At my first viola class as a 9 year old, my arms were too small and noodly to hold up a viola. A local music store had brought a ton of instruments for us to choose from, so my teacher just had me pick out a violin and restrung it as a viola. I think it took her all of 3 minutes to do.

Mieczysław Weinberg Symphony #7 or Simi by Giya Kancheli edit to add Finn Mortensen's only symphony.

I was finishing my lunch at a diner in Phoenix. When I sat down I was the only person there, but for some reason when another group sat down they chose the booth right next to mine. It was a group of 4 apparent out of towners including Grandpa who looked like a skinnier Wilfred Brimley, plus a mom, a dad, and a little girl who was probably 5-7 years old. The adults were each reading different sections of a newspaper and commenting on what they were reading. The dad mentioned a piece about a local little girl who'd gone missing and that it was really sad. The little girl chimed in "Is she dead daddy?" He said, "We don't really know, sweetie." Then the little girl asked really loudly, "Was she RAPED, daddy?" That's when the grandpa chimed in. "Well, I sure hope not. Then she won't be no good to nobody. Will she?" The parents looked down at their plates and both said "Mmm-hmmm."

For me, sex.

Bob Ross in a grocery store. It was 1986 or '87. I pointed him out to my mom and my brother, but neither would listen. He saw me and gave me a knowing wave and disappeared into the dairy section. He may have had a lit cigarette in his mouth, but I could have just added that detail in. I lived about a mile away from the studio where he taped his show, so it's possible.

They always come by when it’s too dark to see the solar panels already on our roof.

Nothing, I'm afraid. You win.

I was yelled at by one of them a few years ago at work. Me: Oh, are you snowbirds? Lady: "We're WINTER VISITORS!" She was wearing a Santa hat and bells and she jingled as she stomped out each word. Her friend whom I knew to live here year round said "Give it a rest Margie."

A vast network of pay telephones in the US.

An asshole customer tried that with me when I was a restaurant manager. He was harassing his server about god-knows-what bullshit complaint so I went over to talk to him about it while she cooled off in the break room. He was starting in on me and when I told him he could't harass my employees he said loudly "THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!!!" I said "maybe so, but you're no longer my customer." I picked up the bill and told him I was taking care of it, and then I cleared the table of the plates of food he was still enjoying and told him to leave.

When people say "Everything happens for a reason."

John Adams. Check out Naive and Sentimental Music.

I first read the question thinking it was in a jazz or trumpet sub and got as far as typing Clifford Brown before realizing this is r/classicalmusic. I'm leaving it.

Breakfast and lunch: Buendia and Five Points Market.

For dinner: Tavolino, China Szechuan, and Wild Garlic Grill

Lots of great info here, but I'll add: Benjamin Zander recorded a Mahler cycle with Philharmonia Orchestra published by Telarc which I've enjoyed a great deal. The discs often come with a recorded lecture by Zander which I've found very helpful. I don't think I've found the lectures included on streaming, but at least some of it is available on his website: https://www.benjaminzander.org/collection/mahler-and-zander/

Crashing on HBO. Pete Holmes is just such a lovable guy and I had such fun watching him stumble through the world. They made 3 seasons which I recommend watching.

I used to love Quora. You could get decent answers to questions about pretty specialized subjects that were simplified for the layperson without being dumbed down. Now some of the questions are like "I cut my son's arm off because he's late paying his rent. How long until my collateral can't be reattached? He's 6."

Aldi always makes me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7jVLp-n9ww

I guess it does. Thanks!

Simi by Giya Kancheli. Single movement piece for cello and orchestra. The ECM recording with Rostropovich and the Royal Flanders Philharmonic Orchestra is SUBLIME. I caution against the Chandos recording made by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, though. Soulless next to the alternative.

Eegee's is where I discovered I don't like shredded lettuce on a BLT. Too bad, because I like Eegee's otherwise.

1. Tchaikovsky. I love Barber's first symphony, and I think his second was far from a masterpiece, so my favorite dead composer from my home country won't make this list. Dem's da breaks!
2. Mahler. I think it's his best symphony, though 6th was sort of a first love of mine.
3. Schumann, mostly because I'm listening to it for the first time right now and I dig it.
4. Bruckner, because I'm a sucker for horn calls
5. Nielsen. I love how he dares the snare drummer to ruin everything in the first movement.
6. I'm seeing a lot of Mahler, Tchaikovsky, and "I don't Know" in this position. I respect each answer, but I'm going with Beethoven (not a unique answer either).
7. I've never really gotten into Sibelius except for his 7th.
8. Shostakovich. I feel like his 8th is his best symphony under the yoke of Stalin.
9. I'm going to just use this space to say I've never liked Shostakovich's 9th. I have horrible taste in music. Unnumbered: It's a 3 way tie, all John Adams: Harmonielehre, Naive and Sentimental Music, and My Father Knew Charles Ives.

A bit obscure, but fun: Esa-Pekka Salonen's Violin Concerto, 1st mvt. Right about 2:15. It's neat because you get the entrance of the strings and some winds right about 2:00 and sorta think "oh, that was it" and a few seconds later you're like "Oh, no. That was it.

Not seeing any James MacMillan love yet. It took me a bit to get into his stuff, but The Confession Of Isobel Gowdie and Brittania are two of my favorite orchestral works of his. If you're into choral, Miserere is beautiful, though it's orchestral setting (Larghetto for Orchestra) I think falls a tad flat.

I think this is as good a thread as any to say that, though they're not recorded nearly as often as his 3rd, Saint-Saens' other symphonies are very fun listens.