# Best B's



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

OK, I know many hate ranking music and composers, but it isn't to be taken seriously - it's just for fun. Rank your favourite composers with surnames beginning with B. 

- You can have 4 composers if you are just choosing Baroque or earlier composers.
- Another 4 for Classical and Romantic composers.
- Another 4 for modern and contemporary composers.
But no more than 10 in all (if you are choosing from all of history). 

Composers can share a rank but without increasing the final number - so you might have two joint Rank 1s but the next one is Rank 3.

I found this hard. I'll post my list in a day or two.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

1. Bach
2. Berlioz
3. Beethoven
4. Brahms
5. Bruckner
6. Bridge
7. Bax
8. Bliss


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

My super top 3 B's:

*1. Beethoven 
2. Bach
3. Brahms
*

Other favorite B's:

4. Bruckner
5. Berlioz
6. Bizet
7. Borodin
8. Britten
9. Bartok


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Why not.

1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Berg
4. Byrd
5. Brahms
6. Buxtehude
7. Boulez
8. Biber
9. Bruhns
10. Bartok


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Beethoven
Borodin
Bax
Britten
In no particular order


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

1= Bartok
1= Beethoven
3= Brahms
3= Bruckner
Thence,
Borodin
Berlioz 
Bizet
Bach
Barber
Berwald
Balakirev
Brusa 
Byrd
Bantock, 
Bax, 
Bliss


345= (alongside such great composers as Myra Hindley, Jeremy Corbyn, Elena Ceaucescu etc, Britten)


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

Bach
Brahms
Berwald
Bizet
Borodin
Bax
Butterworth
Baines
Bartok
Bliss


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

1) Bellini
2) Beethoven

Bellini rates higher because he wrote ten times as many operas.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Bruckner


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

1 - Beethoven;
2 - Bach;
3 - Brahms;
4 - Berlioz;
5 - Borodin.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Beethoven
Brahms
Bach
Bartok
Berlioz
Britten
Berg
Bizet
Byrd
Bieber


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Just for info: "The Three Bs" was an expression coined by Peter Cornelius in 1854, meaning Bach, Beethoven, and Berlioz. Conductor Hans von Bülow suggested substituting Brahms for Berlioz, which seems to have caught on. Wagner, somewhat miffed to see his old-fashioned and stodgy rival thus elevated, suggested Bruckner in place of Brahms. That didn't attract a lot of attention. Maybe he should have written one of his pamphlets?

Added: Or changed his name to "Bagner"?


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

1. Bach (JS) & Beethoven
3. Brahms, Britten & Bartok
6. Birtwistle
7. Benjamin
8. Berg
9. Boulez
10. Bruckner

I know I would do it differently in a few months or a few months ago. I regret no place for Berlioz, Berio or CPE Bach and, probably, also Byrd. I'm OK that Bax doesn't quite make the cut.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

*Romantic Composers
*

Berwald, Franz
Bainton, Edgar
Balakirev, Mily
Blumenfeld, Felix
*Early Modern to Modern
*

 Barber, Samuel
Berkeley, Sir Lennox
Bernstein, Leonard
Blackwood Jr., Easley


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Bach
Beethoven
Brahms 
Bruckner
Bartok


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

In order of liking, 'pure & simple'. 

1. Biber
2. J. S. Bach
3. Beethoven
4. Byrd
5. Boccherini
6. John Bull
7. Bizet
8. Brahms
9. Bantock
10. J. C. Bach

4 Baroque & earlier - Biber, Bach, Byrd & Bull
3 Classical - Beethoven, Boccherini, J.C. Bach
3 19th century/ Romantic - Brahms, Bizet & Bantock

But if you're saying that classical and romantic are one category, so I've got 5 or 6, depending on how you classify Bantock - then just credit me the first 8. 

Hope that's okay. :tiphat:


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

My favorite B's are Bach, Beethoven and Bruckner. Someday I might add Brahms to the list, or not...


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Far too many good ones.

I'll stick with the English

Byrd
Bull
Boyce
Blow


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Ingélou said:


> But if you're saying that classical and romantic are one category, so I've got 5 or 6, depending on how you classify Bantock - then just credit me the first 8.
> 
> Hope that's okay. :tiphat:


I would call Bantock modern - in somewhat the same was that Strauss is - albeit a romantic modernist. So that means you are "allowed" 10.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Bach
Boccherini
Beethoven
Bruckner
Brahms
Bridge.
Bartok
Bax
Britten
Boulez 

Busoni had to be replaced by Boccherini, because of the rules. 
Bridge or Bax are considered romantic here ;-)

No space for Barber


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

No surprises here. Cannot nominate a tenth, though - I would have chosen either Balakirev or Barber but there are no romantic or modern places left.

Bach
Beethoven
Berlioz
Brahms
Bruckner
Bartók
Berg
Britten
Bernstein


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Beethoven
Brahms
Bach
Bernstein
Bozart
Bvorak
Baydn
Bandel
Bendelssohn
Bostakovich


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Olias said:


> Beethoven
> Brahms
> Bach
> Bernstein
> ...


And John Philip Boozah.


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

Brokofiev
Bebussy
Bahler
Bagner
Bendelssohn


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Bachmaninoff. Very obscure Russian composer with German roots. He was a tall man and father of many children.


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