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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
Before you complain about this thread, I think it's a valid question to ask. About a year ago I had a conversation with an older man who was very familiar with the repertoire. I asked him what his favorite concertos were and he replied with "the ones that I still listen to anymore are..." and proceeded to list them. Clearly, certain pieces have profound lasting power with certain people. This is a very subjective question, so list your personal top ten list of greatest works. Any kind of work, any time period.
Mozart - Requiem Brahms - Requiem (particularly How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place) Bach - B minor Mass Verdi - Requiem Brahms - Academic Festival Overture Schumann - Piano Concerto Schubert - Wanderer Fantasy Beethoven- Symphony No. 5 Bizet - Carmen Chopin - Ballade No. 4
Runners up... Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 Puccini - La Boheme Schumann - Toccata Opus 7 Schumann - Novelletten Opus 21 Mozart - Symphony No. 41
I'll bite too. So this is a sort of Desert Island list? List the pieces you could least bear to be without on a desert island? That’s a bit easier than “greatestâ€.
Today’s list (tomorrow’s may be slightly different), in no particular order:
[1] Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde [2] Bach: St Matthew Passion [3] R.Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier [4] Faure: La Bonne Chanson [5] Schubert: Winterreise [6] Berg: Violin Concerto [7] Brahms: Alto Rhapsody [8] Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin [9] Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress [10] George Butterworth: Songs of a Shropshire Lad
As per some of what was discussed on the other thread, I'm gonna do separate "greatest" and "favorite" lists. I try to distinguish although it's impossible to do it anywhere near completely, among other reasons because there's no way to talk about "greatness" without involving one's preferences.
Greatest
1. Gotta be something by Bach.....let's see....dunno....I'll say: Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in C major (organ, with piano arrangement by Busoni) This isn't really a real pick of that piece, just picking what piece of Bach I can think of for this. It has to be something by Bach. I almost said 6th Brandenburg Concerto. Or "The Well Tempered Clavier."
2. Beethoven 9th Symphony 3. Brahms Requiem 4. Beethoven 5th Symphony
BTW, just decided on this "rule" (for me): No composer gets more than 2 mentions.
5. Handel Messiah 6. Chopin Sonata in B minor 7. Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola 8. Bach Brandenburg Concerto #6 9. Scriabin Sonata #9
So, just one more spot. Let's see, what's missing..... Lots of stuff. I don't know operas well enough (nor love them enough), nor Mahler and Bruckner, nor lots of other stuff.
In fact I'm going to leave off #10 completely, as an emphasis that there's just too much "I don't know" for me to attempt a complete list.
Favorite
1. Chopin Sonata in B minor 2. Chopin Polonaise in F# Minor 3. Schubert "little" Sonata in A major, D. 664 4. Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola 5. Brahms Requiem 6. Chopin A-flat Polonaise (Op. 53) 7. Bach Brandenburg Concerto #5 8. Mozart Sonata in D major for 2 pianos, K. 448 9. Scriabin Sonata #9 10. Chopin Etude in A minor, Op. 25/11
BTW: It's coincidence that Scriabin "#9" is "9th" on either list (not to mention on both).
Overcoming my restraint about completing the "Greatests" list...
Originally Posted by Mark_C
1. Gotta be something by Bach.....let's see....dunno....I'll say: Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in C major (organ, with piano arrangement by Busoni) This isn't really a real pick of that piece, just picking what piece of Bach I can think of for this. It has to be something by Bach. I almost said 6th Brandenburg Concerto. Or "The Well Tempered Clavier."
2. Beethoven 9th Symphony 3. Brahms Requiem 4. Beethoven 5th Symphony
BTW, just decided on this "rule" (for me): No composer gets more than 2 mentions.
5. Handel Messiah 6. Chopin Sonata in B minor 7. Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola 8. Bach Brandenburg Concerto #6 9. Scriabin Sonata #9
....I'm going to leave off #10 completely, as an emphasis that there's just too much "I don't know" for me to attempt a complete list.
What, no Schubert?? That won't do.
Adding: Schubert Trio (piano, violin, cello) in E-flat major, D. 929 (usu. called Op. 100)
I'm putting that as #7; #'s 8 and 9 get bumped down one.
I love Schubert so much that my list could easily run the risk of almost only consisting of his music...
Here are what I consider top 10 greatest pieces
1. Beethoven String quartet in A minor Op 132 2. Schubert String quintet D 956 3. Bach St Matthew Passion 4. Schubert Winterreise 5. Beethoven String quartet in C sharp minor Op 130 6. Mozart Requiem 7. Bach Goldberg variations 8. Schubert Piano sonata D 960 9. Beethoven Piano sonata Op 111 10. Chopin Barcarolle Op 60
Runners up Schubert Trout quintet in A major D 667 Schubert Piano trio in E flat major D 929 Schubert Die Schöne Müllerin Schubert String quartet Death and the Maiden Beethoven Piano Sonata Op 109 Beethoven String quartet in B flat major Op 130 Beethoven Symphony 9 Mozart Piano Concerto in C minor K 491 Mozart Don Giovanni Chopin Ballade 4 Op 52 Bach WTC Bk 1 and 2 Bach Mass in B minor
Funny thing: Without seeing Jorleyy's post -- before seeing it -- I was coming back here to put that C# minor Beethoven quartet on my list. (Following extensive internal consultation I realized I needed to run back and put it on there.) BTW it's actually Op. 131.
Great seeing all that vocal and chamber music on your lists! And isn't it so: the more we see other people's lists,. we're thinking "how could I have left out [so-and-so]." But I was adding that Beethoven before seeing that anyone had mentioned it. The Chopin Barcarolle is my favorite piece in the world. It just wasn't one of my favorite pieces at the exact moment that I did my lists.
Revised list: ("final" -- until I change it again)
1. Bach Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in C major 2. Beethoven 9th Symphony 3. Brahms Requiem 4. Beethoven String Quartet in C# minor, Op. 131 5. Handel Messiah 6. Chopin Sonata in B minor 7. Schubert Trio in E-flat major, D. 929/Op.100 8. Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola 9. Bach Brandenburg Concerto #6 10. Scriabin Sonata #9
Beethoven Symphony No.9 Beethoven Diabelli Variations Bach Art of Fugue Bach Well Tempered Clavier Beethoven Missa Solemnis Mozart Piano Concerto in C Minor Beethoven Piano Concerto No 4 Schumann Fantasie op.17. Mozart Symphony no. 41. Schubert Sonata in B flat, D. 960.
An impossible task...even for just piano pieces. I might try again after I have finished my quest to know every piece of classical piano literature ever published...
All I can say that my list would be very different. I would certainly include Shosty's P&F nr. 24, Chopin Barcarolle, Francks prelude, fugue and variations and prelude, choral and fugue, a couple of the best Scarlatti sonatas and Scriabin's best works. Those just never get old...but the list would soon expand beyond 10 anyway.
Revised list: ("final" -- until I change it again)
Glad I added that -- because I have to change it already (about half an hour later).
I made a mistake on the # of the Brandenburg Concerto. I went to listen to it -- and saw that it's the wrong one. I don't mean it stinks or anything .....just that it's not the one I meant. (#4, not #6; for years I've been thinking it's #6)
1. Bach Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in C major 2. Beethoven 9th Symphony 3. Brahms Requiem 4. Beethoven String Quartet in C# minor, Op. 131 5. Handel Messiah 6. Chopin Sonata in B minor 7. Schubert Trio in E-flat major, D. 929/Op.100 8. Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola 9. Bach Brandenburg Concerto #4 10. Scriabin Sonata #9
In the interest of fairness (something I'm renowned for ), I made some ground rules: no composer shall have more than one work represented, and I'm going to list them in roughly chronological order, because I don't want a "Top of the Pops" format, because (obviously) they aren't pop, therefore they're all equally good. therefore there's no clear winner, because there isn't any, and I hope that's all as clear as mud.
In no particular order except chronological order:
1) Bach: Matthäus-Passion 2) Handel: Messiah 3) Haydn: The Creation 4) Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro 5) Beethoven: Symphony No.9 6) Schubert: Winterreise 7) Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem 8) Wagner: Parsifal 9) Schoenberg: Gurrelieder 10) Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps
P.S. These are what I consider to be the 10 greatest pieces in all Western music. They aren't necessarily my 10 favourite pieces .
Dunno, will think about it. However, I notice a number of Requiems here and the only one I actually listen to regularly is that by Maurice Durufle. It may or may not make my 'hit list' - but on the off chance that others here are unaware of it I include a link. No apologies ;), I 'discovered' it on a cassette, whose cover picture I liked (oh dear, but I used to paint a lot at the time so that's my excuse) at Peterborough Cathedral many years ago and have loved it ever since. It comes in a number of versions, but we won't go into that...
to me it is the embodiment of church music as I understand it.
Dunno, will think about it. However, I notice a number of Requiems here and the only one I actually listen to regularly is that by Maurice Durufle. It may or may not make my 'hit list' - but on the off chance that others here are unaware of it I include a link. to me it is the embodiment of church music as I understand it.
However, it has to be said that the English collegiate choral sound with pure-toned trebles was probably not what French composers had in mind , though that was what I loved.......
), I made some ground rules: no composer shall have more than one work represented, and I'm going to list them in roughly chronological order, because I don't want a "Top of the Pops" format, because (obviously) they aren't pop, therefore they're all equally good. 
therefore there's no clear winner, because there isn't any, and I hope that's all as clear as mud.