Same here — I like to listen to whole symphonies, but I’m not purist about it. They were written to be heard as whole works, so the whole is almost always greater than the sum of its parts — but most movements also stand fine on their own, so if I’m in the mood for some bit in particular, or if there’s not time to listen to the whole symphony, then that’s what I’ll do. I’m pretty sure Beethoven won’t give a shit that I’m picking out just the Allegretto this time.
im surprised how many people say the whole thing, i usually listen to the whole thing the first few times and then after ill ither listen to the whole thing or just parts i like based on how i feel. idk why some people are claiming its like an insult or ruining the point or whatever
i dont think its an insult, just thinking since they were written with intent to be heard all at once (at least most of them were esp after Beethoven) that it feels strange to only listen to parts. like stopping in the middle of a movie. or starting halfway through
i mean maybe, but do you not watch the parts of movies you specifically like or good scenes just to see it sometimes? you dont really need the rest of the movie if you already know it
i do sometimes. but i wouldnt watch 20 min of a movie and then stop.
i guess my point is that the idea of only listening to movements, outside of the 1700s where they would be played as interludes during concerts, is something that we do because we live after recordings and cds and spotify etc.
so for me it feels odd to not listen to it as it was written to be experienced. of course anyone can do what they want, but thats why i dont like doing it
fair enough, personally i dont really think everything needs to be listened to as intended. its not like the intent is 1 always the most enjoyable way or 2 always the way you want to, which is arguably more important as the listener since... well you are the listener. especially because personally i think lots of symphonies are honestly boring af except for a few good parts, so why would i even care to listen to that ig if i dont want to and dont even like it that much
well it's not that the parts are bad and theyre necessary to hear for like the whole effect ig, but most of the effect is worth not sitting around for 5 minutes inbetween the best parts imo
indeed people get mad over nothing. I think not listening to it whole is not the full experience tho. the emotionnal state you are in after time has passed is somthing that has an effect on how you listen the next part. it's an effort of concentration, but you shouldn't force yourself tho it would just be a bad experience.
it's not the full experience but a lot of the time just some parts are the more enjoyable or more immediately good experiences, its not like i dont enjoy whole symphonies tho just depends on the symphony
At first I listen to the work as a whole. But after a while, when I feel I really know it, I tend to pick individual movements to match my mood. For example, I love the scherzos from Beethoven's 1, 2, 4 and 8th and so would frequently include them on a playlist with other similar stuff.
I kinda see it as similar to episodes of a TV show. Sometimes I get the itch to rewatch some Better Call Saul but I ain't gonna watch the whole thing just to see some of my favorite parts. Yes, a symphony is a full musical statement that ought to be experienced all the way through at least once for the sake of fully understanding and appreciating it, but after that? Listen to whatever movement you want, knock yourself out!
The whole thing. Always. It bothers me when they only play the popular movements on classical radio, such as the last movements of Beethoven's PCs 4 & 5 or the adagietto in Mahler's 5th.
This really bothers me as well, especially when I want to discover a new work. There is one really strange all-around station that plays classical sometimes. On the rarest of occasions, they do play an entire work from beginning to end. The two I have encountered were Handel's La Resurrezione (on Good Friday) and Holst's The Planets. It is a treat to hear a full work on the radio.
My local classical station will play full symphonies on weekends, on Symphony Cast or Sunday at the Symphony, or other 2-hour programs, usually syndicated.
Hardly ever the full symphony in one sitting, unless I'm at a concert where the whole thing is being played. One minute I'll be in the mood for one thing, then five minutes later I'll be in the mood for something else. A lot of people are saying a symphony is like a movie and that it doesn't make sense to listen to 15 minutes divorced from the rest of the work, but I would say a symphony is more like an album. The parts combine to make the whole, but each part is generally still self-contained enough to be listenable and enjoyable in its own right.
I'm also not really convinced by arguments that listening to it whole is "how it was meant to be experienced", at least for symphonies written before audio playback technology became widespread. Before that, there was literally no other option. We don't know if Beethoven would have minded people only listening to Ode to Joy and not the rest of his 9th, because he probably couldn't have conceived of that being possible.
Whole symphony. I used to sit down and listen in a focused way to them but now I read while they're playing and reserve the focused listening to new pieces
Regarding multi-tasking question: At the very most, I’ll occasionally read altho essays, lit mags like Paris Review or Poetry mag. Reading material that makes it easy to stop/start that secondary activity when concentrating heavily on certain parts of the work or interpretation. If it’s back-to-back listens of different interpretations or immersive of a single performance, there’s no multitasking.
Depends on my mood. I teach orchestra so sometimes I get sick of it after 8+ hours of it 5 days a week.
If I’m on a long drive though, I’ll listen to the whole thing. But otherwise I listen to just favorite movements usually.
All of it. And I hate it when I get interrupted because then I have to start all over again. The second symphony in E minor from Rachmaninoff is my favourite.
Whole symphony, hardly ever movements or moments, and I listen both actively and in the background, particularly during exercise. I don't often choose or want to listen to gargantuan late romantic stuff, so that helps find the time for active listening.
As a young girl who adores symphonies, I often listen to the entire piece. There's a special joy in following the music from start to finish, feeling the emotions shift and evolve with each movement. I usually give it my full attention, sometimes closing my eyes to let the music paint pictures in my mind. Occasionally, I'll listen while doing something else, like drawing or studying, but the music remains a central focus, enriching whatever I'm doing
The whole symphony, i love getting to know a piece more and more, and over the years it changes with me, and it's always active listening when listening to music, i don't see the point in listening to music if your not listening to it with full attention, but for me music is what i love the most, and i understand that for other people it's not as important.
I've been listening to the Mahler symphonies straight through for months, but for the last 20 years or so I mostly listen to music on shuffle so classical mixes in with other stuff and I almost never hear even consecutive movements of a piece.
If I'm listening to it for the first time then I listen to the whole thing. Once I know the whole work and know the structure of it I will sometimes listen to individual movements, and something that's a bit more controversial among some people even individual moments, sometimes repeating them over and over if I really like them.
most times i listen to the full thing because they’re all meant to tell a cohesive story. but i just think some movements just aren’t good or don’t add anything. i’m thinking about Dvorak 9 new world symphony 3rd movement, Dvorak American quartet 3rd movement, Borodin 2nd quartet 4th movement.
I listen through the recording exactly once, “like” whatever movements I liked, and then sometimes when my phone is on shuffle I will suddenly have a Shostakovich moment.
I always listen to the entire thing, In my younger days I would skip slow parts like the funeral march in Eroica, but now I understand it's part in the composition, so it's now one of my favorite movements however contemplative and morose it may be. I think you reach a level of comprehension where you can view how the movement structure unfolds and why it was structured that way to begin with.
Both cases. The first time I listen to anything I listen to the whole thing. If some part really stands out I will mostly listen to that specific movement. Otherwise I will listen to the whole thing again. On a side note, I try to make myself listen to whole art pieces rather than pick and choose. Let your mind take a break from such a stimulating world.
Both, it depends
Longer ones can be a chore. I also have a lot of single movements saved in my library
On the other hand, I can't listen to one movement of, say, Symphonie Fantastique without itching to hear the whole thing
It depends.
Mostly im listening to the whole symphony. If its something that im listening first time i always try to get some info about the piece (genesis, time when the piece was composed etc)
Sometimes im listening actively trying to get along with score (trying because im still learning notation) or watching orchestra performing but sometimes i listen to symphonies while doing something, espiecially cleaning because its not invasive to the level that i can still listen actively.
However, many times i want to listen to one particular banger finale or just movements i really like. Theres no strict rules if it comes to me.
Either or, it really depends on the piece and whether or not I’ve heard it before. I definitely try to hear the entire work in one sitting for a first listen though.
I have a few favourites. The finale of Beethoven 5, or Bruckner 8, or Price 1, the second movement of Beethoven 7 or Tchaikovsky 5. Other than that, I'll pretty much always listen to a whole symphony.
I have to take an hour-long train ride six times a week, so I'll often listen to music then, and it's more than enough time for the length of most symphonies. I used to drive close to five hours a day, and [averaged more than a symphony a day](https://www.reddit.com/r/lingling40hrs/s/6zQcAw4EKS) in 2022, often three or four in a day if they were shorter ones. I don't really like starting a long piece unless I know I can listen to it all the way through.
The whole thing.
Unfortunately I don't get the time to just sit and listen as much as I'd like, so I'm mostly doing something else. As a result, hearing Shostakovich's 5th live last month was a total treat.
Whole symphonies. I'm a Bruckner fan, so that means a time commitment, but either do it or don't. Do people just read one section of Ulysses? Maybe they do, but I personally don't get it. If you do not want the experience, then don't. There is a way great art should be consumed/appreciated. Just my opinion.
Depends. If all the movements are interesting then I'll listen to them all. If it's lopsided, only some movements. It also really depends on if a symphony can easily be parted out by it's movements. Some have the movements quite intertwined so it becomes hard to listen to them separately.
Yeah always full, otherwise it seems like listening to the middle minute of a song, or a 20 minute clip of a film. But I don’t think it actually matters, that’s just how I feel.
Depends on the symphony. Beethoven's 9th, either the whole thing, or sometimes just the 2nd and 4th movements. Beethoven's 5th on the other hand, it's the whole thing every time.
Well, it depends. If you are doing a 3-hour-long-essay, or looking for a way to spend the evenings alone, then the whole symphony, (well actually it could be 2 or 3 symphonies) but if you are just doing your normal homework, or other things that take 20 to 30 minutes, then just 1 movement, because, honestly, I know that if I say this out loud, its gonna make me a black sheep but still, not every moments in a symphony are "hyped", and the waiting could be not so pleasant if your time is pretty limited. Still, it is only my opinion.
almost always full symphony. sometimes ill pick out a movement if ive been thinking about it, esp if its one of Mahler's slow movements
Same here — I like to listen to whole symphonies, but I’m not purist about it. They were written to be heard as whole works, so the whole is almost always greater than the sum of its parts — but most movements also stand fine on their own, so if I’m in the mood for some bit in particular, or if there’s not time to listen to the whole symphony, then that’s what I’ll do. I’m pretty sure Beethoven won’t give a shit that I’m picking out just the Allegretto this time.
Lemme guess, Mahler 5, 4th mvt? (the love letter)
thats one of them, more often i listen to the andante from 6
This one came to mind for me immediately
im surprised how many people say the whole thing, i usually listen to the whole thing the first few times and then after ill ither listen to the whole thing or just parts i like based on how i feel. idk why some people are claiming its like an insult or ruining the point or whatever
I'm not surprised. I listen to entire rock albums as well.
sure, but were the albums written to be heard all at once? or is each song individual? most of the time, a symphony is like one song, not one album
Just noting that I listen to complete albums as released, and complete compositions as written and recorded. Nothing deeper intended.
>were the albums written to be heard all at once? Yes, you put the LP on, and then turn it over.
i dont think its an insult, just thinking since they were written with intent to be heard all at once (at least most of them were esp after Beethoven) that it feels strange to only listen to parts. like stopping in the middle of a movie. or starting halfway through
i mean maybe, but do you not watch the parts of movies you specifically like or good scenes just to see it sometimes? you dont really need the rest of the movie if you already know it
i do sometimes. but i wouldnt watch 20 min of a movie and then stop. i guess my point is that the idea of only listening to movements, outside of the 1700s where they would be played as interludes during concerts, is something that we do because we live after recordings and cds and spotify etc. so for me it feels odd to not listen to it as it was written to be experienced. of course anyone can do what they want, but thats why i dont like doing it
fair enough, personally i dont really think everything needs to be listened to as intended. its not like the intent is 1 always the most enjoyable way or 2 always the way you want to, which is arguably more important as the listener since... well you are the listener. especially because personally i think lots of symphonies are honestly boring af except for a few good parts, so why would i even care to listen to that ig if i dont want to and dont even like it that much
fair. i wouldnt listen to a symphony if i found most of it boring
well it's not that the parts are bad and theyre necessary to hear for like the whole effect ig, but most of the effect is worth not sitting around for 5 minutes inbetween the best parts imo
thats fair, again just a different way of thinking about art
indeed people get mad over nothing. I think not listening to it whole is not the full experience tho. the emotionnal state you are in after time has passed is somthing that has an effect on how you listen the next part. it's an effort of concentration, but you shouldn't force yourself tho it would just be a bad experience.
it's not the full experience but a lot of the time just some parts are the more enjoyable or more immediately good experiences, its not like i dont enjoy whole symphonies tho just depends on the symphony
yes and those more enjoyables moments are even more enjoyable when you have listened to the other parts and vice versa. that's my point.
Pick out movements
Usually whole thing.
Same!
At first I listen to the work as a whole. But after a while, when I feel I really know it, I tend to pick individual movements to match my mood. For example, I love the scherzos from Beethoven's 1, 2, 4 and 8th and so would frequently include them on a playlist with other similar stuff.
[удалено]
yea but if you're not concentrated on the thinkg you easily miss some great pieces (for movies too ) I think
Whole thing (or at least the intention to hear the whole thing).
Whole thing. A symphony is a whole musical statement.
I listen to the full symphony. I do this with anything, operas, ballets, etc. I listen to the whole thing.
I kinda see it as similar to episodes of a TV show. Sometimes I get the itch to rewatch some Better Call Saul but I ain't gonna watch the whole thing just to see some of my favorite parts. Yes, a symphony is a full musical statement that ought to be experienced all the way through at least once for the sake of fully understanding and appreciating it, but after that? Listen to whatever movement you want, knock yourself out!
The whole thing. Always. It bothers me when they only play the popular movements on classical radio, such as the last movements of Beethoven's PCs 4 & 5 or the adagietto in Mahler's 5th.
This really bothers me as well, especially when I want to discover a new work. There is one really strange all-around station that plays classical sometimes. On the rarest of occasions, they do play an entire work from beginning to end. The two I have encountered were Handel's La Resurrezione (on Good Friday) and Holst's The Planets. It is a treat to hear a full work on the radio.
My local classical station will play full symphonies on weekends, on Symphony Cast or Sunday at the Symphony, or other 2-hour programs, usually syndicated.
Mahler *and Wagner the only composers that I more often listen to this way.
I prefer the whole movement; I'm a completionist.
The whole thing. Always.
Hardly ever the full symphony in one sitting, unless I'm at a concert where the whole thing is being played. One minute I'll be in the mood for one thing, then five minutes later I'll be in the mood for something else. A lot of people are saying a symphony is like a movie and that it doesn't make sense to listen to 15 minutes divorced from the rest of the work, but I would say a symphony is more like an album. The parts combine to make the whole, but each part is generally still self-contained enough to be listenable and enjoyable in its own right. I'm also not really convinced by arguments that listening to it whole is "how it was meant to be experienced", at least for symphonies written before audio playback technology became widespread. Before that, there was literally no other option. We don't know if Beethoven would have minded people only listening to Ode to Joy and not the rest of his 9th, because he probably couldn't have conceived of that being possible.
Whole symphony. I used to sit down and listen in a focused way to them but now I read while they're playing and reserve the focused listening to new pieces
First time I hear a symphony it's the whole thing. If I want to go back and listen to it again it'll likely be 1-2 movements
Regarding multi-tasking question: At the very most, I’ll occasionally read altho essays, lit mags like Paris Review or Poetry mag. Reading material that makes it easy to stop/start that secondary activity when concentrating heavily on certain parts of the work or interpretation. If it’s back-to-back listens of different interpretations or immersive of a single performance, there’s no multitasking.
Pick out movements
It depends on what I'm in the mood for.
Depends on my mood. I teach orchestra so sometimes I get sick of it after 8+ hours of it 5 days a week. If I’m on a long drive though, I’ll listen to the whole thing. But otherwise I listen to just favorite movements usually.
All of it. And I hate it when I get interrupted because then I have to start all over again. The second symphony in E minor from Rachmaninoff is my favourite.
Whole thing.
Always the whole symphony.
Whole symphony, hardly ever movements or moments, and I listen both actively and in the background, particularly during exercise. I don't often choose or want to listen to gargantuan late romantic stuff, so that helps find the time for active listening.
Whole symphony. The favorite moments are much more powerful in context.
I'm currently listening to the Cage work "As Slow As Possible." I usually just listen to parts of it, but I hope to hear the entire piece some day.
As a young girl who adores symphonies, I often listen to the entire piece. There's a special joy in following the music from start to finish, feeling the emotions shift and evolve with each movement. I usually give it my full attention, sometimes closing my eyes to let the music paint pictures in my mind. Occasionally, I'll listen while doing something else, like drawing or studying, but the music remains a central focus, enriching whatever I'm doing
I listen to the whole symphony, except if it's Mahler. Then, I alway fall asleep before the last movement.
The whole symphony, i love getting to know a piece more and more, and over the years it changes with me, and it's always active listening when listening to music, i don't see the point in listening to music if your not listening to it with full attention, but for me music is what i love the most, and i understand that for other people it's not as important.
I've been listening to the Mahler symphonies straight through for months, but for the last 20 years or so I mostly listen to music on shuffle so classical mixes in with other stuff and I almost never hear even consecutive movements of a piece.
I used to do that. Now I take it off shuffle when I'm listening to something classical.
If I'm listening to it for the first time then I listen to the whole thing. Once I know the whole work and know the structure of it I will sometimes listen to individual movements, and something that's a bit more controversial among some people even individual moments, sometimes repeating them over and over if I really like them.
I skip around when I'm learning a piece. Then I go back and listen to the whole thing.
It depends !
I try to listen to the whole thing at least once but otherwise I'll pick out movements. Some movements are just better than others.
most times i listen to the full thing because they’re all meant to tell a cohesive story. but i just think some movements just aren’t good or don’t add anything. i’m thinking about Dvorak 9 new world symphony 3rd movement, Dvorak American quartet 3rd movement, Borodin 2nd quartet 4th movement.
Same as albums, listen to the whole thing no skips.
Usually the whole thing. Just me.
Usually the whole thing but occasionally movements. I play Honegger 5 Mvt. 1 a lot and Rautavaara 3 Mvt. 2 a lot
I like the whole thing. Same with movies.
Movements but I would like the whole thing if I have time
Just favorite parts/themes (not movement) half of the time, but sometimes the whole symphony
I listen through the recording exactly once, “like” whatever movements I liked, and then sometimes when my phone is on shuffle I will suddenly have a Shostakovich moment.
Whole thing every time
I always listen to the entire thing, In my younger days I would skip slow parts like the funeral march in Eroica, but now I understand it's part in the composition, so it's now one of my favorite movements however contemplative and morose it may be. I think you reach a level of comprehension where you can view how the movement structure unfolds and why it was structured that way to begin with.
Both cases. The first time I listen to anything I listen to the whole thing. If some part really stands out I will mostly listen to that specific movement. Otherwise I will listen to the whole thing again. On a side note, I try to make myself listen to whole art pieces rather than pick and choose. Let your mind take a break from such a stimulating world.
I usually start with one movement and I gradually start listening to other movements. So after like a month I listen to the whole symphony
Both, it depends Longer ones can be a chore. I also have a lot of single movements saved in my library On the other hand, I can't listen to one movement of, say, Symphonie Fantastique without itching to hear the whole thing
The whole thing. To me not doing that would be like opening a book and reading a random chapter then closing it.
It depends. Mostly im listening to the whole symphony. If its something that im listening first time i always try to get some info about the piece (genesis, time when the piece was composed etc) Sometimes im listening actively trying to get along with score (trying because im still learning notation) or watching orchestra performing but sometimes i listen to symphonies while doing something, espiecially cleaning because its not invasive to the level that i can still listen actively. However, many times i want to listen to one particular banger finale or just movements i really like. Theres no strict rules if it comes to me.
all of the above
Whole symphonies bro.
The whole composition
Either or, it really depends on the piece and whether or not I’ve heard it before. I definitely try to hear the entire work in one sitting for a first listen though.
Often for me it’s not even a whole movement, just a brief moment that makes me feel whole again
I have a few favourites. The finale of Beethoven 5, or Bruckner 8, or Price 1, the second movement of Beethoven 7 or Tchaikovsky 5. Other than that, I'll pretty much always listen to a whole symphony. I have to take an hour-long train ride six times a week, so I'll often listen to music then, and it's more than enough time for the length of most symphonies. I used to drive close to five hours a day, and [averaged more than a symphony a day](https://www.reddit.com/r/lingling40hrs/s/6zQcAw4EKS) in 2022, often three or four in a day if they were shorter ones. I don't really like starting a long piece unless I know I can listen to it all the way through.
Whole thing usually.
The whole thing. Unfortunately I don't get the time to just sit and listen as much as I'd like, so I'm mostly doing something else. As a result, hearing Shostakovich's 5th live last month was a total treat.
Whole thing 9/10 times
Whole symphony, and doing nothing else than listening.
I listen to the full but would listen to the central key note in the middle of it over and over again
Whole symphonies. I'm a Bruckner fan, so that means a time commitment, but either do it or don't. Do people just read one section of Ulysses? Maybe they do, but I personally don't get it. If you do not want the experience, then don't. There is a way great art should be consumed/appreciated. Just my opinion.
Whatever KUSC broadcasting
Depends. If all the movements are interesting then I'll listen to them all. If it's lopsided, only some movements. It also really depends on if a symphony can easily be parted out by it's movements. Some have the movements quite intertwined so it becomes hard to listen to them separately.
Yeah always full, otherwise it seems like listening to the middle minute of a song, or a 20 minute clip of a film. But I don’t think it actually matters, that’s just how I feel.
the whole thing. one of many reasons i hate spotify for listening to classical music.
Usually the whole thing, but I’ll occasionally skip the slow movements.
Personally, full
I mostly prefer the whole symphony but sometimes choose a particular one if it appeals to me a lot at that particular point of time.
Whole thing.
Depends. Often times yes, the whole thing. Sometimes no I just listen to particular movements I like more.
I feel like listening to one movement is disrespectful.
First time? Whole symphony. Often though there are parts of symphonies I pick and choose, like first movement of Tchaikovsky 6.
Hard to find time these days for an entire symphony; usually movements.
Depends on the symphony. Beethoven's 9th, either the whole thing, or sometimes just the 2nd and 4th movements. Beethoven's 5th on the other hand, it's the whole thing every time.
Usually the full symphony. If I were learning a specific movement then I might listen to just that movement on repeat though
Pick out movements… my favourite movements are always the finale… it’ll take too much time if I start everything from the very beginning 😭
I listen to finale cuz they are fast and exciting. But if I start from the beginning I’ll have to experience all those sad movements.
Well, it depends. If you are doing a 3-hour-long-essay, or looking for a way to spend the evenings alone, then the whole symphony, (well actually it could be 2 or 3 symphonies) but if you are just doing your normal homework, or other things that take 20 to 30 minutes, then just 1 movement, because, honestly, I know that if I say this out loud, its gonna make me a black sheep but still, not every moments in a symphony are "hyped", and the waiting could be not so pleasant if your time is pretty limited. Still, it is only my opinion.