Back in 2016, I wrote a post about my favorite 100 symphonies. But it’s been 7 years since then, and I am older, and wiser.
Were I to revise the list, I’d surely remove some items, add some items, and rearrange the order. Beethoven’s symphony #3 I undervalued, and it would move into my top 20 today. And several Mahler symphonies would move up as well (Mahler gets better with repeated listening). On the other hand, Bax would drop out of the top 100 like a hot potato, along with a few Haydn symphonies. As I get older, all Haydn starts to sound alike. [I do like Haydn, but I prefer his quartets].
The purpose of today’s list is to highlight symphonies I neglected back in 2016. These would all definitely be in my top 100 today. If there’s a trend, I’d say there’s lots of music from the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s. What that says about me, I don’t know.
Copeland, Symphony #3: Peaceful. The finale you might recognize (but in a different context).
Elgar, Symphony #1: Stately and gorgeous. I’ve been listening to a lot of Elgar lately.
Pejačević, Symphony in F# minor: The grandeur of a space opera. Basically the soundtrack to the novel I’m writing (more on this later).
Hovhaness, Symphony #60, “To the Appalachian Mountains”: Pastoral and grand. Hovhaness knew his mountains.
Kalivoda, Symphony #5: Dramatic and intense and in a minor key. I like this better than Schumann.
Halvorsen, Symphony #2: “Fatum”: Neo-classical (it even contains a fugue), this reminds me a little of late Brahms.
Langgaard, Symphony #1: “Klippepastoraler”: Sweeping, epic, and dark.
Schmidt, Symphony #4: Basically an instrumental requiem. Heartbreaking. I hear Strauss, Mahler, Wagner.
Ives, Symphony #3, “The Camp Meeting”: This is what I think of as quintessential “American” music…the folk tunes, the folksy humor, the chaos and random dissonance.
R. Strauss, An Alpine Symphony: Lush orchestration and complex, episodic layers of sound.
Many Worlds Theory 
Thanks for your excellent piece from 2016 on then top 100 symphonies. What caught my eye when I discovered it was placing Sibelius at the top. I love the 7th. I decided to listen to the symphonies is reverse order (I have a fair number but easy now with Spotify). Other ‘Top Symphonies ever Written” type lists tend to have the Eroica right up there and often at No1. I’ve never quite got that. I appreciate it’s good but would not have it in my top 10. Clear that, thankfully, different music has quite different emotional effects on different people. Heretically, I find Mozart and Haydn all feels the same and symphonies are largely interchangeable. I had never heard of Brian before but glad I have listened to his efforts so that I can avoid in future. (That said, I know someone who thinks his work is phenomenal). I would have had Elgar included, certainly the 1st in the top half and the hugely underrated Sea Symphony of Vaughan Williams. Currently at No 53 (Shostakovich 1st)