Composer personalities

[Florestan]

I have a ridiculous laugh like the Mozart character in Amadeus (ask Karl, it's really silly); completely blot out the whole world when I get a good idea (like Beethoven). Unfortunately, I share with Wagner the trait of not thinking when I speak angrily.

Furthermore, you are much too modest, like Schubert and you play the guitar, like Berlioz. 

[Harry]

I have a ridiculous laugh like the Mozart character in Amadeus (ask Karl, it's really silly); completely blot out the whole world when I get a good idea (like Beethoven). Unfortunately, I share with Wagner the trait of not thinking when I speak angrily.

And untill now, Jasmine is still forgiving you, so there must be something special about you huh?

[Daedalus]

I'm sorry if i upset you, that was really not my intention.

Do not worry, I was being oversensitive - probably my greatest fault 

When i said that one must give up and reject everything, i meant everything, including academies.

I disagree. Even the most gifted of people need direction. Of course, they may be beyond the guidance of their tutors... Mahler springs to mind at his conservatoire - his attendance was awful and it seems, reading about his life, that he had his own projects to pursue. However, Mahler directed his genius through his scholarly pursuits - if you read his letters, you find how important literature, philosophy and history was to him.
(I use Mahler often as an example as he is the composer I have read most about).

Anybody can be learned; one only needs to open books.

Oh, how I wish this was true.  I would easily be a professor by now! 
You are either a rare man for whom education comes easily (in which case, I will be very jealous!) or you have not attempted learning of any advanced kind. Learning takes dedication, patience, pedantry (!), passion, strength, solitude and I could go on...

Glad to met you, by the way.

Likewise - a pleasure 

Last night, before I went to bed, I was flicking through my copy of The Lives of the Great Composers and I came across Saint-Saens. I know little of his music or his life but I read the opening paragraph with interest. He could play piano at the age of two, read and write to an adult standard at the age of three and mastered Latin at the age of seven. When he was ten, he was giving his own concerts and as an encore, he offered to play any of Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas by memory. As a young teenager, he was a polymath with a passion for geology, archaeology, botany, lepidoptery, mathematics and science (he wrote articles about these subjects). At sixteen he wrote his first symphony. Not bad 'eh?  And as I flicked through the pages of my worn out book, the pattern continued. So many of the great composers were prodigious and extraordinary children, gifted beyond my imagination.

I wish I had more in common with the greats! 

D.

[DavidW]

Well it's said that the pets reflect your personality, so perhaps you should just compare your pets with composers' pets!

[greg]

Well it's said that the pets reflect your personality, so perhaps you should just compare your pets with composers' pets!

hm, except for me and my dog.

Considering the general topic, I am somewhere between Mahler's existential anxiety, Bruckner's cosmic self-assurance, Beethoven's crass radicalism, Brahms' wallowing melancholy, Sibelius' mystical naturalism, and Shostakovich's bitterly ironic self-parody. Go figure.

love how you summed up each composer's style in just a few words...... not that it's literally possible, but that those are the best words that you could have if you needed to at least try to sum up their styles in 2 words.
I believe that enjoyment of music isn't just pleasure- but actually a description of yourself in sound.... although this is pretty vague, for a few reasons: your tastes can change, personality can slightly change or you can get in touch with different aspects of your personality that you didn't know were there, by listening to new music.

It's probably easier to understand this by thinking of what music you don't like- such as, for me, country or rap..... it's easy to say i don't enjoy it, but also easy to say it's just not me.

[ChamberNut]

I'm a country bumpkin just like Bruckner.   

Has anyone tried to drown themselves in a river like Bobby?

[Haffner]

Furthermore, you are much too modest, like Schubert and you play the guitar, like Berlioz. 

You are very, very kind, brought a tear to my eye.

[greg]

Man, i must be even more neurotic than i thought before. Tried for 2 hours to put in contacts myself for the first time- was able to get both out (after about 30 minutes of trying), but the doctors had to put them in for me. No matter what, my eyes just close.

Then I think about how no matter how many times i try, there's always a resistance- it's kind of like talking to random people, or greeting people in general, just saying hi. I hate it so much, no matter how much I do it and never get used to it, despite the fact that I have to do it over 100 times a day.

The only thing that really really gets rid of my neurosis for a bit is waking up in the morning with nothing to do except play a video game- something that involves a world you can explore, even something like Half Life. Actually, I spent a week straight a few years ago just waking up and playing the game and I still remember it as being the most calm I've ever been- I felt like a totally different person.

And the funny thing is, people would just describe me as quiet and calm, but it's only because I literally have no energy to talk to anyone at all, I just force myself and sometimes it's alright, but it's the complete opposite of people who just don't stop talking. Instead, I just don't stop thinking, often getting headaches from thinking so much about some big plan or something....




I'm using this very nice model here from Facebook:

Openness   
   83%
Conscientiousness   
   65%
Extraversion   
   25%
Agreeableness   
   66%
Neuroticism   
   54%

Last updated before: 04 February 2008 (Update Now)
Trait Explanations
Openness

You are much more intellectually curious and sensitive to beauty than most. Your beliefs tend to be individualistic and frequently drift towards the unconventional. You enjoy your imagination and the exciting places it takes you! Approximately 78.8% of the population has a lower openness score than this.
Conscientiousness

You avoid forseeable trouble through purposefully planning and achieve success through persistence. You are reliable and in control of your life. Approximately 58% of the population has a lower conscientiousness score than this.
Extraversion

You prefer low-key social occasions, with a few close friends. It`s not that you are afraid of large parties; they`re just not that fun. Approximately 2.3% of the population has a lower extraversion score than this.
Agreeableness

People get along with you easily. You are considerate and friendly, and think that other people are generally honest and decent. Approximately 54% of the population has a lower agreeableness score than this.
Neuroticism

You are generally calm. Although some situations can make you feel emotional, your feelings tend to be warranted. Approximately 75.8% of the population has a lower neuroticism score than this.
You have answered 100/100 questions

But I'd definitely rate the Conscientious, Agreeableness and Neuroticism scores much higher. Notice only 2.3% have a lower extraversion score. 

[Daedalus]

I don't believe this - I just spent ages writing a reply and then accidently hit the 'back' button and it all disappeared! 

I will try again.

Man, i must be even more neurotic than i thought before. Tried for 2 hours to put in contacts myself for the first time- was able to get both out (after about 30 minutes of trying), but the doctors had to put them in for me. No matter what, my eyes just close.

Stick with them, you'll get there in the end.
I couldn't get the little ****** (use your imagination) in my eyes either the first few times. It gets easier.
I had to turn to them after repeatedly breaking/losing my glasses! 

Then I think about how no matter how many times i try, there's always a resistance- it's kind of like talking to random people, or greeting people in general, just saying hi. I hate it so much, no matter how much I do it and never get used to it, despite the fact that I have to do it over 100 times a day.

That sounds familiar - seriously, you sound exactly like me.
I can't stand making small talk and I dislike the majority of people I meet on a daily basis.

I think that people probably believe me to have no sense of humour whatsoever - I do, honestly! - but I just hate the kind of shallow, superficial humour that the majority of people I meet seem to have. My sense of humour is more ironic, sarcastic, intelligent, witty, surreal - I like to work for my humour. I think puns are a good thing! 

I am just like you though - I am not completely unsociable but I just cannot be bothered with most people. My natural aloof and quiet nature seems to make people like me even more though! I am always surrounded by idiots who want to talk to me despite the fact that I make no effort to keep their company.

I used to wonder if there was something wrong with me but now I know it is just how I am. I'm not even that sociable with my own family, even though I love them to pieces. They have got used to my ways and know that I prefer contact through writing - plus that I would spend 99% of my time in my study with my books and music if I had it my way!  My fiancee is also very understanding but we have a very special connection and I feel 'alone' when with her so it's quite different.

Don't get me wrong, I am not some kind of crazy hermit... well, maybe a bit  I am quite a gentlemanly, kind and sociable person, especially with the right company. I just prefer solitude.

The only thing that really really gets rid of my neurosis for a bit is waking up in the morning with nothing to do except play a video game- something that involves a world you can explore, even something like Half Life. Actually, I spent a week straight a few years ago just waking up and playing the game and I still remember it as being the most calm I've ever been- I felt like a totally different person.

Interesting that.
I think literature and music is my escape. I feel quite calm after reading or listening to a great work of art.
I need literature and music to cope with the every day world.  I immerse myself in it as a means of escape and of cooling off. It is my special place to go to where everything can be how I want it to be. Nobody can interfere - everything is beautiful and means something profound. None of the things that I hate about life are there. I need literature and music - both are part of my coping mechanism.

I'm using this very nice model here from Facebook:
But I'd definitely rate the Conscientious, Agreeableness and Neuroticism scores much higher. Notice only 2.3% have a lower extraversion score. 

Ugh, not facebook! I went on there for a while but quickly got sick of the banality and uniformity. Horrible!

Your personality chart is exactly how mine would be though. I am a neurotic, very open person but not at all extraverted - apparently that is very common. When you are introverted you often have deeper and much more open relationships with just a few people. When you are extraverted, it is obviously more common to have relationships with many people but on much more a superficial level.

D.

[Brian]

STOP.....DON'T STOP....STOP.....DON'T STOP....STOP.....DON'T STOP....STOP.....DON'T STOP....I can relate to Percy Grainger's S&M fetish....STOP.....DON'T STOP....STOP.....DON'T STOP....STOP.....DON'T STOP....STOP.....DON'T STOP....   

I poop just like Beethoven!!! 

You've been hit by the

|^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| ,,
| Too Much Information Truck | '|""";.||.___.
|_..._...__________________==== _|__|..., ] |
"(@ )'(@ )"""""""""""""""""""""""*|(@ )(@ )*****(@)

[greg]

You've been hit by the

|^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| ,,
| Too Much Information Truck | '|""";.||.___.
|_..._...__________________==== _|__|..., ] |
"(@ )'(@ )"""""""""""""""""""""""*|(@ )(@ )*****(@)

ouch! 

I don't believe this - I just spent ages writing a reply and then accidently hit the 'back' button and it all disappeared! 

i hate when that happens! Makes me wanna take a hammer to the computer.... actually, i could use a hammer quite a bit......

Stick with them, you'll get there in the end.
I couldn't get the little ****** (use your imagination) in my eyes either the first few times. It gets easier.
I had to turn to them after repeatedly breaking/losing my glasses! 

well, that's encouraging! 

That sounds familiar - seriously, you sound exactly like me.
I can't stand making small talk and I dislike the majority of people I meet on a daily basis.

I think that people probably believe me to have no sense of humour whatsoever - I do, honestly! - but I just hate the kind of shallow, superficial humour that the majority of people I meet seem to have. My sense of humour is more ironic, sarcastic, intelligent, witty, surreal - I like to work for my humour. I think puns are a good thing! 

I am just like you though - I am not completely unsociable but I just cannot be bothered with most people. My natural aloof and quiet nature seems to make people like me even more though! I am always surrounded by idiots who want to talk to me despite the fact that I make no effort to keep their company.

I used to wonder if there was something wrong with me but now I know it is just how I am. I'm not even that sociable with my own family, even though I love them to pieces. They have got used to my ways and know that I prefer contact through writing - plus that I would spend 99% of my time in my study with my books and music if I had it my way!  My fiancee is also very understanding but we have a very special connection and I feel 'alone' when with her so it's quite different.

Don't get me wrong, I am not some kind of crazy hermit... well, maybe a bit  I am quite a gentlemanly, kind and sociable person, especially with the right company. I just prefer solitude.

Cool, everything there sounds like me typing about myself. 
Just imagine being able to study stuff all day for a living, and being paid for it! Of course stuff doesn't work out that way.....

Ugh, not facebook! I went on there for a while but quickly got sick of the banality and uniformity. Horrible!

I know, I was (ahem) "forced", or peer pressured to join from my Sunday school class. And yeah, the uniformity is just about suffocating and the banality is mind-numbing. Too much on that site and my brain would explode.... I definitely prefer myspace, i get to make my own page and everything (as they said in Family Guy once "a place for you to express your individuality"). 
The Apps are nice, but besides that, uggggggggghhhhhhhh

Your personality chart is exactly how mine would be though. I am a neurotic, very open person but not at all extraverted - apparently that is very common. When you are introverted you often have deeper and much more open relationships with just a few people. When you are extraverted, it is obviously more common to have relationships with many people but on much more a superficial level.

D.

It doesn't seem very common to me, at least compared to extravert, non-conscientious people. But I do see a few of them..... maybe it just matters where you are.

When you are introverted you often have deeper and much more open relationships with just a few people

Actually, this could be true for anyone, right? Can't say I've had any close friends for a long time, though..... lots of acquaintances, though.