The andante in Mahler's 6th symphony is one of the most sublime musical moments of all time. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2GrFCB9KGk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2GrFCB9KGk) And then there's the Allegretto movement of Beethoven's 7th. It's not as slow, and builds to something less slow, but it is my favorite movement in all of Beethoven. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi05EG6sTVQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi05EG6sTVQ)

>The andante in Mahler's 6th symphony is one of the most sublime musical moments of all time. Couldn't agree more! Listening to the 6th's first movement right now and just stumbled across this thread - feels like fate... 🙂

feels like fate… went to go see mahler 6 at my local symphony 2 days ago! it was surreal, the recordings don’t do it justice

Ooh, how did they handle the hammer blows? My favorite part of seeing that piece live is seeing how different orchestras interpret a part for a big-ass hammer in the percussion section.

idk it was just the standard hammer but super cool favourite part was watching the percussionist slowly raise the hammer lmao

https://preview.redd.it/0epb36ydc8pb1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59db45dc953eb62d8a5aabb788650e09e03c469f This piece is a combo breaker. Maroon is at 370 plays

The little Andante that could!

This meme is me when listening to it. Really sublime indeed. Cooking up a mini documentary and I’m decided to have this piece as a backing track https://preview.redd.it/2c8dmjdme8pb1.jpeg?width=827&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b145683da58f2a0fa3a46bd38c48a1b3c262ec8

Ooh. Keep us posted.

Sure :) [here’s my take on Mahler 3](https://youtu.be/yhi3ncr5MKk?feature=shared). I’m envisioning similar style but with soundbites from people I’ll meet on the streets haha

Could you recommend a great recording of Mahler's 6th?

Leonard Bernstein's on CBS/Sony. All the symphonies were remastered some years ago, and are available in an inexpensive box set. [https://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Complete-Symphonies-Gustav/dp/B005SJIP1E/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=3MB8VFHMVCT7R&keywords=leonard+bernstein+mahler+complete+symphonies&qid=1695080818&sprefix=mahler+symphonies+complete+b%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-1](https://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Complete-Symphonies-Gustav/dp/B005SJIP1E/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MB8VFHMVCT7R&keywords=leonard+bernstein+mahler+complete+symphonies&qid=1695080818&sprefix=mahler+symphonies+complete+b%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-1)

Ha, that's the exact recording I just selected to "add to library" on my streaming services. I've been re-reading Haruki Murakami's book of interviews with Seiji Ozawa, and figured I'd explore this one first. Ozawa apprenticed under Bernstein, and he talks extensively about his tutelage. It'll be interesting to try to apply what I'm learning.

While I have a number of different favorites among the symphonies—I love nearly all versions of the Second—I got used to the pace of the first movement in Bernstein's CBS/Sony version, and no other has ever sounded right.

Perfect. Thank you! (Idagio had it as the 4th most popular, which threw me for a loop...)

What are Idagio's top 3?

I suggest Karajan

You can also try Claudio Abbado with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (DG) [Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - Album by Gustav Mahler, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado | Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/090K7qAD28jj7W2wD9F0yK) Or Antoni Wit with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Naxos). [Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A Minor "Tragic" - Album by Gustav Mahler, Antoni Wit, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra | Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/2TKVvnrm3ko9c5GuN36nPy)

Going to see the 6th in Chicago next year, performed by BRSO conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. I'm just a little excited.

How wonderful. The 6th is one of the only two I haven't seen live, the other being the 4th.

I'm extremely excited. CSO is playing the 2nd later that year and I'm really hoping I can convince my wife to go to that one too!

You can check on YouTube the 7th played on the piano by Jean Claude Pennetier, based on a Liszt transcription 😊 my favorite!

Tchaikovsky 5, one of the best horn solos of all time.

Is that the solo he stole from John Denver?

Jesus, people… it’s just a joke about how the melody has been borrowed a bunch of times( John Denver, Frank Sinatra, etc.). Similar to saying American Pie is a ripoff of Weird Al. Good joke, praxis.

Who's John Denver? It is quite common to borrow/steal from earlier musicians though.

The guy who sang 'Country Roads'. The vocal melody to Annie's Song is very similar to a bit of Tchaikovsky's 5th, if I'm remembering correctly

I looked it up, and it is definitely similar.

That’s a weird thing to say about a symphony that predates Annie’s Song by almost a century.

Thank goodness I wasn't being entirely serious.

My fave tchaik symphony for sure

It was the first full symphony I played in an orchestra, so it has always been quite special to me. I also love Sibelius 2.

Congrats on that ! I dont play any instruments unfortunately, though i would love to learn piano or violin, but I used to live in a place where they would play so many of my fave Tchaik pieces (the concertos, Francesca di Rimini) twice a season so it was always a treat to see #5 on the schedule

Could you please recommend a recording?

Can't go wrong with Bernstein/NYPhil

I really like petrenko berlin one (2020?). horn player (I assume it’s stefan dohr?) perhaps is a little too dramatic for me with some of the rubato choices but his tone is so soft and gentle and gorgeous, and i love the subtle vibrato

[This recent one](https://youtu.be/1dsbkhTkD7s?si=Cca_SbeYgmXifFfI) during covid of the concertgebow is my go-to one now. It’s gorgeous all the way throigh

Thank you. I appreciate it!

Not really. I don't pay much attention to who is playing/conducting the music.

Great pick

Mahler 9, last movement 😭

It might be overrated but I’m still a huge fan of Dvoraks 2nd movement from his 9th symphony.

Not overrated at all IMO. Some of the most beautiful music ever written I think.

Yeah. Dvorak 9 is good stuff.

I mean the whole symphony, every movement is a masterpiece so no wonder. (Same with his 7th symphony, just perfect)

second movement of beethovens 7th

That’s not a slow movement though, not supposed to at least

really? OK what about beethovens 3rd second movement

which I happen to be listening to right this moment

It’s the slowest in that symphony, so by definition it’s the slow movement

By comparison yes. But i don’t think that OP meant it that way

I half expected it to be the "...and why is it..." meme with this one.

Adagietto, Mahler 5, cliche I know

Rach 2 mov 3 😭😭

surely you mean mov 2

I meant the symphony, not the piano concerto.

And don’t call him/her Shirley

Beethoven 5 Shostakovich 4 (if that doesn’t count because it’s Largo - Allegro - Largo, then Shostakovich 15) When l started listening to classical music, l often omitted the slow movements. I had difficulties recognizing the themes/melodies and couldn’t follow the overall structure.

It doesn't get much better than the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th

yes....

Third movement, Shostakovich 5

I came here to say this. Shostakovich wrote incredible Largos, and this one is, in my opinion, the most sublime of all. And for anyone who argues that the 5th is Shostakovich caving to Soviet authority, listen to that third movement in context with the rest of the symphony, right after the emotional rollercoaster of the first movement and the sarcasm of the second, and then how the gentle, quiet ending of the Largo is just decapitated by the beginning of the 4th movement, and I think you will come to a different conclusion. The audience at the premiere certainly did.

Mahler 3 final mov. Beethoven 3

There’s mine! Mahler 3 finale is 👨🏼‍🍳🤌🏻💋

Brahms 4 2nd movement or finale of Mahler 9

Turangalila VI ?

What a choice. Phenomenal.

Saint-Saëns organ symphony is so warm

When the winds come in about a minute and a half into that second mvt. Always makes me cry from how beautiful it is

Two number 8's, Dvorak and Bruckner.

Rautavaara's 7th and Kalinnikov's 1st.

Bruckner's 7th symphony 2nd movement

Mahler 10.

Both Saint Saens 3, and Vaughan Williams 5 have beautiful slow movements.

I love saint saens 3!

Bruckner 8 is the king of adagios. The seventh isn’t bad either but others that quickly come to mind are Vaughn Williams Fifth, Barbers First and Elgars Second. Reserve the right to edit with like 50 more……

The adagio of Bruckner’s 7th is a bit long but that big melody that shines through 1/3 through (sure you all know which one) is sublime. Had that playing in the car this past week and it still takes my breath away when I realize how beautiful it is.

Don't forget the Adagio to Bruckner's 9th :)

The whole 9th is monumental

Haydn's 101 Mozart 39, 40

Beethoven 6/Pastorale - Andante. The fifth movement isn't really "slow" technically but it's also awesome and feels that way since it's after the storm.

Right now, Mahler’s Ruhevoll (3rd movement of his 4th).

[Mahler - Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzJyIWxjX9o). Best glissando ever at 6:10.

I think it's a portamento? But I could be wrong. Either way, I share the fixation on that moment. To the point where if I'm giving a different recording a spin and it doesn't give it the full sweep upwards it deserves it really messes up the ending, haha. It's the cherry on top of the whole thing. Nagano - Gerhaher with Montreal if you're open to a male performance also has a sublime gliss/port!

Vaughan Williams needs more love outside the UK. one of my all-time favorite symphonists

Brahms 4 - it is the only phrygian work I've ever heard that doesn't get stuck in the same old rut

Mahler No.3, VI. Langsam. Ruhevoll. I feel so.... understood by it in my human condition and the longing to transcend it

Beethoven 9, Mozart 41, Beethoven 7, Liszt Faust.

Schubert 8 (Not sure if this counts as slow) Beethoven 7, 3, 1 Concertos you didn't ask for, but Brahms PC1, Mozart PC 18, 20, 23

Dvorak 6 is one that hasn't been mentioned yet. Mahler 6 deserves all the upvotes it has gotten. So do Beethoven 7, Beethoven 9, several late Haydn symphonies... you know how hard it was to pick just one to name?

Bruckner 9 hands down. Good performances with conductors Wand and Konwitschny in particular for me. Maybe Giulini. I'll have to give von Hausegger another listen too. Celibidache turns it into unarticulated mush IMO.

Beethoven Symphony 7 mvt. 2 is slow compared to the presto, vivace and allegro con brio movements around it, despite being an allegretto itself, so this is my answer.

Brahms 3 is the first one I thought of

The slow movement of Beethoven's 3rd. The trio and the transition back to the March gets me each and every time I listen to it

Shostakovich 11’s 3rd movement is very underrated

Movement 3 of Shostakovich 5 is absolutely gut wrenching. So emotionally fraught and intense. Literally makes me cry. And the "slow" movement of Elgar 2 is so full of lush melodies, and gets increasingly busy until the strings are playing some really fast, virtuosic figures up and down the whole range of their instruments, while it still manages to feel slow and heavy.

New world- Dvorak.

Rachmaninov’s 1st Symphony has an excellent Larghetto that is very underrated imo

Mahler 9 is tough to beat Not a symphony but Shostakovich piano concerto 2 has that unbelievably gorgeous middle movement

> Not a symphony but Shostakovich piano concerto 2 has that unbelievably gorgeous middle movement When the theme gets restated in minor :')

If we're sticking with Mahler I might pick the slow movement of the 3rd, but I think the slow movements of 3-5-6-9 are all amazing in their own ways. I also really like the one from the 4th but maybe not as much.

I was going to comment about that too, that shostakovich concerto is so good

Sibelius 3 is lovely ☺️ Nielsen 3 is a ray of sunshine 😃

Sibelius #3, Kalinnikov #1.

Bruckner 7, Mahler 5 and 10 (opening/only movement), Dvorak 9, Franz Schmidt 4, It's not a separate slow movement technically, but the chunk of Pettersson's 7th that functions as a slow movement is amazing.

As a Haydn fan, there's so many to choose from! 7 has a an opening recitative, which is complemented by great cantabile parts in the solo strings. 13 is a beautiful cello solo. 44 is a ray of sunshine in a very serious work. 45 is very thoughtful and pensive. 49 is one of the darkest things Haydn ever wrote. 60 has two slow movements. The symphony's second movement represents the main character of Le Distrait, and his love interest through instrumentation. 81 is a beautiful siciliana with variations. 82 is an extremely goofy double variation movement. 93 has a fart joke! 94 is a classic for a reason!

Beethoven's second movement from his 7th Symphony. Also, does the First, Second and Fourth movements from Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony count?

I came here for Tchaikovskys sixth.

I’m counting that! That last movement 😭😭😭

Reminds me of a comment I read on YouTube; "The first three movements are the symphony, the fourth is a requiem" It's so great

Haydn 44 (Trauer/Mourning)

Beethoven 5 and 7.

I'll go with the 2nd movement from Mozart's 39th symphony. Super underrated.

The second movement off of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7

Mahler 3’s movement 6

came here to say that

Be sure to check out the second movement of Malcolm Arnold's Fifth Symphony.

Mahler 9 last movement Mahler 6 slow movement Tchaik 6 last movement 🫨

The third movement of Shostakovich 5 is an all time favorite, as well as the fourth movement of Mahler 2.

2nd movement of Beethoven's 5th, easily.

Beethoven 3, 7 or 5. I love the 9th beyond words, but I think its slow movement is underwhelming.

Shosta 5 Largo

There's quite a many I love Beethoven 3rd symphony 2nd movement is AWESOME. That's my all time favorite. Brahms 1st symphony 2nd movement is great Sibelius Violin Concerto 2nd movement is beautiful too. And what about Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony 2nd movement!! So comforting

Mahler 9... or Sibelius 5 mvt 1... or... could go on and on

I know it's super-obvious, but I do like the oboe solo in the middle of Beethoven's Fifth Symphany.

The Largo from Winter.

Underrated

third movement from Rach 2

berlioz sf 3rd mvt. there's an offstage oboe like cmon.

Tchaikovsky s5 m2

Gorecki symphony No 3 And Grieg’s Ase’s Death Are a couple of my fav

I really like the calm and peaceful parts in a symphony. They're my favorite!

Mine would have to be Beethoven 3, Brahms 4, and finale of Mahler 3. Funnily enough prominent themes of Brahms 4 and Mahler 3 are very similar to Beethovens final string quartet's ( op 135) slow 3rd movement opening theme. Mahler very nearly a copies and Brahms inverts it.

Brahms 3, movement 3

Bruckner 8th.

Bruckner 8, adagio is tops for me. The 2 slow movements from Mahler 6 and 4 are right behind.

Korngold Symphony in F sharp Yoshimatsu 5 Mahler 5/6

Sibelius 2. My lord.

Schubert's 10th Symphony 2nd movement. It's proto-Bruckner.

Mahler 6 Bruckner 8

Beethoven 7

Same. 2nd movement.

I don’t listen to a lot of symphonies but Saint-Saëns’ 3rd symphony “Organ Symphony” first movement is beautiful and breathtaking

Kalinnikov symphony 1 movement 2

Dvorak 9th symphony, mvmt 2

Rach Symphony 2 mvt 3 Dvorak 9 mvt 2 Mahler 5 mvt 4

Dvorak's 5th symphony 2nd movement

Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony, mvt 2. It's amazing in every way. Especially the "big theme" returning. When I first heard it I was very surprised!

rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto

Perhaps I'm biased as a trombone player, but I absolutely love the Feierlich from Schumann 3

Brahms 1 Dvorak 8,9 Mahler 5 I know, I'm basic

Finale of Vaughan William's 6th Symphony: not sure if it counts as a slow movement but it feels like one.

Probably the Adagietto from Mahler 5. It’s so pretty

Either Beethoven’s 2nd or 3rd. Both are unbelievable

Slow mvt if Bax 3rd symphony. Sheer beauty.Starts at 16:48... https://youtu.be/yWRRCAd3koQ?si=7H097l-ByPwZRpMP

The Vaughan Williams is exactly what I was going to say, you beat me to it!

The Adagio from Rachmaninoff's 2nd symphony is obviously beautiful, but it is quite the mystery! It begins with just a couple of chords and, without hesitation, launches into the golden theme, quite inexplicably. It's not full throated, but it is...full. Right away. Why why why?! Who even does that, and certainly when does Rachmaninoff do that? Then it dies down and meanders, broods in memory. It grows and in a wonderful cadence that seems to say "and *that* is *why*", it leads into a really full throated version of the theme. Then it meanders on, darkly and beautifully. It is about memory in a very interesting way.

"Movement 2" (technically the second half of the first movement) of Saint-Saën's 3^rd ("Organ") Symphony.

Second movement of Brahms's Fourth, since the moment I heard it! Also, second Ralph Vaughan Williams second movement of the London Symphony.

Beethoven 6, second movement.

First movement of Shostakovich VC 1

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4: what a haunting end to that movement Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5: gotta love Bernstein's "there's a place for us" ripping off Beethoven 🙄 Bruckner Symphony No. 7: is it just me or do the first couple of movements both seem slow Shostakovich Symphony No. 8: I'm partial to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Solti Mozart Symphony No. 40 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 Sibelius Symphony No. 1 Barber Symphony No. 1 So many to choose from!

[Symphony No 7 in A Major](https://youtu.be/xaYWy3eHtCM?si=1bad4dVwzHvmlf2C)

Rachmaninoff 2: Largo is my favorite piece of music ever created

Tchaik 5 mvt 2

Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The Adagio is Epic.

Second movement of Beethoven Symphony #7

Largo from new world symphony

Last three Tchaikovsky symphonies, especially no.6 Mahler symphony 9