The greatest (or your favorite) composer of all

[chsmike2345]

Who do you guys all like? I know this is a common question... but, I think Rachmaninoff is THE greatest composer of all time, with great emotion (all pieces), melodies (rach 2 concerto movement 3), and difficulty (rach3 is arguably the hardest piece of all). I believe the best concerto ever is the rach 3, not only is it monumental, but when i listen to it it gives me chills and emotions i can not explain...

[Kelvin]

I totally agree with you

[Chad]

I really like Chopin.  I think he is my favorite.  I am also a fan on Beethoven and Mozart (who isnt )

[la_carrenio2003]

I think everybody in this forum already knows my opinion in this matter, but I don't get tired of repeating this: for me, the greatest composer of all times was Johann Sebastian Bach.

[chopinetta]

CHOPIN CHOPIN CHOPIN! GO CHOPIN!

[eddie92099]

Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Ravel, Bartok, Chopin and Liszt. (And Debussy, Gershwin and Shostakovich) - is that too many?
Ed

[marc]

My favorite is Beethoven, and his piano work is so great !

but Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Ravel, Scriabin, Rachmaninof ... well, I not could live without them too !

[Irock1ce]

Beethoven, Mozart,Brahms,Bach. Favorite : Beethoven/Mozart. Guys.. remember we are talking about the greatest composers or your favorite... Rach and Chopin are great and all.. but they are realllllllly one sided towards piano. Unlike Beethoven with his many symphonies. Mozart with his operas. Brahms with his great chamber music. and Bach.. well bach is just everything.

[NetherMagic]

I'm with Chopinetta

CHOPIN ALL DA WAY!  And piano ownz all other instruments, therefore again Chopin is the greatest composer of all!!!!

[Beethoven87]

Wow...  That's far too difficult to narrow down...  Right now, if I HAD to chose, I guess I'd say Chopin and Beethoven...  But I've been listening to a LOT of Rachmaninoff.  That's definetly a toughie.  And to whoever said about Mozart "Who doesn't?"  ...I don't really like much Mozart, and I've never been able to explain why.  Feel free to flame me mercilessly...

[Irock1ce]

Mozart.. his music has that sadness that you just has to listen to a whole lot and understand him to realllly love.. i tihnk his piano concertos all include some sort of a sadness in them...his greatness comes from how simple his pieces sound yet they are sooo deep emotionally... you can say that he abuses the alberti bass but i feel that mozart rivals Beethoven as greatest composer.. but i think Beethoven is in the lead by a nudge for me... unless i run into the rest of Mozart's piano concertos... that might make me change my mind  

[chopinetta]

i don't think mozart's music has those "sad" tunes... usually they're the happy in-the-carnival melodious pieces. if you say sad, try chopin's nocturne in c#-!

[Irock1ce]

... except he lived in poverty for the last like 5 years of his life... and his music has a sad undertone.. i mean it doesnt sound sad.. but yet it is. and yes i kno that Nocturne. i played it..

[rachfan]

My favorite: Rachmaninoff
Runner Up: Scriabin

[Andrew]

My favorite would have to be Beethoven.  His stuff was my introduction to classical music, and while I do enjoy music by other composers, I always find myself returning to Beethoven.

I like it all, though..

[chopinetta]

if you're talking about the requiem, yes, it's sad!

[BoliverAllmon]

The best is is J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms.

My fav. is the before mentioned along with chopin and liszt.

I found it interesting to see that no one else mentioned liszt yet. I thought there were some big fans here.

boliverallmon

[chsmike2345]

Music is a place where you can vent your emotions. That's all it is. No matter what your level, you should always strive for this state of mind. This is the reason why I don't prefer Mozart or Bach, becuase they seems to have no emotion (this is only what I feel) and seem to be only technical. Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev and Chopin on the other hand have an amazing combination of technincals and emotions. But, the technicals simply supplement the emotions. You need to practice the technicals so you can freely express yourself at performances or just for yourself.

[Irock1ce]

did u just say Mozart has no emotion?   im shocked. and Mozart is NOT technical difficulties. His piano concertos are times easier technically then the beethoven, chopin, lizst, rachs. But its the emotions in his pieces which makes them so great! Geez.... saying Mozart has no emotion... Shame!  

[NetherMagic]

I think reason why Liszt is not mentioned because many of his works are transcriptions and when people think of Romanticism they usually think of Chopin

[NetherMagic]

btw how do you guys do that quote thing to show what some user wrote previously?

[musicmaker18]

I also like Rachmaninoff.  One of my favorite pieces is Vocalise, the instrumental (no singing).

[chopinetta]

Yes. I am a fan of Chopin's friend and rival, Franz Liszt! I do think he's really great! But probably not as a composer, but the greatest pianist of all. Chopin, as a teacher, never gave any Liszt piece to his student. Maybe that's why people have not been mentioning him here.

[eddie92099]

Liszt is much more revolutionary than Chopin - you can see this in his use of technique (e.g. the transcendental etudes), and much of his music directly precedes impressionism (e.g. nuages gris) and atonalism (in fact his Bagatelle sans tonalite is the first atonal piece),
Ed

[willster]

Chopin, as a teacher, never gave any Liszt piece to his student.

That is complete nonsense-where have you heard that from? If the truth be told then we don't actually know much about Chopin's teachings nor much of his own personal taste in performance directions as unlike liszt he did not leave a legacy of piano pupils in his wake. The nature of his teaching (he taught extremely wealthy aristocratic women) meant that they were unlikely to take up the vocation of teacher themselves!
there is NO evidence to suggest that he never gave any Liszt piece to his students nor any evidence to say that he did.

I would suggest that Liszt is a huge influence as a composer and pianist who constantly strove to push the boundaries of piano playing and romanticism to the levels we appreciate today. It may also be noted that Liszt in his day was EXTREMELY influential and had the power to make or break his contemporaries. It was almost etiquette to present your piano work to him upon completion - as Grieg did with his piano concerto, which Liszt sight read upon first reading.

For a true pianist Liszt is a very important composer.

.........and this is a piano forum!

[meileng]

don't forget ,j.s.bach,the father of music and handle as well,the mother of music.we are discussing about "the greatest composer" aren't we?
anyway,beethoven is the greatest composer as for me.

[eddie92099]

I don't think Handel would appreciate being called the mother of music,
Ed

[NetherMagic]

I don't think Handel would appreciate being called the mother of music,
Ed

bahahahahahahahaha mother of music!

[ravel]

Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Ravel, Bartok, Chopin and Liszt. (And Debussy, Gershwin and Shostakovich) - is that too many?
Ed  


wowwwwwwwww, u named almost all of my favourites (except gershwin is not in my favourites)
i also like grieg, and schoenberg, berg  , berg is defintiely in my favourites
although debussy , ravel, rachmaninov, prokofiev , chopin and liszt are before any one esle i gues

[eddie92099]

What's wrong with Gershwin?
Ed

[shas]

I'm not hugly knoleable of all works but I'm a big fan of Beethoven.
However I'm just getting to know Chopan, Liszt, and Bach a bit better as well as others.
Theres no composers that i don't like so far although I enjoy slightly less some of mozats sonata's (however I keep finding pieces which contredict that statment).
Maby I just find the romantic eira more inspiering than earlly classical. I love late berock stuff as well

[eddie92099]

Shas, what is your first language?
Ed

[funkstar]

Schubert. Or Bach. Or Beethoven.

[shas]

English although I'm slightly dislexic if your refering to my spealling.
I am however fluent in french.

[eddie92099]

Sorry, I just noticed your interesting penchant for unorthadox spellings  ,
Ed