Your Top 100 Favorite Composers

[Lisztianwagner]

Well, in fairness, there's only so much time in the day. What composers from the lists have interested you so far that you don't know?

Yes, alas.  Well, for example, Khachaturian, Penderecki, Ligeti, Henze, Dutilleux, Franck, Arnold, Walton (I've heard about them, but I haven't listened to their works yet, apart from Ligeti's Atmosphères), or Takemitsu, Bloch, Alfven, Langgaard, Englund.

I'm trying to do a list myself, but it's getting difficult to rank 100 composers. 

[Symphonic Addict]

The first 50 are in chronological order. The next 50 are in any order:

01. Joseph Haydn
02. Ludwig van Beethoven
03. Franz Schubert
04. Felix Mendelssohn
05. Anton Bruckner
06. Johannes Brahms
07. Camille Saint-Saëns
08. Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky
09. Antonín Dvořák
10. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
11. Leoš Janáček
12. Edward Elgar
13. Giacomo Puccini
14. Gustav Mahler
15. Richard Strauss
16. Carl Nielsen
17. Alexander Glazunov
18. Jean Sibelius
19. Albert Roussel
20. Wilhelm Stenhammar
21. Ralph Vaughan Williams
22. Sergei Rachmaninov
23. Maurice Ravel
24. Ottorino Respighi
25. Ernest Bloch
26. Béla Bartók
27. Igor Stravinsky
28. Alfredo Casella
29. Arnold Bax
30. Heitor Villa-Lobos
31. Kurt Atterberg
32. Bohuslav Martinů
33. Sergei Prokofiev
34. Arthur Honegger
35. Darius Milhaud
36. Rued Langgaard
37. Paul Hindemith
38. Francis Poulenc
39. William Walton
40. Dmitry Kabalevsky
41. Eduard Tubin
42. William Alwyn
43. Dmitry Shostakovich
44. Vagn Holmboe
45. Witold Lutosławski
46. Benjamin Britten
47. Malcolm Arnold
48. Joly Braga Santos
49. Krzysztof Penderecki
50. Alfred Schnittke


51. Johann Sebastian Bach
52. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
53. Carl Maria von Weber
54. Hector Berlioz
55. Robert Schumann
56. Franz Liszt
57. Bedrich Smetana
58. César Franck
59. Claude Debussy
60. Albéric Magnard
61. Florent Schmitt
62. Granville Bantock
63. Max Reger
64. Franz Schmidt
65. Josef Suk
66. Alexander Zemlinsky
67. Reinhold Glière
68. Grażyna Bacewicz
69. Nikolai Myaskovsky
70. Karol Szymanowski
71. Erwin Schulhoff
72. Erich Wolfgang Korngold
73. Mieczyslaw Weinberg
74. Michael Tippett
75. Robert Simpson
76. Peteris Vasks
77. Samuel Barber
78. Howard Hanson
79. Aaron Copland
80. William Schuman
81. Sergei Taneyev
82. Gian Francesco Malipiero
83. George Lloyd
84. Aram Khachaturian
85. Leevi Madetoja
86. Hugo Alfvén
87. Kalevi Aho
88. Gösta Nystroem
89. Uuno Klami
90. Paul Juon
91. Manuel de Falla
92. Richard Wagner
93. Charles Stanford
94. Gustav Holst
95. György Ligeti
96. Einar Englund
97. Edmund Rubbra
98. Boris Tchaikovsky
99. Joachim Raff
100. Dag Wirén

[71 dB]

How do you guys even do this? I've been sitting here for a half hour, went through the entire Composer Index in our composer board, and I've only thought of 83 names 

For me it got difficult after about 60 names, so you are not alone. 

[Mirror Image]

How do you guys even do this? I've been sitting here for a half hour, went through the entire Composer Index in our composer board, and I've only thought of 83 names 

Well, for one thing, you have to know a lot of composers and the second thing is you have like a lot of composers music. Of course, this thread isn't to be taken seriously and the numerical ordering after my "Top 20" doesn't really matter that much.

[Lisztianwagner]

Mine could be:

1. Wagner
2. Mahler
3. Liszt
4. Beethoven
5. Rachmaninov
6. Tchaikovsky
7. R. Strauss
8. J. Strauss II
9. Ravel
10. Holst
11. Shostakovich
12. Mozart
13. Chopin
14. Debussy
15. Nielsen
16. Sibelius
17. Prokofiev
18. Schoenberg
19. Zemlinsky
20. Bruckner
21. Dvořák
22. Brahms
23. Respighi
24. Janáček
25. Stravinsky
26. Elgar
27. Schnittke
28. Berg
29. Hartmann
30. Honegger
31. Bartók
32. Bortkiewicz
33. Bantock
34. Vaughan Williams
35. Atterberg
36. Szymanowski
37. Lutoslawski
38. Britten
39. Bizet
40. Saint-Saëns
41. Berlioz
42. Bach
43. Haydn
44. Glazunov
45. Leifs
46. Martinů
47. Korngold
48. Grieg
49. Bax
50. Rimsky-Korsakov

51. Novak
52. Roussel
53. Alkan
54. Scriabin
55. Händel
56. R. Schumann
57. Mussorgsky
58. Karlowicz
59. Falla
60. Melartin
61. Satie
62. Weber
63. Mendelssohn
64. Ives
65. Josef Strauss
66. Tippett
67. Copland
68. Delius
69. Weinberg
70. Puccini
71. Alwyn
72. Smetana
73. Tveitt
74. Messiaen
75. Holmboe
76. Webern
77. Reger
78. Vivaldi
79. Taneyev
80. Poulenc
81. Casella
82. Hindemith
83. Albéniz
84. Barber
85. Schulhoff
86. Suk
87. Milhaud
88. Schubert
89. Malipiero
90. Varèse
91. Fauré
92. Villa-Lobos
93. Gershwin
94. Pettersson
95. Kodály
96. Enescu
97. Lumbye
98. Simpson
99. Glière
100. Rautavaara

[classicalgeek]

A most excellent list, Ilaria!

[Mirror Image]

A most excellent list, Ilaria!

Yes, indeed! I knew Ilaria would pull through with a list.

[classicalgeek]

The first 50 are in chronological order. The next 50 are in any order:

Also a wonderful list, Cesar! I'm not surprised that we share 59 out of 100 entries. And of I enjoy course many of the other composers on your list!

[Symphonic Addict]

Also a wonderful list, Cesar! I'm not surprised that we share 59 out of 100 entries. And of I enjoy course many of the other composers on your list!

Thank you, James! That's a good number. No doubts we share a good deal of tastes. Actually, I haven't checked your list and others' out yet to notice the coincidences and omissions.

[Mirror Image]

Yes, alas.  Well, for example, Khachaturian, Penderecki, Ligeti, Henze, Dutilleux, Franck, Arnold, Walton (I've heard about them, but I haven't listened to their works yet, apart from Ligeti's Atmosphères), or Takemitsu, Bloch, Alfven, Langgaard, Englund.

I'm trying to do a list myself, but it's getting difficult to rank 100 composers. 

You reminded me that I left off Franck and Arnold from my initial list. Oh well, can't include every composer we love!

[Mirror Image]

Thank you, James! That's a good number. No doubts we share a good deal of tastes. Actually, I haven't checked your list and others' out yet to notice the coincidences and omissions.

There certainly are some similarities between our lists, too, Cesar.

[Symphonic Addict]

There certainly are some similarities between our lists, too, Cesar.

From your list I miss Braunfels, Ifukube, Hartmann, Fauré (!) and Shchedrin, among others. I realized I left many out.

It only means that... time for a 150-favorite list! 

[Mirror Image]

From your list I miss Braunfels, Ifukube, Hartmann, Fauré (!) and Shchedrin, among others. I realized I left many out.

It only means that... time for a 150-favorite list! 

[Brian]

The thing that struck me, assembling this list, is that a Top 100 is so many composers that you don't really learn anything about the list creator. Most lists are bound to have 50 or so of the same people, unless a real hipster arrives to show us all up  I think I've got about 10 people who have not yet been mentioned, though they are mostly in the 51-100 section!

1. Beethoven
2. Dvorák
3. Schubert
4. Haydn
5. Janáček
6. Chopin
7. Berlioz
8. Brahms
9. Tchaikovsky
10. Martinu
11. Ravel
12. Sibelius
13. D. Scarlatti
14. Grieg
15. Prokofiev
16. Albéniz
17. Rachmaninov
18. Fauré
19. Shostakovich
20. Liszt
21. Roussel
22. Bruckner
23. Walton
24. J.S. Bach
25. Debussy

== 26-50 (alphabetical order) == (25)
Boccherini, Borodin, Cantemir, Chabrier, Elgar, Falla, C. Franck, Kalliwoda, Mahler, Massenet, Mendelssohn, Mompou, Mozart, Nielsen, Poulenc, Respighi, Rossini, Rouse, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Smetana, R. Strauss, Suk, Vaughan Williams, Vivaldi, Weinberg

== 51-100 (alphabetical order) == (50)
Aho, Alkan, Auerbach, C.P.E. Bach, Barrios Mangoré, Bartók, Biber, Leo Brouwer, Qigang Chen, Cherubini, F. Couperin, Elgar, Escaich, Farrenc, G.L. Frank, Gershwin, Guarnieri, Handel, Hindemith, Ibert, Kernis, Kodály, Llobet, Lloyd, Martinsson, D. Matthews, Moszkowski, Mussorgsky, Papandopulo, Piazzolla, Pierné, Rameau, Rautavaara, Respighi, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rodrigo, Salonen, Fazil Say, Sor, Still, J. Strauss Jr., Stravinsky, Tamberg, Tveitt, Villa-Lobos, Vine, Weber, S.L. Weiss, Wieniawski, Zelenka

[Mirror Image]

Interesting list, Brian. Now, let's see if Karl can do one.

[Madiel]

Let's see those lists guys!

Poju, a "Top 100" list is superfluous. Honestly, after my "Top 20", it is increasingly difficult to put the composers in any kind of order. Anyway, this is just for fun and not meant to be taken as the gospel truth.

Holmboe did not make your top 100 and we are no longer on speaking terms... 

I'm not sure there are even 100 different composers in my collection. Maybe, if you include the ones that have snuck in on some sort of compilation.

[Mirror Image]

Holmboe did not make your top 100 and we are no longer on speaking terms... 

I'm not sure there are even 100 different composers in my collection. Maybe, if you include the ones that have snuck in on some sort of compilation.

Hah! Yeah, I kind of figured you doing a "Top 100" wouldn't be in the cards for you considering you only listen to a handful of composers.

[Madiel]

Hah! Yeah, I kind of figured you doing a "Top 100" wouldn't be in the cards for you considering you only listen to a handful of composers.

It turns out I do have over 100 composers in there.

Ones that I have enough works of... well, let's say you need at least 5. That drops the list down to 54 composers if I've counted correctly.

[amw]

How do you guys even do this? I've been sitting here for a half hour, went through the entire Composer Index in our composer board, and I've only thought of 83 names 

I have no idea. I could list composers until it starts to become arbitrary, but that's somewhere around 20ish on any preferential list.

[amw]

Can attempt it though.

-- Top 4, in a personally meaningful order --
1. Beethoven L
2. Schumann R
3. Schubert F
4. Bartók B

-- In order of preference --
[1. Schubert F]
2 [5]. Mozart WA
[3. Schumann R]
4 [6]. Brahms J
5 [7]. Haydn FJ
[6. Beethoven L]
7 [8]. Dvořák A
8 [9]. Bach JS
[9. Bartók B]
10. Cage J
11. Chopin F
12. Poulenc F
13. Tchaikovsky P
14. Scarlatti D
15. Janáček L
16. Shostakovich D
17. Martinů B
18. Fauré G
19. Kurtág G
20. Mendelssohn F
21. Medtner N
22. Sciarrino S
23. Sibelius J
24. Holliger H
25. Lim L
26. Ligeti G
27. Stravinsky I

-- In order I thought of them --
28. Prokofiev S
29. Nielsen C
30. Saunders R
31. Weeks J
32. Hindemith P
33. Reger M
34. Taneyev S
35. Hummel JN
36. Handel GF
37. Barrett R
38. Couperin L
39. Froberger JJ
40. Bruckner A
41. Josquin
42. Ravel M
43. Webern A
44. Finnissy M
45. Saint-Saëns C
46. Alkan CV
47. Czernowin C
48. Ustvolskaya G
49. Nono L
50. Grieg E
51. Maderna B
52. Schmitt F
53. Liszt F
54. Enescu G
55. Grisey G
56. Szymanowski K
57. Kirchner T
58. Machaut G
59. Holmboe V
60. Rejcha A
61. Berlioz H
62. Dutilleux H
63. Murail T
64. Lamb C
65. Clarke R
66. Fuchs R
67. Busoni F
68. Couperin F
69. Martin F

-- Thought of them while thinking up the above, but didn't think they belonged in quite the same tier --
70. Debussy C
71. Stockhausen K
72. Boulez P
73. Berwald F
74. Myaskovsky N
75. Messiaen O
76. Langgaard R
77. Barber S
78. Rameau G-P
79. Dussek JL
80. Charpentier M-A
81. Onslow G
82. Bacewicz G
83. Abrahamsen H
84. Honegger A
85. Leighton K
86. Kernis AJ
87. Rădulescu H
88. Bruch M
89. Simpson R
90. Rachmaninov S
91. Schuman W
92. Stenhammar W
93. Spohr L
94. Britten B
95. Röntgen J
96. Vaughan Williams R
97. Arensky A
98. Weber CM
99. Schumann C
100. Rubbra E