Ten greatest (not 'favourite') 20th Century composers.

[vandermolen]

Mahler
Sibelius
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Vaughan Williams
Honegger
Holmboe
Tubin
Copland
Braga Santos

[The new erato]

You mean as in "having their most significant works written in that century(ref Mahler)"?

I would add Bartok, Ligeti, Nielsen and Webern and ditch your four last (not that there is something wrong with them).

[DavidW]

Schoenberg
Berg
Webern
Stravinsky
Shostakovich
Bartok
Sibelius
Nielsen
Vaughan Williams
Prokofiev

[North Star]

Your (op) list looks more like a 'favourite' list to me, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Avoiding all previously (before David) mentioned:

Janacek
Stravinsky
Schoenberg
Berg
Ravel
Debussy
Britten
Messiaen
Carter
Pärt

[The new erato]

You mean as in "having their most significant works written in that century(ref Mahler)"?

I would add Bartok, Ligeti, Nielsen and Webern and ditch your four last (not that there is something wrong with them).

And of course I would add Stravinsky pushing out Honegger.

[DavidW]

I should have had Debussy on my list.  I wasn't thinking.  I guess he would replace Nielsen.  Ravel is one of the greats, but finding room for him is a tricky proposition.

[The new erato]

I should have had Debussy on my list.  I wasn't thinking.  I guess he would replace Nielsen. 

You're right. This is why I usually don't participate in threads like this.

[Sergeant Rock]

Based on originality and influence mostly. The last pick may seem odd but film music was a huge musical part of the 20th Century. I picked no one from the second half of the century. Too early to pick a "great," I think; too early to know if composers like Ligetti, Boulez, Stockhausen will still be played 50 years from now (they are barely played now).

Mahler
Bartok
Debussy
Stravinsky
Schoenberg
Webern
Sibelius
Shostakovich
Janacek
Bernard Herrmann


Favorites:

Havergal Brian
Mahler
Vaughan Williams
Shostakovich
Nielsen
Strauss
Schmidt
Schoenberg
Sibelius
Prokofiev

[kyjo]

I'll do greatest and favorites:

Greatest:

Sibelius
Schoenberg
Janacek
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Ives
Bartok
Stravinsky
VW
Debussy
Ravel
(I would categorize Mahler as late-romantic, otherwise I would have included him)

Favorites:

Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Nielsen
Sibelius
VW
Bartok
Debussy
Ravel
Braga Santos
Atterberg

[kyjo]

Mahler
Sibelius
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Vaughan Williams
Honegger
Holmboe
Tubin
Copland
Braga Santos

You sure those aren't your favorites?

[kyjo]

I'll do greatest and favorites:

Greatest:

Sibelius
Schoenberg
Janacek
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Ives
Bartok
Stravinsky
VW
Debussy
Ravel
(I would categorize Mahler as late-romantic, otherwise I would have included him)

Looking back on my list, I should have probably included Webern, although I have never liked his music. There's no doubting his influence on a lot of late-20th century composers. I guess I'll replace Janacek with Webern.

[Karl Henning]

I should have had Debussy on my list.  I wasn't thinking.  I guess he would replace Nielsen.

Much as I love Nielsen, you are dead right here, Davey.

[Karl Henning]

I'll do greatest and favorites:

Greatest:

Sibelius
Schoenberg
Janacek
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Ives
Bartok
Stravinsky
VW
Debussy
Ravel

Highly though I think of Ives (and of course, native pride would love for an American to be on such a list), I don't think we can really make the case for his necessary inclusion in the Ten Greatest here.

Edit :: typo

[Karl Henning]

The interesting thing about this thread, is that really the posts ought to trend towards a consensus . . . unlike the typical favorites thread, which basically plays out in a "those are your ten, great, here are my ten" manner (— not that there's anything wrong with that —) so that, given time, practically every composer who worked in the 20^th century will eventually have been mentioned.

[Christo]

Yet, in the end, personal favourites are always at the base of the idea of greatness. At least in my list:

Debussy (Mahler is indeed late-romantic)
Nielsen
Falla
Janáček
Vaughan Williams
Bartók
Stravinsky
Shostakovich
Holmboe
Pärt

[Karl Henning]

Yet, in the end, personal favourites are always at the base of the idea of greatness.

Again, we agree to disagree 

[Karl Henning]

Okay, so make the case for de Falla being a greater composer than (to choose one which dropped off your list) Schoenberg.  I promise to find your argument musically interesting 

[kyjo]

Highly though I think of Ives (and of course, native pride would love for an American to be on such a list), I don't think we can really make the case for his necessary inclusion in the Ten Greatest here.

Edit :: typo

Why not, Karl? Ives was way ahead of his time-wouldn't that make him "great"?

[Karl Henning]

Why not, Karl? Ives was way ahead of his time-wouldn't that make him "great"?

I don't quarrel with Ives's being great, I don't know that his accomplishment drives his inclusion in the Ten Greatest of the Century.

There is also the matter (consider it hearsay, since I've not done the research/reading myself, yet) that some of his ahead-of-time features were later revisions.

I suppose my core point here is that there were enough genuinely outstanding composers in the 20^th century, that the Ten Greatest suffer no "cloud of question."  And with our mighty New Englander . . . it's complicated.

[Christo]

Okay, so make the case for de Falla being a greater composer than (to choose one which dropped off your list) Schoenberg.  I promise to find your argument musically interesting 

Actually, I find de Falla musically interesting.