Top 10 Overtures

[Chris Newman]

OK, Petrushka, I give in to this flummery

Berlioz: Carnival Roman
Elgar: Cockayne
Elgar: In the South
Hindemith: Overture to "The Flying Dutchman" as Played at Sight by a Second-Rate Spa Orchestra at the Village Well at 7 O'Clock in the Morning*
Ireland: A London Overture
Nielsen: Helios
Nielsen: Maskarade
Reznicek: Donna Diana
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini
Wagner: Die Meistersinger

* In case you have no idea of what I am talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kok-d...eature=related
I think it just beats Arnold's "Grand, Grand Overture" to a placing.

[Petrushka]

OK, Petrushka, I give in to this flummery

What I like about these lists is how often you come across an item you've never heard of which seems worthy of investigation or one not heard for many years.

[barber olly]

Cherubini Anacreon
Borodin Prince Igor
Glinka Russlan & Ludmilla
Rossini Semiramide
Tchaikovsky Francesca
Tchaikovsky Hamlet
Schumann Manfred
Mendelssohn MND
Arnold Peterloo
Walton Portsmouth Point

[tom_960]

Wagner - Die Meistersinger
Beethoven - Leonora #3
Elgar - Cockaigne
Bernstein - Candide
Verdi - I vespri siciliani
Mozart - Die Zauberfloete
Glinka - Russlan and Ludmilla
Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet
Berlioz - Bevenuto Cellini
Strauss J - The Gipsy Baron

[barber olly]

I've always thought of Cockaigne as the 15th Enigma Variation, having first got to know it on the Philharmonia/Barbirolli LP.

Presumably the in the same way I always regard the Introduction and Allegro as the Overture to the Serenade for Strings. SL/Barbirolli ASD521

[Don Basilio]

Sullivan Patience

I like that also, but I can't imagine it being played in a concert. According to the prom programme, it was written by Eugen D'Albert, the future composer of Tiefland. If you want a Sullivan overture that isn't The Yeoman of the Guard, then Iolanthe is more than a mere pot pourri, and Di Ballo is the obvious choice.

[salymap]

Yes I'd forgotten Di Ballo. Sargent used to play it a lot. I rather like Patience because it is so singable.
'So go to him and say to him'etc but perhaps not a concert starter.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I think this will have to be expanded to all shorter orchestral works as I'm struggling with this one! What do we have left? Favourite Operas, Favourite Ballets, Favourite Choral Works, Favourite Chamber Works, Favourite Piano Works, Favourite Organ Works. Should we have a thread for each?

[remdataram]

Beethoven Leonora III
Suppe Light Cavalry
Wagner Tannhauser
Tchaikovsky Romeo & Juliet
Rossini Semiramide
Mendelssohn Hebrides
Dvorak The Water Goblin
Gluck Orfeo & Euridice
J. Strauss Die Fledermaus
Beethoven Egmont

[salymap]

Another day, another list. 10 Overtures that I knew years ago, most,but not all, British composers.

Rawsthorne Street Corner
Geoffrey Bush Yorick
John Addison Sons of Heroes
Alan Bush Dance Overture
Adam Carse Holiday overture
Francis Chagrin Helter Skelter
Adrian Cruft Tambourlaine
Norman Demuth a la Francaise
Ruth Gipps Pageant
Ireland Satyricon

[StephenO]

Does the String Sextet at the start of Strauss's Capriccio count as an overture? If so, that would be my No.1 choice.

[rubbernecker]

Mendelssohn - Ruy Blas
Walton - Scapino
Mathias - Dance Overture
Rameau - Hippolyte et Aricie
VW - The Wasps
Smetana - Bartered Bride
Mozart - Seraglio
Bernstein - Candide
Frederic Curzon - Punchinello
Kabalevsky - Colas Breugnon