# How Many Austro-German Composers Do You Know?



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Inspired by Martin's thread on Russian composers... and without the intention of parodying him... I'm throwing up this thread sans poll. I thought what was perhaps useful (or interesting) in Martin's thread was getting an idea about what composers from a given tradition (Russian) the various members know... and to what extent. I'm not going to ask for ratings or rankings... but rather simply an idea of which composers from the Austro-German tradition (and yes, I am aware that some here were born in what is today the Czech Republic, but they spoke German and worked predominantly for German/Austrian courts) you are familiar with and to what extent. What I'm asking is that you place the following composers in one of the following 5 categories:

*1. Know these composers oeuvre quite well
2. Know some of these composers work to a decent degree
3. Have heard a little of these composers works
4. Have heard the name in passing
5. Huh? Who?*

Hildegard of Bingen
Walther von der Vogelweide
Oswald von Wolkenstein
Michael Praetorius
Johann Schein
Samuel Scheidt
Heinrich Schütz
Samuel Scheidt
Johann Jakob Froberger
Dieterich Buxtehude
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Johann Pachelbel
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
Jan Dismas Zelenka
Georg Philipp Telemann
Johann Sebastian Bach
George Frideric Handel
Sylvius Leopold Weiss
Johann Friedrich Fasch
Johann Joachim Quantz
Johann Adolph Hasse
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach
Johann Christian Bach
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Hans Leo Hassler
Melchior Franck
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Johann Joseph Fux
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz
Leopold Mozart
Joseph Haydn
Michael Haydn
Franz Ignaz Beck
Johann Gottfried Eckard
Josef Mysliveček
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
Carl Stamitz
Franz Anton Hoffmeister
Anton Stamitz
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Joseph Martin Kraus 
Franz Krommer
Franz Xaver Süssmayr
Joseph Weigl
Ferdinand Fränzl
Louis Spohr
Ludwig van Beethoven
E. T. A. Hoffmann
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe
Franz Schubert
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff
Carl Maria von Weber
Ignaz Moscheles
Johann Strauss I
Fanny Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Robert Schumann
Wilhelm Taubert
Friedrich von Flotow
Richard Wagner
Adolf von Henselt
Clara Schumann
Anton Bruckner
Johann Strauss II
Josef Strauss
Franz Lehar
Hans von Bülow
Franz von Suppé
Johannes Brahms
Max Bruch 
Engelbert Humperdinck
Gustav Mahler
Hugo Wolf
Richard Strauss
Alexander Zemlinsky
Max Reger
Arnold Schonberg
Franz Schmidt
Franz Schreker
Hans Pfitzner
Alban Berg
Othmar Schoeck
Paul Hindemith
Anton Webern
Erich Korngold
Hanns Eisler
Kurt Weill
Ernst Krenek
Stephan Wolpe
Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Hans Werner Henze
Carl Orff
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Josef Anton Riedl
Helmut Lachenmann
Herbert Blendinger
Michael Obst
Wolfgang Rihm
Max Richter
Karl Weigl

:devil:


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Christ! I'll try to do this one later though. Classical era part will be fun for me. Cool new breed of thread btw, has more soul and potential than a straight list; mixing combined innovations and all.

I'm anticipating that my Bach sons will be mostly no. 1's(excepting J.C., and also I must defind "quite well").

Question for ranking number 1. Would you consider knowing 5 concertos of CPE Bach very well and all his symphonies and plenty of his sonatas a number 1? Because that is such a fraction of his oevre, and should one really be treating knowledge of CPE the same way one treats knowledge of Mozart?(I like CPE more, but Mozart is clearly more standard)


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

You know what? I want to be first. But just so people don't think I'm crazy, I'll say everyone else for 4+5. Now I'm about to take a joke seriously and see what it does.

Category 1
1. Franz Joseph Haydn
2. Willhelm Friedemann Bach(don't know his cantatas that well though)
3. Beethoven
Sub-category 1.5
CPE Bach
Johannes Brahms

Category 2
Johann Sebastian Bach
Robert Schumann
Mozart
Johann Christoph Friederich Bach
George Phillip Telemann
George Friderich Handel
Richard Strauss
Anton Bruckner
Paul Hindemith
Franz Schubert

Category 3
Johann Christian Bach
Gustav Mahler(can you believe he's so low?)
Johann Strauss II
Felix Mendelsohn
Richard Wagner(another strangely low one)
Joseph Martin Krauss
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
Michael Haydn
Carl Friedrich Abel(where's he on the list?)
Johann Stamitz
Arnold Schonberg
Zelenka
Anton Webern
3.5 Sub-category
Franz Krommer
Karl Maria von Weber
Heinrich Schutz
Carl Stamitz
Gluck
Leopold Mozart
Froberger
Praetorius
Hassler(grand Gigue anyone?)
Palchelbel(cannon and other explorations on passing)
Quantz

4+5 everybody else. I don't care to distinguish who I've heard of and who I haven't.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Also, where are Wagenseil and Ernst Toch?


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Feel free to add any I left out. I simply drew the names from my collection of CDs and works saved on Spotify. Since I posted this I should offer my breakdown:

*1. Know these composers oeuvre quite well*
Hildegard of Bingen
Dieterich Buxtehude
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Jan Dismas Zelenka
Georg Philipp Telemann
Johann Sebastian Bach
George Frideric Handel
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Joseph Haydn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven
Franz Schubert
Felix Mendelssohn
Robert Schumann
Richard Wagner
Anton Bruckner
Johann Strauss II
Franz Lehar
Johannes Brahms
Gustav Mahler
Hugo Wolf
Richard Strauss
Alexander Zemlinsky
Arnold Schonberg
Anton Webern
Erich Korngold

Yes... I actually have a lot by Hildegard of Bingen. Her music was among the first medieval work I ever listened to.

*2. Know some of these composers' work to a decent degree*

Michael Praetorius
Heinrich Schütz
Johann Pachelbel
Sylvius Leopold Weiss
Johann Adolph Hasse
Johann Christian Bach
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Michael Haydn
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Friedrich von Flotow
Franz Lehar
Max Bruch 
Max Reger
Franz Schreker
Alban Berg
Othmar Schoeck
Anton Webern
Kurt Weill
Ernst Krenek
Carl Orff

*3. Have heard a little of these composers works*

Oswald von Wolkenstein
Johann Schein
Samuel Scheidt
Samuel Scheidt
Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Joachim Quantz
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach
Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz
Leopold Mozart
Michael Haydn
Josef Mysliveček
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
Carl Stamitz
Franz Anton Hoffmeister
Anton Stamitz
Joseph Martin Kraus 
Franz Krommer
Franz Xaver Süssmayr
Louis Spohr
Johann Strauss I
Josef Strauss
Franz von Suppé
Franz Schmidt
Hanns Eisler
Hans Werner Henze
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Wolfgang Rihm
Karl Weigl

*4. Have heard the name in passing*

Walther von der Vogelweide
Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
Johann Friedrich Fasch
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach
Melchior Franck
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Johann Joseph Fux
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
Franz Xaver Süssmayr
E. T. A. Hoffmann
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff
Ignaz Moscheles
Fanny Mendelssohn
Wilhelm Taubert
Clara Schumann
Hans von Bülow
Hans Pfitzner
Stephan Wolpe
Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Helmut Lachenmann
Max Richter

*5. Huh? Who?*

Hans Leo Hassler
Franz Ignaz Beck
Johann Gottfried Eckard
Joseph Weigl
Ferdinand Fränzl
Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe
Adolf von Henselt
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Josef Anton Riedl
Herbert Blendinger
Michael Obst

Looking at my results its clear that I have got a good grasp of the Baroque, Romanticism and Post-Romanticism... but my grasp of the "Classical Era" is clearly lacking (Mozart, Haydn, and a few others excepted), and as much effort as I have put into Modern and Contemporary composers, I still have much to learn.


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## Guest (Nov 9, 2011)

Ummm . . . 

At first I thought I would participate, but then when I saw the length of the list, I just thought I could spend my time in better ways. What is accomplished by this?

I will leave it at this - the most well known German composers, I am fairly well familiar with. For a few - Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, I am really familiar. Then my knowledge gets less with the more obscure ones.


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

1:

L. van Beethoven
R. Schumann

2:

J. S. Bach (only know his keyboard music)
Felix Mendelssohn
W. A. Mozart
J. Haydn

3:

J. Pachelbel
R. Strauss
J. Brahms
Few others that I don't want to bother naming.

4-5:

Everybody else.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

This was fairly easy to do in spite of the length by copying and pasting into a spreadsheet. For me:
*
1. Know these composers oeuvre quite well*
Anton Bruckner, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Joseph Haydn, Joseph Martin Kraus, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

*2. Know some of these composers work to a decent degree*
Carl Maria von Weber, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, Fanny Mendelssohn, Franz Lehar, Franz Schmidt, Franz Schreker, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Heinrich Schütz, Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, Johann Pachelbel, Johann Schein, 
Louis Spohr, Max Bruch, Max Reger, Samuel Scheidt, Samuel Scheidt
(are there two Samuel Scheidts? Could be. I know the one who did sacred music.:devil

*3. Have heard a little of these composers works*
Alban Berg, Alexander Zemlinsky, Anton Webern, Arnold Schonberg, Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Carl Orff, Carl Stamitz, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Clara Schumann, Erich Korngold, Franz von Suppé, Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf, Jan Dismas Zelenka, Johann Christian Bach, Johann Friedrich Fasch, Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Joachim Quantz, Johann Joseph Fux, Johann Strauss II, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Leopold Mozart, Michael Haydn, Michael Praetorius, Paul Hindemith, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (and other in my collection not mentioned).

*4. Have heard the name in passing*
E. T. A. Hoffmann, Engelbert Humperdinck, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Hans von Bülow, Hans Werner Henze, Hildegard of Bingen, Johann Adolph Hasse, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, Johann Strauss I, Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, Josef Anton Riedl, Josef Strauss, Kurt Weill, Sylvius Leopold Weiss
*
5. Huh? Who?*
Adolf von Henselt, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Anton Stamitz, Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Ernst Krenek, Ferdinand Fränzl, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, Franz Ignaz Beck, Franz Krommer, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, Friedrich von Flotow, Hanns Eisler, Hans Leo Hassler, Hans Pfitzner, Helmut Lachenmann, Herbert Blendinger, Ignaz Moscheles, Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Johann Gottfried Eckard, 
Josef Myslivec(ek, Joseph Weigl, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Karl Weigl, Max Richter, Melchior Franck, Michael Obst, Oswald von Wolkenstein, Othmar Schoeck, Stephan Wolpe, Walther von der Vogelweide, Wilhelm Taubert, Wolfgang Rihm

I wish I had kept them in chronological order as they were, but the darned spreadsheet sorted them before I had chance to undo it properly. It looks like I am fairly all over the map with a slight lessening of knowledge in early baroque and before. That is just what I would expect. There is truly something in all eras of music for me, except when we go so far back that it is modal. Then I begin to loose true comprehension of the music.

I was compiling a list of German-Austrian composers not mentioned who are in my collection, but then I grew tired and I thought, "what's the point?" They would have all fit into category 3, meaning I have one of their works and I've heard it more than once. of course that doesn't mean I would recognize it when I hear it again.

One thing I_ have _learned from this exercise is that lesser known composers tend to have longer names for some reason.


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## hocket (Feb 21, 2010)

Some notable names of German baroque that seem to have been missed out:

Rosenmuller, Weckmann, Hammerschmidt, Forster, Kerll, Walther, Westhoff, Muffat, Schelle, Bohm, Bruhns, Heinichen, Graupner, Pisendel, JG Graun, CH Graun, Schaffrath

A couple of Renaissance composers worth mentioning at least are Finck and Senfl.

Amongst classicists there's Wagenseil, Monn, Cannabich, Leopold Hofmann and Albrechtsberger. Of the non-German Bohemians Vanhal, Kozeluch, Rosetti, Richter, FX Dussek, JL Dussek, Reicha, Tuma and various Bendas appear to be absent during this Golden Age for the region. Also from that part of the world, but during the Renaissance, is Handl, better known as Jacobus Gallus apparently to avoid confusion.

I don't have any records of Finck's music though I've wanted to get hold of the recording by Stimmerwick for some time. I don't have any of Albrechtsberger's music either, though I gather that the concerto for Jew's harp is supposed to be worth checking out.

PS: Reichenauer is also a good'un that I left out.

I'm not familiar with the music of Eckard, Franck, JCF Bach, A Stamitz, Weigl, Loewe, Franzl, ETA Hoffmann, Sussmayr (unless you count the Requiem!), and Hoffmeister from the Medieval through to Classical periods and many more from later eras.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

St.LukesGuild, you are in for a treat with the JCF Bach symphonies if you haven't heard them


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

1: Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms

2: Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, George Frideric Handel, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Anton Webern

3: Hildegard of Bingen, Michael Praetorius, Heinrich Schütz, Dieterich Buxtehude, Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Pachelbel, Georg Philipp Telemann, Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Leopold Mozart, Carl Stamitz, Louis Spohr, Carl Maria von Weber, Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss II, Josef Strauss, Max Bruch, Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss, Alexander Zemlinsky, Max Reger, Arnold Schonberg, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Erich Korngold, Kurt Weill, Hans Werner Henze, Carl Orff, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Wolfgang Rihm

4: Jan Dismas Zelenka, Johann Friedrich Fasch, Johann Joachim Quantz, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Johann Christian Bach, Melchior Franck, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, Johann Joseph Fux, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Michael Haydn, Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Anton Stamitz, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe, Ignaz Moscheles, Johann Strauss I, Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Hans von Bülow, Franz von Suppé, Engelbert Humperdinck, Franz Schmidt, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Josef Anton Riedl

5: Walther von der Vogelweide, Oswald von Wolkenstein, Johann Schein, Samuel Scheidt, Samuel Scheidt (there were 2?), Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, Johann Adolph Hasse, Hans Leo Hassler, Johann Wenzel, Franz Ignaz Beck, Johann Gottfried Eckard, Josef Mysliveček, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, Anton Stamitz, Joseph Martin Kraus, Franz Krommer, Joseph Weigl, Ferdinand Fränzl, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Wilhelm Taubert, Friedrich von Flotow, Adolf von Henselt, Franz Lehar, Franz Schreker, Hans Pfitzner, Othmar Schoeck, Hanns Eisler, Ernst Krenek, Stephan Wolpe, Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Helmut Lachenmann, Herbert Blendinger, Michael Obst, Max Richter, Karl Weigl

Excellent list. We should combine with all the other nationalities.


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## DavidMahler (Dec 28, 2009)

OMG, I'd guess between 100-130 and I think that's being conservative.


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## DavidMahler (Dec 28, 2009)

science said:


> 2: Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, George Frideric Handel, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Anton Webern


The great great great great great great great great great great great great great grand father of Justin Bieber


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## DavidMahler (Dec 28, 2009)

St Luke's nice list!

I can think of one offhand that wasn't mentioned

Xaver Scharwenka


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

DavidMahler said:


> The great great great great great great great great great great great great great grand father of Justin Bieber


Last spring I made a bet with one of my students, which if she won she would get a Justin Bieber CD, and if I won I would get a Biber CD. I won. But she did not yet buy me a CD.


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## DavidMahler (Dec 28, 2009)

science said:


> Last spring I made a bet with one of my students, which if she won she would get a Justin Bieber CD, and if I won I would get a Biber CD. I won. But she did not yet buy me a CD.


what was the bet?


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

DavidMahler said:


> what was the bet?


Who would finish _Three Cups of Tea_ first. I really tried to let her win, but she was just so lazy.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

This list is HUGE!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't have made a so huge list...I don't know many of the composers you have listed here.

Richard Strauss, Zemlinsky, Schreker, Wagner, Schönberg, Berg, Webern, Schmidt, Zimmerman, Humperdinck, Hindemith, Mozart, Haydn, Haendel, Beethoven, Gluck, Schubert, Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Korngold, Gustav Mahler,
Hugo Wolf, Orff, Bach, Gluck, Bruckner, Bruch, Weil, Mendelsohn, Telemann, Wolf, Lehar...I'm out of breath...I think Russian are more important for me...(I think I haven't seen Hindemith nor Bruch in your list...Maybe I missread). Of course 90% I am mentioning here are composers I really like...Bach is not my cup of tea...

Sincerely,

Martin


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Another classical era composer that people would find amusement in knowing, amusing is the word for Henri Jospeh Rigel's symphonies on this disc, I think this is the only Rigel recording available? He's really fun and unpredictable, those who like CPE Bach should check him out. A German born French composer, name is pronounced Ree-gul.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> What I'm asking is that you place the following composers in one of the following 5 categories:
> 
> *1. Know these composers oeuvre quite well
> 2. Know some of these composers work to a decent degree
> ...


The earlier the list goes, I would say #1 and #2, then ending up at #3 towards the end of the long list, with some #4.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Many Huh? Who? for me....LOL as could have seen above.

Martin


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