I started to type my list until I realized that it would be essentially the same as yours! However, I would substitute Elgar at No. 6 and a toss-up between Bax and Myaskovsky at No. 10.

 

Interesting! Elgar is only eligible if you count his third symphony...

I'll be interested to see what other names come up. Tubin is another interesting name, he might be my no. 11.

 

I need to listen more to Roussel and W. Schuman. I would put Nielsen in 4th place but your top 3 are my top 3 in the same order. Maybe Shostakovich before Mahler? Maybe.
What would you suggest is a good place to start with those two?

 

I need to listen more to Roussel and W. Schuman. I would put Nielsen in 4th place but your top 3 are my top 3 in the same order.
What would you suggest is a good place to start with those two?

I'd recommend starting with each composer's 3rd symphony:

Schuman's 3rd was written around the same time as Copland's, and to my mind surpasses it (Copland was the greater composer, but to my mind Schuman was the more natural symphonist).

For Roussel's 3rd, Bernstein on DG is a classic:

There's also a great Roussel series on Naxos, and this 3rd is equally good:

 

That's about right for me but I'll replace VW with Bax, and Roussel with Lutoslawski. Others I wouldn't be without are Gerhard, Schnittke, Lajtha, Dutilleux, Penderecki, Bernstein, and Szymanowski.

 

For Roussel #3 - two great ones:
Bernstein/NYPO/Sony
Munch/CSO/'67 - Archival set "CSO in 20th Century"

For Schuman Sym #3 - major piece, really heavy duty!! Two classics:
Bernstein/NYPO I - first one for CBS/Sony from 60s
Slatkin/CSO/ '86 - "Archival set "CSO in 20th Century
These are all wonderful recordings, real classics.
The competition in the Schuman(tough piece!!) Is fierce, Seattle is good, but not on the level of CSO. NYPO at their best.

 

Very good list, and arguing with ranking would be a pretty pointless exercise. However.....

I'd swap Mahler and Sibelius, and put Vaughan Williams equal with Shostakovich. Then Martinů, level with Nielsen.

Others I would try and squeeze into a top ten would have to include Eduard Tubin, Leevi Madetoja and Franz Schmidt. Alberic Magnard would not make the list for only writing one post-1900 symphony (No.4, which is one of the truly great Symphonies, as is Schmidt's 4th). If forced to include an American, I would go for either Walter Piston or David Diamond before Schuman...

1. Mahler
2. Sibelius
3= Shostakovich
3= Vaughan Williams
5= Martinů
5= Nielsen
7. Tubin
8. Prokofiev
9. Madetoja
10. Schmidt

 

... and now for something different ...

1. Andre Jolivet
2. Benjamin Frankel
3. Richard Rodney Bennett
4. Roberto Gerhard
5. Humphrey Searle
6. Meyer Kupferman
7. Isang Yun
8. Fartein Valen
9. Carlos Chavez
10. Malcolm Arnold

Mid-century Brits tend to resonate with me the most, particularly between 1958 & 1970. Frankel's 1st ('58), Gerhard's 3rd ('60), Searle's last ('64), Bennett's 1st ('65), etc.
The 1960s truly 'speak' to me.
If more than 10 were requested, I could have included Josef Tal, Roger Sessions, Havergal Brian + many more.

 

^^^^ Glad someone mentions Ben Frankel, grotesquely under-rated!

 

1. Shostakovich
2. Nielsen
3. Vaughan Williams
4. Arnold
5. Tubin
6. Atterberg
7. Holmboe
8. Rubbra
9. Martinu
10. Langgaard


Honorable mentions: Sibelius, Myaskovsky, Prokofiev, Alwyn, Braga Santos

 

Most often played in our house (in approximate order of frequency):

1. Sibelius
2. Vaughan Williams
3. Mahler
4. Shostakovich
5. Langgaard
6. Penderecki
7. George Lloyd
8. Tubin
9. Pärt (though his only satisfactory symphony seems to me No. 3)
10. Rautavaara

It’s preposterous that I haven’t left room for Bax, Prokofiev, Martinů, and Myaskovsky. What a lot of first-rate symphonies have been composed in the last 100 years!

I assume that I can’t include Glazunov (3 symphonies post-1900, but the last is incomplete) or Stravinsky (who entitled 4 compositions “Symphony” and a fifth “Symphonies,” but the world has chosen to disagree with him).

 

My list:

Shostakovich
Sibelius
Prokofiev

Sorry, there are no others.

 

Even if I were being über-picky, I'd have to include Nielsen, Roussel and Vaughan Williams as well.

 

1. Mahler
2. Shostakovich
3. Prokofiev
4. Weinberg
5. Pettersson
6. Bax
7. Myaskovsky
8. Martinu
9. Rautavaara
10. Vaughan Williams

 

Sorry for my own deficiency in terms of ranking, but i don't know how to do it, because I come back to works that are probably not of the first rank regularly, sometimes for attraction but as often to try to understand and hear what I might be missing.
Even when i don't love a work, the body of what Shostakovich did is dominant. The 8th symphony probably the greatest, that cor anglais solo...
Prokofiev may be the composer with the most "favorites", 1, 5, 6 and 7. How many times I try to come back to 2, 3 and 4, but they intrigue enough to generate relistening.
Mahler is a problem, too conservative for my taste but certainly has had innumberable hours of listening and performances, even if my appreciation has waned over the years.
Vaughn Williams I have tried and tried. Musical wall paper.
Rubbra, those wonderful Lyrita recordings! 2 through about 7 I think I have some sense of and I like this music.
I'm glad William Schuman made it, I think the Seattle performances serve him poorly, but Ormandy or Bernstein give the music its say.
Surprised that the craft of Walter Piston hasn't made it to any list.
There is French music that is apparently little known, but worth the dabble, Magnard (perhaps technically for this list mostly last decade of the 19th century but the last symphony 20th) and Ropartz ( who lived to 1955). I think the Ropartz 3rd is a great piece!
Finally, sleep-deprived, I'd add Rued Langgaard, multiple tries to hear this intriguing music, more to come.
That names 10, I think, although Vaughn Williams out on his ear for me.
Sibelius.

 

This really is a fascinating thread. It gives me the feeling that I'm not such a freak (or at least I'm part of a community of like-minded freaks).

Most of us are listening to Sibelius, Mahler, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev. Well, I would have expected that.

But I wouldn't have expected such strong support for non-mainstream composers: Tubin, Martinů, Roussel, Myaskovsky, Alwyn, etc. I'm particularly surprised to see the strength of the support for Bax. And I would have felt sure that no one but myself listens to Langgaard!

Sure, not all of us are listening to all of these. But they're indicative that we have a general kinship of musical outlook. Our minds are moving in similar directions.

I'm also reassured to see that I'm not the only person in the world who listens to symphonies of the last 50 years (1970-2020). There are other people out there listening to Penderecki and Rautavaara!

So this thread is sending me back to the shelves, to play old favourites again... but this time with the added pleasure that I know other people out there are enjoying them too.

 

1. Hindemith
2. Aho
3. Brian
4. Shostakovich
5. Roussel
6. Prokofiev
7. Bax
8. Schuman
9. Frankel
10. Myaskovsky

 

Interesting about Hindemith. I don't tend to think of him as a symphonist. But come to think of it, I have recordings of four works of his that are symphonies: Symphonie Mathis der Maler, Symphonische Metamorphosen, Symphony in E-flat, and Symphony in B-flat. Love all of them. What makes him a good symphonist? How do you rate his orchestration?

 

Jeez! I missed Holmboe off my list. He really deserves to be on any list of top symphonists.

 

Consider that a yellow card offence - one more and you'll be sent off :lol:

 

1. Mahler
2. Shostakovich
3. Sibelius
4. Martinu
5. Schmidt
6. Lutoslawski
7. Nielsen
8. Prokofiev
9. Schnittke
10. Vaughan Williams

Hard to rank them as my preferences fluctuate wildly day by day, but this is an order that might be generally true for me. Hurt to leave off great composers like Roussel and Myaskovsky though! I haven't yet developed the great love for most of the midcentury anglophones that many in this thread seem to have, but I'm working on it.

 

I haven't yet developed the great love for most of the midcentury anglophones that many in this thread seem to have, but I'm working on it.

It's interesting that it's mainly the midcentury US and UK composers who seem to generate such affection: Schuman, Piston, Arnold, Alwyn, etc. None of us has mentioned any living English-language symphonist. We may buy the symphonies of David Matthews and Philip Glass and James MacMillan* (because... well, if even people like us don't patronize living composers, what hope does a living composer have?!), but their names don't exactly spring to our lips when we're asked for our favorites.

*Afterthought: I think only 2 of MacMillan's symphonies were completed during the 20th century. But the basic point remains.

 

There is a clear top tier of

Sibelius
Mahler
Shostakovich

Anyone not including these three in their list has obviously not reached the high level of 20th century symphonic awareness necessary to appreciate them

It's like not including Messi, Ronaldo and Pele in your top 10 soccer players. You might not like them but you gotta have them in the list.

 

There is a clear top tier of

Sibelius
Mahler
Shostakovich

I hope that I will someday appreciate Sibelius more than I do currently. My present feeling is that his music tends to lack forward momentum and drive.

 

For English composers of symphonies:
Walton and Tippett should be mentioned..

 

Yes, I'm glad you singled out Walton. It's an interesting case because he only wrote 2 symphonies total, so why rate him so highly? I think one reason is because we should value quality over quantity. The other reason is because the second symphony's reputation is so grossly underrated, it needs to be recognized for the masterpiece that it is. Everyone recognizes the first symphony as a masterpiece in the genre and the second symphony is simply forgotten. But IMO the second is just as good as the first. It is quite remarkable. I don't see too many people singing its praises on this forum (except me) but I don't think too many people have been exposed to it.

 

George Walter Selwyn Lloyd (28 June 1913 – 3 July 1998).... was there anything else?

 

Greatest symphony cycles composed entirely within the 20th century:

1. Dmitry Shostakovich
2. Serge Prokofiev
3. Vaughan Williams
4. William Schuman
5. Roy Harris
6. Walter Piston
7. Alan Hovhaness
8. Roger Sessions
9. Einojuhani Rautavaara
10. Malcolm Arnold
11. Ned Rorem
12. Carlos Chavez

 

Interesting list!

 

My top ten,

Mahler
Sibelius
Vaughan Williams
Martinu
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Nielsen
Holmboe
Kokkonen
Pettersson

Honorable mention: 13 other 20th century composers whose symphonies I listen to from time to time,

Persichetti
Valen
Englund
Piston
Ropartz
Tubin
Melartin
Roussel
Knussen (although Knussen's one movement 1st Symphony was later withdrawn, and revised as his Concerto for Orchestra, so he may not count?).
Norhølm
Rautavaara
Panufnik
Arnold

I listen to Magnard's 4 Symphonies, too, but he doesn't count, as CnCB pointed out, since Magnard only composed his Symphony no. 4 in the 20th century.

(I also occasionally listen to the symphonies of Honegger, Harris, Sessions, Henze, Lutoslawski, Atterberg, Bax, Schuman, Rubbra, Simpson, Rochberg, Heininen, Hanson, Rorem, Dutilleux, Vuori, Pärt, Penderecki, Maxwell Davies, Tippett, & Nørgård...)

Charles Koechlin would be on my list, as well, but his symphonies remain unrecorded, except for "The Seven Stars' Symphony", and a live BBC radio broadcast by Konstantin Silvestri of his war time Symphony no. 2:

Langgaard's Symphonies are still on my list to explore, although I've heard & liked his "Music for the Spheres" (but have yet to connect to one of his symphonies--any suggestions?). I'd also like to hear the symphonies of Aarre Merikanto, Christopher Rouse, and maybe Poul Ruders & Phillip Glass...

I've not explored the symphonies of Alfred Schnittke, either.

Among present day composers, I'd like to see Magnus Lindberg and Anders Hillborg compose symphonies...

 

Langgaard's Symphonies are still on my list to explore, although I've heard & liked his "Music for the Spheres" (but have yet to connect to one of his symphonies--any suggestions?).

Langgaard's symphonies are more diverse than those of any other composer I can think of (and none of them is very like the "Music of the Spheres," either!). For the early phase (late Romantic to almost Modernist), I'd suggest trying either No. 4 (Leaf Fall) or No. 6 (The Heaven-Rending). For the middle phase (where he went back to Gade, Schumann, and Wagner, and tried to hew a completely new path from them, virtually uninfluenced by anyone more recent), I'd suggest No. 9 (From Queen Dagmar's City). And for the late, defiantly individualistic phase, I'd suggest No. 16 (Sun Deluge).

Langgaard derives ultimately from familiar late-19th-century Romanticism. Therefore, at first hearing one tends to impose on his music the values of some composer already known to one. ("Oh, this is half-baked Richard Strauss... or half-baked Sibelius... or regurgitated Schumann.") It may take repeated hearings to grasp that he's exploiting the vocabulary of his predecessors for fresh and unique, and sometimes quite challenging, purposes. (One obvious challenge: symphonies 11 and 12 are only about 6-7 minutes long each.)

I'm not saying that his music is "good" music. I'm merely saying that there's a danger of dismissing it before it has been heard often enough to be understood.

Of the two recorded complete cycles, Dausgaard (on Dacapo) is preferable to Stupel (on Danacord), which was recorded earlier and was forced to use incomplete texts of some symphonies. Having said which, Stupel's No. 7 is still valuable because it records a quite different (but legitimate) version of the work from Dausgaard. Stupel is available as individual discs, Dausgaard either as individual discs or as a boxed set (which can often be found at very reasonable prices).

There are also a few quite good non-series recordings of specific symphonies.

 

Hanson deserves mention...he's certainly equal to, or greater than some of those already mentioned.

 

My favorite 20th century symphonists are as follows, in particular order:

1. Shostakovich
2. Stravinsky
3. Prokofiev
4. Mahler
5. Sibelius
6. Vaughan Williams
7. Martinu
8. Honneger
9. Bax
10. Nielsen
11. Henze
12. Penderecki
13. Walton
14. Hindemith
15. Rachmaninoff
16. Bernstein
17. W. Schuman
18. Hanson
19. Mennin
20. R. Simpson
21. Persichetti
22. Copland
23. Diamond

 

It looks like nobody else rates Benjamin Frankel as a symphonist and it's true he is known more for this than anything else...

I'd like to recommend giving his symphonies a try.

 

^^^ See post 9, and 10 above. No Frankel didn't make my top ten, but it doesn't mean he's unrated. Some really great music in his Symphonies, and for me they have a greater sense of cohesion and "symphonic argument" than a lot of the more modern symphonists can manage.

 

Agreed. Missed those earlier posts. I'm particularly fond of the 1st and 5th.

Do you know of any other recordings of the symphonies besides the Albert set on CPO?