# Favorite Instrumentation of your Favorite Composers



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

We have tons of Favorite Composers threads but would be interested what your favorite Instrumentation of that Composer is. Here are mine.
Vivaldi - Violin Concertos
Bach - Organ and Harpsichord Works
Corelli - Concerti Grossi
Telemann - Orchestral Suites and Trumpet Concertos
Mozart - Piano Concertos
CPE Bach - Symphony and Harpsichord Concertos
Boccherini - String Quintet (or Quartet) and Symphonies
Haydn - Symphonies
Debussy - Orchestral Works and Piano Works
Ravel - Orchestral Works and Piano Works
Beethoven - Piano Sonatas
Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto and Ballets
Sibelius - Violin Concerto and Symphonies
Bartok - String Quartets 
Shostakovich - String Quartet
Schnittke - Concerti Grossi 
Ligeti - Orchestral Works


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## etkearne (Sep 28, 2012)

I will throw down a few since I have a few minutes. I'll go in general chronological order:

- Bach: Solo Organ
- Debussy: Orchestral 
- Ravel: Solo Piano
- Bartok: Piano Concertos
- Schoenberg: Solo Piano
- Ligeti: Various concertos
- Penderecki: Orchestral


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Schumann - Piano
Beethoven - Piano
Bach - Piano
Chopin - Piano
Janacek - Piano
Berg - Piano
Hindemith - Piano
Medtner - Piano
Barber - Piano


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Klavierspieler said:


> Schumann - Piano
> Beethoven - Piano
> Bach - Piano
> Chopin - Piano
> ...


I assume you like Piano.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Anyone else?


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Sure.


Charles Koechlin's piano music (solo piano pieces, various sonatas with piano, piano quintets, etc.)
Andre Jolivet's flute music (solo flute pieces, flute sonatas, concerti for flute, assorted chamber music, etc.)
Karol Szymanowski's orchestral songs (including choral works with orchestra)
Maurice Ohana's harpsichord writing (for chamber pieces and/or with chamber orchestra)
Arne Nordheim's Concerti with orchestra (for accordion, for cello, for violin, magnetic tape, etc.)
John Leifs' tone poems (depicting natural forces) featuring augmented percussion (anvils, rocks, cannons, etc.)
Villa-Lobos' raucious brass writing in his large orchestral works - sometimes including the ophicleide / euphonium
Andre Caplet's chamber works for vocalists, string quartets/quintets & harp
Roberto Gerhard's integration of accordion into both chamber pieces and larger works (also like RG's magnetic tape, too)
the operas of Jean Prodromides


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

Albarn, Damon - diverse electric-acoustic ensembles
Bach, Johann Sebastian - keyboard
Beethoven, Ludwig van - orchestra or string quartet
Cage, John - prepared piano, or piano
Chopin, Frederic - piano
Debussy, Claude - piano
Ives, Charles - piano or orchestra
Kajiura, Yuki - diverse electric-acoustic ensembles
Messiaen, Olivier - piano
Mussorgsky, Modest - piano
Oldfield, Mike - diverse electric-acoustic ensembles, especially use of electric guitars
Otani, Kow - orchestra
Ravel, Maurice - orchestra
Satie, Erik - piano
Schnittke, Alfred - orchestra
Stravinsky, Igor - orchestra, especially brass and woodwinds
Takumi, Masanori - orchestra, and electric instruments
Uematsu, Nobuo - orchestra
Varese, Edgard - orchestra
Webern, Anton - orchestra
Zappa, Frank - rock/jazz band, especially percussion and electric guitar


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

Schubert - Two Violins, A Viola and Two Cellos

*The String Quintet in C!!!!*


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Orlando Gibbons-Viol Consorts!
Taneyev-String Quartets

With a lot of other composers, my preferences are so obvious that they are almost not worth mentioning. Why would anyone prefer anything but solo piano for Medtner? He was not nearly as extensive in other instrumentations than we was with the solo piano.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

peeyaj said:


> Schubert - Two Violins, A Viola and Two Cellos
> 
> *The String Quintet in C!!!!*


why just 1 viola? Why does the viola always get the shaft?


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Schubert often wrote for the muscians available.


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Klavierspieler said:


> Schumann - Piano
> Beethoven - Piano
> Bach - Piano
> Chopin - Piano
> ...


Tchaikovsky - Violin concerto 
Beethoven - Violin concerto 
Sibelius - Violin concerto 
Mendelssohn - Violin concerto 
Wieniawski - Violin concertos 
Mozart - Violin concertos 
Bach - Violin concertos


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

BurningDesire said:


> why just 1 viola? Why does the viola always get the shaft?


Schubert's String Quintet in C is very different from the quintets of Mozart and Beethoven because instead of using two violas (like the tradition), Schubert adds an additional cello. Only Boccherini uses the two cellos on his works.

T


> he work holds the distinction of being the only full-fledged string quintet in Schubert's vast oeuvre. It also stands out for its somewhat unconventional instrumentation, employing two cellos instead of the customary two violas. Most other string quintets follow the example of Mozart and call for an ensemble consisting of the four standard instruments of the string quartet (two violins, viola, and cello), with addition of a second viola. Schubert, like composer and cellist Luigi Boccherini before him, replaced the second viola with a second cello for enhanced richness in the lower register. However, Schubert's use of the second cello is very different from Boccherini's, for Boccherini essentially uses the additional cello to create an additional viola line


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Handel - the human voice


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Handel - the human voice


Same ought to be said for Purcell as well!


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## Ramako (Apr 28, 2012)

Beethoven - orchestra/string quartet as well to some extent
Mozart - string quintet/orchestra+voice
Mahler - orchestra
Bach - orchestra
Handel - orchestra/orchestra+voice
Josquin - voices
Tchaikovsky - orchestra
Dvorak - orchestra
Schubert - piano&voice
Victoria - voices
Dufay - voices + whatever random ancient stuff he puts with them
Haydn - orchestra/string quartet/piano

A few of these are obvious, ok


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Beethoven: Piano/orchestra
Mozart: Winds/Piano
Bach: Strings
Sibelius: Strings/Orchestra


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Bach - Keyboards
Brahms - Clarinet-based chamber music
Mahler - Voice/Orchestra
Schubert - Voice/Piano
Shostakovich - String quartet


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

Ramako said:


> Beethoven - orchestra/string quartet as well to some extent
> Mozart - string quintet/orchestra+voice
> Mahler - orchestra
> Bach - orchestra
> ...


Jeez you weren't kidding when you said you had conservative taste X3

Still great music though


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