# Who are the other Bs?



## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

We all know about the Three Bs: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms. Who else would you elevate to the same status, so as to make the Four Bs, or Five Bs, or whatever? Which of the existing ones would you downgrade from B status and replace with a different B? Who would your alternative B b? 

As for me:
you can surely see
that Bartok must be a B


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Bartok is a good one.

Berlioz?
Boulez?
Barber?
Berg?


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Bach, Beethoven, Beyoncé, Bieber, Britney


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I prefer Bruckner over all those that have been mentioned so far.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

There seems to be something about the letter B: it has produced more great composers than any other letter of the alphabet...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bellini as opera composer for sure.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I wouldn't elevate any of the other B's to the status of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.

Three's perfect company. Four's a disappointing crowd, diluted in talent.

A fine thread! No polyester. I like that! :tiphat:


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

hpowders said:


> I wouldn't elevate any of the other B's to the status of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.
> 
> Three's perfect company. Four's a disappointing crowd, diluted in talent.


I'll nominate Bax - just in case Bach, Beethoven and Brahms decide to play bridge, curl or form a biathlon relay team.


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

I don't see any other B in the same height of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms are in a class by themselves. However, there are lots of great "B" composers out there.

Worthy of listening:

York Bowen
Hector Berlioz
Georges Bizet
Luigi Boccherini
CPE Bach
Max Bruch
Alexander Borodin
Ernest Bloch
Amy Beach

Some people like Britten, though I have not heard as much that I liked from him.


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

If I were going to nominate any other "Bs" to join the club, it would be Berlioz.


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## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

How about Bibaldi? Bhopin? And, of course, Bozart?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

IMO, in no way do Bartok or Berg dilute the cherished godhead of classical icons. Both composed some of the greatest quartets of the 20th century, not to mention the operas of Berg, or the piano concertos of Bartok.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

What about Bernstein & Borodin?


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Add Franz Berwald to the list.

Edit: My three B's would be Beethoven, Bellini, and Berwald.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Bruckner as fourth (general), or to replace Beethoven if we keep it at three (personal).

Other personal candidates would be Bax and Barber. I also quite like Bruch, Britten, Beach, Berg and many others.


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

Berg, Bartok and Britten, for sure.


Brits believe Byrd, Bridge, Bax, Bliss, Bantock, Brian, Butterworth, Bowen, Birtwhistle be blatantly better besides.


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

TurnaboutVox said:


> Brits believe Byrd, Bridge, Bax, Bliss, Bantock, Brian, Butterworth, Bowen, Birtwhistle be blatantly better besides.


Bloody Balts too!


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

I'd take the original third B, Berlioz over that impostor Brahms.



brianvds said:


> There seems to be something about the letter B: it has produced more great composers than any other letter of the alphabet...


Hmm...it's not that clear to me:

Schubert
Schumann
Scriabin
Sibelius
Schoenberg
Stravinsky

I could add Shostakovich, R. Strauss, etc.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I like the idea of not diluting the 3 Bs, but were I to add one I would favor Bruckner


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

Sonata said:


> I like the idea of not diluting the 3 Bs, but were I to add one I would favor Bruckner


They are already diluted (blame von Bülow).


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## Razumovskymas (Sep 20, 2016)

I have a bit of a J.S. Bach allergy so I would replace him with his son C.P.E. or Alban Berg (although only familiar with his piano sonata op.1)


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

I would add Berlioz. His music may not be of the same consistently high caliber as that of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. But his historical importance, in my opinion, should earn him a spot alongside these 3 illustrious B's.

Berlioz's innovations in the genre of program music set the stage for much later work: Schumann, Liszt, Strauss, and many others. Moreover, the "idee fixe" in _Symphonie Fantastique_ prefigured (and arguably influenced) Wagner's use of Leitmotives. (I almost didn't add that sentence--it seems dangerous to mention Wagner around here! )


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Benny Hill, Milton Berle, Bob Hope. Victor Borge and Jack Benny.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

For me, Britten was the only "B" that truly approached the Big Three in terms of the ground he covered. Not many composers have left behind so many masterworks in so many fields: choral, opera, songs, chamber, instrumental and orchestral. Berlioz and Berg aren't too far behind, but the former majored primarily in opera and orchestral works, while the latter's legacy is smaller and more difficult to evaluate given his early death. Had Berg lived longer, he might well have been my nomination for "Fourth B".


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Bettina said:


> Moreover, the "idee fixe" in _Symphonie Fantastique_ prefigured (and arguably influenced) Wagner's use of Leitmotives.


Well, it might be argued that Beethoven beat them both to it in his masterly ability to evolve great works from tiny cells of melody. Just think of the "Fate Leitmotiv" in his 5th symphony, for example; there are many others.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Reichstag aus LICHT said:


> Well, it might be argued that Beethoven beat them both to it in his masterly ability to evolve great works from tiny cells of melody. Just think of the "Fate Leitmotiv" in his 5th symphony, for example; there are many others.


I think that is true with regard to motivic development--Beethoven certainly could build vast edifices upon his motivic cells, and this approach to structure informed Berlioz's own thematic transformations.

I would still argue, though, that Berlioz was highly innovative in the way that he used this technique to serve his programmatic narratives. He was (as far as I know) the first composer to attach an explicit programmatic significance to the process of motivic development. It was this programmatic element that helped provide the stimulus for Wagner's Leitmotifs, which carry a range of associations with characters, moods and objects.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

As one of my mother's friends used to say, her three B's were Beer, Bowling, and Bingo! :lol:


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Chronochromie said:


> Schubert
> Schumann
> Scriabin
> Sibelius
> ...


*Add* them? I'd have them on the list to begin with.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Class A B's...
add Berlioz, Bruckner & Bartok

Class B B's
Bax
Bantock
Britten
Bizet
Busoni


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

amfortas said:


> *Add* them? I'd have them on the list to begin with.


The ones I listed are my favorites that are also highly regarded by most here. Shosta and Strauss are excellent but I don't think of them as highly as the others.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

What about Berlin Philharmonic?


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Chronochromie said:


> They are already diluted (blame von Bülow).


I've no idea who Von Bulow is


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Berwald, Balakirev, Bax, Brian, Bantock, Bliss, Busoni , for example., among the lesser known but unjustly neglected .


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

Sonata said:


> I've no idea who Von Bulow is


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Bs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_von_B%C3%BClow


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Becca said:


> Class A B's...
> add Berlioz, Bruckner & Bartok


This + 1. You're a classy "B" yourself Becca.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Chronochromie said:


> They are already diluted (blame von Bülow).





Razumovskymas said:


> I have a bit of a J.S. Bach allergy so I would replace him with his son C.P.E. or Alban Berg (although only familiar with his piano sonata op.1)


Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

No mention of Berio?


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

Sonata said:


> I've no idea who Von Bulow is


EDIT: I was confusing von Bülow with Eduard Hanslick! _Doh!_


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Chronochromie said:


> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Bs
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_von_B%C3%BClow


Thanks for the link. IMHO, Von Bulow improved on the original


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

Sonata said:


> Thanks for the link. IMHO, Von Bulow improved on the original


Heresy! !!!!!!!!!!!


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Dim7 said:


> Bach, Beethoven, Beyoncé, Bieber, Britney


Best answer to any question this year:lol:


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

On a slightly more serious note I will add another mention for Berwald and Britten


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

In the organ world there are many "B"s:

Buxtehude, Bizet, Boellmann, Bonnet, Bridge, to name a few.

Kh


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

All the Bach boys. Maybe not at the top tier level with those masters, but certainly top notch Baroque/Classical composers. CPE, JC, JCF, and WF (my favorite). You have to love those wigs from those days.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

My 3 B's are:

Bartok
Barber
Berg


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## CMonteverdi (May 2, 2014)

let me add the neglected Boccherini...

LK


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Britten
Bartok
Berg
Beach Boys
Beatles
BB King


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## jimsumner (Jul 7, 2013)

Beatles and Beach Boys?

My thought also.

And for S we can add Springsteen, Sinatra, Santana, Paul Simon, a whole bunch of Stewarts, et. al.

But back to classical. I alphabetize by composer, so I've long noticed how deep my B and S sections are.

M is my third bulging letter, just from Mozart and Mahler. But add Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Martinu, Miaskovsky, Meybeer, Massenet, Martin et. al and that gets even more crowded.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

senza sordino said:


> Britten
> Bartok
> Berg
> Beach Boys
> ...


Another vote for The Beatles and The Beach Boys. In that connection, I'd add Beefheart and Kate Bush.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

No one. There is a reason there are the 3 Bs. Not 4.

But the following come close:
Bartok
Bruckner
Berlioz


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> No one. There is a reason there are the 3 Bs. Not 4.


Because of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The original 3 Bs, of course, were Bach, Beethoven, and Berlioz. Hector somehow got aced out of that competition.


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## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

There are a lot of Bs, but no one is on the same level of the three you mentioned.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Boccherini and of course, the great sons of Johann Sebastian; namely Carl Philipp and Johann Christian.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Well, there's always Bachmaninoff.


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## Marinera (May 13, 2016)

My personal B's triumvirate would be Bach, Biber & Brahms with Britten edging in


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

DeepR said:


> Well, there's always Bachmaninoff.


Especially his famous cantata "Sheep may safely commit suicide."


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> No one. There is a reason there are the 3 Bs. Not 4.
> 
> But the following come close:
> Bartok
> ...


Bruckner, for me, is rather one-dimensional compared to the other two. And I speak as a major Bruckner fan.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

brianvds said:


> Especially his famous cantata "Sheep may safely commit suicide."


Ewecide, surely?


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I would like to promote C. P. E. Bach, Biber & Buxtehude - the six Bs.

There's a handy list: http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/ci.asp?ci=C_Ind_1010_66

For the secondary B(rit)s, I choose Byrd, Bull & Bantock.


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

brianvds said:


> There seems to be something about the letter B: it has produced more great composers than any other letter of the alphabet...


Maybe, but only just. "The Rough Guide" has 29 beginning with B, 26 beginning with S, 17 beginning with M, and the rest you can work out for yourself...


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

The late organist E. Power Biggs always claimed that there were only Three B's of any worth in organ literatur:

Bach, Buxtehude and Sower*b*y :lol:



Richard8655 said:


> . . . You have to love those wigs from those days.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Original 3 plus Bax, Barber, Britten, Bartok. Borodin. 

And Brubeck?


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

Krummhorn said:


> The late organist E. Power Biggs always claimed that there were only Three B's of any worth in organ literatur:
> 
> Bach, Buxtehude and Sower*b*y :lol:


Indeed ... and I have one that I wear on each anniversary (that falls on a Sunday) of Bach's death.


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## Retyc (May 10, 2016)

"original" 3 Bs - Brahms + Bartók + Boulez + Berg


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Just as a reminder: The OP didn't ask for a list of other B composers.

He specifically asked which B composers would you elevate in status beside Beethoven, Bach and Brahms.

I say none.


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