Why no Beethoven?

[Jeebo]

This is for the people who run the classical music station on Sirius satellite radio. I hope somebody there will read my comments because I do not know how to contact them otherwise.

They are playing a Memorial Day holiday weekend list of the top 76 favorite symphonies, voted on by their listeners. I have been doing other things elsewhere in the house while only peripherally paying attention to the music, but I think the host just said during an interlude between symphonies that Beethoven's symphonies are not being considered for the list.

WHY???

That's like a symphony orchestra with no violins, that's like a restaurant without chairs, that's like ... well, come up with your own similes. I think the host said (again, I was only paying peripheral attention) that they are going to play all nine Beethoven symphonies in the next week, but so what? WHY would you not even consider including Beethoven in a list of favorite symphonies? That makes absolutely no sense.

I didn't know about the voting in this fan favorite poll, but if I had, I would have included two Beethoven symphonies (#3 and #7) in my top five and probably four, maybe five, in my top 10. Excluding Beethoven symphonies from all consideration is utterly incomprehensible to me.

-- Ron

[BOSSHOG]

1. Maybe Beethoven is so good

They are giving him a week instead part of a weekend.

[Ocelot II]

2. They intentionally left Beethoven out because he's always in the top tier.

They wanted to give others a chance. There's a lot of great music that deserves hearing, too.

[Jeebo]

4. Do you know that for a fact, or are you theorizing?

Only nine symphonies out of 76 spots on the list still includes 67 spots for others. Excluding one of the very best composers makes no sense if it is truly a list of FAVORITES.

-- Ron

[Ocelot II]

5. They announced that they were intentionally not including Beethoven.

I don't recall the exact remarks but they suggested that since Beethoven is always among the favorites they wanted to include other favorites this time. They run these marathons several times a year, always with Beethoven included, and after awhile I stop listening because I get tired of symphonies. They don't run my favorite Baroque and early music programs when they do this.

[Tetrachloride]

3. My bucket list includes listening to every Beethoven piece.

[elleng]

6. On 'my' station,

playing Bach now https://weta.org/player the annual 'contest' for favorites usually includes 1 or 2, Beeth's 9 or Dvorak' New World.

NOW, Johannes Brahms
Variations on a Theme by Haydn

[Redleg]

7. He was a friggin' hack

Just kidding! I don't know how several Beethoven symphonies wouldn't be on the top of the list. I too love nos. 3 and 7 with 5 thrown in and also the first movement of 9.

[Jeebo]

8. Their #13, my #1

They're playing Mahler's second symphony now. That symphony is number 13 on their excluding-Beethoven list; it would be number 1 on my including-Beethoven list. Beethoven's "Eroica" symphony would be my number 2. The Sibelius fifth would be my number 2 if you exclude Beethoven.

-- Ron