{"id":9300,"date":"2021-01-17T18:10:56","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T17:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?p=9300"},"modified":"2021-01-18T17:29:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T16:29:42","slug":"7-7ths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2021\/01\/17\/7-7ths\/","title":{"rendered":"7 7ths &#8211; The Official, Definitive List of the Greatest Seventh Symphonies Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pg-9300-0\"  class=\"panel-grid\" >\n<div class=\"panel-grid-core\">\n<div id=\"pgc-9300-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell \"  data-weight=\"1\" >\n<div class=\"panel-widget-style\" style=\"background: url(&quot;false&quot;) !important; background-position: left top !important; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: auto !important; background-attachment: scroll !important;\" >\n<div class=\"textwidget\">\n<p>Why 7 is the symphony\u2019s lucky number?<\/p>\n<p>While there are far fewer 7<sup>th<\/sup> symphonies than 2nds or 3rds, one very rarely encounters a sour seventh. Perhaps it\u2019s just a result of the fact that with six previous attempts, most would-be composers of 7ths have either given up or mastered their craft. Here is the official, definitive list of the 7 greatest 7<sup>th<\/sup> symphonies.<\/p>\n<p>Please share your nominations for the Honorable Mention list in the comments!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>David Matthews Symphony No. 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Written to precede a performance of Mahler\u2019s Seventh, David Matthews borrowed Mahler\u2019s use of the tenorhorn, but wrote a single movement symphony stressing fluidity and elegance of form deeply influenced by Sibelius\u2019 7th<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"David Matthews - Symphony No. 7\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rMQQPNcOdXA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mahler Symphony No. 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is a sign of just how high the standards are among 7<sup>th<\/sup> symphonies that Mahler\u2019s most unjustly underrated symphony isn\u2019t higher on this list. It\u2019s one of his most imaginative, wide ranging, witty and forward looking works.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Mahler - Symphony No 7 - Chailly\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bXjaGRJNsqs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bruckner Symphony No. 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What a glorious work this is. If we were voting on the basis of first and second movements, it might top the chart here. Although the Finale isn\u2019t quite on the same level, the gorgeous coda is enough to make one forgive whatever sins Bruckner may have committed earlier on. How appropriate for symphonic music\u2019s most devout Catholic.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Bruckner &quot;Symphony No 7&quot; Eugen Jochum\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VuMef33J6aA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Beethoven Symphony No. 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It may not be Beethoven\u2019s greatest symphony, but I suggest it is his most perfect and his most exciting.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Carlos Kleiber Beethoven Symphonies 7 (Complete) \/ Concergebouw Orchestra\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2Sw97NzvvsE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dvorak Symphony No. 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We used to joke that Dvorak 7 was Brahms\u2019s greatest symphony, but as the years go by, I feel that this pithy line rather misses the point. It\u2019s certainly Dvorak\u2019s greatest symphony, and is imbued with a lyricism and a passionate temperament that even Brahms doesn\u2019t quite have.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Dvo\u0159\u00e1k Symphony No. 7 \/ Herbert Blomstedt\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P8Gk3lGOeUY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shostakovich Symphony No. 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m perhaps overprotective of this work because when I grew up, it was considered almost a joke of a piece. God spare us any more cotton-eared assessments from such \u2018musical\u2019 commentators. This is life and death music, literally.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 7 in C major, Leningrad (1941). Conductor Valery  Gergiev\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kwqZRhPXElQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sibelius Symphony No. 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If Shostakovich 7 is life and death, Sibelius 7 is beyond life and death. It\u2019s the perfect soundtrack for the end of all things \u2013 a loving recollection of every beautiful moment that has ever been as the Earth is finally engulfed by the Sun\u2019s fire.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Sibelius : Symphonie n\u00b07 sous la direction de Mikko Franck\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6do92bNswgc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0;float:none;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2021\/01\/17\/7-7ths\/\" send=\"false\" layout=\"box_count\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"true\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why 7 is the symphony\u2019s lucky number? While there are far fewer 7th symphonies than 2nds or 3rds, one very rarely encounters a sour seventh. Perhaps it\u2019s just a result of the fact that with six previous attempts, most would-be composers of 7ths have either given up or mastered their craft. Here is the official, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-opion-life-as-a-performing-musician"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9300"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9313,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300\/revisions\/9313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}