Classical composers you used to dislike—but now you love their works?

[71 dB]

I avoided Shostakovich for years...

Imho Shostakovich's music is not very welcoming...

[LKB]

Imho Shostakovich's music is not very welcoming...

An astute assessment, l would say. 

On the other hand, Dmitri most assuredly pays dividends if a listener can become comfortable with his dramatic language, and the seriousness which dominates so much of his output.

[71 dB]

When I was a teen, it was Bruckner. As a fanatical Wagnerian, I thought Anton would be a piece of cake. So i took out his "Wagner" symphony from the library and I didn't make it even through the first movement. I thought it was a complete bore. Then, when I was 22 I received a letter from a good friend who raved about a Bruckner concert he had been to. I decided I'd give Anton another chance. The Fort Hood library had Walter's Fourth. I loved it and loved everything I subsequently heard. In fact Bruckner has been one of my Top 3 composers for 50 years.

Sarge

At least you were a Wagnerian as a teen, while I only started to listen to music at that point and it wasn't classical music, but electronic dance music. At that time I thought classical music is too old for modern ears and only people who have fallen badly behind the times bother with it. A few years later my best friend I met in university told me about how cool classical music can be and I got interested. When I was 25 I started listening to classical music on radio and a few weeks before turning 26 I heard Enigma Variations and the rest is history.

At age 52 I still don't care about Bruckner much. 

[LKB]

At least you were a Wagnerian as a teen, while I only started to listen to music at that point and it wasn't classical music, but electronic dance music. At that time I thought classical music is too old for modern ears and only people who have fallen badly behind the times bother with it. A few years later my best friend I met in university told me about how cool classical music can be and I got interested. When I was 25 I started listening to classical music on radio and a few weeks before turning 26 I heard Enigma Variations and the rest is history.

At age 52 I still don't care about Bruckner much. 

I didn't mention it above since l already have elsewhere, but it took me about a decade to find a way into Shostakovich's music, and that was after performing his First Symphony.

So don't be shocked if in ten years, you're enjoying Bruckner frequently. 

[71 dB]

Mozart is my absolutely favorite composer now but some 15 years ago I didn't care much about him.

For long I though Mozart's music is totally "wimp", but with time I started to understand classism better and I understood Mozart operated within that style extremely skilfully. Once I stopped writing Mozart off a wimp composer, I started to enjoy it a lot. Piano Concertos were the works that made me realize Mozart's genius.
 

I started to enjoy Bach's music 2 or 3 years ago. (Although St Matthew Passion is still too difficult and too long for me.

Bach's music (and baroque in general) was easy for me from the get go when I started to listen to classical music. My brain seems to be wired for counterpoint. St. Matthew Passion indeed is a long work and I have to say I prefer St. John Passion.