Symphs - Periodic table of symphonies

6th September 2012

Periodic table of symphonies

What's the greatest symphony of each number? In other words, if you had to choose one symphony of each number for your music collection, or to put on your iPod, which would you choose? To avoid the major symphonists such as Beethoven, Mahler, and Sibelius from dominating the table we've added the requirement that each composer may only feature once.

Here is our list, together with recommended recordings of each symphony:

Brahms Symphony No. 1

Aware that he would be compared to Beethoven, Brahms spent 21 years over his first symphony, written between 1855 and 1876. It's a worthy successor to Beethoven, and is one of the most popular Brahms symphonies.

We recommend the recording with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

Other contenders are Shostakovich, Beethoven, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Kalinnikov, and Krenek. We've excluded named symphonies such as Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony or Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique because no one refers to these as their "Symphony No. 1".

Sibelius Symphony No. 2

Sibelius's seven symphonies put Finland on the musical map, and they are all performed regularly. His second symphony is probably the most popular and most frequently recorded of the seven. He composed it between 1900 and 1902, while Finland was part of the Russian empire, and the symphony has been called the "Symphony of Independence" because it was popularly seen as a statement of Finnish patriotism.

Although there are many good recordings we recommend the version by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä.

Other great second symphonies? Those by Borodin, Mahler, Brahms, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Elgar, and Beethoven.

Schumann Symphony No. 3

For number three we've chosen Robert Schumann's "Rhenish" Symphony No. 3, which he composed in 1850 after a happy trip to the Rhineland with his wife.

An excellent recording features the London Classical Players conducted by Roger Norrington.

Other notable third symphonies are those by Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, Honnegger, Camille Saint-Saens, Roy Harris, Sibelius, Aaron Copland, and Hugo Alfven.

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

Tchaikovsky wrote his fourth symphony between 1877 and 1878, and although it initially received critical reviews, it has now become one of his most popular works.

We recommend the recording with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Evgeny Mravinsky.

Other notable fourth symphonies are those by Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Beethoven, Neilsen, Sibelius, Bruckner, Shostakovich, and Vaughan Williams.

Prokofiev Symphony No. 5

Prokofiev's wrote his fifth symphony in one month in the summer of 1944, while living in Russia, and it has come to be considered as one of the greatest works of the 20th century.

The definitive recording is probably Karajan's 1968 recording with the Berlin Philharmonic.

There are many other great fifth symphonies, including of course Beethoven's which starts with probably the most famous sequence of four notes in the history of music. Also Nielsen, Shostakovich, Bruckner, Mahler, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Silvestrov, and Kancheli.^[1]

Beethoven Symphony No. 6

Beethoven's most popular symphonies are probably numbers 5, 6, and 9. We've chosen number 6, the Pastoral Symphony.

There are many good recordings of this work; we've chosen the version by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Otto Klemperer.

Other great sixths: Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Vaughan Williams, Shostakovich, Nielsen, Prokofiev, Dvorak, and Martinu.

Dvorak Symphony No. 7

Dvorak's last three symphonies are considered his greatest, with the 7th composed in 1885 being outstanding.

Our recommended recording is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.

Seven is definitely a lucky number for symphonies, and Prokofiev, Sibelius, Beethoven, Mahler, Bruckner, and Shostakovich all composed outstanding sevenths. Also recommended are the sevenths by Pettersson, Henze, and Vaughan Williams; his Sinfonia Antartica.

Bruckner Symphony No. 8

Bruckner's eight and final symphony was composed between 1884 and 1890, and was premiered in 1892. It is generally considered to be Bruckner's greatest work.

We recommend the outstanding live recording by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez.

There are also great eighths by Schubert, Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, and Dvorak.

Mahler Symphony No. 9

Mahler's ninth was the last complete symphony he composed. Written between 1909 and 1910, he died in 1911 without hearing it performed.

There are many great recordings, but our recommendation is the live recording by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.

Another great ninth is Beethoven's choral symphony, which many consider to be the greatest piece of Western classical music. There are also contenders by Dvorak, Schubert, Bruckner, Pettersson, Schuman, and Henze.

Shostakovich Symphony No. 10

Shostakovich is probably the greatest 20th century composer of symphonies, and his tenth is generally considered to be his greatest symphony, possible alongside his fifth. It was completed after the death of Stalin in 1953, which gave Shostakovich the freedom to compose without censorship.^[2]

For the recording we've chosen the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan.

Other great tenth symphonies: Mahler's unfinished symphony.

Pettersson Symphony No. 11

Allan Pettersson is an underrated Swedish composer, considered to be the greatest Swedish composer of the 20th century. His 11th symphony, composed between 1971 and 1973, is very accessible and generally regarded to be his greatest work.

Try the version performed by the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam.

Other contenders: Shostakovich and Robert Simpson.

Aho Symphony No. 12

Aho's Symphony No. 12, subtitled "Luosto", was composed to be performed at the foot of the slopes of the Luosto mountain in Finland. It begins with primal drumming and ends with a violent storm.

The only version currently available is by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Lapland Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Storgards.

Other contenders: Shostakovich.

Conclusion

The twelve symphonies we've chosen would make an outstanding playlist. They include some of the greatest works in classical music, and nearly all the great symphonists; the only ones that didn't fit in are Schubert, Mozart, and Haydn.

^ For a lively discussion of the best fifths see 10 Best: Symphonies no. 5.
^ For an excellent review of Shostakovich's symphonies see The Shostakovich Symphonies.

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