wondering

[jehangircama]

i was wondering, which composer has the most compositions to his name. piano, violin, whatever. would it be mozart, beethoven,... ??

[mrchops10]

actually, it's haydn. I read once if you listened to his music 10 hrs. a day, you'd be at it for six weeks. Seriously, 100+ symphonies, more piano sonatas than Beethoven, dozens of piano trios, string quartets, etc.

[leahcim]

i was wondering, which composer has the most compositions to his name. piano, violin, whatever. would it be mozart, beethoven,... ??

My guesses would be Bach, Handel or Haydn.

I suspect there's lots of stuff that's never published / lost and /or of questionable authorship if you look into it

[bernhard]

Telemann

[jehangircama]

i've got a set of 4 volumes (ABRSM) of Haydn sonatas and there are only 23. r there more? and he wrote 100 symphonies?!! i never knew that. and what were telemann's works? i've heard of him but never heard any of his pieces.

[bernhard]

i've got a set of 4 volumes (ABRSM) of Haydn sonatas and there are only 23. r there more? and he wrote 100 symphonies?!! i never knew that. and what were telemann's works? i've heard of him but never heard any of his pieces.

Haydn wrote 60 - 66 sonatas (some were lost and there is a debate about the authenticilty of some). The ABRSM publishes only a selection (that they think are the best - and with a pedagogical bend).

You can have a look here for more information:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3729.msg33455.html#msg33455
(Haydn sonatas – best recordings).

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4046.msg36920.html#msg36920
(grades for all of Haydn’s sonatas)


Telemann composed some 3000 works (I believe he is in the Guiness book of records as the most prolific composer), just a few for keyboard (I find them mostly indifferent). His recorder sonatas (with piano/harpsichord accompaniment) however, are superb .

Best wishes,
Bernhard

[jehangircama]

thanks i like the Haydn hob 16/31. i've got (guess who) Lang Lang's recording. but i'll look for Jeno Jandos's recording, i like his playing. 

[thalbergmad]

It is Telemann by some margin.

Strange that he was considered superior to Bach in his day. How tastes change.

[bernhard]

It is Telemann by some margin.

Strange that he was considered superior to Bach in his day. How tastes change.

Telemann (1681 - 1767) was only four years older than Bach, and yet, by the time Bach applied to the post of Kantor in Leipzig, Telemann was already the most famous musician in Germany while Bach was still considered an upstart. Nevertheless both composers were good friends (Telemann was godfather to Carl Phillip Emanuel).

Yet by 1799, J. S. Bach was already the centre of the "Sun of Composers" , and Telemann had already been relegated to one of the rays.

Christoph Wolff ("J. S. Bach: The Learned Musician" - OUP) has a very interesting theory. Quickly forgotten composers like Rameau, Telemann, Scarlatti, never engaged in teaching to the extent that Bach did. He suggests that it was Bach students and the fact that Bach was associated with an academic centre that guaranteed his survival (the excellenc of his music is taken for granted).

Another interesting fact: Telemann was actually a lawyer, and he taught himself music and composition while studying law.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[Tash]

yeah i did a presentation on baroque music in leipzig this semester and being the unknowledgable person i am was like oh wow bach wrote over 200 cantatas that's freakishly impressive. and then i read that telemann wrote like 50 million compositions and i was like wow...i'm so ignorant...but yeah telemann was the man to be in leipzig for thomaskantor but he didn't take the position so the council reluctantly got bach cos graupner didn't take it either- they'd both written at least 5 yearly cycles of cantatas (bach had only written 1 at the time). but yeah, considering the circumstances in leipzig at the time it's no wonder they composed so much, like they had to write cantatas every week for church services, plus larger works for special religious occasions, and whatever else.

[mikey6]

according to Guiness book of records it's Telemann.  (also Mahler 3 is considered the longest symphony and Parsifal the longest opera - might be dated by now, can't remember the year)

[jehangircama]

but very few people play Telemann these days (at least, i hav e never heard a recording). what is his music like? does he use counterpoint like Bach? or is he different?

[bernhard]

I suggest "The six recorder sonatas" (Vicky boeckman - recorders) - Kontrapunkt.

(but then I have a bias towards the recorder).

Then, almost randomly:

Telemann - "Suites, sonatas and concertos" (2CD - The Royal Concerto Series)
Telemann - "Recorder concertos" (Pter Holtstag & The Parly of Instruments) - Helios
Telemann - "Solo Works" (Marion Verbruggen) - Harmonia Mundi
Telemann - "Recorder Suite in Am - Viola Concerto - Tafelmusik" - Naxos.

Enjoy!

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[jehangircama]

thanks, i'll have a look for these

[phil13]

Before all that info on Telemann I was going to suggest Czerny. His opus numbers run into the thousands, and there were 8-12 exercises for some of the opus numbers (don't know how many). Anyways it still doesn't seem to add up to 3000+ works.

Phil