I was inspired by Horse Opera's overture thread to write this one. What are the ten greatest symphonies in order? (Yes, I know it's silly to rank them since it's all subjective but it is interesting to think about anyway.) My ranking would be:
1 Beethoven 3rd
The most inspired symphony of Beethoven, which avoids the intellectualism of the 5th without sacrificing any of the perfection of form. It was written when his concepts of what to do with (and to) the symphony were in earliest and most vigorous bloom.
2 Beethoven 5th
The blueprint for the majority of symphonies that came afterwards: romantic and modern (!)
3 Beethoven 9th
The formal and developmental ideas in this completely burst the boundaries of symphonic form for the first time in history
(People would tend to argue with this order but I think it's accurate)
4 Mahler 2nd
Unlike Mahler's other symphonies, this is a huge scale work with no weak ideas mixed in with the great ones - it is near perfection from beginning to end and on a scale beyond normal human capacity
5 Tchaikovsky 6th
Absolute mastery of all technical aspects of composition combined with blistering emotion
6 Brahms 2nd
Brahms's "classical-romantic" control of form along with very powerful melodic/thematic ideas and what is maybe the most exciting finale ever written
7 Bruckner 7th
Bruckner has to be in this list since he is a cornerstone of the symphony, but it is hard to pick which one because his style is extremely consistent. This is his most famous, though his unfinished 9th - writen when he was 90 - may be his greatest.
8 Vaughn Williams 4th
The only modern symphonist in the same league as the great masters of the past, and this was his most daring, tonally experimental work
9 Schubert 9th
The only composer to write in an idiom close to Beethoven and match his genius. The "Unfinished" is equally great but obviously shorter...
.....10 ?
For some reason I am stuck on the tenth. It is hard to think of anything that even comes close to these, except other works by the same composers. Some possibilities:
Borodin 2nd
The soul of Russia distilled into a symphony that has a remarkable clarity of form combined with strong emotion - not an easy thing to accomplish.
Schumann 3rd
Some people can't stand Schumann but I am a fan and this is his most successful foray into symphonic form.
I include no Mozart of Haydn because - to continue the heresy started on another thread - I do not consider them anywhere near the level of protean, superhuman creation found in the above works. They worked within established forms writing symphonies like any other compositions except for merely formal distinctions, but the masters above created new forms and established the symphony as the highest and widest-ranging expression in all of music.
1 Beethoven 3rd
The most inspired symphony of Beethoven, which avoids the intellectualism of the 5th without sacrificing any of the perfection of form. It was written when his concepts of what to do with (and to) the symphony were in earliest and most vigorous bloom.
2 Beethoven 5th
The blueprint for the majority of symphonies that came afterwards: romantic and modern (!)
3 Beethoven 9th
The formal and developmental ideas in this completely burst the boundaries of symphonic form for the first time in history
(People would tend to argue with this order but I think it's accurate)
4 Mahler 2nd
Unlike Mahler's other symphonies, this is a huge scale work with no weak ideas mixed in with the great ones - it is near perfection from beginning to end and on a scale beyond normal human capacity
5 Tchaikovsky 6th
Absolute mastery of all technical aspects of composition combined with blistering emotion
6 Brahms 2nd
Brahms's "classical-romantic" control of form along with very powerful melodic/thematic ideas and what is maybe the most exciting finale ever written
7 Bruckner 7th
Bruckner has to be in this list since he is a cornerstone of the symphony, but it is hard to pick which one because his style is extremely consistent. This is his most famous, though his unfinished 9th - writen when he was 90 - may be his greatest.
8 Vaughn Williams 4th
The only modern symphonist in the same league as the great masters of the past, and this was his most daring, tonally experimental work
9 Schubert 9th
The only composer to write in an idiom close to Beethoven and match his genius. The "Unfinished" is equally great but obviously shorter...
.....10 ?
For some reason I am stuck on the tenth. It is hard to think of anything that even comes close to these, except other works by the same composers. Some possibilities:
Borodin 2nd
The soul of Russia distilled into a symphony that has a remarkable clarity of form combined with strong emotion - not an easy thing to accomplish.
Schumann 3rd
Some people can't stand Schumann but I am a fan and this is his most successful foray into symphonic form.
I include no Mozart of Haydn because - to continue the heresy started on another thread - I do not consider them anywhere near the level of protean, superhuman creation found in the above works. They worked within established forms writing symphonies like any other compositions except for merely formal distinctions, but the masters above created new forms and established the symphony as the highest and widest-ranging expression in all of music.