Favorite Composers

[Essyne]

Mahler.

[dnephi]

Mahler.

Personally, I've never really felt anything when listening to his music.  He uses some interesting color, but it all just gets monotonous without clear thematic material or direction.

[retrouvailles]

Personally, I've never really felt anything when listening to his music.  He uses some interesting color, but it all just gets monotonous without clear thematic material or direction.

I would beg to differ, especially after seeing a performance of his Das Lied von der Erde last night. It was a highly emotional piece, especially in the massive last movement, where feelings of regret and anguish are expressed in many different ways, particularly in the innovative orchestration.

[Essyne]

I could listen to Mahler for all of Eternity. I just get lost in His World. Words can't even explain how Capitivating the Music is. Lol - my Mother told me that whenever I listen to him I just sit there the entire time with this crooked smile on my face. It's just . . . Dizzying.

[pies]

a

[kelly_kelly]

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Chopin
Mendelssohn
Debussy
Ravel
Prokofiev

Not to say I enjoy pieces exclusively from these composers, but these are the ones I enjoy most uniformly. As for an absolute favorite... it generally varies between Bach, Mozart and Debussy.

[learner of liszt]

First is an absolute tie between Liszt and Gershwin (different styles, but still great composers), then:

Tie: Rachmaninoff & Alkan
Beethoven
Leroy Anderson
Bach

[communist]

there is a reason no one plays Roslavets

[retrouvailles]

there is a reason no one plays Roslavets

Yeah. That reason is that he wrongfully suffered from the tyrannical regime that was under Stalin. Many of his works were lost and his name was purged from history books. For this reason he was all but forgotten until now. It is time that more people play this marvelous composer's work.

[dnephi]

I think it's because he didn't write an etudes set that we could call Roslavetets.

[retrouvailles]

I think it's because he didn't write an etudes set that we could call Roslavetets.

Why would you want to do that? And his set of 3 etudes is very good, by the way. Extremely hard though.

[Petter]

Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer

[fredericfrancoischopin]

TOP 3:

First: Beethoven
Second: Chopin
Third (changes quite frequently): Liszt

i have the same 3  1st beethoven,2nd chopin,third liszt

[healdie]

in no particular order

Brahms
Schumann
Beethoven
Mahler
Wagner
Shostakovich

[somnifer]

Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer
Hanz Zimmer

If you love him THAT much you'd have known his first name is "Hans".

My top three are Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart, with favourite contemporary composer going to Nobuo Uematsu.

[communist]

Updated list:

1. Rachmaninoff

2. Mendelssohn

3. Brahms

4. Grieg

5. Dvorak

6.Tchaikovsky

7.Rautavaara

8. Ades

9. Medtner

10. Handel

[weissenberg2]

1. Brahms

2. Feinberg

3. Haydn

4. Reinecke

5. Schumann

6. Liebermann

7. Rachmaninoff

8.Debussy

9.Bach

10. Weber

[csharp_minor]

* 1st place: Beethoven - hes the king

* 2nd Place: Chopin  hes also a king, but only for piano


Runners up:

Bach, Greig, Schubert, Schumann, Mozart, Haydn, Debussy, Field, Handle also others but can't be bothered...

[db05]

1. "anonymous"
2. Scarlatti
3. Franck

[fredericfrancoischopin]

TOP 3:

First: Beethoven
Second: Chopin
Third (changes quite frequently): Liszt

my first beethoven
second chopin
third liszt

you have same thoughts lol

Bernard

[thalbergmad]

Woelfl
Dussek
Clementi
Kalkbrenner
Bortkiewicz

Next week it will change again.

Depends what i am listening to or playing really.

Thal

[jabbz]

Which Dussek? I find the music of Mozart's contemporary, nearly completely worthless, however, the second Dussek definitely has a few jems.

[anne126]

Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Schubert, Haydn (that order and then in no order)

Richard Strauss, Mahler, Bruckner, Buxtehude, Wagner, Sweelinck, Ravel, Schoenberg, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Prokofiev, Purcell, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Brahms...

I like everything I guess, with the exception of most of the music from the last 70 years or so, and many of the "twelve-tone" composers.

[thalbergmad]

Which Dussek? I find the music of Mozart's contemporary, nearly completely worthless, however, the second Dussek definitely has a few jems.

J L Dussek

[njalli]

TOP 3:

First: Beethoven
Second: Chopin
Third (changes quite frequently): Liszt

sama here

[imbetter]

In no particular order (an updated list):

Bach
Haydn
Beethoven
Schumann
Prokofiev
Debussy
Ravel
Rachmaninoff
Scriabin
Shostakovich
Bartok
Massiaen
Rautavaara

There are also a lot of 20th century composers that I like a lot but can't really think of ones to name right now.

[ahinton]

Yeah. That reason is that he wrongfully suffered from the tyrannical regime that was under Stalin. Many of his works were lost and his name was purged from history books. For this reason he was all but forgotten until now. It is time that more people play this marvelous composer's work.

You can't blame only Stalin for that. Roslavets got into disfavour with the Soviet authorities even before Stalin and remained a "non-person" long after Stalin's death; a reasonably widespread appreciation of his work has had to wait until some time after the collapse of Soviet communism.

[pinhanil]

*Fahir Atakoglu
*Mozart
*Frederic Chopin
*Beethoven
 

[retrouvailles]

You can't blame only Stalin for that. Roslavets got into disfavour with the Soviet authorities even before Stalin and remained a "non-person" long after Stalin's death; a reasonably widespread appreciation of his work has had to wait until some time after the collapse of Soviet communism.

Yeah, I wasn't explicit enough in my statement. I had known about the situation with Soviet authorities. At least his music is making a bit of a comeback, for it is some great stuff.

[weissenberg2]

Am I the only person who said Feinberg 

[nanabush]

Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev

I can't get enough of that Early-Mid 20th Century Music.

[antichrist]

Three words Liszt, Liszt ,and Liszt

also his friend Alkan and Chopin,and the one who kissed Liszt when he was young,ludwig beethoven.

russian composers are Greatest ever

[ghchopin]

Chopin.
Rachmaninoff
Liszt.

[john11inc]

Three words Liszt, Liszt ,and Liszt

also his friend Alkan and Chopin,and the one who kissed Liszt when he was young,ludwig beethoven.

russian composers are Greatest ever

Apparently they're the fifth-greatest composers.

[jbmorel78]

I find my favorites are generally phases, but Bach, Chopin, Fauré remain fairly reliably in the fore.  At the moment, I've having a bit of a fling with Scriabin and Ravel as well...

[nanabush]

I think I've posted on this before a while back but I'll post it again:

Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff (I'd say in that order).

I also love the stuff by any composers in the 19th-early 20th century.

[gep]

JS Bach, Mahler, Bruckner, Shostakovich, JS Bach, Monteverdi; to name just a few. Also, I've got a liking for a number of "oddballs", like Pettersson, Sorabji, Alkan. Among the presently still alive and kicking but perhaps not allround known I like people such as Aho and Violette. Then there are a few composers that greatly fascinate me in a way but that I find hard to "get" for some inexplainable reason, like (Maxwell) Davies and Penderecki.

You may observe that there is no mention on Beethoven and/or Mozart. Indeed. I like these composers (wouldn't want to be without the former's late quartets), but it is as it says: I like these.

Have a most happy New Year!

gep

[georgecziffra]

Top three:

1. Scriabin
2. Sorabji
3. Generally either Rachmaninov or Ravel, depending on my mood

[thalbergmad]

I change my mind every 10 minutes, so it is reasonably pointless me doing this.

[ahinton]

I change my mind every 10 minutes, so it is reasonably pointless me doing this.

Oh, come now - be not so coy! For starters, there's Humphrey Searle, William Hurlstone...

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

I have not heard any Searle yet, but I do not think it would appeal to me.

I have however had my ears infested with a horrifically boring piano concerto by a certain George Dyson, who i read was one of his "harmony" teachers.

Anyway, it cleared my earwax better than Tesco's Olive Oil & perhaps should be marketed as such.

Thal

[ahinton]

I have however had my ears infested with a horrifically boring piano concerto by a certain George Dyson, who i read was one of his "harmony" teachers.

Anyway, it cleared my earwax better than Tesco's Olive Oil & perhaps should be marketed as such.

Well, one may suppose that such marketing might make a welcome change from the way in which Dyson is usually marketed, although I've never heard of one of those bagless Dyson vacuum cleaners being designed to remove earwax (still less earworms)...

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

And i have never heard of a vacuum clearner called George.

Thal

[ahinton]

And i have never heard of a vacuum clearner called George.

Nor have I - and the point of your admission is?...

Best,

Alistair

[simonjp90]

I have not heard any Searle yet, but I do not think it would appeal to me.

I have however had my ears infested with a horrifically boring piano concerto by a certain George Dyson, who i read was one of his "harmony" teachers.

Anyway, it cleared my earwax better than Tesco's Olive Oil & perhaps should be marketed as such.

Thal

Dyson wrote a piano concerto>!?! Wow, music is getting better and better for me every day. There's so much stuff to listen to!! I sung with hexham abbey choir for 7 years as a treble so I'm really familiar with the choral works of most british composers from late 19th century onwards, dyson, stanford, howells, leighton, etc etc. And to eventually discover that they also wrote fantastic piano music is like sex on toast for me.

even if the piano concerto is no good (i havent heard it yet), dyson wrote some goooood mag & nuncs, particularly the d major setting. the gloria in the nunc.... legendary stuff

[ahinton]

Dyson wrote a piano concerto>!?!

Indeed he did.

Wow, music is getting better and better for me every day. There's so much stuff to listen to!!

I can well identify with that sentiment, although, in my case, it doesn't really extend to the Dyson work mentioned.

I sung with hexham abbey choir for 7 years as a treble so I'm really familiar with the choral works of most british composers from late 19th century onwards, dyson, stanford, howells, leighton, etc etc. And to eventually discover that they also wrote fantastic piano music is like sex on toast for me.

Never having had sex on toast (and never having previously realised that this was a traditional repast beloved of northern English choristers), I'll have to take your word for that, but if the majority of the piano music by the abovementioned composers (Leighton perhaps excepted) is itself anything like sex on toast, then I'll continue to enjoy the two things separately, thanks!

Best,

Alistair

[simonjp90]

Never having had sex on toast (and never having previously realised that this was a traditional repast beloved of northern English choristers), I'll have to take your word for that, but if the majority of the piano music by the abovementioned composers (Leighton perhaps excepted) is itself anything like sex on toast, then I'll continue to enjoy the two things separately, thanks!

Best,

Alistair

Perhaps sex on toast wasn't the simile I was looking for...

[thalbergmad]

even if the piano concerto is no good

It is not good, in my humble opinion. Unless you like plinky plonky semi atonal getting nowhere senseless key tinkling.

You might want to visit the Chandos website, as they have released many concerti by British composers. Bainton and Hamilton Harty appeal to my earholes, so i would consider them to be sex on toast and Dyson a dogshit sandwich.

Regretfully, many English Romantic Concerti remain unrecorded.

Thal

[retrouvailles]

One must also remember that Thal's opinion is not the be all and end all of musical opinions. I think I have heard the Dyson concerto before, and it was not half bad, if I remember correctly. I wouldn't call it the greatest thing ever, but I also would not call it a "dogshit sandwich". I think one must hear it for themselves to really know what it is like.

[thalbergmad]

One must also remember that Thal's opinion is not the be all and end all of musical opinions.

Indeed it is not, and i would not claim otherwise.

This is why i wrote "in my humble opinion".

Thal