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WFMT Listeners' Top 10 Symphonies

107.201.58.79
Posted on May 29, 2015 at 11:40:39
krisjan
Reviewer

Posts: 929
Joined: May 6, 2001
 Listeners of Chicago's WFMT radio station have weighed in on their favorite symphonies. Recently, the station asked listeners to submit their faves which were collected, massaged and turned into this top ten list:

1. Beethoven No.9
2. Dvorak No.9
3. Shostakovich No.5
4. Mahler No.5
5. Tchaikovsky No.6
6. Mahler No.1
7. Sibelius No.2
8. Beethoven No.3
9. Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
10. Beethoven #5
Over the past ten weekdays, these symphonies were performed (starting with No.10 and working towards No.1 which was played today). Naturally, they chose Chicago Symphony Orchestra performances with the exception of the Sibelius No.2 which the CSO has never recorded (!!). I listened to many of these as they were broadcasted. One of the things that struck me is that they chose a Barenboim/CSO performance of Mahler No.1. I was curious because I had not heard ANY Mahler by Barenboim and, when searching for recordings by him, they are almost non-existant. He's done Syms 5 and 9 plus Kinder and Das Lied. Now I know why he's not done much Mahler - he kinda sucks at it. The performance of Mahler 5 was episodic and perverse.

The other thing that struck me was the fact that the CSO has never recorded Sibelius No.2. It seems almost unfathomable that such a great work would not have been recorded by them at some point during the modern recording era but, alas, no.

As to the list itself, I don't have much to argue with. Perhaps some would be surprised by the inclusion of the Shostakovich (especially in the No.3 spot) or the lack of anything by Brahms (especially No.4), Bruckner (e.g. No.8), Mozart and/or even Haydn. Not surprisingly, the most "modern" symphony is the Shosty (composed in 1937) with most everything else coming in the 19th century (OK, Mahler 5 and Sibelius 2 were both composed in 1902 so I'm pressing that issue just a tad).

All that being said, what are your top 5 (let's keep it to 5 for discussion's sake). I'm still thinking about my list and will offer them in a later post.

 

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RE: WFMT Listeners' Top 10 Symphonies, posted on May 29, 2015 at 12:40:50
6bq5
Audiophile

Posts: 4387
Location: SF Bay
Joined: August 16, 2001
 It is an interesting list-
with Beethoven three times chosen, and Mahler twice-
No mystery on the Beethoven- and this is following on your line of omissions - but Mahler twice - and not the 9th?

-on a related note- the KUSC affiliate here in the SF Bay area just played Beethoven's 4th- and noticed that it was the 'least played symphony' of Beethoven...
I'll work on my list also-
Happy Listening

 

I couldn't stop at 5, or 10..., posted on May 29, 2015 at 14:12:52
krisjan
Reviewer

Posts: 929
Joined: May 6, 2001
 Top 5 (right now):
Sibelius 4 (Segerstam/DNRS/Chandos and Vanska/Minnesota/BIS)
Bruckner 8 (Janowski/OSR/Pentatone)
Mahler 6 (Levi/ASO/Telarc)
Beethoven 3 (Haitink/LSO/LSO Live and Vanska/Minnesota/BIS))
Brahms 4 (Sanderling/SD/Eurodisc)

Bonus:
Myaskovsky 17 (Svetlanov/RFAS/Olympia) - although I could put a number of his symphonies here, including 13, 18, 23-25. Just wanted to get him on the list as his work is little known.

Bax 5 (Handley/BBC Phil/Chandos)
Beethoven 9 (Haitink/LSO/LSO Live)
Diamond 2 (Scwarz/Seattle/Delos)
Dvorak 9 (Fischer/Budapest/Phillips)
Hanson Sym 2 (Schwarz/Seattle/Delos - includes Sym 1 also great)
Hindemith Mathis der Mahler (Levi/Atlanta/Telarc)
Mahler 9 (Gilbert/Stockholm/BIS)
Prokofiev 5 (Levine/CSO/DG)
Shostakovich 8 (Haitink/LPO/Decca)
Vaughan Williams 5 (Thomson/LSO/Chandos)

 

When we used to have musical friends over. . . , posted on May 29, 2015 at 18:49:09
Chris from Lafayette
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Posts: 26465
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 . . . we would make lists similar to that WFMT one (favorite symphonies, concertos, sonatas, etc.) - and the lists would spring us off into discussion about the various works which made the various lists and our agreements and disagreements about their merits. If I were making such a symphony list today (shooting from the hip a bit), I guess I'd include the following five (all Russian, all the time!):
  1. Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2
  2. Prokofiev Symphony No. 6
  3. Gliere Symphony No. 3 ("Ilya Mourametz" - No cuts, please!)
  4. Scriabin Symphony No. 2
  5. Glazunov Symphony No. 8

 

RE: When we used to have musical friends over. . . , posted on May 29, 2015 at 18:56:33
merlinus
Audiophile

Posts: 244
Location: Northern New Mexico
Joined: June 24, 2008
 Beethoven 3, 5, 9
Bruckner 8
Shostakovich 5

 

RE: WFMT Listeners' Top 10 Symphonies, posted on May 29, 2015 at 20:11:18
docw
Audiophile

Posts: 8115
Location: So. California
Joined: July 23, 2004
Contributor
  Since: November 29, 2004
 KUSC top 100 (recently posted)
http://www.kusc.org/Blog/kusc/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10671126

 

What? No Turangalila Symphony?!, posted on May 29, 2015 at 20:44:48
kuma
Audiophile

Posts: 10273
Location: IN
Joined: July 8, 2001
 Kidding.

My friend walked out on that one last week. :/

Surprised there is no Mozart on htat list as Chicagoans seem to love it. They sure seem to program a lots of Mozart.

 

Scriabin - the Nikola Tesla of classical music... . , posted on May 30, 2015 at 06:50:13
krisjan
Reviewer

Posts: 929
Joined: May 6, 2001
 I really like your list EXCEPT for the Scriabin. Try as I might, I don't "get" his music. He just seems to be a noodling crackpot. At least Tesla did some very fine work in addition to being a crackpot.

And, do you no longer have musical friends over? ;-)

 

RE: WFMT Listeners' Top 10 Symphonies, posted on May 30, 2015 at 09:48:45
andy evans
Audiophile

Posts: 4382
Joined: October 20, 2000
 In no order:

Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms, Symphony in 3 movements
Shostakovich - 5,6,10
Prokofiev - 5
Brahms - 2
Sibelius - 3,6
Debussy - Symphonic Sketches - La Mer

 

Musical Friends, posted on May 30, 2015 at 19:02:23
Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26465
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 Well, we have Jon Nakamatsu and his wife over at least once a year, but for some reason, we've never made these types of lists with them. Other than that, our current friends tend not to be particularly musical for some reason.

BTW, when I read your Scriabin/Tesla subject line, I thought you were going to say that they were both very innovative and didn't get the pay off they deserved in life! ;-)

As for Scriabin's Second Symphony, I just can't resist that "big tune" in the finale. Sure, some will call it corny, but I wish we had more corn like that. ;-)

 

Yeah, but if La Mer is a symphony. . . , posted on May 30, 2015 at 19:06:53
Chris from Lafayette
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Posts: 26465
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 . . . (and you could certainly argue that it is), could the Nocturnes for Orchestra be thought of as a symphony with a choral finale? ;-)

 

RE: Scriabin symphony no. 2, posted on May 30, 2015 at 19:22:13
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001

Any recommendations?

Listening to the above. New to me, know him mostly for his piano music, and that not very well.

Someone in Utah dumped a bunch of Lazar Berman LPs on the local used record store and I'll buy ANYTHING on vinyl if it's classical and just $2.95 a pop.

Lazar must have liked Scriabin, I guess.


First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

RE: Scriabin symphony no. 2, posted on May 30, 2015 at 23:54:42
Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26465
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 That Järvi recording you show is good. I've got Muti/Philadelphia and Sinaisky/BBC myself (free with BBC Music Magazine!). I don't think there's anything in hi-rez at this time.

 

Then I am the Dalai Lama, posted on June 1, 2015 at 10:16:40
John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7805
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000
 Sorry, could not resist.

john

 

RE: WFMT Listeners' Top 10 Symphonies, posted on June 1, 2015 at 15:24:18
rbolaw
 My top five ninth symphonies: Beethoven, Mahler, Schubert, Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams.
My top nine fifth symphonies: Beethoven, Mahler, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Nielsen, Schubert, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, Bruckner.

 

That's a nice (and creative) list. (nt), posted on June 1, 2015 at 15:50:00
krisjan
Reviewer

Posts: 929
Joined: May 6, 2001
 .

 

RE: WFMT Listeners' Top 10 Symphonies, posted on June 8, 2015 at 17:58:54
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37333
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
 1. Beethoven Nine
2. Mahler One
3. Brahms One
4. Dvorak New World
5. Berlioz Fantastique
6. Beethoven Seven
7. Tchaikovsky Five
8. Shosty Five
9. Mozart 40
10. Copland Three

 

RE: Then I am the Dalai Lama, posted on June 9, 2015 at 07:44:49
genungo
 Which species of Llama is that?

 

Great list..., posted on June 11, 2015 at 09:46:45
krisjan
Reviewer

Posts: 929
Joined: May 6, 2001
 ...BUT I am surprised with the Copland Three in your top ten. It would certainly be in my top 100 but with so many great symphonies out there I'm curious why you put it at number 10.

 

RE: Great list..., posted on June 17, 2015 at 10:50:12
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37333
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
 The Copland Three is not the most interpretation friendly work that I've heard..... This is why to some, it's nothing more than a showpiece. (I think Leonard Bernstein was most-responsible for this perception. It's sounds spectacular, but a butcher job in regard to capturing the soul of the work.) But when interpreted well, the depths of the music are IMO only topped by the best Beethoven, Brahms, or Tchaikovsky has to offer.

 

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