What are the top 10 (or more!) most beautiful single instrumental movements ever composed?

Question

I'm looking for SINGLE MOVEMENTS from a larger work, such as Bach's "Air on a G string" from the Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068, or the "Allegretto" from Beethoven's 7th, or the "Grave" from Corelli's Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 2.

Thanks, everyone!

Answer 1

Normally I'm against this because I feel that a music piece should be heard in its entirety; not just single movements or fragments. Luckily, there are many single movement pieces out there I can recommend to you:



Chopin:

Ballade No. 1

Ballade No. 4

Barcarolle

Polonaise Op. 40 No. 2

Any Nocturne



Liszt:

Consolation No. 3

Ballade Ukraine

Ballade No. 1

Vallee d'Obermann



Scriabin:

Fantasie Op. 28

Sonata No. 5

Sonata No. 7



Alkan:

Le Vent from Op. 15



RV Williams:

Fantasia on Thomas Tallis



Rachmaninov:

Isle of the Dead



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Now here are some movements taken from larger works:



Mahler:

Symphony No. 5 Mov. 4

Symphony No. 6 Mov. 3

Symphony No. 1 Mov. 1



Bach:

Aria from the Goldberg Variations

Contrapunctus XIV from The Art of Fugue

Chaconne from Violin Partita No. 2



Rachmaninov:

Piano Concerto No. 2 Mov. 2

Sonata No. 2 Mov. 2



Ravel:

Ondine from Gaspard de la Nuit



Prokofiev:

Romeo and Juliet, the Balconey Scene

Symphony No. 5 Mov. 1



Sibelius:

Pelleas et Mellisande: At the Castle Gate



Beethoven:

Piano Sonata No. 32 Mov. 2

Piano Sonata No. 8 Mov. 2



Mozart:

Concerto for Flute and Harp Mov. 2



That's enough to get you started.

Answer 2

I very much enjoy Leonard Bernstein's "Suite From Mass." Perhaps my favorite movement is "A Simple Song."



Also try these:



Aaron Copland- The Promise of Living from the Opera The Tender Land

Leonard Bernstein- Maria from West Side Story

Answer 3

(1) Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini - 18th Variation

(2) Ludwig van Beethoven: 8th Piano Sonata "Pathetique," 2nd Movement

(3) Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata, Movement 1

(4) Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, 3rd Movement

(5) Brahms 4th movement in Symphony No.3

(6) Mahler's 1st movement in 1st symphony

(7) Mahler's 5th Symphony, 4th movement, "Sehr langsam."

(8) Bruckner's 7th 2nd movement

(9) Shostakovich 5/4

(10) Mozart 40/1



Just to name a few. ;)