Recommend me some orchestral pieces

[RosaBonheur]

My husband has taken out a subscription to Berlin Phil concerts on the TV.

What are your favourite orchestral works?

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the choice!

Thanks!

What kind of things do you like? There's an awful lot to choose from!

If you're new at this, then you want to be looking at the popular composers, because there's a reason they're popular. You probably want to avoid the dismal pieces and those that are heavy on piano or a solo instrument as they won't come across at their best on TV.

I could advise some, but it's really a case of seeing what you like and going from there. I ended up loving opera as it's got singing, acting and an orchestra, so never a dull moment. But I got there starting with Mozart and Beethoven and Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi.

I'm not new to classical music, I just find myself listening to the same things a lot.

My recent playlist includes Saint-Saen's organ symphony, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Haydn's Nelson Mass, Mozart's Requiem, Cecile Chaminade's flute concertino, Copland's Appalachian Springs. I also really like early choral music like Thomas Tallis and Allegri's Miserere, but obviously that won't be on the Berlin Phil channel.

My taste is quite eclectic so it's difficult to say what I like, except that I like things with a decent tune, nothing too discordant. So really I just want to know what your favourites are so I can have a listen if I'm not already familiar with them.

That gives us somewhere to start.

I think you might enjoy some Dvořák, symphonies and tone poems. My personal favourites are the 7th, and the Water Goblin. The Serenade for Strings is also beautiful.

You could try some Bruckner perhaps. The Symphonies are wonderful, and I'm a huge fan of the Second Mass in E minor.

Tchaikovsky is another obvious choice. Rachmaninov, Nielsen, Mendelssohn. Maybe Debussy, Faure, Ravel. You might like the earlier symphonies by Sibelius, and the tone poems.

Other favourites of mine which might interest you include Respighi, de Falla, Walton, Elgar, Kodaly, not forgetting Mahler.

And for the earlier music, Corelli's Concerti Grosso are wonderful, as well as Handel's.

And I completely forgot Schubert and Schumann! Lovely symphonies, my favourite Schubert one being the 4th, and, indeed my favourite Schumann one is also the 4th! Schumann's Cello Concerto is also georgeous.

Finlandia by Sibelius, I love it. Rachmaninov piano concertos also symphony number 2. Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz

Any that you have liked so far?

Hi, sorry to jump on your thread as no recommendations just wanted to say thank you for so eloquently supporting the case re women being defined by marital status in my thread. I caught up on the thread tonight but could not respond as mumsnet closed it but wanted to say Bravo!

Hi @jumpingbean1810, nice to hear from you, I was annoyed that the thread closed because it was a very lively discussion!

Thanks for bumping this one as well, which had slipped down my watched threads so I didn't see @WaverOfSticks message. So far I've enjoyed the Schumann cello concerto and the Sibelius. We already listen to some of the other composers you mentioned but I've definitely added some more music to my playlist. Thank you!

Good to hear. The Schumann is so gorgeous!

And on the subject of Cello Concertos - the Dvořák is my absolute favourite.

Sublime.

Schubert's 5th symphony is my current favourite 🤩

The Lark Ascending - Vaughan Williams

Mozart’s Requiem is straight from the angels!

Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet

Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor: Act II

Kachaturian’s Gayane’s Adagio

Anything conducted by Von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti, Simon Rattle, Zuni’s Mehta, Daniel Barenboim… they are Berlin Philharmonic’s best, particularly Von Karajan.

SIR Simon Rattle, I should have written!

And Zubin Mehta! Not Zuni! 🤪 I will step away!
But just wanted to add: Yes! The Lark Ascending is heavenly. One of the most beautiful pieces of classical music ever written.

I echo Schubert. My favourite is his ninth symphony. You can’t go wrong with Mozart and one of my all-time favourite pieces is his Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola. I love his piano concertos, too. Schumann’s piano concerto. How about Berlioz? Obviously, he Symphonie Fantastique is his most famous work but I especially like his Harold in Italy, especially the second movement.

Funnily enough I studied Harold in Italy for Music A-level.

Often known as the World's longest Viola joke...

Also - search the net for cheap opera tickets, and get yourself to see a (popular) opera if you have never experienced the genre. Some Puccini, Verdi, Mozart... one of the real mainstream things. (The most exciting I ever went to was Cunning Little Vixen, because of the visuals.)

Which leads me to suggest for orchestral music you might like to listen to some Janacek - maybe Taras Bulba, to see if you like it. You might hate it, but worth a try. And if you want real melody, Borodin. And try a bit of Philip Glass to see if minimalism does anything for you.

*When I say 'cheap' I am going next week for £15 and they weren't the cheapest tickets

Saint Saens Carnival of the Animals is an absolute joy with Aquarium being my fave (I love the celesta)

Been listening to Tempo di Valse by Dvorak this week

Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov… or the Capriol Suite by Warlock…

Mars from holst planets suite.
Night on a bare mountain, mussorsky