Top 25 Favorite Composers

[North Star]

Not necessarily in order:

Wagner
Debussy
Beethoven
Berlioz
Sibelius
R. Strauss
Verdi
Puccini
Liszt
Saint-Saëns
Rachmaninoff
Tchaikovsky
Brahms
Schumann
Bruckner
Mendelssohn
Schubert
Mahler
Haydn
Mozart
Korngold
Händel/Johann Sebastian Bach
Gounod/Massenet
Franck/Ravel
Stravinsky/Shostakovich

That's 29

[Karl Henning]

Yeah, I don't get the slashdom 

[North Star]

OK, lets try this..


Bach
Sibelius
Ravel
Janáček
Chopin

Berlioz
Stravinsky
Prokofiev
Brahms
Mozart

Beethoven
Schubert
Rakhmaninov
Shostakovich
Haydn

Dvořák
Nielsen
Bartók
Debussy
Monteverdi

Berg
Martinů
Pärt
Zelenka
Schönberg

And an earlier draft:

Ravel
Janacek
Chopin
Berlioz

Bach
Mozart
Shostakovich
Schubert
Sibelius
Prokofiev
Beethoven
Rakhmaninov
Dvorak
Tchaikovsky
Stravinsky
Bartók
Mahler
Schoenberg
Brahms
Martinu
Scriabin
Pärt
Haydn
Szymanowski
Debussy

[vandermolen]

Vaughan Williams
Miaskovsky
Shostakovich
Bruckner
Sibelius
Tubin
Arnold
Bax
Glazunov
Rubbra
Copland
Diamond
Madetoja
Honegger
Kinsella
Braga Santos
Rachmaninov
Novak
Arnell
Alwyn
Gliere
Popov
Langgaard
Brian
Rootham

[Jo498]

25 is a lot, so it gets fuzzy in the 11-25 section

1 Beethoven

2-10
JS Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Brahms
Schubert
Schumann
Handel
Bartok
Mahler

11-25
Chopin
Purcell
Wagner
Berg
Mendelssohn
Bruckner
Dvorak
Monteverdi
Shostakovich
Stravinsky
Ravel
Debussy
Verdi
Vivaldi
Zelenka

but there are lots more like the last few. Often I like a few pieces a lot but don't even know or don't much care for the rest. E.g. Franck's is one of my favorite violin sonatas and I also like the piano quintet a lot but don't care much for the symphony or that choral+fugue and I don't really know his organ music and the symphonic poems.

[Monsieur Croche]

Yeah, I don't get the slashdom 

They were on sale that week... Twofers -- ya know,

~~~"This week only! Composers ~ Twofer the price of One."

[Jaakko Keskinen]

That's 28

Unless I accidentally mentioned someone twice, I think that's 29.

[North Star]

Unless I accidentally mentioned someone twice, I think that's 29.

Yes, that was a typo. But the point still stands - you didn't post a list of 25. 

[Monsieur Croche]

Yes, that was a typo. But the point still stands - you didn't post a list of 25. 

Fine that man!  Instant payment or jail time.

(Any OP who thinks they can maintain control of the subsequent posts by other members is utterly divorced from reality.)

[North Star]

Fine that man!  Instant payment or jail time.

(Any OP who thinks they can maintain control of the subsequent posts by other members is utterly divorced from reality.)

Oh, it's a tradition to do several lists, or add more items than instructed. 
Also, I noticed I forgot Chopin from my list, had to fix that, of course.

[Autumn Leaves]

Ahhh, hard question but Ill have a go at it:

Josquin
Byrd
Sibelius
Shostakovich
Tchaikovsky
Mahler
Bruckner
Chopin
Debussy
Bach
Beethoven
Haydn
Mozart
Prokofiev
Rimsky-Korsakov
Khachaturian
Hovhaness
Yoshimatsu
Reich
Ravel
Vaughan Williams
Schubert
Schumann
Strauss (R)
Liszt

Hopefully I didn't forget anybody - It wasn't easy to think of many more after I listed about 17 names so that's probably the point at which I stop to "love" and more or less "like".

[NorthNYMark]

Just a snapshot for now, as my tastes and knowledge base are still at a fairly undeveloped stage. The first five are what keep bringing me back for the most concentrated listening. The remaining 20 are in no particular order and more subject to change (though the order is as they came to me, so that may be somewhat significant):

Beethoven
Brahms
Bartok
Shostakovich
Carter

Webern
Schoenberg
Chopin
Messiaen
Ligeti
Sibelius
Nielsen
Liszt
Mahler
Weinberg
Berlioz
Sibelius
Dutilleux
Kurtag
Prokofiev
Debussy
Schubert
Varese
Stravinsky
Janacek

[ritter]

Well, this is my list. It certainly is not cast in stone, as there are perhaps 10 or 15 names that will probably never fall from it, but others that could at any given time be substituted by names that regrettably didn't make it on this occasion (e.g. Liszt, Prokofiev, Telemann,...  ).

Johann Sebastan Bach
Alban Berg
Luciano Berio
Pierre Boulez
Anton Bruckner
Ferruccio Busoni
Ellliott Carter
Luigi Dallapiccola
Claude Debussy
George Enescu
Manuel de Falla
Joseph Haydn
Ernst Křenek
Bruno Maderna
Gustav Mahler
Olivier Messiaen
Claudio Monteverdi
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Maurice Ravel
Florent Schmitt
Arnold Schoenberg
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Igor Stravinsky
Richard Wagner
In strict alphabetical order (but the last name towers well above the rest, I confess  )..

[Ghost Sonata]

A Mozart-free List (though he makes my Top Ten for individual works, his Symphony #40); no Americanos either, but Hanson would come in at 26 (you have to admire my deviousness in sneaking that in!); I sure do like Top 25 Lists, I can do them w/o feeling like I'm going to starve for music.

Brahms
Stravinsky
Berlioz
Bax
VW
Myaskovsky
Szymanowski
Scriabin
Martinů
Poulenc
Schoenberg
Messiaen
Lutoslawski
Wagner
Fauré
Mahler
Richard Strauss
Sibelius
Prokofiev
Debussy
Schubert
Janacek
Couperin
Rameau
Franck

[San Antone]

I probably posted a list back when this thread was new, but my listening has changed this year, so here's my current list, roughly chronologically, of the composers I have been listening to more than others - but it doesn't amount to 25.

Machaut
Dufay
Ockeghem
Josquin des Prez
Gesualdo
Beethoven
Schubert
Schumann
Liszt
Brahms
Faure
Debussy
Mahler
Schoenberg
Berg
Ives
Ravel
Stravinsky
Poulenc
Durufle
Shostakovich
M. Weinberg
K. Meyer

[Mirror Image]

I suppose this could very well be my current 'Top 25 Favorite Composers' list -

Nielsen
Sibelius
Ravel
Bartók
Vaughan Williams
Prokofiev
Berg
Martinů
Shostakovich
Dvořák
Elgar
Rachmaninov
Szymanowski
Janáček
Schnittke
Hartmann
Schoenberg
Debussy
Ives
Copland
Bruckner
Mahler
Takemitsu
Britten
Pärt

[Madiel]

Fine that man!  Instant payment or jail time.

(Any OP who thinks they can maintain control of the subsequent posts by other members is utterly divorced from reality.)

If we're going to fine him, I'd rather it was for his peculiar habit of resurrecting threads that are years old. This one has relatively recent activity. In the last few days Alberich has pulled up ones that haven't had anyone posting on them for 5 years or more. The favourite French composers poll had closed in 2008.

It's as if he doesn't want to talk to any of us. Only to ghosts.

[Wanderer]

Be it 25 or 30, it's still too restrictive. Here are (some of) the ones I consider essential, the ones I wouldn't want to be without:

Bach
Haydn
Beethoven
Mozart
Schubert
Schumann
Brahms
Liszt
Alkan
Medtner
Berlioz
Ravel
Debussy
Janáček
Bruckner
Sibelius
Skalkottas
Zemlinsky
Schreker
R. Strauss
Vaughan Williams
Scriabin
Wagner
Korngold
Saint-Saëns
Schmidt
Tchaikovsky
Prokofiev
Stravinsky
Chopin
Bartók
Puccini
Respighi
Zelenka
Rachmaninov
Mahler
Elgar
Szymanowski
Shostakovich
Hindemith
Charpentier
Lully
Langgaard
Nielsen
Martinů
Poulenc
Britten
Rossini
Vivaldi
Mendelssohn
Rimsky-Korsakov
Mussorgsky
Offenbach
Händel
Hummel
Walton
Weber
Grieg
Fauré
Berg
Schönberg

[Wanderer]

If we're going to fine him, I'd rather it was for his peculiar habit of resurrecting threads that are years old. This one has relatively recent activity. In the last few days Alberich has pulled up ones that haven't had anyone posting on them for 5 years or more. The favourite French composers poll had closed in 2008.

It's as if he doesn't want to talk to any of us. Only to ghosts.

I disagree with that attitude. Threads don't have an expiration date. Incidentally, it'd be nice if newbies searched the forum, resurrected old threads and added their opinions about a previously discussed topic there, instead of starting new ones all the time.

[vandermolen]

I feel bad about leaving Walton off my list. Nice to see Yoshimatsu mentioned as I very much enjoy his music.