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Now, this is hell of a challenge to pick... My top ten movements are constantly flowing back and forth, but there are a handful that always remain around the top. Of course, you'll quickly figure out what I tend to favor the most: Romantic and post-Romantic composers, Russians, orchestral pieces... And you'll be able to quickly point out what particular trends have carried on into my own music. So I'm first listing the honorable mentions... Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 2, 1st movement. Haendel: Messiah, "Unto Us a Child is Born". Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exposition, 10th movement ("The Great Gate of Kiev"). Bach, Orchestral Suite No. 3, 2nd movement ("Air"). Especially the non-historically-informed performances I grew up to love. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, 1st and 3rd movements. Tchaikovsky, The Maid of Orleans, Act III, Scene 2, "March". Rivalling Verdi's better known march from Aida. Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin, Act I, Letter Scene. Tchaikovsky, The Maid of Orleans, Act I, Hymn. Rachmaninov, Symphony No. 2, 1st movement. Elgar, Enigma Variations, "Nimrod". Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, 1st movement. Tchaikovsky, Manfred Symphony, 2nd movement. Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5, 2nd movement. Mahler, Symphony No. 1, 1st and 4th movements. Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto in E minor, 1st movement. Dvorak, Symphony No. 7, 3rd movement. Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty, Act I (Rose Adagio) and Act III (March, Polonaise and Pas de Quattre). Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet, Act I, "Dance of the Knights". Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, 1st movement. Mozart, Great Mass in C Minor, "Kyrie". Shostakovich, The Gadfly, "Romance". Morricone, Cinema Paradiso, "Love Theme". Brahms, Symphony No. 1, 4th movement. And now, the top ten, in (some sort of) descending order, with a few extra comments... 10) Borodin, String Quartet No. 2 in D, 2nd movement. What a lovely nocturne! 9) Mozart, Symphony No. 41 in C, 4th movement. Ah, that five-theme fugue... 8) Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 1 in Db, 1st movement. Has blown me away every time since I first heard it. 7) Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, 1st movement. It always gets me bouncing in my seat with its infectious rhythms. 6) Delius, Florida Suite, 1st movement ("Daybreak") 5) Mahler, Symphony No. 4, 1st movement. Couldn't avoid falling in love with it at once. 4) Grofe, Grand Canyon Suite, 4th movement, ("Sunset"). Rather than the more famous "On the Trail". 3) Tchaikovsky, The Queen of Spades, Act III, Scene 2. I just love the way the drama is enhanced by the music in this passage. 2) Mahler, Symphony No. 2, 1st movement. An epic, gigantic funeral march. 1) Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique), 3rd movement. It... just brings the house down!

I personally never liked the Brahms 4th symphony. When I played it in Symphony it seemed kind of bland compared to his second symphony. But the 6th symphony by Tchaikovsky I totally agree with, pretty much the whole piece (emphasis on 3rd and 4th movement), but my list had too many things to put on it :( I wish I had like 100 spots!

As I promised, here are my book recommendations (as well as websites) that will help in gaining different aspects of making and understanding music. For your music theory studies: Tonal Harmony: with an introduction to twentieth-century music By Stefan Kostka and Dorothy Payne This is a standard textbook used in many universities and is used at my universities freshmen theory classes. Its straight forward and newer editions come with workbooks and CDs that accompany the text. www.musictheory.net This site has the basic beginnings of what you need to know in music theory and aural skills. The site comes with exercises and tools for later studies. It also has accompanying apps for both theory and aural skills. Counterpoint by Kent Kennan A much more advance book on just counterpoint, how to study it and how to write it. Its very thorough but can go over ones head very easily. Analysis of Tonal Music: A Schenkerian Approach by Allen Cadwallader and David Gagné An even more advance theory text that uses schenkerian theory to analyze tonal music. Might want to put off this book until you fully absorbed the others. Structural Functions of Harmony by Arnold Schoenberg As the title suggest, its a book on harmony. However, it is not a how-to on harmony, but the theories and functions of tonal harmonies. Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory by Joseph N. Straus A theory book that only deals with music of the early 20th century. Books on Orchestration: Essential Dictionary of Music by Lindsey C. Harnsberger, Essential Dictionary of Music Notation by Tom Gerou and Linda Lusk, and Essential Dictionary of Orchestration by Dave Black and Tom Gerou Three cheap small must have books for any starting composer. http://www.music.indiana.edu/department/composition/isfee/ An essential bookmark in your browser for orchestration. Teaches you about almost every instrument and includes videos that are activated by the space bar. Music History (because you shouldn't write music in a vacuum) The Enjoyment of Music (The complete edition) by Kristine Forney, Andrew Dell'Antonio, and Joseph Machlis This will give you a brief overview of classical music's history. Norton Anthology of Western Music (Vol. 1 & 2) by J. Peter Burkholder, Claude V. Palisca Provides scores and history to study The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory ​More advance readings and excerpts of musical treatises written over the centuries that give you an overview of how music theory came to being. ​Like I said, none of these books will teach you to compose. But for me, many of these books changed how I approached composing and thought about music. Hopefully they will do the same for you.