# Of which composer(s) are you an aficionado?



## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Aficionado: a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity, subject, or pastime.

Which composer's music do you know well enough to consider yourself an aficionado? Tell us about your interest or knowledge of that composer. 

If you like, let us know of a favorite recording or suggest a piece you enjoy that someone who isn't an aficionado may not have heard.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

For me, though I'm enthusiastic of Bartok, Barber, Hindemith, Messiaen, Sibelius, Debussy, and John Adams, I'd only consider myself an aficionado of PROKOFIEV.

I know the vast majority of his mature musical oevre. I've read several biographies and I feel like I own and have heard enough different recordings of his greatest works so that i can give opinions of "the best" with a measure of confidence.

Two music suggestions:

- Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution. -- an unwieldy piece celebrating communism. It's highly unlikely you will ever hear it live.  Instrumentation includes brass choir, military band, choir, accordion orchestra, and spoken part requiring megaphone (representing Lenin). In spite of all that, it is a good listen, with some beautiful themes and fairly aggressive modernism (for its time).

- Betrothal in a Monastery, -- a delightful comic opera.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I used to consider myself a Mozart affectionado, and probably heard just about everything written by him, and own a lot of different recordings. Been a while though. I was big on Ravel also. The most current one may be Varese. He had a tiny output. And I probably heard every version of all the works.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

The composers that I know the best are the famous ones, the ones that everyone knows! So I probably don't have much "insider" information to share; I'm sure that everyone else on TC knows these composers too. Anyway, here's my list, ranked by how much I know about each composer, in terms of their lives and their works:

1. Beethoven
2. Debussy
3. Liszt
4. Mozart
5. Haydn
6. Chopin

Haha, like I said, I'm sure that you guys know a lot about these composers too - but feel free to ask me questions about them if you're interested!


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Phil loves classical said:


> I used to consider myself a Mozart affectionado, and probably heard just about everything written by him, and own a lot of different recordings. Been a while though. I was big on Ravel also. The most current one may be Varese. He had a tiny output. And I probably heard every version of all the works.


How bout a Varese or Ravel recommendation? Any favorite Mozart recordings?


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

There are four composers I study intensely, collect music rabidly and just can't seem to get enough of their work. 
1. Franz Schmidt - one of the greatest 20th c composers whose works are well represented on cd, but still not that well-known in the concert hall.
2. Edward Elgar - well known for a handful of works, but he wrote so much more. And in a world where the Mahler symphonies are so often played, recorded and are so well known, how is it that the Elgar symphonies so rarely make it to the concert stage?
3. Rimsky-Korsakov - again, known for a few works, but there's so much more. And the operas! I think I'm the only person who has ever heard them all. Great stuff.
4. Mahler. What can I say? I've been on his bandwagon for 50 years. Have hundreds of recordings, have traveled far and wide to hear all the symphonies performed live, own too many biographies. And scores galore!


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

mbhaub said:


> There are four composers I study intensely, collect music rabidly and just can't seem to get enough of their work.
> 1. Franz Schmidt - one of the greatest 20th c composers whose works are well represented on cd, but still not that well-known in the concert hall.
> 2. Edward Elgar - well known for a handful of works, but he wrote so much more. And in a world where the Mahler symphonies are so often played, recorded and are so well known, how is it that the Elgar symphonies so rarely make it to the concert stage?
> 3. Rimsky-Korsakov - again, known for a few works, but there's so much more. And the operas! I think I'm the only person who has ever heard them all. Great stuff.
> 4. Mahler. What can I say? I've been on his bandwagon for 50 years. Have hundreds of recordings, have traveled far and wide to hear all the symphonies performed live, own too many biographies. And scores galore!


Nice list! I have a question for you - did Elgar write any solo piano music, and if so, which works and recordings would you recommend? As a pianist, I'm always on the lookout for lesser-known piano works that I can play and teach to my students.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

20centrfuge said:


> How bout a Varese or Ravel recommendation? Any favorite Mozart recordings?


Chailly recorded all of Varese's works on 2 cd's. His first piece he published and brought to the public that people laughed at on the premiere, which is my favourite work by him, is Hyperprism. The host asked the audience to please be quiet and treat the piece seriously, and played it a second time, but people were still spiteful .

I thought Dutoit's recordings of all the Ravel were great, and polished. Not sentimental. The Mother Goose Suite makes me feel like a kid again, woth very vivid and stirring music. The Pavane for a dead princess is the saddest and most beautiful piece of music I know. Samson francois's Piano Concerto in G is really amazing, way better than Aturo Benedetti's I thought in terms of warmth. The String Quartet may be his best work formally, and the Version by the Parrenin Quartet is my favourite.

Mozart symphonies by Tate and Walter are my favourites. Gilels version of the Piano Concerto 27 is amazing. Perahia's Version of PC #22 is really elegant and for me the ideal version.


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## dillonp2020 (May 6, 2017)

20centrfuge said:


> For me, though I'm enthusiastic of Bartok, Barber, Hindemith, Messiaen, Sibelius, Debussy, and John Adams, I'd only consider myself an aficionado of PROKOFIEV.
> 
> I know the vast majority of his mature musical oevre. I've read several biographies and I feel like I own and have heard enough different recordings of his greatest works so that i can give opinions of "the best" with a measure of confidence.
> 
> ...


Love the Cantata as well, do you have a favorite recording. I think the Kondrashin conducting the Moscow Phil is my personal favorite.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

dillonp2020 said:


> Love the Cantata as well, do you have a favorite recording. I think the Kondrashin conducting the Moscow Phil is my personal favorite.


I haven't heard that one! I'm only familiar with Järvi and the Philharmonia orchestra and chorus. It's excellent.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Phil loves classical said:


> Chailly recorded all of Varese's works on 2 cd's. His first piece he published and brought to the public that people laughed at on the premiere, which is my favourite work by him, is Hyperprism. The host asked the audience to please be quiet and treat the piece seriously, and played it a second time, but people were still spiteful .
> 
> I thought Dutoit's recordings of all the Ravel were great, and polished. Not sentimental. The Mother Goose Suite makes me feel like a kid again, woth very vivid and stirring music. The Pavane for a dead princess is the saddest and most beautiful piece of music I know. Samson francois's Piano Concerto in G is really amazing, way better than Aturo Benedetti's I thought in terms of warmth. The String Quartet may be his best work formally, and the Version by the Parrenin Quartet is my favourite.
> 
> Mozart symphonies by Tate and Walter are my favourites. Gilels version of the Piano Concerto 27 is amazing. Perahia's Version of PC #22 is really elegant and for me the ideal version.


I belong to TC for posts like this one. A sincere thank you! :tiphat:


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## dillonp2020 (May 6, 2017)

20centrfuge said:


> I haven't heard that one! I'm only familiar with Järvi and the Philharmonia orchestra and chorus. It's excellent.


I have the Jaarvi one as well. You are right, it is excellent. Perhaps I have a thing for Russian conductors doing Russian composers.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

mbhaub said:


> There are four composers I study intensely, collect music rabidly and just can't seem to get enough of their work.
> 1. Franz Schmidt - one of the greatest 20th c composers whose works are well represented on cd, but still not that well-known in the concert hall.
> 2. Edward Elgar - well known for a handful of works, but he wrote so much more. And in a world where the Mahler symphonies are so often played, recorded and are so well known, how is it that the Elgar symphonies so rarely make it to the concert stage?
> 3. Rimsky-Korsakov - again, known for a few works, but there's so much more. And the operas! I think I'm the only person who has ever heard them all. Great stuff.
> 4. Mahler. What can I say? I've been on his bandwagon for 50 years. Have hundreds of recordings, have traveled far and wide to hear all the symphonies performed live, own too many biographies. And scores galore!


I love Elgars Enigma, Cello CTO, Sea Pictures. Please recommend some other works and recordings. Best versions of his symphonies?


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## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

I can't say that I am an aficionado of any composer. But my focus in music is generally from the late baroque to the late romantic era. Basically, I listen to works by the most performed composers, and occasionally try some pieces by neglected composers.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

I have long found Beethoven to be the most interesting person in music -- both musicslly and biographically. I have almost 3 feet of books on Beethoven and/or his music, and although I haven't heard everything he wrote, I've certainly heard 90% of what's major or interesting.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Starting from the last year of secondary (high) school I was a huge aficionado of Erik Satie. Obsessed is probably nearer the mark. I only owned two vinyl albums and a cassette of his music - two dedicated and the other with two or three pieces among other music. 

Anyone born after, say, the 80s has likely never experienced how there was such limited access to non-mainstream music. I had this slim book by Rollo Myers about Satie's life and it mentioned all sorts of pieces I couldn't find. So I started going into the nearest big city (at Forsyth's in Manchester if anyone knows it) and buying sheet music of his pieces just so I could hear them. 

I wrote an essay about him for my general studies exam and, to my eternal embarrassment now, I even went about in a velvet hat based on the ones he wore for a time...

Ah the folly of youth.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Don't know about being an aficionado, but some of you know that I have a fascination about Brahms. Have most of his compositions and a book called "Trio" which is the biography of his involvement of the Schumanns. Something for me to get my teeth into!!!


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Tchaikovsy for me (no surprise). I know all 6 symphonies, piano concertos, violin concerto, string quartets, many of his songs, ballets, most of his operas, Souvenir de Florence, piano works (Seasons, Shorter works, sonatas), other orchestral works (1812, Capriccio Italiaen, Romeo and Juliet, Tempest, Hamlet, and others) and other assorted chamber music (Piano Trio, Memory of a Cherished Place). I love his music because it excites me, and it has excellent melodies. His emotion is always so broad, and his music beautiful although it can be menacing, joyous, melancholy, and much more. Tchaikovsky definitely isn't my favorite composer anymore (he didn't get any worse, other composers just grew on me more. Now Tchaikovsky's in my top "jumble" of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert, Stravinsky, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Debussy, and many others).


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## danj (Jun 1, 2017)

1. JOHANN STRAUSS II - By and far my favorite!!! Absolutely love his work and things he achieved.

2. Joseph Haydn - His work was sublime and unparraled. Also, his character spoke a lot about him and who he was.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

aficionada of too many of them to mention , but currently there is no obsession about any particular composer, the closest to a definition is not a composer now, but a conductor Sergiu Celibidache.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

danj said:


> 1. *JOHANN STRAUSS II* - By and far my favorite!!! Absolutely love his work and things he achieved.
> 
> 2. Joseph Haydn - His work was sublime and unparraled. Also, his character spoke a lot about him and who he was.


Can't say I like Strauss anymore. When I was younger he used to be one of my favorites- now his music seems to be uninspired, samey, and not close to matching the achievements of composers like (this will be a long list):

Monteverdi
Palestrina
Handel
Lully
Biber
Bach
Scarlatti
Corelli
Rameau
Telemann
Haydn
Gluck
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Schumann
Mendelssohn
Weber
Tchaikovsky
Borodin
Grieg
Mussorgsky
Wagner
Verdi
Puccini
Rossini
Donizetti
Bellini
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Berlioz
Saint-Saens
Stravinsky
Haydn
Brahms
Chopin
Debussy
Liszt
Bartok
Bruckner
Mahler
Elgar
Rachmaninov
Rimsky-Korsakov
Ravel
Vaughan Williams
Copland
R. Strauss
Sibelius
Nielsen
Faure
Smetana
Britten
Berg
Schoenberg
Webern

And probably a lot of others I'm forgetting. Sorry to offend your favorite composers and probably make permanent enemies with you on TC, but I really can't stand Strauss II. Perhaps I'm posting this because I would like to enjoy him again and I would love some reasons why you like him and some details about his music that would spark my interest again.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I am a Wagner aficionado. I've studied him for some time, and written a master's thesis on _Das Rheingold_ and _Die Walküre._ I'm currently in the process of considering writing a doctoral dissertation on the Ring.

Strangely, I rarely find time to listen to him anymore. There's so many kids running around in the house, and me running after them to keep them alive, there's no sense in trying to listen to any long works of music - I can't concentrate on it.


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

There are composers that I love purely for their music and have a lot of it, but wouldn't say I've ever been _fascinated_ with as historical figures/people: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi

The composers I both like and have read voraciously about and have captured my historical interest are probably:
*Oswald von Wolkenstein* - a very early medieval master of poetic song
*Thomas Tallis* - I think the first time I heard Spem in Alium was what thrust me into classical music 
*Wagner* - his problematic allure is so fascinating as well as his operas' grounding in myth and Norse legend etc 
*Elgar* - I'm English - of course I'm an Elgar aficionado


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

*Alexander Glazunov*: he is getting his dues, but it is still a long, uneven process for this great Russian.
*Nikolai Myaskovsky*: Same as above.
*Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov*: His operas are glorious.
*Anton Bruckner*: Not much more to add to what's already been said of him and his music. But I love his music with every soul of my body.
*Pyotr Tchaikovsky*: Same as above.
*Kurt Atterberg*: A symphonist par excellent.
*Adolfs Skulte*: Same as above.
*Jules Massenet*: A giant in French opera of the 19th Century.
*Carl Nielsen*: a pure, visionary genius.
*David Diamond*: He gets to become more impressive the more I know his music.
*Sir Arnold Bax*: a master of mood music: so wide ranging his musical palette.
*Gavriil Popov*: Shostakovich's long lost brother. A major artist in 1920s through the 1930s before the heavy, precarious weight of Socialist Realism.
*Boris Tchaikovsky*: a major talent who emerged in the 1950s.
*Eduard Tubin*: Whose music, like Nielsen's, exhibits unrelenting physicality and ruggedness (but with a plethora of humaneness).
*Erkki Melartin*: Mighty impressive whose piano music is well worth knowing. His well written symphonies, however, are due for another recording with complete editions. His Violin Concerto and opera "Aino" are quite marvelous.
*Federico Mompou*: Striking introspection and inner beauty.
*John Ireland*: much like Mompou.


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

20centrfuge said:


> I love Elgars Enigma, Cello CTO, Sea Pictures. Please recommend some other works and recordings. Best versions of his symphonies?


For other great Elgar works, I'd recommend.
- Introduction and Allegro for strings - short but utterly astounding composition that stays fresh with each listen. 
- Serenade for strings 
- Dream of Gerontius - best recording is probably John Barbirolli
And it's difficult to go wrong with symphonies 1 and 2 - BBC philharmonic on Naxos


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## Lenny (Jul 19, 2016)

mbhaub said:


> There are four composers I study intensely, collect music rabidly and just can't seem to get enough of their work.
> 1. Franz Schmidt - one of the greatest 20th c composers whose works are well represented on cd, but still not that well-known in the concert hall.


Nice to meet you! Schmidt is one of my favourites. I don't know why, but I just hear something very special in his music. I still remember when I heard his 1st symphony. I knew instantantly from the first couple of minutes that this is my music.

He is clearly a master musician, and the only reason why he is not played practically at all must be the rumor of he giving "nazi salute" (from wikipedia).


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## dillonp2020 (May 6, 2017)

I wouldn't say I'm knowledgeable enough to be considered an aficionado. Of the composers I do know of, I know the most about and numbers of works by Herr Ludwig Von Beethoven.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I'd honestly say I'm a jack of all trades, master of none at this point. I know a little bit about many composers but not one in particular do I know in depth. Now if we extended this to the rock and roll world, I know Dave Matthews Band and Phish very well, they were the first two groups, and only two groups I have ever been so obsessed with in my life to know like family. Right now I'm obsessed with classical music as a whole genre, but not any one particular composer at the moment, at least.


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## JeffD (May 8, 2017)

> Of which composer(s) are you an aficionado?


The good ones. Only the good ones. :lol:


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

1. Toch
2. Schmitt
3. Schnittke

I think we're done here.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

I fear that true aficionadodom evades me, though I have been a Sibelius nerd since about 1970. 
Two recommendations for those unfamiliar with S's music? How about two tone poems: Pohjola's Daughter and the limpidly lovely Oceanides.


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

Thought I'd stop by and offer everybody a guess or two.


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## danj (Jun 1, 2017)

Tchaikov6 said:


> Can't say I like Strauss anymore. When I was younger he used to be one of my favorites- now his music seems to be uninspired, samey, and not close to matching the achievements of composers like:
> 
> [huge list]
> 
> Sorry to offend your favorite composers and probably make permanent enemies with you on TC, but I really can't stand Strauss II. Perhaps I'm posting this because I would like to enjoy him again and I would love some reasons why you like him and some details about his music that would spark my interest again.


No worries at all. We are not enemies at all. 

In fact, I like how people can tell me the other side of a story. I'd say probably you haven't found the right symphony that plays Strauss's music. Or maybe your taste has changed -- it can!

You, no doubt, know about Dutch violinist André Rieu and his orchestra dedicated soley to Johann Strauss? He has a certain style catered to bring out the big notes so that his paying fans can listen to and dance. But that's his style.

For example, Tritsch-Trastch polka, I perticularly like how the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar (arranged by Paul Desenne) plays it.






A bit different, no? Do you prefer the one with vocals?






You really have to be a romantic-type, I'd wager. My wife often says I'm like the English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821), dead at 25 who was famous for writing romantic poetry. I do indeed like waltzing and polkas....

At the same time, I think some of the songs have a soft spot for sound-track-like music. Take the Ägyptischer Marsch for example. Iconic. Among a myriad of others, Strauss follows a pattern and like many, they stick to with what works.

You can see where this is going when you listen to the Tristch-Tratsch polka and then follow with Unter donner und Blitz (



).


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Massenet. As Orfeo says upstream, "a giant in French opera of the 19th century". I'd say "a giant in opera", full stop. One of the most versatile, tuneful, insightful composers. I just bought _Massenet et la Belle Époque_, which has a foreword by Renée Fleming, in which she says that when she was first studying music, she assumed he was at the very centre of the repertoire. (Pugg, if you're reading this, I'll translate the whole piece sometime.)

Meyerbeer.

Arguably Reyer and Herold, too; I've written a survey of their operas, but very few of them have been recorded. I've written about Gounod, too; not sure if I'd call myself an aficionado - a couple of his operas are excellent, but many of them are weak.


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## Andrew Wassell (Jun 6, 2017)

Beethoven has to be my favorite. I believe that he is the greatest composer of all time. He was so passionate about what he did!


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

There are a few composers whose music I have found myself drawn to somewhat more than others. It's not entirely clear to me why it happens with some composers and not others, but these are the people who have me listening over and over to many of their compositions - it tends not to be a single work that attracts me but a body of work which must share some thread or threads running through it, whether or not I can consciously identify it/them.

Not all are 'top-rank' composers by any means.

Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann; Bruckner, Wolf and Mahler; Fauré, Debussy, Bridge and Delius; Busoni; Berg, Webern and Hindemith; Britten and Poulenc; Kurtág.

An eclectic bunch, I'm sure you'll agree.


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## Andrew Wassell (Jun 6, 2017)

Ew, that "Tristch-Tratsch Polka" by Strauss--main reason you gotta hate anyone with the name. It's just so hokey and predictable and cheesy. Way too happy, like he wrote it on heroin or something. And you can go dancing and kicking you legs all you want at your Strauss polka concerts, but don't be surprised when I'm in the back, vomiting. 
And I hope someone quotes me on this, that I might not be able to tolerate Strauss a little more if there weren't 836 of them. Honestly, though why are there so many, who wrote what?--Not that I really care, of course, as I tend to shun all their music anyway.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Andrew Wassell said:


> Ew, that "Tristch-Tratsch Polka" by Strauss--main reason you gotta hate anyone with the name. It's just so hokey and predictable and cheesy. Way too happy, like he wrote it on heroin or something. And you can go dancing and kicking you legs all you want at your Strauss polka concerts, but don't be surprised when I'm in the back, vomiting.


I really don't understand all this hyperbolic condemnation. Strauss's music was meant to be fun, dancing music. Every era needs music like this. His Radetsky March, Wiener Blut, Fledermaus waltz and Voices of Spring are excellent uplifting pieces of music.

You have to imagine yourself as the consort of some minor aristocratic young beauty. She offers you her hand and you take to the dance floor in an exhilarating waltz.

You don't want to be the one not dancing and just sitting in the corner listening to Bartok on your mp3 player do you?


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## lextune (Nov 25, 2016)

I would say I am an aficionado of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Debussy, and Scriabin.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

lextune said:


> I would say I am an aficionado of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Debussy, and *Scriabin*.


I don't know Scriabin very well, but is your avatar a musical quote of him (I know he used fourths quite a lot)?


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## lextune (Nov 25, 2016)

Tchaikov6 said:


> I don't know Scriabin very well, but is your avatar a musical quote of him (I know he used fourths quite a lot)?


 It is the so-called Mystic Chord. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystic_chord

More, a symbol of Scriabin, than a quotation of him.

Scriabin was fond of saying that melody is harmony unfurled, the Mystic Chord's associated scale served as both harmony and melody in many of Scriabin's later works.


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## danj (Jun 1, 2017)

Andrew Wassell said:


> Ew, that "Tristch-Tratsch Polka" by Strauss--main reason you gotta hate anyone with the name. It's just so hokey and predictable and cheesy. Way too happy, like he wrote it on heroin or something. And you can go dancing and kicking you legs all you want at your Strauss polka concerts, but don't be surprised when I'm in the back, vomiting.
> And I hope someone quotes me on this, that I might not be able to tolerate Strauss a little more if there weren't 836 of them. Honestly, though why are there so many, who wrote what?--Not that I really care, of course, as I tend to shun all their music anyway.


Sorry you feel that way. Different strokes for different folks.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

lextune said:


> It is the so-called Mystic Chord. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystic_chord
> 
> More, a symbol of Scriabin, than a quotation of him.
> 
> Scriabin was fond of saying that melody is harmony unfurled, the Mystic Chord's associated scale served as both harmony and melody in many of Scriabin's later works.


Yes, now I remember reading about this, just was at the back of my head.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

danj said:


> No worries at all. We are not enemies at all.
> 
> In fact, I like how people can tell me the other side of a story. I'd say probably you haven't found the right symphony that plays Strauss's music. Or maybe your taste has changed -- it can!
> 
> ...


Very interesting! I'm not has harsh as Andrew Wassell in my dislike of Strauss, not even close! And after listening to a couple of his pieces again, I can't say I dislike him. He's just not one of my favorites anymore, that's all. I loved the different take on Tristch-Tratsch, thank you.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

Mahler, Bruckner, and Schnittke. Schnittke however has fallen out of graces for me. And yet, when I liked him, I really liked him and learned everything about him. So I know pretty much the bulk of what there is to know about him, despite not feeling as drawn to his music as I used to. Kind of an awkward situation...


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## Physix (Feb 14, 2014)

> There are four composers I study intensely, collect music rabidly and just can't seem to get enough of their work.
> 1. Franz Schmidt - one of the greatest 20th c composers whose works are well represented on cd, but still not that well-known in the concert hall.
> 2. Edward Elgar - well known for a handful of works, but he wrote so much more. And in a world where the Mahler symphonies are so often played, recorded and are so well known, how is it that the Elgar symphonies so rarely make it to the concert stage?
> 3. Rimsky-Korsakov - again, known for a few works, but there's so much more. And the operas! I think I'm the only person who has ever heard them all. Great stuff.
> 4. Mahler. What can I say? I've been on his bandwagon for 50 years. Have hundreds of recordings, have traveled far and wide to hear all the symphonies performed live, own too many biographies. And scores galore!


You and I have very similar taste--save franz schmidt, who I'm afraid I'm not familiar with (but I will try to be!)

The other three though are few of my favorite composers. My favorite of theirs are: 
Elgar Cello Concerto, which Rostropovich said was like the feeling of 'first love'
Scheherazade, an oceanic piece if I ever heard one. 
Mahler, I can't choose between any of his symphonies, 5th is grandeur, 6th is tragedy, 9th is such all-encompassing worldliness.

Unfortunately I can't claim to be an expert on any of them--my primary passion, and subject of intense interest, is Bach.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Verdi, Bellini and Donizetti by far, the wonderful music they wroth and made singers great are ( one off) my joys in live.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

mbhaub said:


> There are four composers I study intensely, collect music rabidly and just can't seem to get enough of their work.
> 1. Franz Schmidt - one of the greatest 20th c composers whose works are well represented on cd, but still not that well-known in the concert hall.
> 2. Edward Elgar - well known for a handful of works, but he wrote so much more. And in a world where the Mahler symphonies are so often played, recorded and are so well known, how is it that the Elgar symphonies so rarely make it to the concert stage?
> 3. Rimsky-Korsakov - again, known for a few works, but there's so much more. And the operas! I think I'm the only person who has ever heard them all. Great stuff.
> 4. Mahler. What can I say? I've been on his bandwagon for 50 years. Have hundreds of recordings, have traveled far and wide to hear all the symphonies performed live, own too many biographies. And scores galore!


Really getting into Schmidt with _the Book of Seven Seals. _ Great music, quite underrated.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

dzc4627 said:


> ...Schnittke however has fallen out of graces for me. And yet, when I liked him, I really liked him and learned everything about him. So I know pretty much the bulk of what there is to know about him, despite not feeling as drawn to his music as I used to. Kind of an awkward situation...


I'm interested, what went wrong with regard to Schnittke? What did the music stop doing for you? I had this problem for a while, but now I listen to his music again.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Tchaikov6 said:


> Really getting into Schmidt with _the Book of Seven Seals. _ Great music, quite underrated.


Indeed!! It's one of my favourite oratorios (and I know my oratorios), so different in feeling from anything else. Fantastic, chilling, serious music.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

eugeneonagain said:


> I'm interested, what went wrong with regard to Schnittke? What did the music stop doing for you? I had this problem for a while, but now I listen to his music again.


It really happened when I started to realize that the best music strives for beauty, harmony, and resolution... with redemption and drama and suffering along the way. Schnittke is in no shortage of drama, tragedy and suffering, but most of his music is lacking in qualities of Western tonality that I value highest. Despite these complaints, I'd still consider him among my favorites with regards to the late 20th century, and I really enjoy his characteristic style.

Of those who tried to make discordant music, he is magnificent. And yet, when compared to those who imparted beauty, I feel no strong desire to listen to any Schnittke, any time soon at least.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

SimonTemplar said:


> Massenet. As Orfeo says upstream, "a giant in French opera of the 19th century". I'd say "a giant in opera", full stop. One of the most versatile, tuneful, insightful composers. I just bought _Massenet et la Belle Époque_, which has a foreword by Renée Fleming, in which she says that when she was first studying music, she assumed he was at the very centre of the repertoire. (Pugg, if you're reading this, I'll translate the whole piece sometime.)
> 
> Meyerbeer.
> 
> Arguably Reyer and Herold, too; I've written a survey of their operas, but very few of them have been recorded. I've written about Gounod, too; not sure if I'd call myself an aficionado - a couple of his operas are excellent, but many of them are weak.


Meyerbeer absolutely (and perhaps Fromental Halévy).


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## sjwright (Jun 9, 2017)

There really is no amount of condemnation that is too vituperative for Johann Strauss II music. Also, Andre Rieu is a stain upon classical music.


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## jane D (Jun 9, 2017)

I love many composers' music (especially modern composers), but unfortunately, I am not an aficionado of any.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

sjwright said:


> There really is no amount of condemnation that is too vituperative for Johann Strauss II music. Also, Andre Rieu is a stain upon classical music.


This is a bit silly really. Strauss was even respected among some of his peers. It's just fashionable to not like Strauss and I suspect that those who indulge in it are really condemning the fact that they originally listened to Strauss (who was probably even one of their gateways to classical listening) and now feel they are too sophisticated for Strauss.

It's just boring.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Orfeo said:


> Meyerbeer absolutely (and perhaps Fromental Halévy).


Excellent taste! Meyerbeer's one of my very top composers, and Halévy is the single composer I want to hear more of. _La juive_ is a masterpiece; and I was lucky to hear the concert version of _La reine de Chypre_ which, even with an inadequate replacement tenor who'd only seen the score that morning, is a wonderful work. Everything I've read - Ruth Jordan's book, the Dictionnaire des opéras, Berlioz's reviews - suggests that Halévy was great.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

eugeneonagain said:


> This is a bit silly really. Strauss was even respected among some of his peers. It's just fashionable to not like Strauss and I suspect that those who indulge in it are really condemning the fact that they originally listened to Strauss (who was probably even one of their gateways to classical listening) and now feel they are too sophisticated for Strauss.
> 
> It's just boring.


Yeah, Strauss and Rossini overtures were my gateways. Nobody will put down Rossini overtures would they? Plus Strauss' Waltzes were well orchestrated. There is actually quite a lot of Baroque music I find quite bland, but wouldn't dream of knocking it down (which I hope I'm not doing right now )


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## BabyGiraffe (Feb 24, 2017)

The music of Strauss is not that good for listening. It's made for dancing... Way better than the dance music of other famous composers.


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## sjwright (Jun 9, 2017)

eugeneonagain said:


> This is a bit silly really. Strauss was even respected among some of his peers. It's just fashionable to not like Strauss and I suspect that those who indulge in it are really condemning the fact that they originally listened to Strauss (who was probably even one of their gateways to classical listening) and now feel they are too sophisticated for Strauss.
> 
> It's just boring.


Fashion has nothing to do with it. My "gateways" into classical music were J.S. Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. A little later Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and Grieg. I was never a fan of Johann Strauss II at the beginning or now. Please continue with your assumptions however, it's quite entertaining seeing how far off target you are.


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## JeffD (May 8, 2017)

sjwright said:


> There really is no amount of condemnation that is too vituperative for Johann Strauss II music. Also, Andre Rieu is a stain upon classical music.





eugeneonagain said:


> This is a bit silly really. Strauss was even respected among some of his peers. It's just fashionable to not like Strauss and I suspect that those who indulge in it are really condemning the fact that they originally listened to Strauss (who was probably even one of their gateways to classical listening) and now feel they are too sophisticated for Strauss.


This is how community is created. We show our allegiances by who we hate. To be cool you have to hate what (and who) the cool kids hate.

Or, ummmm... I never grew up.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

sjwright said:


> Fashion has nothing to do with it. My "gateways" into classical music were J.S. Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. A little later Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and Grieg. I was never a fan of Johann Strauss II at the beginning or now. Please continue with your assumptions however, it's quite entertaining seeing how far off target you are.


Of course it was Bach. Well done for demonstrating such impeccable intellectual tastes from the outset. I'm sure you've also spent considerable effort listening to enough Strauss to form your sweeping dismissive opinion of him. Which must have been gruelling after first coming to art music at the highest levels.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

SimonTemplar said:


> Excellent taste! Meyerbeer's one of my very top composers, and Halévy is the single composer I want to hear more of. _La juive_ is a masterpiece; and I was lucky to hear the concert version of _La reine de Chypre_ which, even with an inadequate replacement tenor who'd only seen the score that morning, is a wonderful work. Everything I've read - Ruth Jordan's book, the Dictionnaire des opéras, Berlioz's reviews - suggests that Halévy was great.


Thank you.:tiphat:


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## classicalexburns (Jun 12, 2017)

I would consider myself an aficionado of Mahler. I have written two thesis' on his symphonies 1 and 2 and am currently researching more into the second. 
I write about his works at length and have done talks on him too. My favourite work is probably a toss up between Symphony No. 2 and No. 9 with the Abbado recordings being my favourite. 

Anybody else a Mahler fan? Ask me anything and I will try my best to answer as best I can!


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

classicalexburns, I would call you a Mahler aficionado and expert in every sense of the words!


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## Lindenbaum (Jun 8, 2017)

Schubert--I firmly believe that he would have been the greatest simply speaking if he'd lived past 31. His early symponies are delightful, his last two soul-shatteringly powerful. All his late chamber music is amazing (who could fail to be utterly charmed by the trout quintet, or torn to emotional shreds by the death and the maiden quartet). His last piano sonatas are totally unique in the piano literature. They are to piano what Bruckner is to orchestra--weirdly long monolithic, and utterly fantastic (at the end of exposition repeat in the b-minor, when that deep threatening roll motif comes in fortissimo--gives me chills.) Plus there's the lieder. God's own wealth. Everything there from tender to joyful to heartbroken to raging. His ability to create the perfect expressive mood with the simplest means in the accomaniment astounds me. And then there's Winterreise--the most chilling and yet cathartic artwork I have ever experienced.

Harnoncourt's Schubert cycle with the Berliner Philharmoniker is perfect. Harnoncourt said in an interview that Schubert was closest to his heart of all composers, and it really comes through here. Plus the Berliner's playing is explosively good.

Goerne's and Pregardien's are my favorite Winterreise recordings. Goerne's rich baritone provides more nuance, while Pregardien provides more drama, plus Staier's awesome period fortepiano.

Dieskau for some reason sounds unbelievably good on old-bad-sound-quality recordings. His _Favorite Schubert Lieder_ on EMI is a classic.

L'Archibudelli have a tremendous recording of Schubert's piano trios--using gut strings and a fortepiano. These pieces, so bursting with vitality, are a nice contrast to schubert's usual pensive meditations.

Schubert was actually famed during his life for his masses, which IMO equal Mozart and Haydn's best efforts. The Sawallisch mass #6 in e-flat with Dieskau and Schreier among others is flawless

For a slightly more obscure piece, try his fantasy in f-minor for piano duet. Sonorous melancholy alternates with explosive anguish and assertive rage (interestingly, an excerpt from it is the theme for lady Catherine de Burgh in the old BBC Pride and Prejudice series). Peraiah and Lupu are a sensitive and technically perfect musical quadripus.


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## danj (Jun 1, 2017)

Lindenbaum said:


> For a slightly more obscure piece, try his fantasy in f-minor for piano duet. Sonorous melancholy alternates with explosive anguish and assertive rage (interestingly, an excerpt from it is the theme for lady Catherine de Burgh in the old BBC Pride and Prejudice series). Peraiah and Lupu are a sensitive and technically perfect musical quadripus.


Just watched this movie with my wife (loved it, although I did love Sense and Sensibility), and wanted to hear who formed that piece... and here... we ... are.

The world works in weird ways. :lol:


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

The five greatest of all times, namely Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.


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## danj (Jun 1, 2017)

ArtMusic said:


> The five greatest of all times, namely Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.


Now do a list!


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

ArtMusic said:


> The five greatest of all times, namely Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.


Lacks the "pure and simple" presumably because you know that most would disagree.


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## Lindenbaum (Jun 8, 2017)

Chronochromie said:


> Lacks the "pure and simple" presumably because you know that most would disagree.


Really? Seems like a pretty good list to me. Maybe make it 6 and add Schubert, but those are all certainly up there.

(man, theres something with Germans/Austrians and music!)


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

ArtMusic said:


> The five greatest of all times, namely Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.


Round that list off to ten with Wagner, Brahms, Schubert, Debussy & Stravinsky (with Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Berlioz, and Verdi banging on the door)

Here's my (Unabashedly Mainstream) Top 50 in alphabetical order {Top 25 in bold} :

*Bach, J.S.*
Bartok *(I'd consider bumping Bruckner out of the Top 25 for Bartok)
*Beethoven*
Bellini
*Bizet
*Berlioz*
*Brahms*
Britten
*Bruckner*
*Chopin*
Corelli
Couperin
*Debussy*
Donizetti
*Dvorak*
Elgaror 
Faure
Franck
*Grieg
*Handel*
*Haydn*
Janacek
*Liszt*
*Mahler*
*Mendelssohn*
Monteverdi
*Mozart*
Nielsen
*Prokofiev*
Puccini
Purcell
Rachmaninov
Rameau
*Ravel*
Rimsky-Korsakov
Rossini
Saint-Saens
Scarlatti, D.
*Schubert*
*Schumann*
*Shostakovich*
*Sibelius*
*Strauss, J.
*Strauss, R.*
*Stravinsky*
*Tchaikovsky*
Vaughan Williams
*Verdi*
Vivaldi
*Wagner*

*Bizet, Grieg or J. Strauss could be replaced with Gluck, Hindemith or Telemann if you like


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I like Brahms, Prokofiev, and Sibelius, with big side helpings of Mozart, Bartok, Ravel, and Rachmaninoff. And others. So many others.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

Beethoven
Brahms
Dvorák
Tchaikovsky
Nielsen
Sibelius
Shostakovich
R. Strauss
Prokofiev
Saint-Saëns
Vaughan Williams
Respighi
Janácek
Schubert
Atterberg
Tubin
Bruckner
Mahler
Langgaard
Elgar
Martinu
Bartók
Rimsky-Korsakov
Casella
Berlioz
Hindemith
Braga-Santos
Melartin
Ravel
Bax
Glazunov
Arnold
Englund
Weinberg
Simpson
Suk
Rachmaninov
Bantock
Stenhammar
Kalinnikov
Glière
Alwyn
Karlowicz
Schnittke
Holmboe
Pettersson
Lutoslawski
Szymanowski
Franck
Raff
Hovhaness
Penderecki
Peterson-Berger
Madetoja
Moeran
W. A. Mozart
Myaskovsky
Korngold
Walton
J.S. Bach
Villa-Lobos
Barber
Hummel
Mendelssohn
F. J. Haydn

I hope I didn't leave any out.


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## Botschaft (Aug 4, 2017)

The Great Four: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms.


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## Tero (Jun 2, 2012)

Having read biographies (skip the Vivaldi, I recommend)
Vivaldi
Telemann
Handel
Sibelius
Beatles:Lennon-McCartney
Pink Floyd
Rush (Canadian rock trio with interesting lyrics written by the drummer)
Ian Andersson


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

Possibly Wagner, Ravel, Couperin....various Mexican composers.......I can't say Bach because there are just so many aficionados who have a huge knowledge that I don't but I have very clear taste where he is concerned.


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