Your Top 10 Favorite Composers

[krummholz]

Taking a wild stab at this:

JS Bach
Beethoven
Schoenberg
Mahler
Nielsen
Bartok
Holmboe
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Brian

The order changes from day to day and from month to month...

[Madiel]

Without looking at my previous efforts... then I'll go back and see...

Beethoven
Brahms
Dvorak
Faure
Haydn
Holmboe
Ravel
Schumann
Shostakovich
Sibelius

EDIT: Since the last time a few years ago I replaced Chopin with Shostakovich and that was the only change. I'm not absolutely certain that was the right change.

[Karl Henning]

Aye . . . as soon as I come up with a list of ten, I think of an eleventh whom it pains me to have omitted . . . .

[Karl Henning]

Twelve? Let's see . . .

Stravinsky
Schoenberg
Prokofiev
Shostakovich
Chopin
Berlioz
JS Bach
Rakhmaninov
Sibelius
Nielsen
Brahms
D. Scarlatti

Getting the first ten is easy ... and then I wonder, whom am I leaving out, and I'll kick myself (figuratively) for the omission?...

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Oh, boy....ten only?! 

Hmmm....well, here goes!

Vaughan Williams
Sibelius
Janacek
Bartok
Kodaly
Mozart
Dvorak
Shostakovich
Chopin
Debussy...must for myself to stop here....augh!!! 

And we're not even talking opera here though a couple of them could also fit in under that list.

PD

[Papy Oli]

Top Tier

Mahler
Beethoven
Bruckner
Haydn (new addition to that tier)
Vivaldi (new addition to that tier)

Second tier

D. Scarlatti
Chopin
Rameau
Pärt
Bach

hmmm...there's going to be some damage after those last 2 years

Roughly in order as of now:

JS Bach
Saint-Saëns
Arnold
Fauré
Debussy
Ravel
Holst
Vaughan Williams
Haydn
Albinoni

[André]

Papa Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Bruckner
Verdi
Reger
Arnold
Pettersson

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Papa Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Bruckner
Verdi
Reger
Arnold
Pettersson

Sound of a person applauding! 

PD

[Florestan]

The Austrian Connection: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms (5, but only 2 echt-Oesterreichisch and only 1 echt-Wiener)
The German Connection: Schumann, Mendelssohn (2)
The Russian Connection: Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff (2)
The Odd Man Out: Chopin (1)

Still perfectly happy with that.

[Karl Henning]

Still perfectly happy with that.

Per Jeeves, I believe they have given general satisfaction ....

[Florestan]

Per Jeeves, I believe they have given general satisfaction ....

I'm a very conventional guy, despite misleading evidence to the contrary here on GMG... 

[Madiel]

hmmm...there's going to be some damage after those last 2 years

Roughly in order as of now:

JS Bach
Saint-Saëns
Arnold
Fauré
Debussy
Ravel
Holst
Vaughan Williams
Haydn
Albinoni

Some excellent French damage there.

[kyjo]

hmmm...there's going to be some damage after those last 2 years

Roughly in order as of now:

JS Bach
Saint-Saëns
Arnold
Fauré
Debussy
Ravel
Holst
Vaughan Williams
Haydn
Albinoni

A very interesting and respectable list, Olivier!

[kyjo]

This is an interesting list. I think 10 narrows you to be intelligent and practical, or emotional and academic, or viceversa, mixed, etc.

Beethoven
Nielsen
Brahms
Shostakovich
Vaughan Williams
Janáček
Martinů
Dvořák
Haydn
Sibelius

Interesting to see Haydn on your list. I've been listening to his music with more frequency recently and have been gaining much pleasure from it. I think Haydn is one of those composers whose music requires a really excellent performance to truly come to life. A dull or anemic performance of his music can be a really dreadful experience!

[DavidW]

Bach
Beethoven
Haydn
Mozart
Schubert
Brahms
Shostakovich
Mahler
Bruckner
Vaughan Williams

[bhodges]

My top 10, plus 14 runners-up. So sue me. 

Bartók
Berg
Britten
Bruckner
Dvořák  
Ives
Janáček
Mahler
Shostakovich
Stravinsky

Berio
Debussy
Grisey
Gubaidulina
Hindemith
Lachenmann
Ligeti
Martinů
Prokofiev
Ravel

Rachmaninoff
Schnittke
Sibelius
Verdi

--Bruce

[Mirror Image]

My top 10...

Bartók
Berg
Britten
Bruckner
Dvořák   
Ives
Janáček
Mahler
Shostakovich
Stravinsky

A fine list, indeed.

[ritter]

My list then...

Johann Sebastian Bach
Wolgang Amadeus Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven
Richard Wagner
Claude Debussy
Manuel de Falla
Arnold Schoenberg
George Enescu
Igor Stravinsky
Pierre Boulez

...and my list now:

Ludwig van Beethoven
Richard Wagner
Claude Debussy
Maurice Ravel
Florent Schmitt
Manuel de Falla
Arnold Schoenberg
George Enescu
Igor Stravinsky
Pierre Boulez

[Florestan]

...and my list now:

Ludwig van Beethoven
Richard Wagner
Claude Debussy
Maurice Ravel
Florent Schmitt
Manuel de Falla
Arnold Schoenberg
George Enescu
Igor Stravinsky
Pierre Boulez

Leaving out Mozart is a cultural crime of the highest order. You, sir, are a barbarian. 

Good evening, dear Rafael!

[ritter]

Leaving out Mozart is a cultural crime of the highest order. ....

Sic transit gloria mundi...

WAM will always have a special place in my heart, in any case. 

Good evening to you too, Andrei.