100 Greatest Composers!!!

[Teresa]

     Carl Nielsen at #88? That's outrageous!!

     

Don't feel bad, most of my favorite composers didn't even make the list.   

[mc ukrneal]

     That's a good list, since it has the names of 100 composers I've heard of, a necessary but not blah blah usw. I wouldn't change very much or the changes wouldn't mean very much or something like that.

     Let's see if I can muster some outrage:

     Carl Nielsen at #88? That's outrageous!!

     

I totally agree! How he made it to the list is beyond me!! 

[drogulus]

I totally agree! How he made it to the list is beyond me!! 

     Why such rancor in a music thread?

     

[mc ukrneal]

     Why such rancor in a music thread?

   

No rancor. I was trying to be cute/wise guy (hence all the smileys)...

[King Karajan]

For me the list would start:

Beethoven
Bruckner
Mahler
Wagner
Shostakovich
Mozart....

But "Best" is such a subjective term.

[karlhenning]

But "Best" is such a subjective term.

Not entirely.  And to shrug one's shoulders and just say, "Oh, it's all subjective" is . . . lazy, yes?

[quintett op.57]

yes

[Benji]

Oh..... grrrr..... silly list 

I wish I liked Mozart, Schubert etc enough to have an opinion on whether they are more deserving of their places than my favourite 20th century composers. But I don't. Great story, right?... 

OK, but I will ask why Satie is so high up. I enjoy some of his piano music, but is there anything truly groundbreaking about it? What did he do to deserve such a high rank?

[AndyD.]

One of my main problems is having Mozart over Bach. I even have issues with him over Haydn. Hate me.

Here's a better example, in my humblest opinion:

1) Beethoven and Wagner (tie)
2) Bach
3) Haydn

I'm unhappy overall with the rest of that list as well.

[Brahmsian]

I'd like to see a list of the 100 Greatest Composers according to Rob Newman (not!)  It would I'm sure include a list of about 50 or so obscure Italian classical era composers Mozart supposedly stole all his music from. 

[AndyD.]

I'd like to see a list of the 100 Greatest Composers according to Rob Newman (not!)  It would I'm sure include a list of about 50 or so obscure Italian classical era composers Mozart supposedly stole all his music from. 

You know, it would be hilarious.

[MN Dave]

1) Beethoven and Wagner (tie)
2) Bach
3) Haydn

1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Haydn
....Wagner

Fixed.

[AndyD.]

1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Haydn
....Wagner

Fixed.

You know, I honestly don't have a problem with anyone picking Bach as Greatest Composer. I've been hearing more and more from his music just how Mt. Everest he really is.

But Beethoven and Wagner...it's like, once they click inside, your heart can't stop favoring them above the rest.

[MN Dave]

You know, I honestly don't have a problem with anyone picking Bach as Greatest Composer. I've been hearing more and more from his music just how Mt. Everest he really is.

But Beethoven and Wagner...it's like, once they click inside, your heart can't stop favoring them above the rest.

Goes for any composer, I guess.

[Brahmsian]

Goes for any composer, I guess.

BTW, that is a cool avatar.  How did you get a photo of Wagner wearing a Hitler moustache and uni-bomber sunglasses? 

[AndyD.]

Goes for any composer, I guess.

You are absolutely right. At least, any favorite composer.

Modified:

But Beethoven and Wagner...it's like, now that they've clicked inside, my heart can't stop favoring them above the rest. The return I get from them seems endless and affirming.

BTW, that is a cool avatar.  How did you get a photo of Wagner wearing a Hitler moustache and uni-bomber sunglasses? 

[Brahmsian]

Another obvious unabomber look-a-like:

[karlhenning]

OK, but I will ask why Satie is so high up. I enjoy some of his piano music, but is there anything truly groundbreaking about it? What did he do to deserve such a high rank?

Well, you made me go back and look at that silly list, Ben! ; )

Satie in the "lower 50" I don't think is outrage-inducing.  His chef-d'oeuvre really is Socrate, of course . . . and (I'm repeating myself, I'm sure — sorry!) on the Billy Wilder principle of You're as good as the best thing you've done, Socrate secures Satie's place in the top 100.

It isn't that Socrate is that much different to the piano music. Satie (we might almost say) remained truer even than Debussy to the aim of paring away the cultural detritus. But my enjoyment of the piano music isn't the 'negative', but joy in focusing on what remains.  Just so, it is the purity and stillness of Socrate of which one sits back in awe.

[MN Dave]

BTW, that is a cool avatar.  How did you get a photo of Wagner wearing a Hitler moustache and uni-bomber sunglasses? 

I hope that's a joke!

[karlhenning]

Ray mightn't recognize the source underneath the photoshopped makeover, Dave.

Even I had to do a double-take, once on a time.