Some personal favourites:
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - Variations sérieuses, Op. 54 – Bertrand ChamayouFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - Symphony No. 3 in A minor, ‘Scottish’, Op. 56 – Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio AbbadoFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 – Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Carolin WidmannFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80 – Minguet QuartettFranz Berwald - Symphony No. 3 in C major, ‘singulière’ – Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Sixten EhrlingFrédéric Chopin - Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 – Krystian ZimermanFrédéric Chopin - Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 – Piotr AnderszewskiFrédéric Chopin - Berceuse in D-flat major, Op. 57 – Stephen HoughFrédéric Chopin - Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 – Marc-André HamelinFrédéric Chopin - Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op. 60 – Dinu LipattiFrédéric Chopin - Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61 – Rafał BlechaczFrédéric Chopin - Two Nocturnes, Op. 62 - Ivan MoravecFrédéric Chopin - Three Mazurkas, Op. 63 – Maria João PiresFrédéric Chopin - Three Waltzes, Op. 64 – Dinu LipattiHector Berlioz - Les nuits d’été, Op. 7 – Bernarda Fink, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Kent NaganoRobert Schumann - Liederkreis, Op. 24 – Gerald Finley, Julius DrakeRobert Schumann - String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 41/1 – Zehetmair QuartettRobert Schumann - Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44 – Jerusalem Quartet, Alexander MelnikovRobert Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 – Leif Ove Andsnes, Berliner Philharmoniker, Mariss JansonsRobert Schumann - Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 – WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Heinz Holliger
― pomenitul, Thursday, 28 November 2019 17:10 (four years ago) link
i do definitely like berwald's third; i'm still pretty light on the actual classics (having come into them backwards) so that's the only one that jumps out at me. i know (and dislike) wagner from the "bleeding chunks", those names are all familiar to me, but i can't tell a fantasie from a ballade from a berceuse from a barcarolle
i'm sure i've heard hungrian rhapsody #2 but i can't remember it. anyway i'm listening to the sixth string quartet, apparently again, and i'm liking it more than i must have done the last time.
it's a really good education going through these by decade; i tend to get 19th century art all mixed up, not knowing who was a contemporary of whom. waiting for the russians to show up (no glinka you don't fucking count, fuck off)
― Agnes Motörhead (rushomancy), Thursday, 28 November 2019 20:23 (four years ago) link
It's a learning experience for me as well. My sense of chronology is all too fuzzy otherwise and doesn't really go beyond 'early/mid/late 19th' at best. It's also much more instructive to focus on works instead of composers, who often span several eras at once (for instance, Saint-Saëns was born in 1835 and died in 1921!).
― pomenitul, Thursday, 28 November 2019 20:39 (four years ago) link
Speaking of fuzzy chronology I don't think I realised Wagner had delivered even this much before the middle of the century. I dig most of the bleeding chunks quite a bit, but have absorbed little of the operas otherwise. Which no doubt makes me a disgusting savage.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Friday, 29 November 2019 09:47 (four years ago) link
I've only heard a handful of these but I have Simon Rattle conducting Schumann's symphonies on Bluray and the first is great, so that one, just over Tannhauser.
― Tom Violence (Extended Club Mix) (Tom Violence), Friday, 29 November 2019 21:40 (four years ago) link
Franz Liszt - Années de pèlerinage, 2ème année – Italie (1837-1849)
Voted for this, on impulse.
― No language just sound (Sund4r), Tuesday, 3 December 2019 21:42 (four years ago) link
My vote is going to Liszt as well, but the Reminiscences- as the most mold-breaking and boundary bending of the choices here, and as representative of Liszt’s mighty solo piano operatic fantasies in general. As close to recorded jazz as you could get in the mid 19c.
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Tuesday, 3 December 2019 22:19 (four years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Wednesday, 4 December 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link
Heroic polonaise for me.
― jacquees, full of cobras (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 4 December 2019 01:33 (four years ago) link
As much as I love early-middle period Liszt, I'm saving my vote for the late works. Well, except for the upcoming Piano Sonata, perhaps.
As expected, I'm going with Mendelssohn's heartbreaking 6th String Quartet.
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 4 December 2019 08:31 (four years ago) link
Thank you for highlighting that piece btw, I have listened to it before but not closely enough apparently. It is great. Also got ahold of the Farrenc 3rd because of your advocacy and its excellent - can certainly hold its own in this company. So thanks for that as well.
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, 4 December 2019 12:11 (four years ago) link
My pleasure! And thanks for your excellent recommendations throughout!
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 4 December 2019 12:12 (four years ago) link
Schumann's Piano Quintet, easily my favorite thing of his in sonata form (or whatever you call it).
― punning display, Wednesday, 4 December 2019 22:59 (four years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Thursday, 5 December 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link
I voted for that Alkan, but mostly for being the Piece By A Composer I Only Vaguely Knew Beforehand That I Found Myself Coming Back To Most Frequently.
The music in these threads has utterly dominated my listening over the last month or so. I seem to be noting recommended recordings then falling silent in each thread, but I am *really* digging this exercise. (Perhaps this era especially as I'm so 20th-century-centric.) Thanks pomenitul!
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Thursday, 5 December 2019 01:30 (four years ago) link
17 pieces got a vote! V interesting.
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 5 December 2019 02:13 (four years ago) link
My pleasure, Nag!
I'm glad Les quatre âges got a couple of votes, it's an incredible piece and it really stands out within its era. And the lack of consensus is a sight to behold.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 5 December 2019 08:18 (four years ago) link
Yeah, thanks pom. This was a great idea, and the execution has been great too. Just great work!
― Frederik B, Thursday, 5 December 2019 09:51 (four years ago) link
:)
It'll no doubt be a more fragmentary exercice post-1960s but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 5 December 2019 10:36 (four years ago) link