Which five composers do you wish had another five years to live?

[Alek Hidell]

Schubert
Beethoven (let's not forget, he was only 56 when he died - speaking as a 52-year-old, I can tell you that 56 isn't very old )
Mahler (one wonders if his works would have gotten shorter and less "over-the-top" as the Second Viennese School continued to influence his outlook)
Gershwin
Purcell
Leo Ornstein

[kyjo]

Schubert, easily, and no one else comes close. His evolution in his final few years was so dramatic, and his last 10-12 major compositions were masterpieces every single one, and I must imagine that five more years of Schubert would have changed the world of music forever.

+1

[Ainsi la nuit]

First and foremost, without a moment's hesitation, I'll nominate Alban Berg.

The other four: Mahler, Webern, Debussy and Schubert.

[Artem]

Morton Feldman

[Mahlerian]

Mahler (one wonders if his works would have gotten shorter and less "over-the-top" as the Second Viennese School continued to influence his outlook)

Don't forget that the influence went both ways!  With Mahler still around, Schoenberg might have actually finished that projected hour-long symphony with a chorus of 2,000.

I would nominate

Berg
Lili Boulanger
Mahler
Mozart
Purcell

[prémont]

J S Bach
Nicolaus Bruhns
Nicolas de Grigny
Louis Couperin

[Alek Hidell]

Don't forget that the influence went both ways!  With Mahler still around, Schoenberg might have actually finished that projected hour-long symphony with a chorus of 2,000.

Heh, I started to say something about that (the two-way influence, I mean) but finally didn't.

Speaking of which, sort of, I could easily have put Berg on my list.

Morton Feldman

Or this guy - he was only 61 at his death. He might have written a third string quartet that took five years to perform!

[SymphonicAddict]

Guillaume Lekeu - A Belgian composer that died too young (24). His output contains some true gems such as the String Quartet and the Violin Sonata. A true gifted composer, his style could have evolved incredibly.

Carl Nielsen - We know this master intended composing five concertos for the wind quintet instruments (flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon and french horn), of which he could complete the first two. His style was taking new paths with his 6th Symphony. It would have been interesting if he had composed more works.

Ottorino Respighi - Another favorite of mine. With Metamorphoseon, he was trying to incorporate some more advanced ideas in his music. I would have loved if he had composed some exotic works based on Chinese or Japanese cultures.

Albéric Magnard - He was murdered for the reasons we know. He left us a small output, but a very compelling one. I would liked more symphonies or chamber works by him.

Hans Rott - His only (I think) symphony is marvelous. Rott had a tragic fate, where Brahms had an important but unlucky role. He would have been one of the most prominent figures of the symphony evolution if he had lived more years.

Now the most obvious ones: Schubert, Beethoven, Mahler, Tchaikovsky and Brahms.

[vandermolen]

Guillaume Lekeu - A Belgian composer that died too young (24). His output contains some true gems such as the String Quartet and the Violin Sonata. A true gifted composer, his style could have evolved incredibly.

Carl Nielsen - We know this master intended composing five concertos for the wind quintet instruments (flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon and french horn), of which he could complete the first two. His style was taking new paths with his 6th Symphony. It would have been interesting if he had composed more works.

Ottorino Respighi - Another favorite of mine. With Metamorphoseon, he was trying to incorporate some more advanced ideas in his music. I would have loved if he had composed some exotic works based on Chinese or Japanese cultures.

Albéric Magnard - He was murdered for the reasons we know. He left us a small output, but a very compelling one. I would liked more symphonies or chamber works by him.

Hans Rott - His only (I think) symphony is marvelous. Rott had a tragic fate, where Brahms had an important but unlucky role. He would been one of the most prominent figures of the symphony evolution if he had lived more years.

Now the most obvious ones: Schubert, Beethoven, Mahler, Tchaikovsky and Brahms.

Don't know the first one but agree with all the others. Some think that Respighi would have become a Hollywood composer had he lived on.

[kyjo]

Very much agree with those who mentioned Lili Boulanger and Magnard. The former's Psalm 130 and the latter's 4th Symphony - both composed just before their deaths - have been recent revelations to me and indicate that both composers could've achieved even greater things had they lived longer.

[vandermolen]

Have given this some more thought, so, list No. 2:

Bruckner

Holst

Boulanger

G. Butterworth

Gershwin

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

...
Nicolas de Grigny
...

Now there's an interesting and enlightened choice! I have thought for some time that Grigny was one of the great "what if's" in classical music, having died as young as he did. The small body of work he created showed great creativity and melodic invention. I find much of it, especially the mass to be deeply moving. Even Bach revered his work a great deal.

My list would include some obvious choices:

J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Mendelssohn
Brahms
Debussy

[arpeggio]

So many times when members propose a list like this I come up with too many choices.  Like what are your five favorite symphonies and my list would be twenty symphonies too long.

Well I can come up with just five.

For me they would be:

Mahler
Gershwin
Mozart
Schubert
Puccini (What would we have if he actually completed Turandot).

I think this would be a great game or poll.

[Ken B]

Interesting that there are different ideas about the "obvious" ones! I would say the "obvious ones", which may or may not be my own choices, would be great composers who died young. So
Schubert
Mozart
Debussy

Would seem to top the list. Is there a list here with all 3?

[bwv 1080]

Beethoven
Schumann
Debussy
Bartok
Elliott Carter

[Karl Henning]

First and foremost, without a moment's hesitation, I'll nominate Alban Berg.

The other four: Mahler, Webern, Debussy and Schubert.

I checked the thread to see if anyone had already said Webern.

Of course, five years later, and there would have been no curfew during which he would have been shot . . . .

[Christo]

I checked the thread to see if anyone had already said Webern.

Of course, five years later, and there would have been no curfew during which he would have been shot . . . .

But the Allied occupation of Vienna - including by the Soviets - lasted for five years more, til 1955: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Austria

[Karl Henning]

Well, you're right.  I ought even to have thought The Third Man . . . .

[San Antone]

I checked the thread to see if anyone had already said Webern.

He was on my list.

[Karl Henning]

He was on my list.

In the direction I went, I missed you.  Sorry!