# Yet Another Desert Island Challenge



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

This morning, for some reason, this idea came to me: *What three artists' or composers' entire oeuvre would you bring with you to the proverbial Desert Island*? If you care to explain your selections, that would possibly make this thread a bit more interesting.

For me, the first two are easy (Miles Davis and Bob Dylan) but the third choice presents a problem. Wagner first came to mind, but then Mozart seemed a more attractive choice. Other composers were contenders: Bach, Liszt, or Brahms. But in the final analysis, Mozart became obvious.

So my three Desert Island companions would be:

*MILES DAVIS*. _His career spanned nearly six decades and he was responsible for several stylistic innovations which spawned new genres in their own right. There is a wealth of quality and variety to be found in his discography, and I could easily enjoy listening to his complete output for years alone on an island._

*BOB DYLAN*. _Similarly, Bob Dylan went through several style changes but without sacrificing quality of his songwriting. Because of the multi-layered aspect to his lyrics his songs would withstand years of listening and study._

*WOLFGANG MOZART*. _First, his operas are among my favorites. Great opportunities for singing and while the stories can appear trite on the surface the dramatic possibilities are real and rewarding. Then (and this is what decided me over Wagner) he wrote instrumental music of the highest level, sacred choral works, and throughout it all there is greatness._

Care to play?


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

*BACH*. My favourite composer, over a thousand works in a large variety of genres. No-brainer.

*STEVEN WILSON*. Assuming I would get not just his solo albums, but also the albums by bands that he was the lead or co-lead of (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, No-Man). From pop to electronic to prog to psych, and mostly at a very high level.

*DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU*. My favourite Lieder singer, allowing me to continue listening to lots of Mahler (including DLVDE and the three main song cycles), Schubert, Schumann, and so many others, as well as Britten's War Requiem and a number of operas.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Art Rock said:


> *BACH*. My favourite composer, over a thousand works in a large variety of genres. No-brainer.


I also considered taking Bach, for the same reasons; but chose not to. Who knows? In another lifetime ...



> *STEVEN WILSON*. Assuming I would get not just his solo albums, but also the albums by bands that he was the lead or co-lead of (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, No-Man). From pop to electronic to prog to psych, and mostly at a very high level.


I really like his re-mixes of the Yes albums.



> *DETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU*. My favourite Lieder singer, allowing me to continue listening to lots of Mahler (including DLVDE and the three main song cycles), Schubert, Schumann, and so many others, as well as Britten's War Requiem and a number of operas.



Nice one. He is also arguably my favorite lieder singer as well.


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## Wilhelm Theophilus (Aug 8, 2020)

Mine would be....

*R. Wagner.*
Simply because its the most moving and powerful music I've ever heard. 

*W.A Mozart*
Obviously there are many masterpieces. I believe the PC's may be the greatest "body of work" (if I can call them that) from any composer. 


As to date I've not found another composer who I would give the third spot to. If I gave the third spot to someone I would feel like I was just filling the spot because I had to, not because they were worthy, in my estimation. But if I actually was going to a desert island I would grab another composers works for more to listen to, just not sure who.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Today my choices would be:

*Beethoven.* _My favorite composer and idol, I think that his oeuvre combines feeling and finesse perfectly, as he can communicate a varied spectrum of profound emotions through his music without losing control over the complex structures he works with: Beethoven has no longueurs. I think that the composer of Bonn has quantity and quality, and diversity of style as well, and his intense works never cease to amaze and inspire me._

*Wagner.* _I think that he created some of the most powerful and passionate music I've ever heard, and I almost always shed some tears when listening to his operas. I just can't bear to not be able to hear them. I need them, and I want them with me in the island._

*Bach.* _With many masterpieces and almost two hundred hours of music that is always well-crafted and that in many moments touches the sublime, Bach to me represents the apex not only of all sacred choral music, but of all music produced in the Baroque period. If Beethoven and Wagner represent to me the best of the Classical and Romantic eras respectively, Bach is my top choice for the Baroque._

Of course I wanted to bring much more music to the desert island, including popular music (particularly Rock), but if it's only three composers, then, at least to me, it has to be these three.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Going by composer is too limiting. So I choose the artist route:

*Eugene Ormandy*: complete. Not just the huge Columbia Legacy, but the upcoming RCA recordings and then all of the stereo on Sony, Delos, Warner. Just his recordings alone would check off a huge number of standard repertoire items as well as many rarer non-standard works. And the fact remains, he never made a bad recording.

Next up would be *Neeme Jarvi* complete. On EMI, Chandos, Bis and a few others. Now I'd get practically all of the great Russian and some other literature that Ormandy didn't do. The Schmidt symphonies would be there. That's essential.

Last up: the complete *Georg Solti* recordings. This would nicely fill out the library with stuff the other two missed: all the symphonies of Beethoven, Bruckner, Mahler, Elgar. Many Wagner operas as well as the better known Strauss operas.

When I think about it, there wouldn't be a lot of favorites that wouldn't be there from just those three great conductors. And given the vast number of recordings each has made, it would take a very, very long time to go through them all.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I thought briefly about this, but quickly realized there is only one set of three for me. For awhile now my favorite composers have been Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. I love many others, but those three stand clearly above all others in how much I enjoy their music and how often I wish to listen to them. It's true that their output could be considered fairly similar compared to the remainder of music (Renaissance, late Romantic, modern, popular, etc.) I would leave behind, but no other composer could match the pleasure I get from listening to their works. I cannot imagine tiring of the large, varied output of those three.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

As this thread is in the recorded music subforum, my 3 favorites here are filtered by the amounts of discs of their music more so than by the volume of their output.

*Piero Piccioni*. Over 100 soundtracks by this Italian film composer reside in my music collection. If I am destined to this proverbial deserted island, these Piccioni albums shall come with me.

*André Jolivet*. In addition to CDs, this French composer had a not-insignificant number of analog recordings surface on LPs during his lifetime. Jolivet is one of my Top 5 composers, anyway, so it is easy to place him in my Top 3 here.

*Heitor Villa-Lobos*. Prolific output, many recordings + the sort of free-form music that I like a lot.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Note the OP: What three *artists' or composers*' entire oeuvre would you bring with you to the proverbial Desert Island? 

Some have limited it to composers when that was not part of the game. E.G., in my OP I chose two artists, Miles Davis and Bob Dylan and one composer Mozart.


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## Philidor (11 mo ago)

That's a difficult one ...

At first, I was about to follow Art Rock in choosing Bach ... however, I feel that I know much of him ... so my composer's choice is:

*Ludwig van Beethoven*

I expect long-lasting joy with the piano sonatas, the complete chamber music and many not-so-well-known-works ... I made a transversal through all Beethoven works with opus number in 2020 and I remember that there were lots of hidden treasures.

My artist's choice is:

*Arditti Quartet*

This ensemble has recorded so much interesting music, that the time on the desert island will be short. (Hopefully, there will be some electrical power, a CD player and at least a set of good headphones ...)

My third choice is

*Herbert von Karajan*

I did not choose him because I am a big fan of his recordings, but there are enough that I really like, Mozart's Figaro, Meistersinger, Ring, early Tristan, many really good Verdi recordings, Brahms, some Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Strauss, Honegger, ... so there will be some repertoire on the desert island ...


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

SanAntone said:


> Some have limited it to composers when that was not part of the game.


I selected composers who have conducted their own works, though.
It may not be well known, but Villa-Lobos recorded some of his music in France during the 1950s in monaural sound.










Plus Jolivet conducted some of his music in the 1960s as well as the 1950s.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Philidor said:


> *Arditti Quartet*
> 
> This ensemble has recorded so much interesting music, that the time on the desert island will be short. (Hopefully, there will be some electrical power, a CD player and at least a set of good headphones ...)


Nice one. The Arditti Quartet has a large catalog of recordings, mostly from the 20th century (and beyond) and play these works excellently.


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## mahler9 (9 mo ago)

*Mahler - *I never tire of his music (though I take 'vacations' from it now and then). The powerful expression and thematic beauty...well, so much has already been said (elsewhere) about him, I'll leave it at that. 

*Sibelius - *Kind of flipside for Mahler. He is emphasis on concentrating a work's essence, and the organic approach are endlessly fascinating. But it's also the beauty of his invention (from early to late works) that bring me back every time.

*Bartók - *Also fascinating in terms of form and approach to development of his ideas. There's an intoxicating energy in his music. He can be intellectually stimulating and viscerally engaging at the same time.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Bach, Mahler, Shostakovich, and Weinberg.


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## agoukass (Dec 1, 2008)

*Jean Pierre Rampal *- His infectious enthusiasm and joy in music is one of those things that I would need if I was stuck on a desert island by myself. He has recorded the entire flute repertoire and then some. I wouldn't want to be without his Erato and HMV recordings as well as some of his for CBS Masterworks.

*Herbert von Karajan *- Probably my favorite conductor and the most consistent in terms of interpretation. Even though the fame went to his head in later years and he became extremely image conscious, his recordings of Richard Strauss, Bruckner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and the rest of the standard classical repertoire are ones that I wouldn't want to be without.

*Wilhelm Kempff *- Nobody quite plays the Beethoven piano sonatas with his sense of poetry and verve. His Bach is deeply spiritual and his Schubert is moving as well.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Bulldog said:


> Bach, Mahler, Shostakovich, and Weinberg.


That's four ...  But I could live on your island.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

SanAntone said:


> That's four ...  But I could live on your island.


I think we would do well together, but I would prefer a female.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Mozart - because I can lost in his music. I can find something to suit every mood. If Schubert kept up his late production for another decade, things might be different.

Miles Davis. For the endless reinvention. Besides, with Miles you get all the great artists who played with him.

My maybe controversial third choice is The Rolling Stones. Even by myself, I do need to boogie. And keep up my workout routine.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

For today, I’d pick *Maria Callas*, whose _oeuvre _includes many composers, chiefly the most important works of *Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, *and *Puccini *and her most searing role, that of Cherubini’s *Medea. *

I’d have to include *Georg Solti, *whose output includes many operas by *Mozart, Verdi, Richard Strauss, *and most importantly the most significant *Wagner *recordings. He also offers some *Beethoven *and *Mahler. *

I’d have to have *Händel *represented and luckily most of his operas and oratorios have been recorded with great success, and I must have *The Messiah *in multiple recordings, not to mention *Giulio Cesare! *


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

MAS said:


> For today, I’d pick *Maria Callas*, whose _oeuvre _includes many composers, chiefly the most important works of *Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, *and *Puccini *and her most searing role, that of Cherubini’s *Medea. *
> 
> I’d have to include *Georg Solti, *whose output includes many operas by *Mozart, Verdi, Richard Strauss, *and most importantly the most significant *Wagner *recordings. He also offers some *Beethoven *and *Mahler. *
> 
> I’d have to have *Händel *represented and luckily most of his operas and oratorios have been recorded with great success, and I must have *The Messiah *in multiple recordings, not to mention *Giulio Cesare! *


Nice choices.


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## golfer72 (Jan 27, 2018)

Van Morrison. Brahms Schubert


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> This morning, for some reason, this idea came to me: *What three artists' or composers' entire oeuvre would you bring with you to the proverbial Desert Island*? If you care to explain your selections, that would possibly make this thread a bit more interesting.


*Radiohead *- for company, and assuming I could still be supplied with any new releases. They are the one band over the past 30 years that I have found that most resonate with my moods.

*Beethoven *- there's so much to get to know beyond his symphonies with which I am already very familiar - I just need time.

Now I'm struggling. Do I force myself to take someone like _Wagner_, whose work I have not explored at all - but there's plenty to keep me occupied? My passion for _Sibelius _is waning, but that might just be from overfamiliarity now. _The Beatles _are close to my heart because I grew up with them, but is childhood nostalgia sufficient? I'm still working on _Vaughan Williams _and _Mahler_'s symphonies, so there's more study there...

And then _Brian Eno _just doesn't stop - I can't keep up with him.


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## thejewk (Sep 13, 2020)

These are my picks of the moment, but I'm certainly not secure in them.

J S Bach - Complex yet expressive solo works, an inexhaustible body of sacred vocal music, musical puzzles, music as an expression of joy, of sorrow, lots and lots of material to mine for my instrument family of choice (I can take my recorder quartet with me, right?). Just an abundance of brilliant music of so many moods and styles, I don't think I'd get tired of him. 

The Fall - I don't think you could get any further away from Bach haha. Between 1976 and 2018, The Fall produced a massive, knotty, inimitable body of work, and although there are a fair number of stinkers in the mix, for me the music produced by Mark Smith and his various line-ups of musicians speaks to me in a way no other 'rock' group ever has. Churning and sinister, repetitious, often bludgeoning, but also funny, clever, and sometimes hypnotic. I'm currently involved in a podcast in which we are methodically facing one song against another to decide the best Fall song of all, and it is a consistent joy each week to listen to the selection of tracks and debate which deserves to go through with some likeminded friends. There aren't many groups I would want to do that with.

John Coltrane - From his tentative early solos as a sideman, to his cacophonous shouts to the heavens, no other jazz artists so consistently pleases me as John Coltrane does. I love his hard bop records, his late spiritual Impulse records, his show tunes dominated Miles Davis period, his work with Monk, his devastatingly prolific Atlantic period, the endless live recordings where he turns My Favourite Things inside out, as well as having the chance to hear Eric Dolphy at the same time. Just a wonderful body of music, and a wonderful contrast to my picks above.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Bach and Coltrane are choices I could have made, but I don't know any of the music of The Fall. Based on two out of three bulls-eyes, I'll check them out.


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## thejewk (Sep 13, 2020)

SanAntone said:


> Bach and Coltrane are choices I could have made, but I don't know any of the music of The Fall. Based on two out of three bulls-eyes, I'll check them out.


They are an acquired taste, but worth the effort. If you want somewhere to start, you could try Perverted By Language and This Nation's Saving Grace.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

thejewk said:


> They are an acquired taste, but worth the effort. If you want somewhere to start, you could try Perverted By Language and This Nation's Saving Grace.


They certainly are. I saw them in concert in M'cr in 1982 but they never really quite gelled with me.


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## Agamenon (Apr 22, 2019)

The three B´s...
*Bach, Brahms, Beatles.*

I´ll miss some Wagner and Debussy.


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## marlow (11 mo ago)

J S Bach

W A Mozart

L van Beethoven

would miss Schubert and Verdi though


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I'll have Mozart, Peter Maxwell Davies and Bolt Thrower because I'll get variation.


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## Ludwig Schon (10 mo ago)

J.S. Bach, L. von Beethoven & F. Schubert.

I‘d miss W.A. Mozart & J. Haydn, but then there’s enough in early Beethoven & Schubert, particularly the SQs which reference the sound and style of both…


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## Bogdan (Sep 12, 2014)

Same as post #28: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. This was easy.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

Beethoven
Huge catalog and he is, after all, the best.

Coltrane
Tough choice here. Sonny Rollins will do also.

Larry Fine
Because I would get all three Stooges.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

May I present the boringest taste ever.

Composers: Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner

Artists:

conductor: Furtwängler
pianist: Richter
vocalist: Flagstadt


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I think I'd go with the following 3....

*Beethoven* - with all of the orchestral and chamber works to go at that's a helluva lot of listening and as he produced much of my favourite CM music that's an easy pick for me.

*Black Sabbath *- I'd need something very heavy, rocky and noisy to go along with the Beethoven and as they were my first love in rock I'd definitely go with them so I could air-guitar (Fairies Wear Boots) and air-drum (Symptom of the Universe). Only Ozzy era stuff though!

The last one would be difficult. I'd need something totally different from the previous two and encompassing a wide variety of styles.... Hmmm... I'll go with *Frank Zappa *just for the sheer diversity of the music (from psych to rock to classical). When I got in a really p*ssed off mood I could just slap on Montana, Broken Hearts, Titties & Beer or Bobby Brown to cheer me up. Other times I'd just want him to shut up and play his guitar.


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