Ok, I played some Beethoven today, and I gotta admit, the guy had talent, he was very good at what he did, but unfortunately, i CANT SAY THE SAME FOR MOZART!
Chopin, on the other hand, is God. He's beautiful, he's slow and fast in nearly equal amounts (although slow probably wins out) and is sentimental to the point of melodrama. What more could a passionate pianist want?
Bach was good for technique, but like Czerny, I believe he should stay at the bench and not be brought out into the public (except for longer works like chorales and toccattas &c.)
back to beethoven: I agree that his later works are masterpieces (probably because he didn't have his sense of hearing to screw them up like he did his earlier works) and his symphonies, although wonderful, are played SO much that it sucks ALL the delectible taste of the works out.
his concertos are great, hands down.
AND HOW CAN ANYONE HATE ON LISZT? Or nearly anyone else of the romantic period, for that matter? ESPECIALLY Schubert. His sonatas are... well... beyond words.
General rule of thumb: If you walk into a high school music class and ask them if they know the guy and they say yes, then they're over played.
If you can get a ringtone of the song: It's overplayed (with exception of Mussorgsky's ballet of the unhatched chicks)
AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE PATHETIQUE! I HATE IT, I HATE IT, I HATE IT!
and that goes for the moonlight, fur elise, and Chopin's minute waltz.