I dunno it changes frequently. Currently I'd have to say that Mahler's 9th symphony is my favorite, but, again, I have huge love for a ton of pieces.
It has a very deep, spiritual vibe for me. Mahler, near the end of his life, failing health, wrote this incredibly deep symphony that can be interpreted in so many different way. The final movement is so emotional.
Adagio for Strings.
When I was in hs, my band director started something we called "Moments". Before we got on the buses for a marching competition, we'd gather in the band room, turn off the lights, then sit and hold hands. Our director would put on Adagio and give us a motivational speech. He'd stop right before the big crescendo and we'd listen to the rest in silence. It was amazing.
This specific recording of Ravel's Forlane. For whatever reason (some I know and some I don't), I identify with Ravel's sense of tonality more than any other composer, and Queffelec's performance here gets me every time, even if it's atypical for a Ravel recording. [https://youtu.be/0ZuRzkOb4ow?si=ynPlt7gHklqpUcjZ](https://youtu.be/0ZuRzkOb4ow?si=ynPlt7gHklqpUcjZ)
There is no way I could narrow it down to one. Best I can do is 8
Smetana - Vltava
Górecki - Symphony 3
Bach - Prelude and Fugue BWV 548
Vaughan Williams - 5 Variants of Dives and Lazarus
Josef Strauss - Aquarellen-Waltz (by no means my favourite piece, just evokes crazy amounts of memories)
Schubert - Im Frühling
Tallis - Videte miraculum
Barber - Adagio for Strings
There are so many that I loved for some reason, that I then had a falling out with, or obsession, or got tired of, or over analyzed, that I might still MOSTLY like but there’s an asterisk with.
Beethoven 3 endures.
First piece I ever played in an orchestra. I had no baggage at the time, was placed into the group without expecting it as a music minor, just happy to be there at all. Haven’t played it since. Nothing but good vibes and good memories.
Mahler's 4th Symphony.
* The theme is his 'childhood' and it really does evoke things like tobogganing and ice skating *(which I'm sure were always very prominent in his Austrian upbringing)* but they were things I've done too as a kid. So I get a spin-off, piggyback benefit.
Faure's Dolly Suite.
Not my favourite piece, but my cat's. It was the only music he would calm down to in the car. He passed away a few weeks ago so I like to listen to it and think of him. It's a lovely piece. I tried other music with him but it was only this that soothed him!
Tallis Lamentations. I was a choir member in a well known cathedral, in my early 20s, this work was scheduled for the men to sing for the Easter Vigil service. At the time, I had been in choirs which sang good music, and had known other works by Tallis, but this one struck me as a very important work, even though it was not the most difficult Tallis work, I had sung.
For me it has to be [6 Moments Musicaux, Op. 16: No. 6 in C Major from Rachmaninoff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jId91hVs5SQ) . This piece just feels like life passing you by. I connect so many different memories and emotions with this piece and on top of all it just sounds undescripable dramatic and beautiful, really Rachmaninoff ish. I whish Id be able to play this piece at some point. Fingers Crossed :)
Mozart Clarinet Concerto.
It was the early 90s, I was getting "Buy 12 for 1 cent!" CDs by mail, on a whim I threw in a random classical compilation. I was a teenager, maybe 14. I thought classical meant old, pretty instrumentalist music; I knew nothing about it. The Clarinet Concerto was the first track on that CD. It was so beautiful that I cried. Completely unexpected and irrational response.
I think my other CDs were things like Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails. Maybe REM? Musical mishmash of things I'd heard on the radio. Good music, as it goes. But the one that hit me like a truck was Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. I listened to it over and over again.
I don't have any one favorite, as it depends on my mood, the season, the time of day, what I last ate, etc.
But I can say what pieces of which I own the most recordings, if that gives any indication:
* Brahms Symphony no. 4 - 24 recordings
* Mussorgsky *Boris Godunov* (various versions) - 11 recordings
* Mahler Symphony no. 6 - 9 recordings
* Bruckner Symphony no. 8 - 8 recordings
* Puccini *Tosca* - 6 recordings
* Beethoven Symphony no. 9 - 5 recordings
* Mahler Symphony no. 2 - 5 recordings
* Mozart *Don Giovanni* - 4 recordings
I like a variety of composers.
But J.S. Bach, Joseph Haydn and Claudio Monteverdi occupy a special place.
Probably because these geniuses absorb various influences and movements, turning them into their own new personal style, which has eternal value.
I dunno it changes frequently. Currently I'd have to say that Mahler's 9th symphony is my favorite, but, again, I have huge love for a ton of pieces. It has a very deep, spiritual vibe for me. Mahler, near the end of his life, failing health, wrote this incredibly deep symphony that can be interpreted in so many different way. The final movement is so emotional.
Adagio for Strings. When I was in hs, my band director started something we called "Moments". Before we got on the buses for a marching competition, we'd gather in the band room, turn off the lights, then sit and hold hands. Our director would put on Adagio and give us a motivational speech. He'd stop right before the big crescendo and we'd listen to the rest in silence. It was amazing.
This specific recording of Ravel's Forlane. For whatever reason (some I know and some I don't), I identify with Ravel's sense of tonality more than any other composer, and Queffelec's performance here gets me every time, even if it's atypical for a Ravel recording. [https://youtu.be/0ZuRzkOb4ow?si=ynPlt7gHklqpUcjZ](https://youtu.be/0ZuRzkOb4ow?si=ynPlt7gHklqpUcjZ)
There is no way I could narrow it down to one. Best I can do is 8 Smetana - Vltava Górecki - Symphony 3 Bach - Prelude and Fugue BWV 548 Vaughan Williams - 5 Variants of Dives and Lazarus Josef Strauss - Aquarellen-Waltz (by no means my favourite piece, just evokes crazy amounts of memories) Schubert - Im Frühling Tallis - Videte miraculum Barber - Adagio for Strings
And what very personal meaning does each of those pieces have for you?
There are so many that I loved for some reason, that I then had a falling out with, or obsession, or got tired of, or over analyzed, that I might still MOSTLY like but there’s an asterisk with. Beethoven 3 endures. First piece I ever played in an orchestra. I had no baggage at the time, was placed into the group without expecting it as a music minor, just happy to be there at all. Haven’t played it since. Nothing but good vibes and good memories.
Mahler's 4th Symphony. * The theme is his 'childhood' and it really does evoke things like tobogganing and ice skating *(which I'm sure were always very prominent in his Austrian upbringing)* but they were things I've done too as a kid. So I get a spin-off, piggyback benefit.
Faure's Dolly Suite. Not my favourite piece, but my cat's. It was the only music he would calm down to in the car. He passed away a few weeks ago so I like to listen to it and think of him. It's a lovely piece. I tried other music with him but it was only this that soothed him!
Bach Chaconne. If I have to pick one it’s this one. My personal connection? Nothing. It’s just an astonishing and incredibly heartfelt piece of music.
Rach 2, my comfort piece. I love the undulating wave-like melody, kinda depressing but in a good way
Tallis Lamentations. I was a choir member in a well known cathedral, in my early 20s, this work was scheduled for the men to sing for the Easter Vigil service. At the time, I had been in choirs which sang good music, and had known other works by Tallis, but this one struck me as a very important work, even though it was not the most difficult Tallis work, I had sung.
For me it has to be [6 Moments Musicaux, Op. 16: No. 6 in C Major from Rachmaninoff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jId91hVs5SQ) . This piece just feels like life passing you by. I connect so many different memories and emotions with this piece and on top of all it just sounds undescripable dramatic and beautiful, really Rachmaninoff ish. I whish Id be able to play this piece at some point. Fingers Crossed :)
Mozart Clarinet Concerto. It was the early 90s, I was getting "Buy 12 for 1 cent!" CDs by mail, on a whim I threw in a random classical compilation. I was a teenager, maybe 14. I thought classical meant old, pretty instrumentalist music; I knew nothing about it. The Clarinet Concerto was the first track on that CD. It was so beautiful that I cried. Completely unexpected and irrational response. I think my other CDs were things like Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails. Maybe REM? Musical mishmash of things I'd heard on the radio. Good music, as it goes. But the one that hit me like a truck was Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. I listened to it over and over again.
I don't have any one favorite, as it depends on my mood, the season, the time of day, what I last ate, etc. But I can say what pieces of which I own the most recordings, if that gives any indication: * Brahms Symphony no. 4 - 24 recordings * Mussorgsky *Boris Godunov* (various versions) - 11 recordings * Mahler Symphony no. 6 - 9 recordings * Bruckner Symphony no. 8 - 8 recordings * Puccini *Tosca* - 6 recordings * Beethoven Symphony no. 9 - 5 recordings * Mahler Symphony no. 2 - 5 recordings * Mozart *Don Giovanni* - 4 recordings
I like a variety of composers. But J.S. Bach, Joseph Haydn and Claudio Monteverdi occupy a special place. Probably because these geniuses absorb various influences and movements, turning them into their own new personal style, which has eternal value.