Your ten unusual symphonic choices (post 1916)

[Jo498]

But i am confused about the word 'unusual' as a descriptor and the number '1916' which seems rather arbitrary.

I am really puzzled about 1916... The list from the magazine mentioned in the OP had one from 1903 and 1916 seems truly arbitrary (I could understand 1911 as "after Mahler").

[amw]

The current year is 2016 so I guess it's meant to be an "in the last 100 years" thing.

[vandermolen]

Many fine works here, a  few I don't know - and a few I have heard but don't remember. I have always been pathologically unable to make rankings like these. But I like Stenhammers 2nd better than the first, and would definitely throw in Grace Williams no 2 and some Sallinen (but which, decisions, decisions) and Rosenberg (but which, decisions, decisions). And Nørgård deserves a spot, his no 3 is my favorite of those I have heard. Rautavaara no 7 perhaps? Groven's from the Mountains, Schmitt (I've always liked no 2). My favorite of Myaskovskis's have always been no 22, strangely enough. And the Erland von Koch symphonies on a recent BIS release struch me as definitely very wortwhile.

Not to say these deserves a premier spot to some you have mentioned, but now I have made a kind of list of some interesting stuff worth a mention.

Thank you. I was also surprised that Stenhammar's More conventional (IMHO) First Symphony was chosen rather than the magnificent Second Symphony. I have Norgard's No.3 and it has been recommended so often that I must listen to it again. I have been playing Rautavaara's 8th Symphony 'The Journey' following his recent death. I like the Naxos recording very much but No.7 is great too.very much agree about Von Koch - that was a fine BIS disc. I should have chosen a Rosenberg symphony - No 3 and No 2 have wonderfully inspiriting endings and I wouldn't be without those. We also agree on Grace Williams's Symphony 2 which should have been included in the BBC Music Magazine's 'So Where Next?' section of further suggested listening after their survey of recordings of Vaughan Williams's 4th Symphony. Her symphony is very much in the spirit of that of her teacher. Instead they choose Walton's Symphony 1, Rubbra's Symphony 1, Bax Symphony 6, Vaughan Williams's own Symphony 6, Malcolm Arnold's Symphony 5 and Elizabeth Maconchy's Symphony for Double String Orchestra. I like Miaskovsky's Symphony 22 as well and it was my first Miaskovsky symphony purchase on an old Melodiya/EMI LP. Must listen to more Groven - I have at least one CD somewhere.

[vandermolen]

Gloria Coates' Symphony No.14

Another one I must investigate. I'm sure that I was very impressed by a string quartet of hers that I heard on the radio.

[vandermolen]

I am really puzzled about 1916... The list from the magazine mentioned in the OP had one from 1903 and 1916 seems truly arbitrary (I could understand 1911 as "after Mahler").

Andre suggested 1916 as 100 years ago - it didn't come from the BBC article which included some earlier works. Apologies for confusion.

[some guy]

Perhaps there's a whole menagerie in the room. Wouldn't surprise me a bit. But the elephant I was referring to was the "we only seem able to do the odd 5 or 7 threads over and over and over again" pachyderm, not anything about the particular value of this particular thread, vandermolen.

And of course, on can always choose to attend the party or not. One's ability to do so has nothing to do with either the concurrent attendence of large mammals or with the noticing of same.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

If you stick around here long enough, you're bound to see a few retreads (rethreads).

[The new erato]

If you stick around here long enough, you're bound to see a few retreads (rethreads).

Misprint for retards?

[vandermolen]

Perhaps there's a whole menagerie in the room. Wouldn't surprise me a bit. But the elephant I was referring to was the "we only seem able to do the odd 5 or 7 threads over and over and over again" pachyderm, not anything about the particular value of this particular thread, vandermolen.

And of course, on can always choose to attend the party or not. One's ability to do so has nothing to do with either the concurrent attendence of large mammals or with the noticing of same.

Thank you - I misunderstood, especially as I do sometimes, believe it or not, repeat threads or say the same thing over and over again which I'm sure can be annoying (just ask my wife and daughter!) 

The BBC Mag. Had ten 'unusual' choices. I always tend to choose 6 as that was the number of LPs I could take out the High Street Kensington Record Library (after I got my dad to join too). I was always having to make these big decisions about which six LPs to borrow (I know that this is another time-warp comment from me by the way) 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Misprint for retards?

That's autocorrect for you.

[mc ukrneal]

Never having heard Norgard, I thought what the heck - I'll give it a try. Well, I misread the thread initially and chose Symphony #3. This went on for about 10 minutes before I just couldn't keep going and came to report here. I saw that I had listened to the wrong one, which was a relief, because I thought - I've missed the good one and listened to an early work or something. So now I am listening to #8 and it sounds just like #3. Would it have killed the guy to use a melody now and again? Not for me....

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Never having heard Norgard, I thought what the heck - I'll give it a try. Well, I misread the thread initially and chose Symphony #3. This went on for about 10 minutes before I just couldn't keep going and came to report here. I saw that I had listened to the wrong one, which was a relief, because I thought - I've missed the good one and listened to an early work or something. So now I am listening to #8 and it sounds just like #3. Would it have killed the guy to use a melody now and again? Not for me....

Um.

His whole compositional technique is derived from the notion of infinite melody...i believe..........

[vandermolen]

Never having heard Norgard, I thought what the heck - I'll give it a try. Well, I misread the thread initially and chose Symphony #3. This went on for about 10 minutes before I just couldn't keep going and came to report here. I saw that I had listened to the wrong one, which was a relief, because I thought - I've missed the good one and listened to an early work or something. So now I am listening to #8 and it sounds just like #3. Would it have killed the guy to use a melody now and again? Not for me....

Try No.1 which is my favourite of those I have heard and the most approachable I think.

[some guy]

Well, vandermolen, I was abashed that I had written things in such a way as to give a false impression.

We all repeat ourselves from time to time. But that's different from only doing one thread ("what is your favorite...") in various guises forum-wide, by everyone who posts.

Anyway, if I were to guess about symphonies that most people would not know about, I would think that Z'ev's 2nd symphony, Dhomont's Frankenstein symphony, Terterian's 8th (and 7th, for that matter), and maybe Farquhar's 2nd would be on the list.

But if I were to say that, I would be repeating myself, which we all do from time to time....

[amw]

The BBC Music picks were one per conductor presumably, so maybe we should do something like that here, where everyone names 1 symphony or something

Right now I'm listening to Glenn Branca's Symphony No. 3 so I'll pick that one

[Sergeant Rock]

Havergal Brian Symphony No.5 "Wine of Summer" (choosing the Gothic would have been too obvious  )
George Lloyd Symphony No.7
Malcolm Arnold Symphony No.5
John Veale Symphony No.2 D minor
Richard Wetz Symphony No.1 C minor (channeling Bruckner)
Rautavaara Symphony No.3 (channeling Bruckner)
Ruth Gipps Symphony No.2
Bernard Herrmann Symphony
Erich Korngold Symphony F sharp major
Siegfried Wagner Symphony C major

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

The BBC Music picks were one per conductor presumably, so maybe we should do something like that here, where everyone names 1 symphony or something

Right now I'm listening to Glenn Branca's Symphony No. 3 so I'll pick that one

Maybe in the middle of the night of a full moon....maybe our brains actually turn into ten tiny conductors who crawl out of our ears and conduct obscure symphonies performed by an orchestra of bugs and insects before crawling back inside of our heads as we begin to wake up. Maybe these strange urges to listen to obscure symphonies and list 10 of them in one go are actually the voices of our tiny conductors inside of our heads screaming for our attention so they can recommend some bizarre obscure shit or something.

But maybe not.

Who knows really.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Spooky.

[cilgwyn]

Havergal Brian Symphony No 3
Melartin Symphony No 4
Korngold Symphony in F sharp major
Khatchaturian Symphony No 2
Roussel Symphony No 3
Honegger Symphony No 4
Martinu Symphony No 3
Piston Symphony No 2
Antheil Symphony No 6
Franz Schmidt Symphony No 3

[Maestro267]

Reading this thread makes me all too aware, despite making inroads to the lesser trodden paths of the symphonic literature, of how far I still have to go.

William Alwyn - Symphony No. 2
George Lloyd - Symphony No. 7
Havergal Brian - Symphony No. 9
Krzysztof Penderecki - Symphony No. 5
William Mathias - Symphony No. 2 ("Summer Music")
Witold Lutoslawski - Symphony No. 4
Daniel Jones - Symphony No. 6

Omitted 3 until I can confirm that they are post-1916, a qualifier I've only just made myself aware of.