Favorite Symphonies Quiz

1: Mahler
2: Mahler
3: Mahler
4: Tchaikovsky
5: Mahler
6: Mahler
7: Mahler
8: Bruckner
9: Mahler

i don’t care about the use a composer more than once rule. Who can really pick their favorite Mahler? It’s usually either 2,3,5,6,9 - whichever I happened to have listened to or performed most recently. 

‘Very few bettered Mozart. ‘
Um, not to me. Mozart symphonies are a snooze. His operas slightly better. I would think most boring classical music listeners would contend Beethoven perfected the symphony. Regardless, I find them boring, especially to perform. Listen to Haydn 104 then Tchaikovsky 4, and I just can’t see how anyone who has any ability to emote would pick Haydn. 

I think the composer's time in history and life circumstances are significant.  I love Haydn, his works are playful and fun (and less prissy than Mozart) but not about emotion any more than Baroque works are.  

Tchaikovsky (like Mahler) certainly has emotional content which I guess is why they are popular.  Other characteristics speak more to others (including me) and Beethoven, Bruckner, Sibelius and Hovaness have other strengths.

Very hard to compose a list given this limitation.  Had to repeat. Leaves a good many great symphonies out. Not really fair.

1.Brahms
2. Rachmaninoff 
3. Beethoven
4. Schumann
5. Prokofiev 
6. Tchaikovsky 
7. Beethoven
8. Shostakovich 
9. Mahler

“Very hard to compose a list given this limitation.  Had to repeat. Leaves a good many great symphonies out. Not really fair.”

If you are unhappy about leaving composers out, why did you repeat?