Most Listened to Composers (per capita of recordings)

[Brahmsian]

So, which composers do you listen to most, with a relatively fewer recordings in your collection?

I am going to compile my list soon.  I'd say near the top have got to be Sibelius and Taneyev.

I'm sure there may be a few surprises here and there. 

[Mirror Image]

Excellent thread idea, Ray! I'll have to think about this one, though.

[Ken B]

So, which composers do you listen to most, with a relatively fewer recordings in your collection?

I am going to compile my list soon.  I'd say near the top have got to be Sibelius and Taneyev.

I'm sure there may be a few surprises here and there. 

Hmmm. My first thought is Nyman for the past few years, or ten Holt.

[Brian]

Oh, that's easy. Albert Roussel. This is especially true when I got the four-CD Naxos box, my first introduction to the composer, and listened to each CD something like 10 times in the first year.

[springrite]

Now, it is the "per capita" that makes this interesting. That rules out Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Feldman, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, Schumann... I think recently, even with a now relatively large number of CDs (maybe 10 or 12), Brian is high on the list.

[Ken B]

Oh, that's easy. Albert Roussel. This is especially true when I got the four-CD Naxos box, my first introduction to the composer, and listened to each CD something like 10 times in the first year.

You could lower that dangerously unstable ratio with the addition of Brilliant's excellent 3 cd set of his chamber music.
Just sayin' .... 0:)

[Brian]

You could lower that dangerously unstable ratio with the addition of Brilliant's excellent 3 cd set of his chamber music.
Just sayin' .... 0:)

Actually I do have it already. But those 7 CDs, plus the last Naxos orchestral CD, make my full Roussel collection.

[Sammy]

For me it's Miaskovksy, Weinberg, Taneyev and Boris Tchaikovsky.

[Todd]

Ippolitov-Ivanov.

[Mirror Image]

For me, it's a toss-up between Chavez, Revueltas, Ginastera, Bacewicz, and Koechlin (it's not like the market is loaded with recordings of his music to begin with anyway).

[springrite]

For me, it's a toss-up between Chavez, Revueltas, Ginastera, Bacewicz, and Koechlin (it's not like the market is loaded with recordings of his music to begin with anyway).

That's not a toss-up. That's a circus juggling act!

[Mirror Image]

That's not a toss-up. That's a circus juggling act!

[Brahmsian]

Well, I was right about Sibelius.  He was the # 1, and it wasn't even close!!  Followed by Schumann and Saint-Saens!  I was wrong about Taneyev, only about middle of the pack.

A comparative of Top 30:

Most Listened to Composers (over the past five years) in order:

Beethoven
Mozart, W.A.
Brahms
Shostakovich
Schubert
Tchaikovsky
Schumann, R.
Bach
Haydn
Bruckner

Dvorak
Prokofiev
Wagner
Sibelius
Taneyev
Mendelssohn
Mahler
Stravinsky
Bartok
Strauss, R.

Berlioz
Rimsky-Korsakov
Chopin
Vaughan Williams
Ravel
Saint-Saens
Faure
Glazunov
Miaskovsky
Vivaldi


Now, compared to Top 30 Composers most listened to (per capita of recordings):

Sibelius
Schumann, R.
Saint-Saens
Tchaikovsky
Chopin
Bartok
Berlioz
Bach
Prokofiev
Strauss, R.

Mendelssohn
Schubert
Beethoven
Bruckner
Taneyev
Brahms
Dvorak
Mozart, W.A.
Shostakovich
Faure

Vivaldi
Wagner
Vaughan Williams
Stravinsky
Glazunov
Ravel
Haydn
Mahler
Rimsky-Korsakov
Miaskovsky



Some caveats.  Regarding Rimsky-Korsakov and Miaskovsky, it has only been a year since I got most of the recordings, with only 1 listen to most of them.  In fact, there are still a few discs of Rimsky that I haven't listened to.

[DavidW]

Gorecki for me.  I have few recordings, but I listen to them fairly frequently.

[Moonfish]

Sibelius for sure!!!!   His symphonies are present in my soundscape  several times each weekl. Mostly with Davis and LSO although I strive for diversity in ensembles. Interesting that his name came up so quickly (and twice!!). It is probably my wife's fault in terms of my post.

[Ken B]

Sibelius for sure!!!!   His symphonies are present in my soundscape  several times each weekl. Mostly with Davis and LSO although I strive for diversity in ensembles. Interesting that his name came up so quickly (and twice!!). It is probably my wife's fault in terms of my post.

I don't understand what you mean.  Sibelius is your wife's fault?  That is some good wife you got there if that's what you can blame her for!

[Moonfish]

I don't understand what you mean.  Sibelius is your wife's fault?  That is some good wife you got there if that's what you can blame her for!

Ha ha! Well, she likes Sibelius a LOT so she always put them in the player (especially the Davis set). As a consequence they get a lot of more spins! Not a bad thing as Sibelius is a great composer and his works are places where one can wander for hours on end.   

[amw]

What counts as a "recording"? A CD? A 2- or 3-CD set? A box?

[Ken B]

What counts as a "recording"? A CD? A 2- or 3-CD set? A box?

A piece.
No, you cannot count a 400 disc Toscanini box!

[amw]

I was thinking more along the lines of Haydn complete symphony sets, but yes.

Just going by individual CDs... Marini, Froberger, Charpentier, Marais, Lachenmann, Holliger, Grisey, Radulescu and, over in jazz-world, Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor.