Your Top 10 Favorite Composers

[milk]

I wonder if we're the only two with Xenakis on our list...?

A badge of honor? 

[71 dB]

And I still find it surprising that Elgar is so highly esteemed.

As an Elgarian I have always seen things from an another angle (meaning I don't see Elgar surprisingly highly esteemed).

I would not have wondered too much if he had been on some lists hovering around positions 8-10, but for me it is astonishing that several have him as favorite or at least among the top positions.

It's Elgarian and me having Elgar at the top spot. That's several to you? Most people here don't have Elgar's in their top 10 at all. Aren't you overstating Elgar success here a bit?

I would be similarly puzzled if a bunch of people had named Franz Schmidt, Reger or Pfitzner as their favorites. (But apparently everybody would be puzzled in such a case... I wonder if anyone here not from the Anglosphere has Elgar among his top ten.)

We like what we like. No need to get puzzled about it.

I like Sea pictures, the Enigmas and the Cello concerto (without finding any of it overwhelming or extraordinary), but the symphonies have been basically colossal bores to me so far, although I keep trying once in a while. I got the violin concerto last year but do not remember much about it (except that it is extremely long).

The symphonies seem to be 'difficult' for many. However, calling them colossal bores makes me puzzled. 

Just know that we Elgarians really do find wonderful things in Elgar's music and that's why some may even put Elgar on top.

[milk]

Three. Feldman has always been on my list, from the first moment I heard his first note.

I feel like most composers are like, "here's a violin! here's a piano." Whereas Feldman is like, "here's a sound." Anyway, it took me a little time, but once he clicked he really clicked with me.

[Sergeant Rock]

A badge of honor?

A symptom of mental instability? 

Sarge

[Jo498]

As an Elgarian I have always seen things from an another angle (meaning I don't see Elgar surprisingly highly esteemed).
It's Elgarian and me having Elgar at the top spot. That's several to you? Most people here don't have Elgar's in their top 10 at all. Aren't you overstating Elgar success here a bit?

And Mirror Image on 1, André had him second, but his list maybe was not ordered. Yes, compared to Magnard, Schmidt and Pfitzner (I think they were on nobody's) this is an astonishing success, I believe.

[71 dB]

And Mirror Image on 1, André had him second, but his list maybe was not ordered. Yes, compared to Magnard, Schmidt and Pfitzner (I think they were on nobody's) this is an astonishing success, I believe.

Oh, my mistake. 

[milk]

A symptom of mental instability? 

Sarge

Ha! That too!

[Ken B]

I did not mean to offend the Elgar lovers. However, after Greg expressed some puzzlement that Beethoven was so high on many peoples's lists I did likewise for Elgar. And I still find it surprising that Elgar is so highly esteemed. I would not have wondered too much if he had been on some lists hovering around positions 8-10, but for me it is astonishing that several have him as favorite or at least among the top positions. I would be similarly puzzled if a bunch of people had named Franz Schmidt, Reger or Pfitzner as their favorites. (But apparently everybody would be puzzled in such a case... I wonder if anyone here not from the Anglosphere has Elgar among his top ten.)

I like Sea pictures, the Enigmas and the Cello concerto (without finding any of it overwhelming or extraordinary), but the symphonies have been basically colossal bores to me so far, although I keep trying once in a while. I got the violin concerto last year but do not remember much about it (except that it is extremely long).

Ditto. He wrote some good tunes. The chamber music I have heard is excellent.  The cello concerto is very good, as are some of the Enigmas. Most of the rest is overblown, overlong. It's hard not to detect the pompous self importance so evident in his photos in his Important Big Works like the symphonies or Gerontius. He's better in the smaller stuff.

*runs for cover*

[Ken B]

A symptom of mental instability? 

Sarge

Not that that's a bad thing!
I can totally see Feldman as a top tenner. He's not for me, but he takes an approach that can change the way you listen to music. Not just his music, but any music. Philip Glass had that effect on me. Gotta love that.

It's Elgar who's the puzzle wrapped in a mystery shrouded in an ... (you know the rest) 

[André]

Elgar was indeed second on my list. Three new purchases pushed him up on my list: the Crown of India twofer on Chandos, the same label's Sea Pics + TDoG, and the 30 disc EMI box. That in itself should signal how much I revere him: where your money goes...

Among my top works in their genres, which always stop me in my tracks when played on the radio: Symphony 1, Cello Cto, Violin Cto, Alassio, TDoG, Enigma. Hearing those make me stop everything else.

[Bogey]

Elgar was indeed second on my list. Three new purchases pushed him up on my list: the Crown of India twofer on Chandos, the same label's Sea Pics + TDoG, and the 30 disc EMI

Isn't that cool how that can happen when you keep listening to music.  Neat.

[Moonfish]

Updating as the "list" changes every full moon.....

Bach
Elgar
Sibelius
R Strauss
Wagner
Verdi
Beethoven
Chopin
Bruckner
Mozart
Weiss
Marais
Haydn
Schubert
Mahler


I know - I'm cheating...

[Jo498]

Ditto. He wrote some good tunes. The chamber music I have heard is excellent.  The cello concerto is very good, as are some of the Enigmas. Most of the rest is overblown, overlong. It's hard not to detect the pompous self importance so evident in his photos in his Important Big Works like the symphonies or Gerontius. He's better in the smaller stuff.

*runs for cover*

There is not much chamber music, is there? I have never heard anything of it, but I will definitely check it out. As I said, to me the veneration of Elgar seemed a British (or at least Anglo) thing. I still think there are a bunch of more interesting composers from around 1900 who are comparably obscure, like some of the ones I mentioned. Of course, Pfitzner or Schmidt are even in Germany or Austria no way as popular as Elgar is in the Anglosphere (although they were never almost forgotten like Draeseke or Joseph Marx), but this is because of Mahler, Strauss, Schönberg etc.

[Elgarian]

Agree 110% (the extra is for enthusiasm), Elgarian, but I believe there's room here for the telling, however ob- or subjective, of one's loves.  You use the word justify in your explanation, which may be the crux of the matter; you are right - there's no need for justification.  Still, you can do justice to your love by telling us what you hear in Elgar - I'd be appreciative - and you may spur listens, as well as greater appreciation, perhaps conversions...  The difficulty of communication is no reason not to attempt it.  GMGers are empathetic, sensitive and capable of putting themselves in others' listening chairs (that's only a slight exaggeration ).  If your love is too personal, that I can well understand.  To me, Elgar is a composer of the first rank; I esp. enjoy Sea Pictures which is not a work often cited by his fans.  At the same time, much of his work seems to me to present a conundrum - one curiously mirrored by your comments above - he is one of the most extraordinarily personal of composers and yet his musical language is so reflexive that it presents impediments to those who make the attempt to "get him."  (I'm not thinking solely here of the Enigma Variations but it's a good example of his modus operandi).  One suspects he is saying things he would or could not say in any other way; I hope you're not subject to the same conditions!

If you look back through this thread you'll discover that I haven't been in any way reticent about writing about what I hear in Elgar's music over the years (possibly repetitively to the point of tedium!). There are lots and lots of things to be said. But when it comes down to this personal question of love - which is what I was discussing in this case - there's not much to be done except to declare it.

But for the rest - the intricacies of the violin concerto and the significance of its cadenza, the depth of feeling in The Spirit of England, the astonishing journey that is the 1st symphony ... I doubt I'll ever tire of discussing things like those.

[Elgarian]

It's hard not to detect the pompous self importance so evident in his photos in his Important Big Works like the symphonies or Gerontius. He's better in the smaller stuff.

I don't think it's so simple. Elgar was a very complicated chap, full of self-doubt, constantly afraid of failure, struggling against the disadvantage of being (a) self-taught, and (b) a Catholic. What you see in the photos is a man struggling to present a particular kind of image to the world, and all is not what it seems.

Thing is ... I agree with you that the chamber works etc are exquisite, but I don't hear pomposity or overblown-ness in the symphonies, or the violin concerto. I never have. They seem to me no less intensely felt than the smaller-scale works, though of course they do carry with them some of the period's Zeitgeist, which is unavoidable.

[Elgarian]

But as our tastes expand, so does our appreciation of composers we once found wanting. It is why I hesitate to bash composers too much (or at all), because it reflects more on us than it does the composer at hand.

If I wore T-shirts, I'd be tempted to have one made with this printed on it. My quote of the week.

Spot on, Neal!!!

[Christo]

Probably posted some list here before, but today they are, in alphabetical order:

Arnold
Barber
Bate
Berkeley (père)
Braga Santos
Brian
Cooke
Dvořák
Falla
Guarnieri
Gershwin
Holmboe
Holst
Janáček
Kinsella
Nielsen
Pierné
Ravel
Respighi
Shostakovich
Tubin
Vaughan Williams
Villa-Lobos (to make it ten  )

Edit: forgot to mention my rising star:  Hindemith 

[Elgarian]

I did not mean to offend the Elgar lovers. However, after Greg expressed some puzzlement that Beethoven was so high on many peoples's lists I did likewise for Elgar. And I still find it surprising that Elgar is so highly esteemed. I would not have wondered too much if he had been on some lists hovering around positions 8-10, but for me it is astonishing that several have him as favorite or at least among the top positions.

Oh gosh, no one is offended - well at least, I'm certainly not. I just wanted to clarify what was happening in these lists we're making.

I'm still mildly surprised by your surprise, though. I'd have thought that someone else's love for something we don't admire ourselves would often seem hard to empathise with, no matter what it might be. Elgar, abstract painting, blue cheese ...

[71 dB]

Ditto. He [Elgar] wrote some good tunes. The chamber music I have heard is excellent.  The cello concerto is very good, as are some of the Enigmas. Most of the rest is overblown, overlong. It's hard not to detect the pompous self importance so evident in his photos in his Important Big Works like the symphonies or Gerontius. He's better in the smaller stuff.

*runs for cover*

Imo, Elgar wrote one bad tune, Sevillana Op. 7.

This is rather common image of Elgar, but as a person who knows his music somewhat well, I don't agree to that image at all. What people describe as overblown I find rich and powerful. Listen to the quieter parts of Elgar's music and hear how rich they are. Elgar builds his fortissimos and climaxes on that "background" and when you do that, using your rich thematic material in sophisticated ways, it becomes what some people think is overblown. When you 'get' the music and what's going on you might find it heavenly.

I don't find Elgar's often long works (his Violin Concerto is among the longest ever I think) overlong at all. I could take 2 hours long symphonies from him anyday, because his music is so brilliant.

I understand Elgar can't be everybody's cup of tea, but it's sad if resilient steteotypic images prevent people to enjoy the music to it's full potential.

[vandermolen]

Probably posted some list here before, but today they are, in alphabetical order:

Arnold
Barber
Bate
Berkeley (père)
Braga Santos
Brian
Cooke
Dvořák
Falla
Guarnieri
Gershwin
Holmboe
Holst
Janáček
Kinsella
Nielsen
Pierné
Ravel
Respighi
Shostakovich
Tubin
Vaughan Williams
Villa-Lobos (to make it ten  )

Edit: forgot to mention my rising star:  Hindemith 

I guessed who this list was from before I read the name. 

'Tubin, Braga Santos, Kinsella....' Were the giveaways.