Top 10 concerti

Come on then, we dragged through it for the symphonies, you can do it once more. And no cheating with 50 works in your top-ten list - you know who you are.

To get you started, here are the correct answers...

1) Brahms Double (violin and cello)
2) Brahms Violin
3) Bach Double Violin
4) Sibelius (violin)
5) Rachmaninov 3rd (piano)
6) Brahms 1st Piano
7) Rachmaninov 2nd (piano)
8) Dvorak Cello
9) Elgar Cello
10) Tchaikovsky Violin

Edited to add: oops, forgot the Tchaikovsky - bye bye Bartok's 1st Piano

 

Hey top 10's are fun. Maybe we can stil get Channel 4 interested.

1. Ravel Piano Concerto (the two handed one)
2. Walton Cello Concerto
3. Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto
4. Brahms Double Concerto
5. Prokofiev 1st Violin Concerto
6. Dvorak Cello Concerto
7. Shostakovich 2nd Cello Concerto
8. Shostakovich 1st Violin Concerto
9. Miakovsky Cello Concerto
10. Grieg Piano Concerto
11. Rachmaninov 4th Piano concerto

 

Whoa! Rach 4 and none of the others? Left-field choice that

1. Rachmaninov 3rd Piano
2. Sibelius Violin
3. Rachmaninov 2nd Piano
4. Brahms 2nd Piano
5. Elgar Cello
6. Grieg Piano
7. Beethoven 5th Piano (Emperor)
8. Dvorak Cello
9. Tippett Piano
10. Hummel Trumpet

Michael.

 

I couldn't even start to put mine in order, but what I like best I have listed below. I am assuming that baroque-type concerti grossi are allowed. So, I would start off with

Bach: the Brandenburg Concertos - without which no collection should be.
Handel: the Concerti Grossi - right up there with the Brandenburgs

and then, more classically

Violin - Beethoven, the Mozarts, Brahms, Sibelius
Viola - Telemann
Piano - 5xBeethoven, 2xBrahms, some of Mozart's (e.g. 21)
Trumpet - naturally the two great classics (Haydn and Hummel), plus Vivaldi double, Telemann, Hertel and Maurice André's astounding Tartini transcription with Nev and the ASMF
Flute - Mozart No.2
Cello - Dvorak
Clarinet - Weberx2 (or is it 3? Anyway, great CD by Sabine Meyer)
Horn - Mozart No.4, R. Strauss

That'll do for now!

 

I find I prefer all of Rachmaninov's later works, the ones he composed after he settled in the USA. The earlier ones are just too floridly melancholic and 'nice' for me, whereas the later works have snap and grit. The absolute masterpiece is Symphonic Dances, which ought to qualify under top ten symphonies.
That said, The Isle of the Dead (early work) would definitely be near top of my symphonic poem charts!

maybe we can have that thread next week.

 

I'm with you on much of the above, even though I must admit to preferring the 2nd and 3rd concerti to the 4th overall. The Symphonic Dances are awesome, ditto Isle of the Dead For me the 4th concerto has an absolutely storming first movement but then is relatively disappointing after that.

Aaargh, just realised I completely forgot the Ravel Left Hand Piano Concerto in my chart - stick that in at about number 5 and shuffle everything below down one...

 

Ditto all of that for me . Re. Rachmaninov's later stuff, I'm generally less keen on it. "The Bells" for example I find extremely dull. Ditto for all his religous stuff.

Michael.

 

Surely not the marvellous Vespers?

 

Fraid so tones . I haven't heard it for a long time but it never really grabbed me.

Michael.

 

and

Plagiarist!!!!! (although glad you got the Telemann in there - about the only concerto I could ever - or will ever - be able to play, although I have had several goes at murdering "Harold in Italy", even if that's officially a symphony)

Mine go roughly like this (top three having lapped the rest of the field easily - rest of the leader board subject to the odd radical overtaking manoeuvre):
1: Sibelius: Violin
2: Brahms: Piano #1
3: Poulenc: Organ
4: Ravel: Piano in D minor (left hand)
5: Elgar: Cello
6: Beethoven: Piano #4
7: Rachmaninov #2 (although I admit 3 is better)
8: Prokofiev: Piano #1
9: Bach: Brandenburg #3
10: Bartok: for Orchestra ( )

Brahms #2 got pushed off the list when I remembered the Elgar - and poor old Dvorak would have got in there instead of Elgar when I wer bu'a lad. Shame the Nielsen Violin doesn't quite make it either. Various Vivaldi (probably "Summer") would be bubbling under too, along with Bartok Pno 3.

Can't stand any of the Mozart Violin, Horn, Clarinet, Flute and Harp (or pretty much any Flute for that matter), and the Strauss Horn and Oboe concerti are about the only major works by him that don't really do it for me either.

Very glad to see Tchaik Pno 1 - null points, and similarly (although slightly less gleefully) with his Vln after the recount. And no-one went for the Mendelssohn Vln!!!

 

Lets have a go then

In no particular order that's just too hard

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Saint-Saens Piano Concerto in G minor
Shostokovitch 2nd Piano Concerto
Beethoven 4th Piano Concerto
Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto
Elgars Cello Concerto in the Tertis arrangement for Viola
Kabalevsky Piano Concerto
Barber Violin Concerto
Khachaturan Violin concerto
Martinu Concerto-Rhapsody for Viola.

 

:yikes: :yikes: :yikes:

The Bells dull?! Do you have a pulse? I mean, seriously, the Scherzo in particular is pretty much exactly the polar opposite of "dull".

Personally, I take the most schadenfreude at the expense of perennial Classic FM favourite the Bruch No. 1. And Graham, I should have mentioned you're allowed to count the Rococo Variations as a concerto

Glad to see the general standard of concerto taste is extremely high on here, although I note that both the Prokofiev piano concerto choices so far have missed No. 2 which is clearly the best by miles.

 

1. Rachmaninov - Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini
2. Rachmaninov - Piano 2
3. Grieg - Piano
4. Beethoven - Piano 4 (surprised this appears to be more popular than #5 here )
5. Beethveon - Piano 5
6. Beethoven - Piano 1
7. Elgar - Cello
8. Beethoven - Violin
9. Handel - Organ #4 in F
10. Bach - Brandenbergs 5 & 2 (sorry I just had to cheat somewhere along the line )

Hmm and just very closely missing out would be Chopin (piano 1 & 2), Sibelius (violin), Dvorak (cello), Saint-seans (cello), Mozart (piano #23, #26, #27 and #21 - mainly for the 1st movement rather than tne well worn slow movement ), Brahams (piano - 1 & 2), lots of Vivaldi, Rodrigo (guitar) and the Rach 3 of course. I'm a sucker for concerti in general, it's my favourite form.

 

It's the Classic FM backlash brigade methinks Actually TBH I quite like the 4th but the 3rd and especially the 1st and 2nd I find really quite boring - the 5th is streets ahead of any of them as far as I'm concerned.

 

Difficult choosing between Beethoven 4 and 5. Yes, 5 being more mature and technically better, although I like 4 for the playful rhythmic lolloping especially in the last movement. Always get reminded of the film Immortal Beloved when I hear the slow movement from the 5th these days ever since watching it.

Something else I've just remembered as being a favourite which I left off my original list was Handel's Harp (op 4 no 6). Another Classic FM favourite I do believe...

 

I'm surprised how many peopla have put Rach 2 ahead of Rach 3. OK, I know it's the more instantly accessible and almost certainly the most popular amongst Classic FM listeners but once you get into it the 3rd is just soooo much deeper, intense and IMO ultimately more musically satisfying.

Heny - even though I play the piano I've never really got on with the Chopin concertos. They're ok but ultimately Chopin didn't really know how to write a concerto. It's all just virtuoso piano with the odd bit of orchestra accompaniment thrown in here and there almost as an afterthought.

Michael.

 

Agreed, although for all that the Chopin concerti have plenty of good tunes and nice moments - it's not like, for example, the Paganini concerti which are basically of zero interest to anyone but scholars of violin technique.

 

Notice no-one mentions the Listz piano concertos. I think they're rather good, particularly no 1.
And if we're doing Rachmaninov what about the rather splendid Adinsall pastiche, The Warsaw Concerto?

 

Seconded. Not in my Top 10 though - but the Totentanz wouldn't be far off, it's sensationally cool

 

Sorry for the biased list, but being a clarinet player...

1. Mozart Clarinet Concerto - THE finest wind concerto ever written - fantabulously brilliant
2. Weber 1st Clarinet Concerto
3. Spohr 2nd " "
4. Rach 3rd Piano
5. Brahms 2nd Piano
6. Strauss 2nd Horn
7. Dvorak Cello Concerto
8. Shostakovich 2nd Piano
9. Prokofiev 2nd Piano
10. Mozart 22nd Piano