Melody largely went out of fashion as the twentieth century wore on, as lesser composers incapable of writing a decent tune tried to turn the concept of beauty on its head by creating new standards for composition and by mocking the masters of melody as vulgar populists. Though melody is only one component of musical composition, it is the bone on which a piece is built, “the essence of music,” as Wolfgang Mozart put it. Only pieces that have great melodies can do this. In picking my top ten, I evaluated pieces largely on their mysterious ability to touch the deepest part of the soul. All this, I suppose, is an attempt to inoculate myself against the harshest of criticism, which I will undoubtedly receive, for the attempt below to rank the ten most beautiful symphonies ever composed. Any list that seeks to rank the most beautiful works of any kind is thus going to be subjected to fierce debate. ![]() Though beauty is an absolute reality, we human beings see through a glass darkly, and the space between objective beauty and our own personal taste can be fuzzy. Here are the ten most beautiful symphonies ever composed. In addition to melody, great and beautiful classical symphonies must display a mastery of structure and orchestration, a command of tone color and harmony, and an expertise in developing musical ideas.
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