# List Your Ten Favorite Composers of All Time



## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

(_In random order_)

1. *Leopold Godowsky* (1870 - 1938)

2. *Moritz Moszkowski* (1854 - 1925)

3. *Franz Liszt* (1811 - 1886)

4. *Sergei Bortkiewicz* (1877 - 1952)

5. *Camille Saint-Saëns* (1835 - 1921)

6. *Ernő Dohnányi* (1877 - 1960)

7. *Franz Xaver Scharwenka* (1850 - 1924)

8. *Kaikhosru Sorabji* (1892 - 1988)

9. *Nikolai Medtner* (1880 - 1951)

10. *Alexander Scriabin* (1871 - 1915)

This was difficult to narrow down; there were at least another 5 names that could have made the list.

*P.S.*

I'm not looking to start a debate over who is the "greatest" and who is not, or who deserves more or less recognition; I'm just asking out of curiosity. I'm very interested to see the names that people choose as their favorites from the entire history of music.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

In order:

1 JS Bach
2 Mahler
3 Brahms
4 Schubert
5 Shostakovich
6 Sibelius
7 Dvorak
8 Mendelssohn
9 Wagner
10 Mozart


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Johann Sebastian Bach 
Ludwig van Beethoven
Arnold Schönberg
Béla Bartók
György Ligeti
Igor Stravinsky
Anton Webern
Gustav Mahler
Claude Debussy
Richard Wagner


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

without too much thinking about it, I just write 10 composers who I think resonate with me and that I would take to a deserted island

Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Rameau
Dvořák
Scriabin
Prokofiev
Shostakovich
Tchaikovksy
Debussy

hell: I forgot Brahms. I hope I can make it 11


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Just a list of ten? I'm in. I assume favourite means ones from whom you've had most listening pleasure past and present.

Also no particular order:

1. Joseph Haydn

2. Mieczyslaw Weinberg

3. W.A. Mozart

4. Claude Debussy

5. Dmitri Shostakovich

6. J.S. Bach

7. Erik Satie

8. Jean Francaix

9. Anton Bruckner

10. S. Rachmaninov

Conservative list. 10 probably isn't enough.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

Personal favorites:

1. Brahms
2. Beethoven
3. Mahler
4. Bruckner
5. Bach
6. Mozart
7. Tchaikovsky 
8. Rachmaninoff
9. Schumann
10. Wagner


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

eugeneonagain said:


> I assume favourite means ones from whom you've had most listening pleasure past and present...
> ...10 probably isn't enough.


Correct, and indeed; that's what makes it fun!


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I probably can name 10 composers...
1. Mozart
2. JS Bach
3. Schubert
...
Shostakovich
Denisov
Schnittke
Lassus
Haydn
Beethoven
Messiaen
...only the first 3 are carved in stone.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

1. JS Bach

Rest in no particular order:

Shostakovich
Scriabin
Schumann
Weinberg
Handel
Mozart
Mahler
Haydn
Chopin


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Where am I going wrong with Bach? I still don't quite get him. Love the double violin concerto and the Air, but Art of Fugue, Goldberg and WTC...???????


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

janxharris said:


> Where am I going wrong with Bach? I still don't quite get him. Love the double violin concerto and the Air, but Art of Fugue, Goldberg and WTC...???????


I'm the opposite. For me, works like the concertos and Air are the least of Bach's treasures. For the best of Bach, I go to his solo keyboard works, sacred choral and organ works.

I don't believe you are going wrong. You have your taste, and I trust you listen most to those works that give you the greatest enjoyment.

However, time can solve some stuff. For many years, I could not get a handle on Bach's organ works. Then, all of a sudden, it clicked wonderfully for me. You never know where your next revelation will come from.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> Where am I going wrong with Bach? I still don't quite get him. Love the double violin concerto and the Air, but Art of Fugue, Goldberg and WTC...???????


maybe your problem is not with Bach, but with the whole baroque aesthetic? Have you tried any other baroque composers? The more I delve into baroque, the more I appreciate it and the more I appreciate JS Bach as the pinnacle of baroque music. Take the Goldberg variations (for example played by Sokolov) and force yourself to listen to it once daily for about a week. Then leave it for a couple of weeks (to make the brain consolidate the memory synapses) and come back to it. If it does not help, repeat it a couple of times. It is really worth it.


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

janxharris said:


> Where am I going wrong with Bach? I still don't quite get him. Love the double violin concerto and the Air, but Art of Fugue, Goldberg and WTC...???????


I agree completely. While I do respect Bach, he is probably the last composer I'd choose to listen to for recreational enjoyment. You're not alone; although we're definitely in the minority. =)


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Jacck said:


> maybe your problem is not with Bach, but with the whole baroque aesthetic? Have you tried any other baroque composers? The more I delve into baroque, the more I appreciate it and the more I appreciate JS Bach as the pinnacle of baroque music. Take the Goldberg variations (for example played by Sokolov) and force yourself to listen to it once daily for about a week. Then leave it for a couple of weeks (to make the brain consolidate the memory synapses) and come back to it. If it does not help, repeat it a couple of times. It is really worth it.


 Solid advice, although that never worked for me. I enjoyed Bach as a child and in my earliest years of learning to play the piano, but not for many years since. What you said about not being into the whole baroque aesthetic definitely rings true for me.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Brahms
Prokofiev
Ravel
Debussy
Rachmaninoff 
Bartók
Mozart
Bach
Beethoven
Tchaikovsky

OMG, I forgot Sibelius! (He'll never forgive me)


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Bulldog said:


> 1. JS Bach
> 
> Rest in no particular order:
> 
> ...


Hmmm I have quite some overlap with yours and Strange Magic's.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

1.Sibelius


Beethoven
Shostakovich
Stravinsky
Wagner
Brahms
Debussy
Mahler
Ravel
Chopin


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

janxharris said:


> Where am I going wrong with Bach? I still don't quite get him. Love the double violin concerto and the Air, but Art of Fugue, Goldberg and WTC...???????


Maybe in the near future you could click with Bach's music.

See Jacck's case for example, who not long ago did remarks on Mozart like he was "overrated", "boring as hell" and full of "clichés". And now Mozart "resonates" with him, and is in his top ten list above to take to a desert island.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Jacck said:


> maybe your problem is not with Bach, but with the whole baroque aesthetic? Have you tried any other baroque composers? The more I delve into baroque, the more I appreciate it and the more I appreciate JS Bach as the pinnacle of baroque music. Take the Goldberg variations (for example played by Sokolov) and force yourself to listen to it once daily for about a week. Then leave it for a couple of weeks (to make the brain consolidate the memory synapses) and come back to it. If it does not help, repeat it a couple of times. It is really worth it.


I'm not a great fan of the Baroque, no. Some Vivaldi but not much else that has stuck.

I've heard the Goldberg Variations about five times; it's always an ordeal, but I try every once in a while.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

S P Summers said:


> Solid advice, although that never worked for me. I enjoyed Bach as a child and in my earliest years of learning to play the piano, but not for many years since. What you said about not being into the whole baroque aesthetic definitely rings true for me.


baroque is probably an acquired taste for many people. Most people are used to romantic music and romantic idioms. When I entered the world of classical music, I also started with the romantic music and did not like baroque music or Bach that much. But then I started exploring, listening to romantic music with occasional forrays into baroque and it slowly pulled me in. At first, I enjoyed only certain Bach pieces - such as the Chaconne - and did not enjoy the cantatas. But slowly, by exposing myself to it, I started liking it all. And now I actully place the baroque music at equal footing with the romantic. I even find the romantic music too aggressive, too much pushing the emotions into your face. The baroque aesthetic is more delicate, more balanced and more elegant. If you do not enjoy Bach, try other composers. One recent discovery of mine is Charpentier. I have not heard a piece from him that I would not love at first hearing.


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## Mifek (Jul 28, 2018)

Bach
Chopin
Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Prokofiev
Mozart
Brahms
Schubert
Shostakovich
Ravel or Rachmaninoff (cannot decide)


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

jdec said:


> Maybe in the near future you could click with Bach's music.
> 
> See Jacck's case for example, who not long ago did remarks on Mozart like he was "overrated", "boring as hell" and full of "clichés". And now Mozart "resonates" with him, and is in his top ten list above to take to a desert island.


It is an amazing turnaround.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

janxharris said:


> It is an amazing turnaround.


I once though Bruckner was a mere long-winded noise-maker. Twenty years later....


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

eugeneonagain said:


> I once though Bruckner was a mere long-winded noise-maker. Twenty years later....


It does happen. I'm still at the 'long-winded noise-maker' stage.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> It is an amazing turnaround.


yes, I think it might have been some subconscious resentment of Mozart on my part. I had him associated with this cheap elevator music that is played everywhere and with kitch. And then I opened myself to him slowly, but it was a struggle that lasted almost a year.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

On my list there was no Bartok! That's a mistake! Have to kick out Messiaen


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

S P Summers said:


> I agree completely. While I do respect Bach, he is probably the last composer I'd choose to listen to for recreational enjoyment. You're not alone; although we're definitely in the minority. =)


Modern day performers make Bach sound monotonous and robotic. Listen to, for example, the Busch Chamber Players' Brandenburg concertos, Casals' Cello suites, Enescu and Milstein's Violin sonatas and partitas, Edwin Fischer's WTC and keyboard concertos, and Gould's Goldberg variations to hear Bach played with emotion and passion.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Musicologist Christoph Wolff said this regarding 'The Art Of Fugue':
"The governing idea of the work was an exploration in depth of the contrapuntal possibilities inherent in a single musical subject."

In view of this comment, perhaps it's not surprising that the piece can sound like an academic exercise?


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> Musicologist Christoph Wolff said this regarding 'The Art Of Fugue':
> "The governing idea of the work was an exploration in depth of the contrapuntal possibilities inherent in a single musical subject."
> 
> In view of this comment, perhaps it's not surprising that the piece can sound like an academic exercise?


incidentally, I listened today to this Contrapunctus XIX
Academic? No, just heavenly.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Jacck said:


> incidentally, I listened today to this Contrapunctus XIX
> Academic? No, just heavenly.


I think it might actually be XIV.


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## Vronsky (Jan 5, 2015)

I have top 5: 

Igor Stravinsky
Robert Schumann
Hector Berlioz
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Jean-Philippe Rameau


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> I think it might actually be XIV.


of course.
You can also try the 4 guitar version.
that is the genius of Bach. He can be arranged almost for any instrument and everywhere sounds great
or the Goldberg's on guitar. I feel the guitar adds greater clarity to this contrapunctual music compared to the loud piano or even organ


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

My greatest idols. The placement for the first 7 has been set in stone for a long time for me:

1. Mozart, Beethoven, J. S. Bach.
4. Brahms, Wagner, Mahler 
7. Schubert 
8. Tchaikovsky 
9. Schumann 
10. R. Strauss

Next much beloved composers for me to also take to a desert island:

11. Mendelssohn 
12. Shostakovich
13. Debussy
14. Handel
15. Prokofiev 
16. Ravel
17. Sibelius
18. Stravinsky 
19. Dvorak
20. Liszt
21. Chopin
22. Rachmaninov 
23. Bruckner
24. Haydn 
25. Schoenberg
26. Verdi
27. Grieg
28. Mussorgsky 
29. Rimsky-Korsakov
30. Berlioz 
31. Vivaldi
32. Bizet 
33. Rossini
34. Respighi
35. J. Strauss Jr. 
36. Elgar 
37. Saint-Saens 
38. Scriabin 
39. Bartok
40. Britten 
41. Puccini 
42. Vaughan Williams 
43. Holst 
44. Gershwin 
45. Messiaen
46. Monteverdi 
47. Janacek
48. Smetana
49. Weber
50. Fauré 
51. Berg
52. Webern
53. Honegger
54. Scarlatti
55. Purcell
56. Telemann
57. Corelli
58. Franck
59. Glinka
60. Nielsen
61. de Falla
62. Gounod
63. Albeniz
64. Bellini
65. Poulenc 
66. Donizetti 
67. Delibes 
68. Ives
69. Glazunov 
70. Couperin


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## poconoron (Oct 26, 2011)

My ironclad top 10 in order:

Mozart
Beethoven
Haydn
Schubert
JS Bach
Brahms
Handel
Dvorak
Wagner
Rossini


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

1. J.S. Bach
2. Ravel
3. Brahms
4. Debussy
5. Mozart
6. Rodrigo
7. Bartok
8. Monteverdi
9. Ives
10. Prokofiev


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

All Time:

Beethoven
Debussy
Mahler
Ravel
Stravinsky
Bartok
Schoenberg
Berg
Takemitsu
Ligeti

Sometime:

Bach
Wagner
Varese
Szymanowski
Janacek
Britten
Schnittke
Sibelius
Lajtha
Dutilleux


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

Beethoven
Brahms
Dvorak
Janacek
Nielsen
Ravel
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Tchaikovsky
Vaughan Williams


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

S P Summers said:


> (_In random order_)
> 
> 1. *Leopold Godowsky* (1870 - 1938)
> 
> ...


Respect, my friend! Very special selection, with a LOT OF piano.

My list now: (following choices like yours)

1. Franz Liszt
2. Sigismund Thalberg
3. Richard Strauss
4. Erich Korngold
5. Alexander Scriabin
6. Piotr Tschaikowsky
7. Sergei Bortkiewitz 
8. Leopold Godowsky
9. William Wallace
10.John Field

(3 first names, as they are. After random)


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## josquindesprez (Aug 20, 2017)

Josquin
Monteverdi
JS Bach
Zelenka
Tallis
Poulenc
Purcell
Dufay
Bartók
Vaughan Williams


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Brahmsianhorn said:


> Modern day performers make Bach sound monotonous and robotic. Listen to, for example, the Busch Chamber Players' Brandenburg concertos, Casals' Cello suites, Enescu and Milstein's Violin sonatas and partitas, Edwin Fischer's WTC and keyboard concertos, and Gould's Goldberg variations to hear Bach played with emotion and passion.


Oh I'm very familiar with Glenn Gould's Goldberg recordings, I listened to them all the time when I was a kid. As I grew older, I got away from baroque music and have never been able to get back into it. I think it's really just not for me.

As for the other recordings you recommended, I have very little interest in music that doesn't include the piano. I've heard Cyprien Katsaris' recording of the keyboard concerti, and of course his playing is always most enjoyable; but those concerti are not ones I ever go back to. Perhaps I'll check out the Edwin Fischer recordings as you suggest... I'm not sure if I've ever made it through the WTC, I know I've tried more than once.

What I DO enjoy, are the Bach-Busoni piano arrangements... Preferably at the hands of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. =)

*P.S.*

Please forgive my long winded, self-centered response.


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Vronsky said:


> Hector Berlioz


Some of my favorite music that doesn't include a piano.


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Dimace said:


> Respect, my friend! Very special selection, with a LOT OF piano.
> 
> My list now: (following choices like yours)
> 
> ...


Thank you. It really is all about the piano, isn't it? =P

Would you mind if I asked for a few recommendations? We obviously have similar taste...

- Thalberg - LOVE his piano concerto, other pieces you'd suggest?

- R. Strauss - Not familiar with much of his catalogue, any outstanding piano works?

- Same for Korngold, Wallace, and Field.

Thanks!


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

As of now

1) Brahms
2) Mozart
3) Josquin
4) Wagner
5) _Louis _Couperin
6) Dufay
7) Poulenc
8) Scriabin
9) Byrd
10) Schumann


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

S P Summers said:


> I agree completely. While I do respect Bach, he is probably the last composer I'd choose to listen to for recreational enjoyment. You're not alone; although we're definitely in the minority. =)


I also am still trying to get into Bach. Getting into Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, even someone like Bruckner has been comparatively far easier.

Anyway, top ten:
Beethoven
Brahms
Mozart
R. Strauss
J. Strauss II
Mendelssohn
Wagner
Tchaikovsky
Bruckner
Schumann


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

janxharris said:


> 1.Sibelius
> 
> Beethoven
> Shostakovich
> ...


Am I allowed to call myself an idiot? I forgot Vaughan Williams and Elgar.

1. Sibelius

Beethoven
Shostakovich
Stravinsky
Wagner
Elgar
Brahms
Debussy
Vaughan Williams
Chopin


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

S P Summers said:


> I agree completely. While I do respect Bach, he is probably the last composer I'd choose to listen to for recreational enjoyment. You're not alone; although we're definitely in the minority. =)


What is your issue with Bach?


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Here they are.

Schubert
Beethoven
Schumann
Bach JS
Tchaik
Brahms
RVW
Sibelius
Mahler
Mozart


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

From my survey with their scores:

1. Mozart 145
2. Beethoven 115
3. J.S. Bach 98
4. Brahms 67
5. Haydn
5. Tchaikovsky 66
7. Handel 62
8. Schubert 60
9. Schumann 52
10. Wagner 51


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

My list will be boring as I am strongly convinced that the critical consensus is broadly correct. Certainly it mirrors fairly closely my own listening pleasure over the decades:

Bach; Haydn; Mozart; Beethoven; Schubert; Brahms; Schumann; Mahler; Sibelius; Bartok

If it were a list on who has given me the most pleasure in that last year then it would be a very different list!


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

larold said:


> From my survey with their scores:
> 
> 1. Mozart 145
> 2. Beethoven 115
> ...


hey I didnt know you were doing the stats - please look at my selection again.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Amended List

After 1 and 2 the order is rather arbitrary.


Johann Sebastian Bach 
Ludwig van Beethoven
Arnold Schönberg
Béla Bartók
György Ligeti
Igor Stravinsky
Anton Webern
Gustav Mahler
György Kurtág
Richard Wagner


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Ok, I'm game too:

1= Beethoven
1= Bartók
3 Mahler
4 Janáček
5 Sibelius
6 Shostakovich
7 Haydn
8 Dvorak
9 Martinů
10 Schumann

The last one was the toughest to put in. Really 10= with Schubert, Brahms, Mussorgsky, Bruckner and Vaughan Williams....


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

S P Summers said:


> Thank you. It really is all about the piano, isn't it? =P
> 
> Would you mind if I asked for a few recommendations? We obviously have similar taste...
> 
> ...


It is like playing darts, in your local pub, but much easier, my friend! Take ANY work from the names you want a suggestion from me! ANY! (… find ONLY the board. Don't care about the number.) You will be amazed! You will love it! 100% certain! From the moment you mentioned these names, no suggestions needed.* Everything they composed is MASTERWORK!* Thanks a lot for the question, my dearest!

(Don't forget also two other names, (not in my list) for the moment>>> Howard Hanson and Sir Charles Hubert Parry. Music form other planet...)


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Hmm. As of right now, (no specific order)

1. J.S. Bach
2. W.A. Mozart
3. Franz Schubert
4. Ludwig van Beethoven
5. Maurice Ravel
6. Frédéric Chopin
7. Arvo Pärt
8. Igor Stravinsky
9. Domenico Scarlatti
10. Johannes Brahms (strictly for his amazing piano music. I don't really "get" his symphonies or much of his chamber music)

I can definitely expect these to change sooner than later.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

1) Brahms
2-tie) Haydn and Mozart
4) Vaughan Williams
5) Sibelius
6-tie) Debussy and Ravel
8) Schubert
9) Dvorak
10) Mendelssohn


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## RockyIII (Jan 21, 2019)

Without agonizing over it too much, here is an alphabetical list:

Bach
Beethoven
Chopin
Handel
Haydn
Mendelssohn
Mozart
Schubert
Tchaikovsky
Vivaldi


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

S P Summers said:


> I agree completely. While I do respect Bach, he is probably the last composer I'd choose to listen to for recreational enjoyment. You're not alone; although we're definitely in the minority. =)


I share your view. I respect Bach, but many of his works are too bland or soft for me. I like works with more fire and passion.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

MusicSybarite said:


> I share your view. I respect Bach, but many of his works are too bland or soft for me. I like works with more fire and passion.


I feel that there's plenty of fire and passion in Bach's music. Which composers do you find max. out on fire and passion?


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Faves at this moment (this list can still change a lot with time):

1. Beethoven and Wagner (tie);
3. Bach;
4. Tchaikovsky;
5. Brahms;
6. Mozart;
7. Schubert;
8. Berlioz;
9. Vivaldi;
10. Debussy.


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## Guest (Feb 3, 2019)

In no particular order:

Brahms
Dvorak
Mendelssohn
Saint-Saëns
Schumann
Tchaikovsky 
Sibelius
Bruch
Rachmaninov 
Beethoven


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Here's my baker's dozen, so I could list the composer who inspired my TC username:

1. Charles Koechlin
2. Giacinto Scelsi
3. Andre Jolivet
4. Aarre Merikanto
5. Karol Szymanowski
6. Maurice Ohana
7. Arne Nordheim
8. Jon Leifs
9. Meyer Kupferman
10. Toru Takemitsu
11. Roberto Gerhard
12. Jean Prodromides
13. Luigi Dallapiccola


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> I feel that there's plenty of fire and passion in Bach's music.


I agree. To me saying Bach's music lacks fire and passion is like saying the sea isn't wet enough.


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

janxharris said:


> What is your issue with Bach?


No "issue", like I say; just listened to too much baroque as a child and into my early teens. Discovered romantic/post-romantic/early 20th century in my teens and early 20s, and it's been my favorite ever since. Baroque hasn't appealed for years.


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Enthusiast said:


> If it were a list on who has given me the most pleasure in that last year then it would be a very different list!


Post it! That's why I created this thread!


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Dimace said:


> It is like playing darts, in your local pub, but much easier, my friend! Take ANY work from the names you want a suggestion from me! ANY! (… find ONLY the board. Don't care about the number.) You will be amazed! You will love it! 100% certain! From the moment you mentioned these names, no suggestions needed.* Everything they composed is MASTERWORK!* Thanks a lot for the question, my dearest!
> 
> (Don't forget also two other names, (not in my list) for the moment>>> Howard Hanson and Sir Charles Hubert Parry. Music form other planet...)


I will be sure to do so. Thanks a million, looking forward to some new discoveries!


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Bulldog said:


> Which composers do you find max. out on fire and passion?


 - F.X.Scharwenka
- Medtner
- Bortkiewicz
- Dohnányi
- Rachmaninoff
- Reger
- Paderewski
- Melcer-Szczawiński
- Tchaikovsky
- Lyapunov
- Pierné
- Beethoven
- Wiklund
- Wagner
- Rautavaara
- Liszt
- Godowsky
- Moszkowski (Op.3)


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Just a current list (in order):

1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Wagner
4. Brahms
5. Mozart
6. Mahler
7. Stravinsky
8. Schubert
9. Dvorak
10. Tchaikovsky


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Interesting to see that some peoples' lists (somewhat) closely follow the general academic consensus of who the "greatest" composers are, while others' are completely different! It's cool that everyone has such different tastes in music (you know, without having to argue about it)! Anyway, I'll go with

Really, 1 = Whoever I'm listening to at the moment of course (given that I like it enough). But besides that

In a VERY loose order:

Beethoven
Bach
Brahms
Mozart
Ravel
Chopin
Schubert
Debussy
Sibelius
10 = Mahler, Haydn, Faure, Scriabin, Schumann, Prokofiev

Might have to revise this later


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I've only listened to Händel the last days, and he's not even on my list


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

tdc said:


> I agree. To me saying Bach's music lacks fire and passion is like saying the sea isn't wet enough.


It was Pablo Casals who characterized Bach as "a volcano". The keyboard concerto No.1 certainly contains plenty of red-hot magma.


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## RockyIII (Jan 21, 2019)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> I've only listened to Händel the last days, and he's not even on my list


As I was making my list of favorite composers , I was thinking it is good that nobody is going to make me listen to just these ten.


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## calvinpv (Apr 20, 2015)

My top 25, in this order:

1. Béla Bartók
2. Pierre Boulez
3. Giacinto Scelsi
4. Karol Szymanowski
5. Kaija Saariaho
6. Morton Feldman
7. Olivier Messiaen
8. Arnold Schönberg
9. Georg Friedrich Haas
10. Horațiu Rădulescu
11. Alexander Scriabin
12. Takashi Yoshimatsu
13. Nikolai Roslavets
14. George Enescu
15. Maurice Ravel
16. Alberto Ginastera
17. Franz Liszt
18. Luigi Nono
19. Tristan Murail
20. Iannis Xenakis
21. Luciano Berio
22. Anton Webern
23. J.S. Bach
24. Karheinz Stockhausen
25. Pierluigi Billone


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

Bulldog said:


> I feel that there's plenty of fire and passion in Bach's music. Which composers do you find max. out on fire and passion?


I think this is just a matter of tastes, it's nothing personal about Bach or other composers. It's just my perception about a large portion of his music. To mention an example, the Goldberg Variations. It's pretty good, a masterpiece I would think, but it's very naïve for my taste. Others will find Tchaikovsky to be "saccharine", or Rachmaninov to be too cloying. I could disagree with those statements, but tastes are incredibly subjective.

Anyway, the list of composers whom I consider with more fire and passion would be endless. If others find fire and passion on Bach, well, excellent! They are their tastes and it's respectful as it should be.


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## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

Chronological order:

Monteverdi
J.S. Bach
Telemann
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Mendelssohn
Dvorak
Vaughan Williams


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## ojoncas (Jan 3, 2019)

Composers in order + favourite type of works from them.

1. Beethoven (Everything, but mostly his piano sonatas)
2. Mozart (Piano concertos)
3. Bach (Fugues)
4. Brahms (Piano concertos)
5. Chopin (Études)
6. Ravel (Piano works)
7. Stravinsky (Orchestral works)
8. Schumann (Symphonies)
9. Bruckner (Symphonies)
X. Alkan (Études)

I guess I’m kinda basic.


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## chill782002 (Jan 12, 2017)

No particular order.

Beethoven
Brahms
Bruckner
Haydn
Mahler
Medtner
Mozart
Mussorgsky
Sibelius
Stravinsky

No great surprises there I guess.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Always a tough list to compile.

No particular order:

Stravinsky
Bela Bartok
Elliott Carter
György Ligeti
Magnus Lindberg
Joan Tower
Krzysztof Penderecki 
Alban Berg
Anton Webern
Luciano Berio

Disclaimer:

With all lists like this, ask me again in a couple of days, and several composers would probably be different.


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## Littlephrase (Nov 28, 2018)

Nothing unique or novel in this list, but here goes: 

Schubert 
Beethoven 
Brahms 
Mahler 
Bach
Schumann
Wagner 
Mozart 
Bartok 
Bruckner 

Ask me again in a year or so.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

In no particular order 

Jacques Ibert

Claude Debussy

J.S. Bach

Anton Bruckner

Ottorino Respighi

Aram Khachaturian

Wolfgang Mozart

Josef Haydn

Jacques Offenbach

Ludwig van Beethoven


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

_Where am I going wrong with Bach? I still don't quite get him. Love the double violin concerto and the Air, but Art of Fugue, Goldberg and WTC...??????? _

I adore Bach but don't own a copy of the three items you cited -- Art of Fugue, Goldberg variations and well-tempered clavier. I have owned them all but don't listen enough to justify it. I can't say I ever enjoyed any of them very much. I find his keyboard partitas (six of them BWV 825-830) and his six toccatas for keyboard much livelier and more involving emotionally.

Sounds like you enjoy his instrumental music but not solo music. Try his Orchestral Suites, Brandenburg concertos and concertos for keyboard, especially BWV 1053 and 1056. If you enjoy the double violin concerto try his other double concerto for violin and oboe BWV 1060 and the other triple, besides Brandenburg No. 5, for violin, harpsichord and flute BWV 1044.

You'll never fully grasp or enjoy Bach completely without knowing his sacred choral music such as the Magnificat, some of the cantatas, St. Matthew Passion and more. Great as is his orchestral and solo music, and some of it is the best there is in classical music, it is his choral music that defines him and his place in history.


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

Alphabetical order:

Bach
Beethoven
Bruckner
Debussy
Mahler
Mozart
Satie
Schubert
Shostakovich
Tchaikovsky


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## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

Ten of my favorites are--

Bach
Stravinsky
Debussy
Beethoven
Shostakovich
Webern
Vaughan Williams
Martinu
Persichetti
Walton


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

My current favourite composers, if forced to limit myself to 10. I know I have answered similar questions differently in the past, though I'm not sure how differently.

J.S. Bach
J. Haydn 
Rachmaninov
Debussy
Berg
Bartok
Walton
Britten
Kurtág
Sciarrino


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

In an order that may change drastically in a few months:

1- *B*rahms
2- *B*ach
3- *B*eethoven
4- Mahler
5- Sibelius
6- Schumann
7- Dvořák
8- Fauré
9- Schubert
10- Saygun


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I can be quite happy listening to only these composers. Yes, 70% is 20th Century composers. This list is basically the same now for years.

Debussy
Prokofiev
Bartok
Stravinsky
Ravel
Varese
Schoenberg
Mozart
Liszt
Dvorak


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Highwayman said:


> 10- Saygun


There is a name I haven't come across before, listening to some of his piano Etudes right now, sounds pretty good!


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

tdc said:


> I agree. To me saying Bach's music lacks fire and passion is like saying the sea isn't wet enough.


Its also like saying Mozart's music is cold - which many do say.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

larold said:


> _Where am I going wrong with Bach? I still don't quite get him. Love the double violin concerto and the Air, but Art of Fugue, Goldberg and WTC...??????? _
> 
> I adore Bach but don't own a copy of the three items you cited -- Art of Fugue, Goldberg variations and well-tempered clavier. I have owned them all but don't listen enough to justify it. I can't say I ever enjoyed any of them very much. I find his keyboard partitas (six of them BWV 825-830) and his six toccatas for keyboard much livelier and more involving emotionally.
> 
> ...


Much appreciated - I'll sample your suggestions. I have already heard most of the Brandenburg Concertos.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Alphabetical order. Going initially on gut feeling, but backed up by my listening-count on iTunes:

Bach
Beethoven
Britten
Handel
Mahler
Mozart
Schubert
Shostakovich
Stockhausen
Wagner


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Don't think I can do 10...
There are 5 composers that never change for me...

The 3 B's:
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms

The 2 M's:
Mozart
Mahler

The rest all change depending on whom I am listening to most frequently at the moment. 
Other favorites, composers I listen to most frequently but also enjoy most of their compositions would include:

Tchaikovsky
Chopin
Debussy
Dvorak
Schubert
Sibelius
Wagner
Ravel
Haydn
Schumann
Liszt
Rachmaninoff
Bruckner
Mendelssohn

I love works from Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, etc. and many others but I don't necessarily love every single work they wrote where I like the vast majority of those listed above.


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2019)

xenakis
scelsi
bartok 
stravinsky 
mahler 
wagner 
beethoven
bach
l.couperin
monteverdi


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

In order

Beethoven
Dvorak
Mozart
Haydn
Mendelssohn

Everyone else is tied for 6th place.


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## vesteel (Feb 3, 2018)

Mahler
Raff
Schmidt
Sullivan
Schubert
R. Strauss
Bach
Weingartner
Ravel
Mahler again


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Only 10?

In no particular order, and meaning no disrespect to those not listed (apart from Wagner):

Beethoven
Schubert
Gottschalk
Chopin
Debussy
Rachmaninoff
Sibelius
Ravel 
Vaughan Williams
....who's the tenth name? It's a playoff between Grieg, Tippett, Arnold, Mompou, Finzi.... but probably it's 
Shostakovich


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

I may have to replace Saint-Saëns with Rachmaninoff... I've been listening to the Earl Wild/Royal Philharmonic recordings of the piano concerti for the past few days; I'd forgotten how amazing they are.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

In no particular order:
Handel
Beethoven
Mozart
Bruckner
Tchaikovsky
Scriabin
Rachmaninoff
Chopin
Liszt
Sibelius
Honorable mention for at least Bach, Mahler, Wagner, Schubert, Schumann, Vaughan Williams, Ravel, Debussy, all of which could make it to the top 10 at some point.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Wagner
Mahler
Richard Strauss
Shostakovich
Britten
Schubert
Puccini
Haydn
Beethoven
Sibelius


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

janxharris said:


> Beethoven


I'm curious why you would especially choose Beethoven as your second favorite after all your constant rantings about Mozart (and sometimes Haydn), expressing your dislike for the classical period on TC. In case you haven't noticed, lately I've been posing questions like "what do you hear differently from Mozart and Haydn in bulk of Beethoven, chamber, solo works, especially concertos, Op.18, Op.59 quartets". (which I was also expecting you to answer). 
You can have Beethoven in your 10 absolute favorites, (that's fine) but to constantly rant about Mozart and the general classical era without giving any plausible explanation to, for example 'how can you listen to Beethoven Op.18 No.5, Op.59 No.3 if you hate K464, K465 so much? How can you bear Op.37 if you dislike K491, K388?"...



janxharris said:


> It just sounds like pleasant background music to me.


seems like 'double standard' in my view.


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## jim prideaux (May 30, 2013)

Sibelius
Brahms
Dvorak
Schumann
Schubert
Beethoven
Mahler
Myaskovsky
Prokofiev
Nielsen

no order apart from Sibelius....just done this at work as part of a break and it would undoubtedly change...there are certain composers on here I might have reservations about (some of Prokofiev's stuff is really irritating!) and my list might appear really predictable but there you go!


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

hammeredklavier said:


> I'm curious why you would especially choose Beethoven as your second favorite after all your constant rantings about Mozart (and sometimes Haydn), expressing your dislike for the classical period on TC. In case you haven't noticed, lately I've been posing questions like "what do you hear differently from Mozart and Haydn in bulk of Beethoven, chamber, solo works, especially concertos, Op.18, Op.59 quartets". (which I was also expecting you to answer).
> You can have Beethoven in your 10 absolute favorites, (that's fine) but to constantly rant about Mozart and the general classical era without giving any plausible explanation to, for example 'how can you listen to Beethoven Op.18 No.5, Op.59 No.3 if you hate K464, K465 so much? How can you bear Op.37 if you dislike K491, K388?"...
> 
> seems like 'double standard' in my view.


Beethoven isn't necessarily my second favourite; I only put a number beside Sibelius. Perhaps I should have been more explicit.

I haven't seen the questions you allude to - apologies. I don't hear a great difference between early Beethoven and Haydn / Mozart; I'm not a big fan of such works. I don't particularly like Beethoven's piano concertos either, but I do love the first movement of the Violin Concerto. I also go for the late quartets - particularly Op. 131 and 133 (Great Fugue).

It's Beethoven's Symphonies that really interest me - from 3 onwards.

Just listening to Op.18 quartet now. It's probably not for me.

Hope this helps.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

JS Bach
Haydn
Beethoven
Brahms
Chopin
Bruckner
Debussy
Ravel
Shostakovich
Poulenc

I'd suggest for the next person who posts one of these 'favourites' posts, that 25 is a more reasonable number for these kinds of lists. There are easily 20 or 30 more composers I listen to and enjoy as much as the ones above.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

janxharris said:


> Beethoven isn't necessarily my second favourite; I only put a number beside Sibelius. Perhaps I should have been more explicit.
> 
> I haven't seen the questions you allude to - apologies. I don't hear a great difference between early Beethoven and Haydn / Mozart; I'm not a big fan of such works. I don't particularly like Beethoven's piano concertos either, but I do love the first movement of the Violin Concerto. I also go for the late quartets - particularly Op. 131 and 133 (Great Fugue).
> 
> ...


So even though Beethoven is one of your favorites, you don't like a huge bulk of what he wrote. Also I think I remember you said you like Mozart's 23rd piano concerto slow movement, 40th symphony, and the Requiem. So you do like some Mozart. But your treatment of both can't be more different. One is a bane of music history for you, while the other is one of your favorites..






How can you count [a composer] as your favorites if you dislike a huge bulk of what he wrote?..

Something for you to think about. 'just saying.


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

More or less in order and I keep debating the last two:

Mozart 
Beethoven
Schubert
Brahms
Mahler
Bruckner
Dvorak
R. Strauss
Vivaldi
Chopin

I obviously lean heavily German/Austrian in my musical tastes.
I respect some more than I love them - like Bach, who didn't make the list. I admit he's over my head though I love the Brandenburgs and a couple of cantatas.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

hammeredklavier said:


> So even though Beethoven is one of your favorites, you don't like a huge bulk of what he wrote.


Correct, although there is much that I haven't heard.



> Also I think I remember you said you like Mozart's 23rd piano concerto slow movement, 40th symphony, and the Requiem. So you do like some Mozart. But your treatment of both can't be more different. One is a bane of music history for you, while the other is one of your favorites..


I just like more pieces by Beethoven but I consider both geniuses.








> How can you count [a composer] as your favorites if you dislike a huge bulk of what he wrote?..
> 
> Something for you to think about. 'just saying.


I don't consider it an issue - I assumed it was the norm. Perhaps it isn't.


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

hammeredklavier said:


> ...How can you count [a composer] as your favorites if you dislike a huge bulk of what he wrote?...


I've had people call me out for my admiration of Moszkowski for a similar reason. People think of Moszkowski as a second rate composer, and it's true that he doesn't have an extensive catalogue of large scale masterworks... I don't think people appreciate his piano music as much as they should though- how naturally his music flows out of the piano is always remarkable; and the efficiency of his piano writing is easily on-par with Liszt.

I don't necessarily "dislike" any of his music, but Moszkowski will always hold a special place in my heart because he composed my favorite piece of music in history, which is the B minor piano concerto, Op. 3. In addition to the Op. 3, I'd add Op. 59 and Op.72; and apart from that I don't listen to much else of his catalogue very often. However, Moszkowski will always hold a special distinction as one my my most treasured composers, primarily for that reason.

Moszkowski's orchestral music is heavily underrated too, the Op. 23 is wonderful; and I know his violin concerto, Op. 30 is very highly regarded as well- although violin concerti are not my cup of tea.

I think of Paderewski in the same way, his Eb minor piano sonata, Op. 21; is one of my very favorite solo piano compositions, on par with the Godowsky E minor sonata. I will always regard Paderewski as a genius composer of piano music; even if only for Op. 21, Op. 17, Op. 11, Op. 23, and Op. 19.

Hopefully that wasn't too far off topic, I thought perhaps that would give you a fresh angle to consider regarding the question you posed.

Cheers.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

S P Summers said:


> I've had people call me out for my admiration of Moszkowski for a similar reason. People think of Moszkowski as a second rate composer, and it's true that he doesn't have an extensive catalogue of large scale masterworks... I don't think people appreciate his piano music as much as they should though- how naturally his music flows out of the piano is always remarkable; and the efficiency of his piano writing is easily on-par with Liszt.
> 
> I don't necessarily "dislike" any of his music, but Moszkowski will always hold a special place in my heart because he composed my favorite piece of music in history, which is the B minor piano concerto, Op. 3. In addition to the Op. 3, I'd add Op. 59 and Op.72; and apart from that I don't listen to much else of his catalogue very often. However, Moszkowski will always hold a special distinction as one my my most treasured composers, primarily for that reason.
> 
> Moszkowski's orchestral music is heavily underrated too, the Op. 23 is wonderful; and I know his violin concerto, Op. 30 is very highly regarded as well- although violin concerti are not my cup of tea.


Back in my days as a piano player, I developed taste for Moszkowski Op.72 Etudes and Op.92 Etudes for Left Hand, even had urge to play them myself and bought the sheet music (later I sold them out as I no longer had a piano). Like Chopin's, every one of them seemed melodically inspired. One thing I found unique about him was, that many of his pieces had their tonic keys in major, somewhat unconventional for the Romantic period. I liked the energy, hopefulness, and optimism, which gave an impression somewhat unique from his contemporaries like Rachmaninoff.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Love to see people putting Sibelius as their #1... his music is very touching in a unique way.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

hammeredklavier said:


> So even though Beethoven is one of your favorites, you don't like a huge bulk of what he wrote. Also I think I remember you said you like Mozart's 23rd piano concerto slow movement, 40th symphony, and the Requiem. So you do like some Mozart. But your treatment of both can't be more different. One is a bane of music history for you, while the other is one of your favorites..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thats not really a contradiction. I probably have 150 pieces of Mozart I know and love. At least 200 pieces I have listened to just once and not returned. We tend to rate composers for the pieces we really like - that is sensible.


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## Guest (Feb 8, 2019)

I honestly can't list 10 of all time, because there are too many that I love. I could list 10 that I love most more regularly than others and they include:

Boulez
Mozart
Mundry
Adamek
Neuwirth
Hölszky
N. Barrett
Wagner
Wozny
Furrer


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

J S Bach
Franz Schubert
Mozart
Beethoven
Schumann 
Brahms
Hugo Wolf
Debussy
Monteverdi
John Wilbye


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

This is a common question that has been asked in many threads. I thought I would try slightly different this time.

In my computer I have a software program call Classicat. Sadly it is out of print. One function it can do is print out a list of the number of recordings I have by composer. For example I have 209 recordings of works by Beethoven. There is some duplication. For example I have three sets of his complete symphonies. One on HIP.

There is one program bug in the program. It will not list the number one composer. Which in this case is Beethoven with 209. This lists all of the composers in my collection.

It is 18 pages long and pages 8 through 18 are ones and twos. 90% of these composers I do not care for but there are a few.


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## Harmonie (Mar 24, 2007)

Not necessarily completely in order (numbers are just to know that I got 10, but I do think that Bach is #1):

1. Johann Sebastian Bach
2. George Frideric Handel
3. Claude Debussy
4. Guillaume De Machaut
5. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
6. Gustav Holst
7. Igor Stravinsky
8. Francesco Landini
9. Thomas Tallis
10. Maurice Ravel


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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)

Here are my 10 favorites... Though I still have so much to explore:

1. Ludwig van Beethoven
2. Johann Sebastian Bach
3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4. George Frideric Handel
5. Dmitri Shostakovitch
6. Felix Mendelssohn
7. Paul Hindemith
8. Philip Glass
9. Antonio Vivaldi
10. Giuseppe Verdi


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## StrE3ss (Feb 20, 2019)

No order

Ludwig van Beethoven
Brahms
Dmitri Shostakovitch
Tchaikovsky
Robert Schumann
Antonio Vivaldi
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Johann Sebastian Bach
Bruckner
Dvorak


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## Guest (Feb 23, 2019)

Beethoven
Sibelius
Debussy
Haydn
Prokofiev
Shostakovich
Faure
Mahler
Satie
Stravinsky

Not in order


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## Armanvd (Jan 17, 2017)

The first four will never change:
01. L. v. Beethoven
02. J. S. Bach
03. Igor Stravinsky
04. Gustav Mahler

These may change after next 6 months:
W. A. Mozart
Frederic Chopin
Johannes Brahms
Maurice Ravel
Franz Schubert
Antonin Dvorak


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

In alphabetical order:

Copland 
Debussy
Dvorák
Glass
Mahler
Mozetich
Ravel
Shostakovich
Sibelius
V. Thomson

(I really didn’t want to leave out Rachmaninov, Prokoviev and Elgar, perhaps a changeover could be allowed occasionally?)


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## Martyn Harper (Jan 27, 2016)

1. Beethoven
2. Shostakovich
3. Mahler
4. Vaughan Williams
5. JS Bach
6. Rachmaninov
7. Saint Saens
8. Villa Lobos
9. Elgar
10. Chopin


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

I did this recently but things are different now.

Schubert
JS Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Chopin
Ravel
Scriabin
Debussy
Shostakovich
GF Handel (very underrated. still need to hear a lot more of his stuff)


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## Hurrian (Jan 16, 2017)

Somewhat chronologically:
1. J. S. Bach
2. Beethoven 
3. Chopin
4. Scriabin
5. Schoenberg 
6. Ravel 
7. Stravinsky 
8. Martinů
9. Carter
10. Rochberg


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