6 favourite v 6 greatest composers

[vandermolen]

Which are your six favourite composers and your six greatest composers? Do they overlap? Daft idea I know but I am bored at work

My list:

Favourites                              Greatest

Vaughan Williams                   Bruckner
Miaskovsky                            Sibelius   
Tubin                                    Mahler
Bax                                       Beethoven
Moeran                                  Shostakovich
Copland                                 Bach

[ezodisy]

add another column of 6 for dislikes to complete the pattern

[71 dB]

Favorite = greatest.

Elgar
J. S. Bach
Handel
Mozart
Buxtehude
Bruhns

[Josquin des Prez]

My favored composers also happen to be the best ones. How can it be either wise?

[The new erato]

My favored composers also happen to be the best ones. How can it be either wise?

By admitting that your subjective preferences disagrees with more objective criteria?

My grandmother prefers driving in a Corolla to a Porsche as the space and handling characteristics of the Porsche disagrees with her. Does it make the Corolla a greater car than the Porsche?

[Bulldog]

add another column of 6 for dislikes to complete the pattern

It's not easy to come up with 6 most disliked composers, but I'll give it a shot:

Hanson
Vivaldi
Dittersdorf
Mittler

That's about it.

[mn dave]

Favorites (the ones I listen to most often):

Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Chopin
Purcell
Schubert

The greatest:

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Wagner
Haydn
Brahms

[Opus106]

Preparing a list of greatest composers requires you to have listened to every work of every composer in history.

[rappy]

Greatest:

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Mahler
Wagner
Brahms

Favourites:

Bach
Haydn
Beethoven
Mahler
Strauss
Brahms

Not much difference...

[Henk]

Greatest:        Favourites:

Handel             Handel
Beethoven       Beethoven
Stravinsky        Petrassi
Mahler              Donatoni
Brahms             Ligeti
Petrassi            Stravinsky

Ligeti, Donatoni instead of Brahms and Mahler.

[imperfection]

Favorites:

Beethoven
Mahler
Chopin
Brahms
Bruckner
Tchaikovsky

Greatest:
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Mahler
Wagner
Chopin

[71 dB]

It's not easy to come up with 6 most disliked composers, but I'll give it a shot:

Hanson
Vivaldi
Dittersdorf
Mittler

That's about it.

You just think you dislike Dittersdorf. His music is very good but if you don't give him a change that's your loss. Sorry.

[Josquin des Prez]

By admitting that your subjective preferences disagrees with more objective criteria?

There's not such thing as subjectivity in art. There is only truth, and either you get it, or you don't. Simple as that.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Extremely difficult. But if push comes to shove...

Favourites      Greatest

Beethoven      Bach
Wagner          Mozart
Bruckner        Beethoven
Mahler           Wagner
Delius            Mahler
Brian             Stravinsky

[71 dB]

There's not such thing as subjectivity in art. There is only truth, and either you get it, or you don't. Simple as that.

Art is a very subjective thing. Deal with it.

[Josquin des Prez]

Art is a very subjective thing. Deal with it.

Why do you say it when we all know that you don't believe it? The fanaticism you displayed for the music of Elgar betrays your prejudice.

[Dundonnell]

Because it is you, Jeffrey

Greatest:
   Beethoven
   Brahms
   Wagner
   Mahler
   Sibelius

Favourite:
   Bruckner
   Vaughan Williams
   Brian
   Rubbra
   Shostakovich

[mn dave]

Preparing a list of greatest composers requires you to have listened to every work of every composer in history.

Most of this work has been done for us.

[karlhenning]

Preparing a list of greatest composers requires you to have listened to every work of every composer in history.

Most of this work has been done for us.

I'm delighted that he's holding off on compiling the list until he's heard some Henning, though!

[bhodges]

My greatness criteria: quantity of output, overall quality, variety of genre (i.e., chamber music, opera, orchestral, etc.), influence on others and/or music in general, and the indefinable "those I'd include in a time capsule for humanity." 

So, greatest (alpha order):

Bach
Bartók
Beethoven
Debussy
Mozart
Stravinsky

Favorites:

Bartók
Berg
Britten
Ives
Janáček
Mahler

Not so keen on in large quantities, but still OK with some works by:

Bach
Berlioz
Gluck
Handel
Mozart
Reger

--Bruce