Top 11-25 composers

[Christo]

Well, you should! 

And it's curious you don't like Sibelius that much.

HIS fault! #notmine.  (He drank too much wodka & wine in hotel Kämp, Helsinki, actually in most bars around. I did too at both of my visits to Helsinki, but didn't try to compose music afterwards.
When sober though, he did compose great music, I think I gave you a few titles. (Just should 've done some more composing instead of drinking, a pity.  ).

Hanson wasn't a drunk at all, I probably didn't do him justice because of his 'Sibelian' style, though I adore New Zealand's homegrown 'Sibelian' Douglas Lilburn and am probably completely wrong about Hanson, please tell me where to start with him. 

[Mirror Image]

Wow, I can't believe I left Stravinsky off my list.  I will need to fit him in. 

Igor's turning in his grave I'm sure. Well, you're interest in classical music goes far deeper than mine in that I mostly only have a taste for 20th Century composers (and some Romantic Era ones).

[Symphonic Addict]

HIS fault! #notmine.  (He drank too much wodka & wine in hotel Kämp, Helsinki, actually in most bars around. I did too at both of my visits to Helsinki, but didn't try to compose music afterwards.
When sober though, he did compose great music, I think I gave you a few titles. (Just should 've done some more composing instead of drinking, a pity.  ).

Hanson wasn't a drunk at all, I probably didn't do him justice because of his 'Sibelian' style, though I adore New Zealand's homegrown 'Sibelian' Douglas Lilburn and am probably completely wrong about Hanson, please tell me where to start with him. 

I'm not an expert about Hanson as others are, but I could you suggest Lament for Beowulf for chorus and orchestra, Lux Aeterna for viola and orchestra, Pastorale for oboe, harp and strings, symphonies from No. 4 onwards are less hyper-Romantic, so you might like them too. I hope these works aren't too emotional or cinematic for your tastes. Surely Kyle and Jeffrey are willing to give you more suggestions.

[vandermolen]

I'm not an expert about Hanson as others are, but I could you suggest Lament for Beowulf for chorus and orchestra, Lux Aeterna for viola and orchestra, Pastorale for oboe, harp and strings, symphonies from No. 4 onwards are less hyper-Romantic, so you might like them too. I hope these works aren't too emotional or cinematic for your tastes. Surely Kyle and Jeffrey are willing to give you more suggestions.

I'm not an HHE (Howard Hanson Expert) either but I agree with Cesar's recommendations. However, I especially like symphonies 1 to 5 (3 is my favourite - there is a terrific performance conducted by Koussevitsky but may be difficult to track down) and would add 'Bold Island Suite' and especially 'Dies Natalis'.

[vandermolen]

NO! You won't win me over by mis-using the very sacred name of Joly Braga Santos before my very eyes. 
Love the Damase symphony, many thanks to both of you. 

Know Atterberg 7, too Romanticisciscistcist I thought (blame me), heard Lloyd 5-7 and thought it was Elgar, didn't play Hanson in ages since I thought he's an American-American Sibelius and cannot tolerate Sibelius except for Symphony No. 4 and Tapiola and the Kullervo symphony and a few other niceties that often. 

Thanks very much for your tips, will duly oblige! 

Interesting about your views on Sibelius. However I share your taste for those three works in particular. Also the original Karelia music and the complete music for The Tempest. Tapiola is IMO one of the greatest pieces of music ever written.

[Symphonic Addict]

The composers who resonate with me the most:

1-10
Arnold
Beethoven
Brahms
Dvorak
Martinu
Nielsen
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Strauss
Vaughan Williams

11-25
Atterberg
Bax
Hindemith
Holmboe
Janacek
Langgaard
Poulenc
Prokofiev
Rachmaninov
Respighi
Saint-Saëns
Schubert
Tchaikovsky
Tubin
Villa-Lobos

A very narrow list to be honest.

Bloch, Casella, Elgar, Taneyev, Lutoslawski, Schnittke, Myaskovsky, Hanson, Suk, Stravinsky, Mahler, Bruckner et al would make a top 50.

[Mirror Image]

Cesar inspired me, so let's see if I can do this now:

Top 10:

Debussy
Ravel
Bartók
Stravinsky
Sibelius
Schoenberg
Berg
Wagner
Mahler
Bruckner

11-25:

Shostakovich
Janáček
Britten
R. Strauss
Enescu
Martinů
Villa-Lobos
Fauré
Prokofiev
Ligeti
Takemitsu
Barber
Ives
Poulenc
Boulez

[vandermolen]

Cesar inspired me, so let's see if I can do this now:

Top 10:

Debussy
Ravel
Bartók
Stravinsky
Sibelius
Schoenberg
Berg
Wagner
Mahler
Bruckner

11-25:

Shostakovich
Janáček
Britten
R. Strauss
Enescu
Martinů
Villa-Lobos
Fauré
Prokofiev
Ligeti
Takemitsu
Barber
Ives
Poulenc
Boulez

No Vaughan Williams 

[Madiel]

My list of 11-25 (having just revised my list of 1-10 elsewhere).

Just edged out of the old top 10:
11. JS Bach
12. Rachmaninov

Improvers with potential:
13. Nielsen
14. Mozart
15. Debussy

Damn respectable but not all that likely to make a run for the top 10:
16. Shostakovich
17. Schubert
18. Barber
19. Bridge
20. Nørgård

I'm intrigued but really I need to know more:
21. Mahler
22. Bartok
23. Stravinsky

It's better when he gives me more than 90 seconds of music:
24. Scriabin

Because he's from here and his best moments are amazing:
25. Vine

Ha. Well it was fun looking back at this mainly because my comment about Shostakovich was inaccurate. I'd have to look at the whole list again but he's at least in the 'could make a run for the top 10' class if he hasn't made the top 10.

I still don't listen to that many composers really, generally preferring depth of exploration of particular composers to breadth. So I still don't know that I could a full list of 25 that I felt was really solid.

[Jo498]

1-10
Beethoven
Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Schubert
Brahms
Schumann
Mahler
Handel
Bartok

11-25
Chopin
Dvorak
Mendelssohn
Wagner
Bruckner
Purcell
Debussy
Ravel
Tchaikovsky
Stravinsky
Berg
Prokofiev
Berlioz
Monteverdi
Shostakovich

Past 15 or so it gets quite difficult. For the last 10 spots, some could or should have been swapped for Fauré, Janacek, Sibelius, Nielsen, D. Scarlatti, Vivaldi, CPE Bach, Dowland, Liszt... With such composers I am often only familiar with or care for a part of their oeuvre. E.g. I have never really explored Janacek operas, the largest part of his work, or I care surprisingly little for some of Debussy's and Ravel's orchestral works but am very fond of their chamber and piano music, and so on.

[Mirror Image]

No Vaughan Williams 

Indeed not, Jeffrey. I'm not particularly drawn to RVW much these days and haven't really been for the last year or two. Sorry!

[vandermolen]

Indeed not, Jeffrey. I'm not particularly drawn to RVW much these days and haven't really been for the last year or two. Sorry!

I forgive you 

VW told the young composer Arthur Butterworth, an early enthusiast, 'if my music does not mean as much to you as you grow older you mustn't think that you are being at all disloyal to me.'

[Jo498]

I'd say my top 8 are rather mainstream. I think my top 5 or so (current 6 without Haydn) were already the same 25 years ago in my early/mid 20s. Bartok has also been my 20th century favorite for ages. Handel and Schumann rose in the early 2000s. 10 or 15 years ago I would not have named Tchaikovsky, I was really fed up with his music and there are still some pieces I rather dislike (rococo variations) but there is also indubitably great stuff. But as I said, the last third of the list is fuzzy and there are a bunch of composers I could put there with the same right. There also some where I hesitate because I only like a small number of their works, e.g. Franck. I also forgot Rameau and Couperin. When making such lists they tend to get eclipsed by someone like Monteverdi because I more quickly think of big pieces like the Virgin Vespers than of a bunch of clavecin pieces.
The less famous composers I am quite fond of that didn't quite make the list, but would be close are probably CPE Bach, Boccherini, von Weber, Weill.

[amw]

my top 10 are:

Beethoven
Schumann
Schubert
Bartók
Bach Mozart
Brahms
Mozart Bach
Haydn
Dvořák
Cage

and nos 11-25:

Chopin
Janáček
Holliger
Tchaikovsky
Berlioz
Sciarrino
Webern
Kurtág
Fauré
Ferrari
Stockhausen
Ferneyhough
Kayn
Grisey
Poulenc
Lim
Scarlatti

all in approximate order of preference/importance

Minor changes: two bumped off (I would currently put Stockhausen & Ferneyhough somewhere in the 26-35 bracket, along with Martinů, Shostakovich, Czernowin, Eastman, Ravel, Richard & Natasha Barrett [not related to each other], order not set at the moment) allowing the former #26 to advance to 24. Scarlatti was previously somewhat further behind but has increased in importance to me as I've learned to play more of his keyboard music, so as a result he's displaced Ravel from his former #27 spot (now 25).

[Mirror Image]

I forgive you 

VW told the young composer Arthur Butterworth, an early enthusiast, 'if my music does not mean as much to you as you grow older you mustn't think that you are being at all disloyal to me.'

Well, that's certainly a healthy attitude, indeed.

[kyjo]

My list hasn't changed too much...

1-10:

Dvořák
Sibelius
Atterberg
Rachmaninoff
Prokofiev
Vaughan Williams
Nielsen
Poulenc
Brahms
Lloyd

11-25:

Saint-Saëns
Damase
Braga Santos
Ravel
Finzi
Barber
Schubert
Bruckner
Mendelssohn
Raff
Casella
Stenhammar
Arnold
Respighi
Bax


...in some sort of order.

[Brahmsian]

My list today (in approximate specific order):

1-10:

1a - Bruckner
1b - Shostakovich
1c - Brahms
1d - Beethoven

Tchaikovsky
Sibelius
Schubert
Schumann
Mahler
Dvorak

11 to 25:

Prokofiev
Mozart
Rimsky-Korsakov
Berlioz
Stravinsky
Taneyev
Strauss, R.
Wagner
Bartok
Rachmaninov
Mendelssohn
Ravel
Bach
Kodaly
Penderecki

[Mirror Image]

Cesar inspired me, so let's see if I can do this now:

Top 10:

Debussy
Ravel
Bartók
Stravinsky
Sibelius
Schoenberg
Berg
Wagner
Mahler
Bruckner

11-25:

Shostakovich
Janáček
Britten
R. Strauss
Enescu
Martinů
Villa-Lobos
Fauré
Prokofiev
Ligeti
Takemitsu
Barber
Ives
Poulenc
Boulez

A damn fine list. I'll stick with this one.

[Madiel]

A damn fine list. I'll stick with this one.

That's less than a week ago, so seems reasonable!

[Mirror Image]

That's less than a week ago, so seems reasonable!

Hah...indeed.