# If You Could Only Save 5 Composers for Humanity?



## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

Who would they be? 

Me: 

Beethoven 
Mahler 
Bach 
Schoenberg
Tchaikovsky.

Sorry Shostakovitch, 
sorry Chopin, 
sorry Mozart.


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## omega (Mar 13, 2014)

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Mahler
Debussy...

Oh, no. I simply cannot choose.


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

Man,

What a tough question - Well, here goes:

JSBach
Rachmaninoff
Chaikovskii
Shostakovich
Tournemire


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Schnittke would certainly be one of them--might as well be as comprehensive as possible.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

1. Bach

2. Beethoven

3. Mozart

4. Schubert

5. Debussy


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

All the rest would be forgotten for all eternity, then? Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Bruckner.

Sorry Bach, sixth place for you!


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## Dawood (Oct 11, 2015)

Mozart (for the beauty)
Gershwin (for the tunes)
Weill (for keeping us reminded of the darker side of humanity - but through the medium of melody)
Beethoven (for the symphonies)
Rossini (for the cartoons)


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I suspect a large segment of humanity doesn't necessarily identify with white, European composers.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn and Shostakovich. 

The rest are completely expendable.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

hpowders said:


> Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn and Shostakovich.
> 
> The rest are completely expendable.


Heh! This immediately reminded me of this thing:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BreadEggsMilkSquick


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Josquin Desprez, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Josquin Desprez, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner


Nobody from the last 140 years??


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## bz3 (Oct 15, 2015)

starthrower said:


> I suspect a large segment of humanity doesn't necessarily identify with white, European composers.


That's their problem because it's what they're going to get! :devil:

Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Wagner.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Handel (his oeuvre covered a much wider range than Bach)
Mozart
Beethoven
Mahler
Stravinsky (given that he covered many styles over his career)


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

No matter who you pick it would be a terrible tragedy


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Becca said:


> Nobody from the last 140 years??


Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner are necessary. The choice is to go backward or forward for the fifth. Going forward there's too much diversity as Western culture fragments, making any choice arbitrary. Hence Josquin, who can stand proudly for the Renaissance.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

1) Dittersdorf
2) Pleyel
3) Meyerbeer
4) Raff 
5) Hovahness


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

I'm not happy with this, but whatever:

Monteverdi
Beethoven
Schubert
Debussy
Messiaen


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

To woodduck: if I were to pick one from the Renaissance or pre 1630s or so, it would be Byrd or Monteverdi.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

clavichorder said:


> To woodduck: if I were to pick one from the Renaissance or pre 1630s or so, it would be Byrd or Monteverdi.


I know. Terrible to leave those guys behind. Good thing this isn't for real.


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## poconoron (Oct 26, 2011)

Handel
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Haydn


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
And Handel as I couldn't possibly do without Messiah!

Oh but then think of the riches we would be deprived of. Just glad it's not for real. Would hate to lose Mendelssohn!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

bz3 said:


> That's their problem because it's what they're going to get! :devil:
> 
> Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Wagner.


Spoken like a true imperialist/evangelist!


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

My favorite 5:

Mozart
Beethoven
Bach
Brahms
Schubert

The 5 I'd save for me:

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Wagner
Stravinsky

The 5 I'd save for humanity:

Bach 
Mozart
Wagner
Stravinsky
Schnittke


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Just can't make up my mind on the other 2


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Haydn man said:


> Haydn
> Mozart
> Beethoven
> Just can't make up my mind on the other 2


Vincent Persichetti? William Schuman?


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2016)

The OP seems somewhat harsh.

Let's hope it's sorted before China becomes the new America!


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Woodduck said:


> I know. Terrible to leave those guys behind. Good thing this isn't for real.


It's good to be mentally prepared, just in case.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Dim7 said:


> It's good to be mentally prepared, just in case.


Nothing could prepare the mind for such horror. Mentally insane is the sole recourse.


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## Medtnaculus (May 13, 2015)

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Debussy
Scriabin

They'd all have to live full lives though and not die too early.


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## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

Bach
Beethoven
Bruckner
Shostakovich
Chopin


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

Rats. How can one pick just five? I would have trouble just picking a hundred.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

violadude said:


> No matter who you pick it would be a terrible tragedy


Particularly if they let me choose

1. Varese
2. Hugo Wolf
3. Hans Rott
4. Carlo Gesualdo
5. Harry Partch


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Would be rough for most but violadude might dig that selection actually.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Particularly if they let me choose
> 
> 1. Varese
> 2. Hugo Wolf
> ...


I can dig it. A fine list for my homies.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Prokofiev
Debussy

(truly heartbreaking without Schubert)

...saving them for humanity...and secretly being excited to see how things develop anew without the second viennese school mucking things up.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

hpowders said:


> I can dig it. A fine list for my homies.


Dig it, I can see it all now..... and your worried about second viennese


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## Adam Weber (Apr 9, 2015)

Bach
Mozart 
Beethoven 
Schoenberg 
Ligeti 

You could probably re-engineer a canon out of that, right? Especially if you snag Schoenberg's Harmonielehre.


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## StDior (May 28, 2015)

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Mahler
Puccini


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Early Beethoven, middle Beethoven, and late Beethoven., Oh, and Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Schubert. That's more than five? So shoot me.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

I'd pick five anonymous pre-10th-century composers of chant. Let's see what happens if we start from the beginning again!


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## mstar (Aug 14, 2013)

I would research to find the greatest, earliest composers in hopes that future generations would build upon their music much like later composers did\are.

Which brings me to the question: 
If only baroque-era music survived to this day, how would the evolution of classical music look in comparison to what it actually was?


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Bach, Beethoven and Mozart would be must-haves. Then I'd put my personal touch on the list by adding Scriabin and Shostakovich.


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

Mozart preserves some of what's best in Handel and Bach, shares some of what's best in Haydn, and anticipates some of what's best in Beethoven, so I'll let him stand for all of them. In that spirit:

Josquin
Monteverdi
Mozart
Wagner
Stravinsky


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Bach 
Beethoven
Mozart
Mahler 
Schoenberg


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bellini.
Donizetti
Puccini.
Mozart.
Verdi .


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

hpowders said:


> I can dig it. A fine list for my homies.


Homies? What a load of fiddle faddle


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Bach
Mozart
Ravel
Debussy
Stravinsky


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Bach's gotta be one of them, because if you save him, that means also saving his children composers too, no?


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

dogen said:


> The OP seems somewhat harsh.
> 
> Let's hope it's sorted before China becomes the new America!


Don't worry, the Chinese debt pile only continues to grow. Paper Tiger, anyone?


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2016)

Thinking about these sort of things, I realize that my top 5 composers are German/Austrian... nothing wrong with that, but if that's ALL I had... I might get more colorful variety by switching out someone for a Frenchy.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

IMHO, "humanity" needs a lot more saving than anything 5 composers could provide.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

nathanb said:


> Thinking about these sort of things, I realize that my top 5 composers are German/Austrian... nothing wrong with that, but if that's ALL I had... I might get more colorful variety by switching out someone for a Frenchy.


Now your talking my kinda language


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2016)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Now your talking my kinda language


I greatly admire your unparalleled love of Varese, and he's always climbing my ranks as well, but I still have trouble elevating his tiny two-disc oeuvre quite to the level of a guy like Debussy, Messiaen, or Boulez. I consider this to be my own shortcoming, not yours. Some people think quantity. I tend to think "quantity of quality". You think purely in raw uncut quality. We owe you great respect, my Lord.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

nathanb said:


> I greatly admire your unparalleled love of Varese, and he's always climbing my ranks as well, but I still have trouble elevating his tiny two-disc oeuvre quite to the level of a guy like Debussy, Messiaen, or Boulez. I consider this to be my own shortcoming, not yours. Some people think quantity. I tend to think "quantity of quality". You think purely in raw uncut quality. We owe you great respect, my Lord.


Thanks nath, gotta keep trying. 
But note that while the oeuvre is small, the amount of versions of his recording is growing all the time.

Recent Youtube posting of Amériques by Ensemble intercontemporain with Matthias Pintscher


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2016)

If Varese had written even as much as Webern, there would probably be little room for doubt.

I need a clever Stockhausen avatar or something. My reverence grows by the day.


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## Nevum (Nov 28, 2013)

Beethoven
Bruckner
Mozart
Rott
Schumann


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## GKC (Jun 2, 2011)

starthrower said:


> I suspect a large segment of humanity doesn't necessarily identify with white, European composers.


No, but the do with their music.


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

Why would anyone save Rott instead of Mahler is beyond me.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Josquin
Bach
Beethoven
Wagner
Debussy

Renaissance, Baroque, Classical/Romantic, Romantic, and Modern. Not all bases are covered, but it'll do. This list is for humanity, if it were for myself, it'd probably look a bit different.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Nevum said:


> Beethoven
> Bruckner
> Mozart
> Rott
> Schumann


I agree on Rott at least


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

I don't know what humanity has done to deserve these, but I'd save for them:

J. S. Bach
Franz Schubert
L. v. Beethoven
W. A. Mozart

then it's a toss-up between Brahms and Monteverdi.

I see that Auntie Jack aka somebodyVarese wants to save Hugo Wolf. I would probably save him _for myself_ instead of Brahms or Monteverdi but humanity wouldn't thank me for it (it's a lonely passion).


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## Überstürzter Neumann (Jan 1, 2014)

Schütz
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Bruckner


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## Abraham Lincoln (Oct 3, 2015)

J. S. Bach, Mozart and Beethoven are mandatory. Not sure about the other 2. One of them could be Mendelssohn, so we can talk for hours and hours about Bach (outside of his earshot of course).


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Presumably we wouldn't know about the ones we left out, so maybe it wouldn't be quite as painful as I'd expect.

Beethoven
Berlioz
Verdi
Debussy
Mozart

With apologies to hundreds of others.


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## drnlaw (Jan 27, 2016)

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Verdi or Puccini, still trying to decide
and, selfishly, Mahler.


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## Humboldt (Feb 18, 2016)

Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Tchaikovsky, but that's a tough one. I might miss Rachmaninov and Schubert at some point.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Mahler
Verdi

Tough to narrow it down to five, but I reduced it to appetites, once I'd included the obvious 3 at the top. Mahler for the complex dense instrumental music, Verdi for the glorious Italian operas. I left out Hugo Wolf, who I love as a songwriter, because Schubert covers that, and Handel as my favourite Baroque composer, because 6 into 5 will not go...


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## Muse Wanderer (Feb 16, 2014)

I would take an approach to preserve as much great music in order for it to blossom again. 

Plant the seed in the soil for the rest of humanity to be inspired from and move on to new fertile grounds.

The pivot point of humanity's musical achievement, in my opinion, is exemplified by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach's music has been an inspiration to composers up to our own time, and his loss would be a terrible tragedy of indescribable proportions.

The problem lies with Herr Wolfgang and Herr Ludwig! Both classical but still somewhat polar opposites. Who can lay the foundations for the future human generations? I would have to say Wolfgang as his output is huge and he shines into so many genres including opera. There is no suitable replacement for him.

Now the romantic idiom needs represantation and Richard Wagner, the pinnacle of harmony, fits the bill. He represents a long direct line of musical practice from JS Bach and rounds off this vast period nicely. Besides this we just cannot ditch Der Ring des Nibelungen, that would be blasphemy! 

Next in line is Arnold Schoenberg. To my ears he represents the ideas of JS Bach and romantisicm in an entirely new language. He is so similar to Bach, Wagner and Brahms but yet so different! He did shape the 20th century musical language so he has no substitute, apart from Igor Stravinsky but then only one can be chosen.

Last in line needs to speak to our ears in a contemporary style in order to draw a line of where we are now. This is so tricky though. It is difficult to find greatness as time has not judged these composers. I am tempted to choose Morton Feldman but he is not as eclectic despite having his unique way of expressing himself. So the last composer for me would be Gyorgy Ligeti. He has variety with his early works being so different from his late ones (just listen to those piano etudes!). He excelled at what he did and spoke in the language of his own time. 

So there you have it, enough brilliant composers to start off the musical journey for future mankind...

Johann Sebastian Bach
Wolfgang Mozart
Richard Wagner
Arnold Schoenberg
Gyorgy Ligeti


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

Beethoven
Mozart
Handel
Wagner
Bach

(An earlier comment is so true. Not sure if humanity is only interested in white European composers from more than 100 years ago.)


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

Xaltotun said:


> All the rest would be forgotten for all eternity, then? Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Bruckner.
> 
> Sorry Bach, sixth place for you!


Sometimes you can make a short statement very powerful. I disagree with Bruckner here, and not by much, but your post was fantastic imo.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

Becca said:


> Handel (his oeuvre covered a much wider range than Bach)
> Mozart
> Beethoven
> Mahler
> Stravinsky (given that he covered many styles over his career)


I must tell you. Great list but terrible spelling! Stravinsky is actually spelled WAGNER, but it's a common misconception.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

mmsbls said:


> My favorite 5:
> 
> Mozart
> Beethoven
> ...


Sorry to semi-spam here but there are so many great answers in this thread. I like this concept here. My answers in this format.

My 5 - Schubert, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, Bach

For me - Schubert, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, Bach

Humanity - Every other composer of music that ever was or ever will be. All but Schubert, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, and Bach. Because if the human race continues on, and if there is a heaven, and if I'm lucky enough to go there, and every lover of music feels like they're missing something. Some little thing and they can't quite just put their fingers on it, then I'll smile and be sad at the same time.


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## drnlaw (Jan 27, 2016)

Muse Wanderer said:


> I would take an approach to preserve as much great music in order for it to blossom again.
> 
> Plant the seed in the soil for the rest of humanity to be inspired from and move on to new fertile grounds.
> 
> ...


I wouldn't come up with your same list, but I definitely appreciate your way of thinking here. My felicitations.


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## Muse Wanderer (Feb 16, 2014)

scratchgolf said:


> Humanity - Every other composer of music that ever was or ever will be. All but Schubert, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, and Bach. Because if the human race continues on, and if there is a heaven, and if I'm lucky enough to go there, and every lover of music feels like they're missing something. Some little thing and they can't quite just put their fingers on it, then I'll smile and be sad at the same time.


I feel the same way for my own present.

Many of the people I know have no clue about the music I love and why I love it so much. At times I do 'smile but be sad at the same time' when say my mother in law asks me to turn the 'noise' down as I listen to a Bach cantata. My wife gets a headache listening to good old Beethoven, sigh..

I was listening to Penderecki's 'Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima' yesterday. 
I felt the need to cry.

Mozart lightened my day with his 9th piano sonata, Beethoven's Hammerklavier adagio gave me hope.

Bach's 4th cello suite calmed me down, whilst Chopin's piano concertos gave me impetus to live.

I drove my wife and kids to the airport at 3am today for a trip abroad. Schubert's lively 4th and 5th symphonies glistened the journey as my 4yr old child and I sang the opening melodies.
Regrettably, I could not go with them for work reasons.

During my drive back, alone on the motorway, Schoenberg's Moses und Aaron provided me with colour and mesmerising contrasts between melody and fantasy (Aaron) and harsh reality (Moses).

I am now listening to Haydn's symphonies and feel his humour lighten my day.
What next will guide me through my day today, tomorrow and the next?

It is sad for me to know that even my close relatives cannot experience what I can, except for my children. They are getting the vibe of what goes on in between those notes.

I smile because there is hope...


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

I could have typed that exact post with my own intricacies added. It's amazing to know people can think so alike on certain topics. Almost identically. Yet a different part of their lives could cause conflict.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Of course, if I were to be selfish and not take the humanity aspect into consideration (which would most likely be the case ), I'd go with Beethoven, Debussy, Mahler, Wagner, and Schubert.


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## Poppy Popsicle (Jul 24, 2015)

A meagre 5 for humanity after the zombie apocalypse? Will it be worth it? Here goes:
Bach (timeless, a volcano);
Beethoven (timeless, a volcano);
Palestrina (timeless, a volcano);
Webern (timeless, a simmering volcano);
Ligeti (timeless, a voice for our times).


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

...but humanity has done so many bad things...


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

scratchgolf said:


> I must tell you. Great list but terrible spelling! Stravinsky is actually spelled WAGNER, but it's a common misconception.


Is he the one who wrote Le Sacre du Parsifal? or Der Fliegende Firebird?


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## Harold in Columbia (Jan 10, 2016)

He wrote Le Sacre. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote Firebird.


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## Templeton (Dec 20, 2014)

Beethoven
Bruckner
Brahms
Schubert
Franz Schmidt

The first four are pretty conventional and the fifth, my personal luxury.


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

Mozart 
Beethoven 
Liszt 
Prokofiev 
Pärt


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

1. Dvorak
2. Sibelius
3. Vivaldi
4. Master Haydn
5. Korsakov

Sorry Brahms, sorry Schumann, sorry everyone else!


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

^Don't worry they wont feel it much


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