nevsky
rachmaninov isle of the dead
ravel bolero
rimsky korsakov scheherazade
sibelius kullervo
smetana die moldau
stravinsky rite of spring



i think the beethoven 5th is the no-brainer beethoven pick--since everyone knows the initial motif so well, it functions as a lesson in thematic development in large scale forms. i think non classical fans would find rite, nevsky, les preludes, mahler 2 and bruckner 9 metal as hell, and bolero and scheherazade are fun exoticisms. pictures, hary janos, kullervo are vivid storytelling, and isle of the dead in case your friend has a bit of a goth streak.

 

The uninitiated has a easier time to understand symphonies that

1) has many catchy melodies
2) has not too adventurous harmonic language
3) has great orchestration
4) has exciting sense of (regular) pulse
5) is popular

So I recommend:
Beethoven 5
Beethoven 9
Berlioz Symphony Fantastique
Bruckner 4
Mendelssohn 4
Schumann 3
Mahler 1
Shostakovich 5
Dvorak 9
Mozart 40
Rachmaninoff 2
Sibelius 2
Tchaikovsky 6

 

I think your analysis is spot on, and your list almost perfect, except you were allowed 14. So I'd add Schubert 8 to round it out. But I might drop either Mendelssohn or Schumann and add Shostakovich, either 5,10 or 11.

 

I picked 14 separate composers just to show a range of different styles but also went with works that I felt starting out were easiest to get into.

Mozart 40
Beethoven 5
Dvorak 9
Brahms 3
Haydn 104
Sibelius 1
Mendelssohn 1
Mahler 1
Tchaikovsky 6
Saint-Saens 3
Prokofiev 5
Shostakovich 10
Schubert 8
Rachmaninoff 2

 

Recommended 14 symphonies:

A. Listened to my heart - my favorite 14
Shostakovich 5
Schubert 8, 9
Mahler 2, 6, 7, 8
Haydn 88, 97, 104
Beethoven 3, 5, 6, 9

B. Listened to my mind - max. 2 symphonies per composer
Tchaikovsky 6
Shostakovich 5
Schubert 8, 9
Mozart 40
Mahler 2, 6
Haydn 88, 104
Brahms 1, 4
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
Beethoven 5, 9

 

Personally, I would never recommend symphonies as a way to enter the CM world. Sometimes novices use the term "symphony" quite loosely. I'd go for shorter, lighter things like Hungarian Rhapsody 2, the Moldau, 1812 overture, Espana and such. But, if it's really symphonies, go for lighter, tuneful, exciting stuff:

1. Tchaikovsky no. 2
2. Kalinnikov no. 1
3. Beethoven no. 5
4. Schubert no. 8
5. Dvorak no. 9
6. Beach "Gaelic"
7. Brahms no. 1
8. Schumann no. 2
9. Mendelssohn no. 4
10. Saint-Saens no. 3
11. Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
12. Tchaikovsky no. 5
13. Prokofiev no. 7
14. Shostakovich no. 9

 

^ I half agree. I also feel that symphonies and only symphonies is a poor way to introduce someone to classical music. For a start it misses out the Baroque and much essential modern music. But I do feel that quite major works - taken slowly, one at a time - are the best way to go. I also feel that a long list (14 works) is probably not a good idea - better to follow lines from works that have been particularly enjoyed - unless it is deliberately a mixed bag allowing the friend to sample some of the wonderful variety that is classical music. This said, I would include a Mozart mature symphony or two; two or three Beethoven symphonies (the Eroica, the Pastoral and the 7th?); Dvorak's New World; Tchaikovsky's 5th; Schubert's Great; Prokofiev's 5th and Shostakovich's 5th.

I am mindful of my various ways of trying to respond to a request from my daughter for some classical works she might enjoy. It turned out that she became symphony-phobic (after my recommendation that she tried Beethoven's 5th!) but developed a love for lots of Brahms and Debussy (and some Beethoven) chamber music and for Bartok's and Prokofiev's piano concertos and has gone on from these. These are not the works I would have expected a novice to warm to first. She still avoids symphonies.

 

Beethoven 3 - Klemperer stereo
Beethoven 5 - Kleiber
Beethoven 9 - Fricsay
Berlioz Symphonie fantastique - Beecham
Brahms 3 - Abbado
Brahms 4 - Kleiber
Bruckner 8 - Karajan
Dvorak 9 - Kubelik
Mahler 9 - Karajan
Mozart 40 - Bernstein
Schubert 8 - Sinopoli
Shostakovich 5 - Bernstein Sony
Sibelius 2 - Barbirolli
Tchaikovsky 6 - Mravinsky stereo

 

I would not recommend any symphonies. I would recommend a compilation album including short familiar tunes. EMI did some very good ones called ' Classic Experience' some years ago. Great way to get into classic music.

 

I disagree. If the person wants symphony recommendations, give them symphony recommendations. Maybe don't start with a massive, lengthy symphony that stretches over an hour. But give them something pleasant by Mozart or Haydn, or even hook them with Beethoven's 5th, that they probably already partly know, and show them how much more there is beyond those opening 8 chords.

 

^ That might work for some but if anyone had done that with me I don't think I would ever have loved classical music! Getting the whole work - whether it be miniature or a grand opera - has always (including as a child novice) been a very important part of the experience for me.

 

They can certainly explain it to the individual upon giving them the recommendations. Like I said, they could start with a Haydn symphony. Or just explain that, for symphonies, in many cases it is like listening to a whole album - the entire work is context, although individual movements can certainly be enjoyed.

The "best of" compilations are what kept me from truly enjoying classical music for so long.

 

The "best of" compilations are what kept me from truly enjoying classical music for so long.

I've always thought that "best of" compilations were for folks with attention deficit disorder.

 

My classical starter kit, in order, is:

Pachelbel, Canon/Baroque favorites - Munchinger (Decca Ovation)
Beethoven, Symphonies Nos 5 & 7 - Kleiber
Mozart, Piano concertos Nos. 20, 23, 24, 27 - Curzon
Vivaldi, Four Seasons - Marriner
Beethoven, Piano sonatas Nos. 8, 14, 23 - Rubinstein
Mozart, Requiem - Marriner
Tchaikovsky, Ballet suites - Rostropovich
Bach, Cello suites - Fournier
Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 - Fricsay
Schubert, Death and the Maiden quartet - Italian Quartet
Brahms, Violin concerto - Perlman/Giulini
Chopin, selections - Rubinstein
Debussy/Ravel, String quartets - Melos Quartet
Stravinsky, Rite of spring/Petrushka - Dorati (Decca)
Bach, Brandenburg concertos - Britten
Handel, Messiah - Pinnock
Rachmaninoff, Piano concertos Nos. 2 & 3 - Janis/Dorati
Puccini, Tosca - Callas/De Sabata
Tchaikovsky, 1812 overture - Dorati (Mercury)
Dvorak, Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 - Kubelik
Wagner, Orchestral music - Karajan (EMI)
Verdi, Requiem - Giulini
Bach, Goldberg variations - Gould (1981)
Tchaikovsky, Symphonies Nos. 4-6 - Mravinsky
Haydn, String quartets, Op. 76 - Lindsay Quartet
Mozart, Symphonies Nos. 40 & 41 - Bernstein
Beethoven, Emperor concerto - Fleisher/Szell
Bach, Organ works - Walcha (DG Double)
Ravel, Bolero/Debussy, La mer, prelude a l'apres-midi - Karajan
Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 - Klemperer (stereo)
Mozart, Die Zauberflote - Fricsay
Schubert, Piano sonata No. 21 - Kovacevich
Mendelssohn, Violin concerto - Zukerman/Bernstein
Monteverdi, Vespers of 1610 - Gardiner
Brahms, Symphony No. 3 - Abbado
Gershwin, Rhapsody in blue, An American in Paris - Bernstein (Sony)
Mahler, Symphony No. 9 - Karajan
Bach, Well-temperered Clavier - Richter
Orff, Carmina burana - Jochum
Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique - Beecham
Sibelius, Violin concerto - Heifetz/Hendl
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 - Bernstein (Sony)
Mozart, Don Giovanni - Siepi/Krips
Bach, St Matthew Passion - Jochum
Beethoven, Violin concerto - Perlman/Giulini
Rossini, Overtures - Reiner
Brahms, Piano concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Gilels/Jochum
Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade - Kondrashin
Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 - Walter
Liszt, Piano sonata - Curzon
R. Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra
Schubert, Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 - Krips
Grieg, Peer gynt suites/Sibelius, Finlandia - Karajan
Holst, The Planets - Dutoit
Schumann, Dichterliebe/Schubert, Lieder - Wunderlich
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition - Reiner
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde - Flagstad/Furtwangler
Beethoven, Late string quartets - Takacs Quartet
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8 - Karajan
Allegri, Miserere/Palestrina, Missa Papae Marcelli - Tallis Scholars
Handel, Water music, Music for Royal Fireworks - Kubelik
Bach, violin concertos - Grumiaux/Krebbers
Bartok, Concerto for orchestra - Reiner
Schubert, Trout quintet - Curzon/Vienna Octet
Tchaikovsky, Piano concerto No. 1 - Argerich/Dutoit
R. Strauss, Four last songs - Schwarzkopf/Szell
Bach, Violin sonatas & partitas - Milstein (EMI)
Verdi, La Traviata - Carteri/Monteux
J. Strauss, Waltzes - Boskovsky
Brahms, Requiem - Gardiner
Bizet, Carmen - De Los Angeles/Beecham
Haydn, London symphonies - Jochum
Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet - Maazel
Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen - Bohm

.

 

Fourteen symphonies for CM beginners:

Prokofiev: "Classical" (no.1)
Mozart: "Haffner" (no. 35)
Beethoven: 3
Schumann: 3
Mendelssohn: 3
Brahms: 1
Haydn: "Clock" (whatever the number)
Mahler: 5
Tchaikovsky: 4
Berlioz" Fantastique
Beethoven: 1
Beethoven: 6
Mozart: "Jupiter" (41)
Mahler: 4
Dvorak: 9

 

I find some of these symphony lists somewhat lacking in a willingness to take a chance on the adaptability or openness to fresh sounds of a new listener to CM. Too conservative. One of the first symphonies I heard was the Shostakovich 5th, with Bernstein, and it blew me away with its raw searing energy, angst, darkness. I would like to see more variety sprinkled into the suggestions that move beyond so many of the "usual suspects" and present a more varied palette of symphonic musical colors.

 

yeah, i agree with this. i personally went backwards, starting with avant composers like part, penderecki, and reich, then shostakovich, bartok and mahler, and only after that found myself going back and listening to earlier composers. And in terms of harmony and rhythm, most serious non-classical music fans are probably closer to speaking the language of early stravinsky than the language of mozart.

 

Thanks to everyone who posted. I enjoyed your lists and comments! Brahmsianhorn, you listed many of the recorded gems in my library!
Here is what I suggested, for better or worse:
Haydn Military Symphony
Mozart 40
Beethoven 5
Schubert Unfinished
Schumann 3
Mendelssohn 4
Brahms 1
Tchaikovsky 4
Dvorak 9
Saint Saens 3
Mahler 1
Bruckner 4
Rachmaninov 2
Shostakovich 5

 

I’ve been thinking about how to make these recommendations, and I settled on an approach in which both era and individual signal composers are represented. I think that getting into classical music, and the symphonic repertoire specifically, involves becoming “socialized” so that one can in the first instance communicate with other CM enthusiasts about well-known works. This communication usually leads to branching out and discovering more works by the members of one’s basic “vocabulary” of symphonic composers, as well as works by other composers from the eras having the most subjective appeal.

So, roughly in order from late Baroque to Classical to Romantic to Modern, with only one work per composer:

C.P.E. Bach – Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Wq. 183/(1-4)
Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 100 in G Major “Military”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 “Jupiter”
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 “Pastoral”
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy – Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 “Scottish”
Hector Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major “Romantic”
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
Antonin Dvořák – Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 “From the New World”
Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 2 in C Minor “Resurrection”
Edward Elgar – Symphony No. 1
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 5 in D
Charles Ives – Symphony No. 3 “The Camp Meeting”
Paul Hindemith – Symphony “Mathis der Maler”

 

I'm surprised how many people suggest Symphony phantastique. I suggest that this wonderful piece is likely to be impenetrable to most newbies. If just the last movement that's another matter.

 

It was one of my first 10 classical music CD's and I was hooked straight away.

 

^ I fell in love with it as perhaps my 20th piece of classical music (and as a child). What is difficult about it?