Your Top 100 Favorite Composers

Started by Mirror Image, June 13, 2022, 06:30:32 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Mirror Image

Nice list, amw. Bartók being in your "Top 4" means that we are now best friends. :D

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Brian on June 14, 2022, 06:30:41 PM
== 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

You repeated Respighi twice.

I forgot mentioning Pierné. One to consider.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

vandermolen

#42
I think this is about 100 (in a rush - going to work soon). I started grouping them by nationality in order to try to avoid including the same name twice but that plan soon broke down.
VW
Bax
Alwyn
Rawsthorne
Arnold
Bliss
Rubbra
Walton
Ireland
Rootham
Daniel Jones
Arnell
Bate
Chisholm
Daniel Jones
Grace Williams
Ruth Gipps
Moeran
Hadley
Sainton
Havergal Brian
Bantock
Holst
George Lloyd
Harris
Copland
Barber
Schuman
Creston
Ives
Paulus
Diamond
Hanson
Bernstein
Herrmann
Antheil
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Ippolitov Ivanov
Ivanovs
Kabalevsky
Khachaturian
Miaskovsky
Boris Tchaikovsky
Peter Tchaikovsky
Salmanov
Eshpai
Steinberg
Glazunov
Gliere
Amirov
Weinberg
Nielsen
Bloch
Blomdahl
Langgaard
Holmboe
Honegger
Lyatoshinsky
Sibelius
Kokkonen
Madetoja
Salmenhaara
Rosenberg
Peterson Berger
Pettersson
Nystroem
Wiren
Atterberg
Raid
Kinsella
A J Potter
Andriessen (Snr)
Dutilleux
Debussy
Sauguet
Magnard
Egge
Kalabis
Kabelac
Tubin
Bruckner
Mahler
Rachmaninov
Tcherepnin (N)
Karayev
Popov
Shebalin
Rautavaara
Novak
Sumera
Rimsky-Korsakov
Martinu
Suk
Schulhoff
Nielsen
Villa-Lobos
Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Malcolm Williamson
and,at the end of the alphabet
Zemlinsky


"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Jo498

The most striking for me is that Mirror Image has none of my top five (Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Schubert) even in the top 100!
And how often a name appears in some top 50 or so I have never heard or heard only the name but never any music... e.g. Cantemir and Rouse because Brian's list is the only one still on this screen. Or like every other name on Vandermolen's list ;)
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Wanderer

Kudos to those of you who mentioned Alkan and Medtner. You know who you are. 😎

vandermolen

#45
Quote from: Jo498 on June 14, 2022, 11:51:15 PM
The most striking for me is that Mirror Image has none of my top five (Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Schubert) even in the top 100!
And how often a name appears in some top 50 or so I have never heard or heard only the name but never any music... e.g. Cantemir and Rouse because Brian's list is the only one still on this screen. Or like every other name on Vandermolen's list ;)
Remember the list is for 'favourites' and not 'greatest'.
I'd include Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Haydn and others on a greatest list.
Sibelius, Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams, Bruckner and Mahler would be on both lists.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: classicalgeek on June 14, 2022, 03:03:51 PM
A most excellent list, Ilaria!
Quote from: Mirror Image on June 14, 2022, 03:06:02 PM
Yes, indeed! I knew Ilaria would pull through with a list. 8)

Thank you, James and John!  ;) But now I would be a little short of composers if we had to go on with a 150 top list.  ???
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Brian


Brian

Quote from: amw on June 14, 2022, 07:32:14 PM
96. Vaughan Williams R
This brings up something that challenged me - composers who are "one-work wonders" not to the world at large but to me in my mind. I know you have a really deep connection with Vaughan Williams' 5th symphony and its romanza, but he barely popped up before you finished listing. I had similar issues with some people who have individual works I dearly love which in some way are departures from the rest of their work, or who just did not write a lot to begin with. in my case, Lutoslawski, Dohnanyi, Holst, Taneyev, Szymanowski, Dukas. I didn't feel right saying they were favorites, but they all wrote one or two things I'd clutch close on the way to the desert island.

Mirror Image

#49
Quote from: Jo498 on June 14, 2022, 11:51:15 PM
The most striking for me is that Mirror Image has none of my top five (Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Schubert) even in the top 100!
And how often a name appears in some top 50 or so I have never heard or heard only the name but never any music... e.g. Cantemir and Rouse because Brian's list is the only one still on this screen. Or like every other name on Vandermolen's list ;)

I guess a lot of it has to do with my own individual path into this music. I just wasn't drawn to those particular composers you mentioned. Not that I don't respect their achievements and influence. I do like Beethoven and Haydn, but they didn't make my "Top 100" list simply because there's not enough music by them I actively like. For example, with Beethoven, I really only enjoy his symphonies, concerti and late SQs (some desert island music for me in these works). I have tried to see what's beyond the composers that everyone talks about or mentions. As it turned out, I was drawn to the sound of the 19th and 20th Century composers more than any from the earlier periods. I think what a lot of it is boils down to is my love for harmony and in the 19th Century there started to be more incorporation of dissonances that provide a bit tang to the music that drew me in like a moth to the flame.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Brian on June 15, 2022, 04:41:56 AM
This brings up something that challenged me - composers who are "one-work wonders" not to the world at large but to me in my mind. I know you have a really deep connection with Vaughan Williams' 5th symphony and its romanza, but he barely popped up before you finished listing. I had similar issues with some people who have individual works I dearly love which in some way are departures from the rest of their work, or who just did not write a lot to begin with. in my case, Lutoslawski, Dohnanyi, Holst, Taneyev, Szymanowski, Dukas. I didn't feel right saying they were favorites, but they all wrote one or two things I'd clutch close on the way to the desert island.

You should keep trying with Szymanowski and Lutosławski. There is more to their oeuvre than your own personal favorites that are worth exploring. Hell, keep on trying with Penderecki, too, especially since you only like the late works (from 2000s until his passing).

vandermolen

Quote from: Brian on June 15, 2022, 04:41:56 AM
This brings up something that challenged me - composers who are "one-work wonders" not to the world at large but to me in my mind. I know you have a really deep connection with Vaughan Williams' 5th symphony and its romanza, but he barely popped up before you finished listing. I had similar issues with some people who have individual works I dearly love which in some way are departures from the rest of their work, or who just did not write a lot to begin with. in my case, Lutoslawski, Dohnanyi, Holst, Taneyev, Szymanowski, Dukas. I didn't feel right saying they were favorites, but they all wrote one or two things I'd clutch close on the way to the desert island.
An interesting point Brian.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Mirror Image

I just wanted to point out that every composer on my list has composed a lot of music that I love. That's why they're on my list. I couldn't fathom only including a composer with whom I only like two to three works.

kyjo

#53
I'm honestly surprised how much activity this thread has gotten so far. This is hard work - I'm always paranoid that I'm gonna forget a composer or two! :D

My Top 50 Composers (pretty much in order):

1. Dvořák
2. Sibelius
3. Atterberg
4. Rachmaninoff
5. Prokofiev
6. Poulenc
7. Saint-Saëns
8. Vaughan Williams
9. Nielsen
10. Lloyd
11. Brahms
12. Casella
13. Mendelssohn
14. Braga Santos
15. Barber
16. Respighi
17. Schubert
18. Finzi
19. Andreae
20. Beethoven
21. Kabalevsky
22. Arnold
23. Ravel
24. Bax
25. Janáček
26. Elgar
27. Suk
28. Britten
29. Schumann
30. Juon
31. Bruckner
32. Stenhammar
33. Martinů
34. Medtner
35. Mozart
36. Tubin
37. Korngold
38. Walton
39. Tchaikovsky (P.I.)
40. Grieg
41. Peterson-Berger
42. Bliss
43. Melartin
44. Moeran
45. Haydn
46. Bloch
47. Raff
48. Cras
49. Magnard
50. Villa-Lobos

And now, My Top 51-100 Composers (in a relatively arbitrary order):

51. Strauss (R.)
52. Mahler
53. Roussel
54. Damase
55. Bartók
56. Copland
57. Dohnányi
58. Honegger
59. Bernstein
60. Hanson
61. Rimsky-Korsakov
62. Alwyn
63. Ibert
64. Falla
65. Holmboe
66. Pizzetti
67. Castelnuovo-Tedesco
68. Schmidt
69. Taneyev
70. Glazunov
71. Holst
72. Foulds
73. Hindemith
74. Zemlinsky
75. Hummel
76. Vivaldi
77. Bach (C.P.E.)
78. Berlioz
79. Borodin
80. Ginastera
81. Guarnieri
82. Berwald
83. Alnæs
84. Wirén
85. Stravinsky
86. Tcherepnin (A.)
87. Röntgen
88. Puccini
89. Fauré
90. Boulanger (L.)
91. Kodály
92. Khachaturian
93. Shostakovich
94. Weinberg
95. Bridge
96. Liszt
97. Debussy
98. Tveitt
99. Schulhoff
100. Nielsen (L.)


.....whew!!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Mirror Image

#54
Quote from: kyjo on June 16, 2022, 07:56:50 PM
I'm honestly surprised how much activity this thread has gotten so far. This is hard work - I'm always paranoid that I'm gonna forget a composer or two! :D

My Top 50 Composers (pretty much in order):

1. Dvořák
2. Sibelius
3. Atterberg
4. Rachmaninoff
5. Prokofiev
6. Poulenc
7. Saint-Saëns
8. Vaughan Williams
9. Nielsen
10. Lloyd
11. Brahms
12. Casella
13. Mendelssohn
14. Braga Santos
15. Barber
16. Respighi
17. Schubert
18. Finzi
19. Andreae
20. Beethoven
21. Kabalevsky
22. Arnold
23. Ravel
24. Bax
25. Janáček
26. Elgar
27. Suk
28. Britten
29. Schumann
30. Juon
31. Bruckner
32. Stenhammar
33. Martinů
34. Medtner
35. Mozart
36. Tubin
37. Korngold
38. Walton
39. Tchaikovsky (P.I.)
40. Grieg
41. Peterson-Berger
42. Bliss
43. Melartin
44. Moeran
45. Haydn
46. Bloch
47. Raff
48. Cras
49. Magnard
50. Villa-Lobos

And now, My Top 51-100 Composers (in a relatively arbitrary order):

51. Strauss (R.)
52. Mahler
53. Roussel
54. Damase
55. Bartók
56. Copland
57. Dohnányi
58. Honegger
59. Bernstein
60. Hanson
61. Rimsky-Korsakov
62. Alwyn
63. Ibert
64. Falla
65. Holmboe
66. Pizzetti
67. Castelnuovo-Tedesco
68. Schmidt
69. Taneyev
70. Glazunov
71. Holst
72. Foulds
73. Hindemith
74. Zemlinsky
75. Hummel
76. Vivaldi
77. Bach (C.P.E.)
78. Berlioz
79. Borodin
80. Ginastera
81. Guarnieri
82. Berwald
83. Alnæs
84. Wirén
85. Stravinsky
86. Tcherepnin (A.)
87. Röntgen
88. Puccini
89. Fauré
90. Boulanger (L.)
91. Kodály
92. Khachaturian
93. Shostakovich
94. Weinberg
95. Bridge
96. Liszt
97. Debussy
98. Tveitt
99. Schulhoff
100. Nielsen (L.)


.....whew!!

Poor Shostakovich is relegated to the 93rd slot. :( Damn, this composer has truly fallen out of favor with you, Kyle. It's okay though as Atterberg isn't even on my list...so we're even! ;) :P

Madiel

Well, now I'm at least going to have to check out Atterberg...
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

kyjo

Quote from: Mirror Image on June 16, 2022, 08:13:35 PM
Poor Shostakovich is relegated to the 93rd slot. :( Damn, this composer has truly fallen out of favor with you, Kyle. It's okay though as Atterberg isn't even on my list...so we're even! ;) :P

You always bring up Shostakovich every time I post a list. Cut me a break, man! ;D
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

kyjo

Quote from: vandermolen on June 14, 2022, 11:45:14 PM
I think this is about 100 (in a rush - going to work soon). I started grouping them by nationality in order to try to avoid including the same name twice but that plan soon broke down.
VW
Bax
Alwyn
Rawsthorne
Arnold
Bliss
Rubbra
Walton
Ireland
Rootham
Daniel Jones
Arnell
Bate
Chisholm
Daniel Jones
Grace Williams
Ruth Gipps
Moeran
Hadley
Sainton
Havergal Brian
Bantock
Holst
George Lloyd
Harris
Copland
Barber
Schuman
Creston
Ives
Paulus
Diamond
Hanson
Bernstein
Herrmann
Antheil
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Ippolitov Ivanov
Ivanovs
Kabalevsky
Khachaturian
Miaskovsky
Boris Tchaikovsky
Peter Tchaikovsky
Salmanov
Eshpai
Steinberg
Glazunov
Gliere
Amirov
Weinberg
Nielsen
Bloch
Blomdahl
Langgaard
Holmboe
Honegger
Lyatoshinsky
Sibelius
Kokkonen
Madetoja
Salmenhaara
Rosenberg
Peterson Berger
Pettersson
Nystroem
Wiren
Atterberg
Raid
Kinsella
A J Potter
Andriessen (Snr)
Dutilleux
Debussy
Sauguet
Magnard
Egge
Kalabis
Kabelac
Tubin
Bruckner
Mahler
Rachmaninov
Tcherepnin (N)
Karayev
Popov
Shebalin
Rautavaara
Novak
Sumera
Rimsky-Korsakov
Martinu
Suk
Schulhoff
Nielsen
Villa-Lobos
Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Malcolm Williamson
and,at the end of the alphabet
Zemlinsky

Great Britain - 25
Germany - 0

I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing. Just making an observation! ;D
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vandermolen

Oh No! I forgot Braga Santos and Finzi  :o
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Quote from: kyjo on June 16, 2022, 10:00:39 PM
Great Britain - 25
Germany - 0

I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing. Just making an observation! ;D
They would be on my 'Greatest' list  :)
My favourite composers tend to be British, American, Russian/Soviet or Scandinavian.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).