I’ve been on a symphony binge-fest recently and I wanted to share some awesome music, so every day for the next 50 days I’m gonna tweet one of my favourite symphonies on this thread. Only 1 rule: No composer can appear more than once. #50Symphonies

In no particular order, I’m going to kick off with my one true symphonic love, Sibelius, and his 4th symphony. Ever wondered what loneliness sounds like? Listen to the opening of this symphony.

2. Ruth Gipps Symphony No. 2. I love the clarity of Gipps’s writing, and the way she uses orchestral colour. A phenomenal piece. #50Symphonies

3. Hugo Alfvén Symphony No. 4. Fellow composer Ture Rangström (who’ll feature later) described this symphony as ‘sensuous’. True, but doesn’t really do justice to the full-on sensation-fest that is Alfvén’s Fourth Symphony. #50Symphonies

(Brief interruption for a PSA: I've now created a Spotify playlist which I'll update daily so people can listen along. For people sharing their symphony recommendations let's use #50Symphonies so we can create a giant listening list ) https://open.spotify.com/user/leahbroad/playlist/107vYeB1kQ6zzeLvcCnSR6?si=W5IalMLmTYOJSUST37ly-A

4. Morning morning! Today it's a piece I'm v excited to share because I think it's excellent: Ravi Shankar's Symphony. Discovered this after listening to Philip Glass & Shankar’s collaboration ‘Passages’, & both come highly recommended. #50Symphonies

5. Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3. I mean it’s popular for a reason. The melodies. The triplets. THE ORGAN. Wins the prize for best symphony to sing along to. #50Symphonies

6. William Grant Still Symphony No. 2. This would be one of my favourite symphonies for just the 2nd mvt alone. But then he hits you with the 3rd AND 4th mvts and everything is wonderful. #50Symphonies

7. Beethoven Symphony No. 7. Because of this highly scientific and uncontroversial opinion: it has the best slow movement of all the Beethoven symphonies. *runs and hides* #50Symphonies

8. Louise Farrenc Symphony No. 3. This is an absolutely stonking symphony with memorable themes, enormous energy and a sublime slow movement. #50Symphonies

9. Uuno Klami Symphony No. 2. This symphony really shows Sibelius’s influence on Klami, so it’s no wonder I like this piece so much I guess. Dark & brooding, perfect. #50Symphonies

10. Hector Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. Because nothing says ‘I love you’ like a death march and a Witches’ Sabbath. #50Symphonies

11. Anton Eberl Symphony in E-flat. This piece was performed in the same concert as the premiere of Beethoven's Eroica. Critics preferred Eberl’s work. They called it ‘true originality’. The Eroica was 'shrill and bizarre’. #50Symphonies

(It appears that this symphony isn't available on Spotify, so Krzysztof Penderecki's Symphony No. 2 'Christmas' is the bonus symphony for the Spotify playlist today. Listen out for the quotations of 'Silent Night' that give the symphony its nickname.) #50Symphonies

12. Shostakovich Symphony No. 9. I usually go straight for 5, 7, or 10, but re-listening to Shos’s symphonies I’d forgotten how fab 9 is. It’s not as big as the others, but boy is it good. Short, humorous, restrained. #50Symphonies

13. Ture Rangström Symphony No. 4. Judging by the number of 4s on this list I have a real thing for 4th symphonies. Here’s another fab one, with a great organ part. #50Symphonies

14. Arvo Pärt Symphony No. 3. Everything about this symphony is fantastic. Pärt is one of my favourite composers, and this piece is a pretty good reason why #50Symphonies

15. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIELS GADE here’s his Symphony No. 5. Dat piano. This piece is the main evidence for my belief that most symphonies would be improved by a piano part. Why this isn’t performed more often baffles me. #50Symphonies

16. Florence Price Symphony No. 4. This symphony has everything. Brilliant orchestration, harmony, themes… The final scherzo is particularly excellent. #50Symphonies

17. Carl Nielsen Symphony No. 5. It took me a while to get into Nielsen, and I have mainly @UniofOxford Prof Daniel Grimley to thank for my admiration for this composer. This piece keeps me endlessly intrigued. #50Symphonies

18. Myaskovsky Symphony No. 25. In which Myaskovsky proves himself King of the Romantic melody. #50Symphonies

19. Edouard Lalo Symphonie Espagnole. This is the best kind of symphony, which is really a violin concerto in a not so subtle disguise. #50Symphonies

20. Anton Bruckner Symphony no. 8. This piece embodies ‘epic’. Casual 75+ minutes of music #50Symphonies

21. Grazyna Bacewicz Symphony No. 4. This symphony grabs you right from the first notes and does not let go. Wow. As a bonus check out her Concerto for String Orchestra, which is one of my favourite pieces ever #50Symphonies

22. Christian Sinding Symphony No. 1. WHAT A BEGINNING. You know it’s gonna be good with a start like that. #50Symphonies

Mnergh, seemingly not available on Spotify ( @deeplyclassical do you know if there's an available version?) so we're having another bonus symphony: Grace Williams Symphony No. 2. #50Symphonies

23. Stravinsky Symphony in 3 Movements. This is the Rite of Spring meets John Adams mashup that my heart desires <3 #50Symphonies

24. Henryk Górecki Symphony No. 3. This is the saddest symphony you will ever hear. #50Symphonies

25. We’re 50% through #50Symphonies with Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Even if he did probably borrow bits from Tamara, he borrowed them well. Follow the first desk violin in this video: close your eyes, listen, and let the violin melody transport you

26. #BOTD Heitor Villa-Lobos Symphony No. 3, ‘War’. Discovered while writing this thread thanks to a recommendation by @WinstonMei1967, this one is a VERY new find for me! What a piece. Especially the 3rd mvt, which is heartbreaking. #50Symphonies

27. Dvorak Symphony No. 8. More understated than some of Dvorak’s others, which is perhaps why I prefer it. #50Symphonies

28. Go big or go home, you say? Mmmk. Here’s Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. #50Symphonies

29. Amy Beach, Symphony in E minor, ‘Gaelic’. Beach is an absolute god imo. If you don’t know her music yet, check out this and her piano concerto #50Symphonies #IWD2019

30. Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2. To say it’s the most indulgent symphony ever would be a strong claim, buuuuuuut… Those violins tho. #50Symphonies

31. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Symphony in A minor. Coleridge-Taylor had a phenomenal flair for the dramatic, which really comes across in this symphony #50Symphonies

32. Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4. I didn’t ‘get’ this symphony until I saw it performed live. I hope I always remember the experience of that concert, because it made this one of my favourite pieces. #50Symphonies

33. William Sterndale Bennett Symphony in G minor. Basically SB is British Mendelssohn. Discovered this piece as an undergraduate when researching an essay on the symphony outside Germany. Many essays later and here we are today… #50Symphonies

34. Brahms Symphony No. 4. Because the fourth movement is AMAZING, obvs. #50Symphonies

35. Prokofiev Symphony No. 1, ‘Classical’. Best riff on Haydn ever. I love the humour in this piece, it’s just so… *Prokofiev* #50Symphonies

36. Schubert Symphony No. 8. For the melodies #50Symphonies

37. Debussy La Mer. I’m gonna get some unimpressed glares for classing this as a symphony (Debussy initially avoided calling LM a ‘symphony’, preferring ’symphonic sketches’ instead), but eh, in it goes anyhow #50Symphonies

38. Aram Khachaturian, Symphony No. 2. You know what symphonies need? More bells. More melodrama. Put more bells in everything. #50Symphonies

39. Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 ‘Scottish’. WEEEEEEEEEEELL — go on then. Da diddleiddlediddleiddle dum da dum da dum da dum da dum dum… #50Symphonies

40. Happy birthday to Elizabeth Maconchy, today's composer with her Symphony for Double String Orchestra. This is a wonderful piece, concise & thought-provoking. #50Symphonies #BOTD

With 10 days to go I’m nearly done with #50Symphonies! So the question is: which 50 do I do next? #ClassicalPoll time! Is it gonna be:

41. Mozart Symphony No. 40. It’s just so…catchy. #50Symphonies

42. Benjamin Britten ‘Simple’ Symphony Op. 4. Here’s Britten doing what he does best, pushing musical boundaries and rethinking traditions. This ‘symphony’ is for string ensemble. #50Symphonies

43. Alice Mary Smith Symphony No. 2. This is a symphony that’s full of fire and excitement. #50Symphonies

44. Erkki Melartin Symphony No. 2. Idk if you can tell from this list, but I like my epic minor-key symphonies. Here’s another one from a Finnish composer who I’d like to hear more of pls. Orchestras I’m looking at you #50Symphonies

45. Franz Schmidt Symphony No. 2. What a joyful symphony this is. The theme & variations second movement is a particular delight #50Symphonies

46. Emilie Mayer Symphony No. 7. Mayer knew how to write a good tune, as this symphony demonstrates. If you like Mendelssohn, this one’s for you. #50Symphonies

47. Wilhelm Stenhammar Symphony No. 2. Stenhammar began studying counterpoint before writing this symphony and it comes out in his writing - check out the final movement fugue #50Symphonies

48. Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 3, ‘Pastoral’. Or any RVW symphony other than the Sea Symphony which, I confess, just doesn’t move me #50Symphonies

49. Penultimate symphony folks! And it's Leevi Madetoja Symphony No. 2. Sibelius called Madetoja an ‘excellent symphonist’. You can judge for yourself with this excellent offering in E-flat major #50Symphonies

50. My final symphony is…Dora Pejačević Symphony in F# minor. I just love the contrast in this symphony. The first movement is pure drama, the second is intimate, the third playful, and the finale ENORMOUS #50Symphonies

And that’s it folks!! We’re done with #50Symphonies!! Thank you for listening along with me Which of your favourites haven’t I mentioned? Recommend them to me with the hashtag #50Symphonies and I’ll get listening before I get started on #50Concertos :D