What sort of musical piece do you like best?

[FBerwald]

Not as ambitious as the Symphony, the serenade in a form I enjoy. Dvorak and Suk are my fav!

[Lew]

I should guess that the majority of music lovers will place symphonic music as the highest compositional achievement because, to be appealing and successful, a symphony requires of the composer a universal understanding and mastery of numerous structural forms, instrumentation, thematic development and logic and is infused throughout by the unique personality of the composer. Only think of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn for example, to see (and hear) all of these in full measure.

However, few would argue that Wagner and Verdi did not achieve the ultimate expression of 19th century opera, without having much to say in symphonic or chamber music.

I would argue that equal to symphonic composition, which requires the widest compositional techniques, the string quartet and string quintet must be placed. Success in these two genres requires a highly specific understanding and disciplined handling of narrow resources, as well as the same knowledge of form, thematic development and so forth. Jim will quite rightly say that similar disciplines are demanded in concerto composition - it's just that I find concertos less appealing (probably because of the obvious virtuosic display and bravura qualities they elicit from the performers).

Most composers lean one way or the other: symphonies and concertos or chamber or choral, but few excel at all. Even Beethoven produced only one complete opera (though there are numerous fragments of an earlier work, 'Vestas Feuer' of 1803). Raff was the great 19th century exception (even ahead of Mendelssohn and Ries, I think), excelling in all forms and it is thanks to his genius that we are talking to each other so happily now!

Cheers, Lew

[Peter1953]

You're right about Raff, Lew, but don't forget my all-round hero Rubinstein... 

[Lew]

You're right, Peter - Rubinstein was prolific in all forms. He'd slipped my memory!

Lew

[JimL]

Jim will quite rightly say that similar disciplines are demanded in concerto composition - it's just that I find concertos less appealing (probably because of the obvious virtuosic display and bravura qualities they elicit from the performers).

Ah, but Lew, it is precisely due to the addition of those qualities to the ones you have already enumerated in your post that I esteem the concerto above all other musical genres!

[Alan Howe]

Draeseke excelled in almost every genre too. A shame very few people seem to know his music.

[JollyRoger]

My personal preference is for tonal music generally described as orchestral: That universe includes symphonies, concertos, tone poems, ballets, overtures, and string orchestra. Sorry(I know this is a blind spot for me), but solo or small ensemble pieces seldom interest me. Having a hummable melody, or a memorable theme is helpful. Lengthy pieces(>30 minutes) tend to loose me unless they are quite variable and do not meander endlessly or repeat the main theme unchanged over and over again. But I do like most variations on a theme...which might be a subect for another thread.

[Gauk]

Necropost! This was partially touched on the thread I started on purchasing decisions.

My mother used to contrast orchestral music and chamber music by saying that an orchestral piece is like the beauty of a summer landscape, while (say) a string quartet was like the beauty of a tree in winter - outlines more than colouring. But she would never listen to piano music, which I would say is the same analogy.

[eschiss1]

One of my favorite, though now quite obsolete, definitions of chamber music was, music written by and played by instrumentalists for themselves, the audience being welcome guests on a conversation but not the primary and actual _audience_... the same (I think) author claimed this was even the case for some of the almost-earliest chamber music, from the 16th century or so (iirc.)

(There was also something about how the particular instrumental qualities of the viola da gamba, an instrument that cannot be played loudly without sounding badly "off", affected... well, that's only historically relevant- well, no, not only historically, but making the connection is beyond my sleepy self right now...
Speaking in very, very broad strokes indeed and generalities of the most unspecific and easily contradicted manner, there's a chamber-music way of writing that involves close conversation between instrumental lines and a larger-ensemble way of writing that more emphasizes, relatively speaking, the larger gesture - or so "one" wants to say, with the realization that there's too many counterexamples for me to feel comfortable in making such statements. (So why did I? ... hrm. ... *begs off with sleepiness and rewrites in the morning*)

[Mark Thomas]

the audience being welcome guests on a conversation but not the primary and actual _audience_

... pretty much a definition of why I heartily dislike live jazz!

Or any jazz, come to that.

[thalbergmad]

Or any jazz, come to that.

You obviously have not heard me play the plectrum banjo

Thal

[Mark Thomas]

It's probably for the best, Thal!

[Gauk]

Or to quote the punchline of an old cartoon, "So much for the electric Jew's harp".

[kolaboy]

For the most part I like to delve into new territory by exploring a composers solo piano works. The piano is the instrument that speaks to me more than any other...

And I don't play, so Ive no idea why...