No Holds Barred: Your Favorite Orchestrators

[Mirror Image]

Please choose four favorite orchestrators from this list. I left an option of other just in case I didn't list one of your favorites.

[Mirror Image]

This is an incredibly difficult poll for me because there are aspects of all of these composer's orchestration that I admire and only four choices. I'll have to think about this...

[starrynight]

I suppose the orchestra increased in size with the romantics and reached it's largest extent then, but there could still be good orchestrators before that I suppose.  Maybe it's just a different skill of making more with fewer resources.

[springrite]

Gustavo!

[mszczuj]

There are two Szymanowskis in the poll.

[starrynight]

Maybe the bad one and the good one. 

[mc ukrneal]

It has a rather bizarre cross-section of composers. There is Wagner and Rimsky-K, but no Tchaikovsky, Verdi or Puccini. There is Britten, but no Elgar or Holst. Is there a method to the madness? If there was no attempt to be all inclusive, then it would be helpful to say that up front. If there was, well I think you are missing some sames.

[Mirror Image]

There are two Szymanowskis in the poll.

Thanks. Error corrected.

[Mirror Image]

It has a rather bizarre cross-section of composers. There is Wagner and Rimsky-K, but no Tchaikovsky, Verdi or Puccini. There is Britten, but no Elgar or Holst. Is there a method to the madness? If there was no attempt to be all inclusive, then it would be helpful to say that up front. If there was, well I think you are missing some sames.

I don't think much of Tchaikovsky's, Verdi's, and Puccini's orchestration. Holst probably deserves to be up there, but Elgar doesn't IMHO. Neal, I couldn't possibly list everybody because not everybody is an impressive orchestrator. I listed composers whose music I thought had great orchestration and remember there's always the "other" option. I can't please everyone.

[Bulldog]

I don't think much of Tchaikovsky's, Verdi's, and Puccini's orchestration. Holst probably deserves to be up there, but Elgar doesn't IMHO. Neal, I couldn't possibly list everybody because not everybody is an impressive orchestrator. I listed composers whose music I thought had great orchestration and remember there's always the "other" option. I can't please everyone.

Right, but you can try.

[madaboutmahler]

Well, this was extremely difficult just to choose 4.... but I chose Mahler, Ravel, R.Strauss and Prokofiev.

[Lisztianwagner]

I chose Wagner, Mahler, R. Strauss and Respighi; but it was rather hard to leave out amazing orchestrators like Ravel, Sibelius, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Debussy..........

[North Star]

Perhaps this would be better if no Holst were barred.
Anyway:

Ravel
Stravinsky
Debussy
Sibelius
--------------
Next in line:
Mahler

[Mirror Image]

I finally broke down and picked four...

Composers I selected for their incredible sonorities: Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Bartok, and Villa-Lobos. Close runner-ups are Ravel, Schoenberg, Szymanowski, Stravinsky, Sibelius, and R. Strauss.

[TheGSMoeller]

I picked 3...Igor, Sergei and Jean.

[DieNacht]

 

Ravel
Stravinsky
Debussy
Shostakovich  
Prokofiev
R. Strauss
Rimsky-Korsakov
Bartok
Schoenberg
Berg
Webern
Szymanowski
Villa-Lobos
Martinu  
Ligeti
Sibelius
Lutoslawski
Respighi
Britten
Lindberg
Part
Falla
Wagner
Mahler
Honegger
Berlioz
Other

Very tough one. Would have liked 6 or more to be chosen, and would have liked Bruckner and Janacek, probably Nielsen, Delius and Dvorak to be included as well. Merely - I guess - an excuse for not really being able to choose :-).
But above 6 ("of today") with each a distinctive sound: Shosty can be characterized as a primitivist, but nonetheless his sound is quite unique and raw. I choose Martinu because of his variation and occasional similarity with Janacek, Mahler for his variation too and invocation of nature´s soundscapes, Stravinsky for his virtuoso variety, Ravel for his splendour and similarity with Debussy, and Sibelius for his austere, original style.

Many others on the list I don´t cherish so much (Berlioz, in spite of his obvious importance) or don´t consider their purely orchestral oeuvres of comparable importance and variety (Franck, Falla, Rimsky, Respighi, for example). Never was a big Richard Strauss fan, tend to listen to less than 10 works of his.

[DavidW]

I feel that Mozart is one of the finest orchestrators ever, felt very weird to have to select other because most of the great composers were missing.

My list is Mozart, Berlioz, Stravinsky, Mahler... and with one more I would also have said Ravel.

Berlioz is king for me.  He had an excellent command of the orchestra to create intimate chamber like passages or huge towering mountains of sound.  I think that others that composed similarly later took him as a lesson as how to rock the orchestral scene.

[Scion7]

BEETHOVEN, and from the limited list, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Mahler.    And an honorable mention to Ravel for his orch'ding of Mussourgsky!

[classicalgeek]

From the list, I chose Ravel, Mahler, and Richard Strauss.  I forgot to pick a fourth - that would probably be Stravinsky.

To those I could add, among many others: Bax, Roussel, Korngold, Florent Schmitt, Josef Holbrooke... Once you get into the early 20th century and beyond, the list of master orchestrators is extensive!  Just looking at the orchestral scores for some of these composers (many are available on IMSLP) is a treat!

[DavidW]

My 4 is close to yours classicalgeek... except R Strauss is replaced with Berlioz.