All other composers are inferior to Beethoven

[FideLeo]

"Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n
Wirst du, meine Symphonie..."

"Das klinget so herrlich, das klinget so schön!
Tralla lala la Trallalala!
Nie hab ich so etwas gehört und geseh'n!
Trallalalala Tralla lalala."   

格雷格不叫雷格...(Greg ist aber kein Reger.) 

[lukeottevanger]

Ahhh yes and along those lines it was good ol' Ludwig Van himself who said,

"Not Bach (German for "brook") but Ocean should be his name." Nuff said. Case closed.

Yes, but by that logic, here's the greatest musician of them all:

[(poco) Sforzando]

Yes, but by that logic, here's the greatest musician of them all:

Fortunately, what Beethoven actually said (or was recorded as saying) was, "nicht Bach, sondern Meer."

[lukeottevanger]

Fortunately, what Beethoven actually said (or was recorded as saying) was, "nicht Bach, sondern Meer."

Phew. Thank goodness for that.

[Bonehelm]

I put 復活交響曲 through Babelfish. It means Reactivating Symphony...

Babelfish sucks! Karl's right, it's "Resurrection Symphony"...

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Babelfish sucks! Karl's right, it's "Resurrection Symphony"...

Babelfish doesn't know the classics.

But in a no-nonsense way, it came quite near to what a resurrection actually does to you.

[Ten thumbs]

Not far off, he truly was a great, the finshed article. Mozart was also fantastic but lacked the real development that LVB displayed. IMO only Wagner ever showed any real development after Beethoven

Yes but Mozart died young and neglected to go deaf.
I guess we are dominated by Anglo-Saxons here, although no one has mentioned Goethe.

[BachQ]

Yes but Mozart died young and neglected to go deaf.

How negligent of Mozart .........

[Josquin des Prez]

I guess we are dominated by Anglo-Saxons here,

Not sure how that would affect anything, since those composers are all Teutonic.

For the record, i'm Mediterranean, and i absolutely detest Italian composers bar a few exceptions. Should i be more nationalistic?

[greg]

格雷格不叫雷格...(Greg ist aber kein Reger.) 

hey, stop screwing around with my username! 

[Scriptavolant]

There's a spontaneous question rising. So what?
I mean, apart from a temporary amelioration in your social relationships and the bewitching membership for the superiorly aknowledged caste of music lovers, what do I gain from that?

[Josquin des Prez]

what do I gain from that?

Truth? Knowledge? Wisdom?

[karlhenning]

For the record, i'm Mediterranean, and i absolutely detest Italian composers bar a few exceptions. Should i be more nationalistic?

Well, "absolute detestation" is de trop, of course.

[greg]

For the record, i'm Mediterranean, and i absolutely detest Italian composers bar a few exceptions. Should i be more nationalistic? Undecided

and i absolutely detest lots of music by American composers (anything that has a lot of that American sound), so lol, it's ok 

[Scriptavolant]

Truth? Knowledge? Wisdom?

I like Mozart better than truth, knowledge and wisdom.

[Josquin des Prez]

I like Mozart better than truth, knowledge and wisdom.

As if they were mutually exclusive.

[Ten thumbs]

Not sure how that would affect anything, since those composers are all Teutonic.

For the record, i'm Mediterranean, and i absolutely detest Italian composers bar a few exceptions. Should i be more nationalistic?

No, but maybe we should be more even handed. Once there was a great German school. At another time there was a great Russian school. There was even a period with great French composers. I don't deny Beethoven's genius but if he had lived twenty years later it would not have seemed so pronounced. It's all a matter of perspective. If you don't think there is bias, explain the neglect of Onslow if you can.

[Josquin des Prez]

If you don't think there is bias, explain the neglect of Onslow if you can.

Only after you explain why we should care about Onslow.

[(poco) Sforzando]

No, but maybe we should be more even handed. Once there was a great German school. At another time there was a great Russian school. There was even a period with great French composers. I don't deny Beethoven's genius but if he had lived twenty years later it would not have seemed so pronounced. It's all a matter of perspective. If you don't think there is bias, explain the neglect of Onslow if you can.

Considering that for a great many lovers of Beethoven, his last period is his very greatest, it could be argued just as well that had he lived longer his genius would have seemed even more pronounced.

As for your final point, it doesn't follow at all that "bias" is involved. "Bias" implies active efforts to disparage a composer's work, and such a claim recalls Charles Rosen's response when a critic accused Hans Pfitzner of being subjected to a "conspiracy" to prevent his music from being heard. Rosen replied something to the effect that if such a splendid conspiracy existed, he wondered how he could join it.

More likely, Onslow's work is just not known, or if it is, not many people have felt strongly disposed to be his advocate. After nearly 50 years of listening I have yet to encounter any Onslow myself; it could well be that he is worth investigating, but it could also well be that he is just one of the hundreds of worthy but unexceptional names whom history has weeded out as not being as interesting as the composers who have in fact survived. Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm, and if Onslow's work were truly remarkable one would expect some groundswell of interest in putting his name before the public. It hasn't happened, and I'm not about to accept that "bias" is involved simply on the claim of a minority opinion from someone posting on the Internet.

[Ten thumbs]

Onslow is better regarded in France, where ironically enough he is known as the 'French Beethoven'. I don't regard him as a Beethoven by any means but we do listen to other composers besides the greatest. Beethoven remains the greatest until we know otherwise. My point about his date of birth was that twenty years later he would not have been in a position to lead the changes that were taking place in music, although I have no doubt he would still have made great music. If the Germans had had their way, Mendelssohn would be in much the same plight as Onslow, because he was a Jew. Louise Farrenc is little performed because she was a woman - and you say there is no prejudice? That's cloud-cuckoo land.