Re: Whose better?

[dinosaurtales]

No.  there's more to music than power.

[rachfan]

Your question, Yoad, is like asking whether Mendelssohn is a better composer than Scriabin, because the former liked to write prestissimo passage work, while Scriabin relied heavily on chord figurations.  Why or how could one possibly be "better" than the other?  Are Monet's paintings better than Van Gogh's because he used fine brush strokes while the latter used broad strokes?  Not really.  Or is a book by Hemingway better than one by Hardy, because the sentences are shorter but far less descriptive?   I don't think so.

The main point is that a composer finds a creative "voice" and stylistic ways to best express that voice in a unique idiom.  Rachmaninoff loved chromaticism; Scriabin, his "mystery chords"; Bach, sequences, pedal points, and suspensions; Weburn, the serial tone row, etc.  None is superior to another--they are merely different but very effective modes of musical expression.

Incidentally, I suspect that you view chords as vertical skyscrapers whose function is solely to provide harmony in music.  That's not the case at all.  Instead, always examine chords horizontally, especially the topmost notes in RH chords which often are totally melodic in nature and provide voice leading in the composition.  Often too, chords contain incredibly beautiful "inner voice lines" that can become the prime focus in some passages.  Looking at chord sequences horizontally or linearly gives you a whole new view of composition, analysis, required practice techniques, and performance goals.