What's with the all-20th-century-all-the-time vibe? Am I the only one into the whole Mozart/Beethoven/Schubert/Mendelssohn/Brahms/Bruckner scene? (Well, almost the only one. Smetana and Dvorak are breathtaking!)
I know this post is old, but since the thread is still going...
I had no idea it had started up again.
I am all in with your "Mozart/Beethoven/Schubert/Mendelssohn/Brahms/Bruckner scene", but you seem to have neglected Mahler. Especially since you mention Bruckner. Mahler is almost always mentioned in this line, except by the dastardly anti-Mahlerians: those of the Stravinsky/Vaughan Williams school.
Do you dislike Mahler's music, Bomb? If so, I hate your guts and hereby wish upon you an eternity listening to Yoko Ono.
Then set your mind at rest: while the love of Mahler is a gift I have not yet received[/tomhanks], I am certainly not dastardly about it -- Stravinsky is loathsome, Vaughan Williams tedious.
The line to Bruckner continues through Tchaikovsky and Sibelius.
I've loved classical music since my teens, almost exclusively orchestral stuff. Some of my faves:
Mahler (my favorite, hands down), and in no particular order: Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Dvorak, Bizet, Berlioz, Grieg, Sibelius, Shostakovich... plus a great many others to lesser degrees.
I have a limited capacity for opera and/or anything pre-Haydn.
Curious that you say that after listing Bizet, who focused on opera. The Symphony in C is priceless but he thought it too derivative of his teacher's music and never published it. Have you heard The Pearl Fishers? Overshadowed by Carmen, but it's a masterpiece.
I'm inclined to agree with you about pre-Haydn, except for Vivaldi and a few Bach gems.
As for Bizet, yes, I do like the Symphony in C. It's not terribly original, but as a student piece, composed when he was 17, it's nothing to sneeze at, IMO. But, my fave Bizet is a CD is have of his L'Arlésienne Suites. I have not heard his operas, except bits from Carmen (the ones everybody knows).
I have tried to listen to opera, but have yet to hear one complete. I of course enjoy certain bits, overtures, arias, etc.
I mentioned Stravinsky and Williams because they markedly disliked Mahler's music. Of course they aren't the only ones!
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With Mahler the problem is rooting through the gigantic piles of Mahler recordings to find ones that resonate. I had a box-set of the symphonies on vinyl back in the eighties that I sent away for, and the execution was absolutely awful. Subsequently I bought a recording of the 1st on cassette (bargain bin), and I swear I could have conducted it better myself. Note to self: never buy classical music on the cheap.
My favorite symphony is the 2nd (Resurrection), followed closely by the 1st; then the 8th & 9th. I am not familiar with the 3rd or 7th (and I agree with Tars that the 7th is particularly difficult to warm to.)
The best interpreters, IMO, of Mahler's genius were (are) Bruno Walter (if you want the best version of the 1st especially), Bernstein, Abbado, Rattle, and Dudamel (his 2nd is spectacular).
Chailly and Tilson-Thomas were disappointing to me.
I'm afraid I am mostly ignorant of a great many contemporary conductors. There are so many it's difficult to keep track.
