Who's the greatest German composer ever?

Started by Boris_G, July 11, 2007, 12:20:32 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Who's the greatest German composer ever?

Karlheinz Stockhausen
HK Gruber
Joseph Haydn
Nena
Johann Strauss II
Meyerbeer
Peter Tchaikovsky
Carl Orff

Soundproof


M forever

That's not such a good idea because that's not really the kind of prank Till E. played. It also sounds too forcedly "educated".

Quote from: Soundproof on July 12, 2007, 03:03:46 PM
BTW - "Toll. Es war blödsinnig eine von Tills Wanderkarten zu vertrauen."

Better: Na toll.
Or: Klasse.

But nothing beats: Scheisse.

"Es war blödsinnig, einer von Tills Wanderkarten zu vertrauen"

sounds way too artificial and wooden, too. Especially "blödsinnig" and "vertrauen". Too formal in this context.

mahlertitan

Quote from: M forever on July 12, 2007, 02:49:01 PM
If you want to discover a good German composer who is still very little known, check out Hartmann.

Karl Amadeus?

Sergeant Rock

It pleases me that Nena is tied for first place. 99 Luftballons is a classic if anything is, and Nena is the cutest composer on the list too which earrns her extra points.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Soundproof

Quote from: M forever on July 12, 2007, 03:25:55 PM
That's not such a good idea because that's not really the kind of prank Till E. played. It also sounds too forcedly "educated".

Better: Na toll.
Or: Klasse.

But nothing beats: Scheisse.

"Es war blödsinnig, einer von Tills Wanderkarten zu vertrauen"

sounds way too artificial and wooden, too. Especially "blödsinnig" and "vertrauen". Too formal in this context.

There you go. Intellectual jokes usually buzz straight over the heads of the audience.

Na toll is better.

So, which of Hartmann's works should I commence with?

BachQ


uffeviking

Quote from: Soundproof on July 12, 2007, 03:03:46 PM
I'll follow up on that. Have none of his music in my collection ...


Maybe for a starter try his Concerto funebre! Vladimir Spivakov is good with his Moscow Virtuosi on RCA.  :)

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: val on July 12, 2007, 01:08:02 AM
One more thing: who is NENA?

German pop singer (and also the name of her band). Had a worldwide hit in 1984 with 99 Luftballons.



Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Mark

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 12, 2007, 03:58:22 PM
German pop singer (and also the name of her band). Had a worldwide hit in 1984 with 99 Luftballons.



Sarge

WOOF!

S709

The Greatest German Composer is: Mathias Spahlinger, of course!!


PSmith08

I'm pretty sure (i.e., positive) that Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig. Saxony, I think, was pretty much independent until the Congress of Vienna, when Prussia got a chunk of land in a weird settlement resulting from Napoleon's war with Friedrich Wilhelm III.

German composers, though, are too diverse to attempt to put a "best" on them. Of the choices: Nena. She's up there with Falco in my book. Karlheinz Stockhausen never had such a radio-friendly hit, though I frequently hear parts from Boulez' Marteau whistled by schoolchildren. And what college party wouldn't be complete without a drunken Pli selon pli scream-along?

Nena makes me wish I'd taken German in high school, instead of four years of Latin. And then two (technically, three) semesters in college.

not edward

Quote from: Soundproof on July 12, 2007, 03:33:10 PM
There you go. Intellectual jokes usually buzz straight over the heads of the audience.

Na toll is better.

So, which of Hartmann's works should I commence with?
Three options stand out for me: the Concerto funebre (several recordings are available, my favourite is probably Gertler and Ancerl), the 2nd symphony (my own introduction to the composer) or the blockbuster 6th (Fricsay's recording with the RIAS Berlin orchestra is both cheap and IMO seriously awesome, though other posters here prefer Leitner).

Anyone heard the new Naxos recording of the Piano Sonata 27 April 1945? I hope it doesn't stink. ;)
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music

Lethevich

After careful deliberation, I choose Alfred Schnittke.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

Soundproof

Quote from: Lethe on July 12, 2007, 08:23:57 PM
After careful deliberation, I choose Alfred Schnittke.

With Haydn a la Moz-Art, you could be said to be covering your bases with that choice.

M forever

Quote from: PSmith08 on July 12, 2007, 06:00:03 PM
I'm pretty sure (i.e., positive) that Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig. Saxony, I think, was pretty much independent until the Congress of Vienna, when Prussia got a chunk of land in a weird settlement resulting from Napoleon's war with Friedrich Wilhelm III.

I wouldn't say "independent" since Sachsen (Saxony) was in principle not any more or less independent than any other German state in the constantly changing political configuration of the German states. Although Preussen (Prussia) took indeed a large bite out of Sachsen at the Congress of Vienna and later became the German state under whose leadership the "2nd Empire" was created, Preussen isn't necessarily to be equated with "Germany", so another state's relationship with Preussen can not really be described as "independent" or not - at least until 1870/71, when many of the German states saw themselves as pretty much "dependent" on Preussen. But even then Preussen was more a leader among a number of diverse German states than "Germany itself". The local monarchs stayed in place even though they didn't have that much more to say anymore, the only exception was Bayern (Bavaria) which wasn't at all "independent" either, but they had a special status, for instance, they kept their own army (which was the army that Hitler joined in 1914).
But I think Leipzig stayed part of Sachsen even after the Congress of Vienna anyway.


knight66

I have just ordered the Hartmann 6th....a voyage awaits.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

BachQ

After careful deliberation, I opt for Glinka .........

M forever

Quote from: MahlerTitan on July 12, 2007, 03:26:14 PM
Karl Amadeus?

Yes, Karl Amadeus. There is also a composer named Erich Hartmann who happens to have been my first bass teacher, longtime member of the BP bass section and also an accomplished composer who wrote some nice pieces for bass, but I think K.A.Hartmann might be more interesting for most people here in this context.

not edward

Quote from: knight on July 13, 2007, 02:27:32 AM
I have just ordered the Hartmann 6th....a voyage awaits.

Mike
Let us know what you think: this is one of the pieces of music I'm tempted to get evangelical over. ;)
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music