# Who's 'Your' Composer?



## Polednice

After having read Huilunsoittaja's wonderful recent TC blog post on Glazunov, and emiellucifuge's reply commenting on his own affinity with Dvorak, I was inspired to ask others who their composer of choice would be.

I don't necessarily mean your _favourite_ composer (though that may be likely anyway). I mean it more in the sense of whose artistic temperament you identify with most; whose music you always feel at home with; the composer equivalent of your astrological sign (minus the quackery )!

Obviously, for me it's Brahms. I'm familiar with the majority of his works like with no other composer, and, given the extent of my listening, I don't listen to his pieces as much as to other composers' nowadays, but, when I'm in the mood for it, I always feel like I've returned on a musical pilgrimage to the Man for Me, and everything sounds fresh, life-affirming, and perfect.

Can you choose?


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## Weston

It would be all too easy for me to say Beethoven, but if I give it careful thought, I'm not entirely at home with his work. His early works are far too derivative (though still sensational). His late period works are more difficult to listen to, more of a worthwhile stretch. I can only be said to be comfortable with his middle period.

So I'll go back to my first musical love, the baroque, and choose Bach. For me, no other is consistently as difficult or as accessible as the listener chooses.

And now we've already got the Three B's covered.


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## samurai

Recently, for me, it's been Dmitri Shostakovich; I love his fiery passion and the way he tries to tie in his music with seminal events in Russian history. Two prime examples of this are--of course--his 7th Symphony {the siege of Leningrad by the Nazis} and his 11th Symphony {alluding to the year 1905 in which the tsar murdered innocent unarmed people who had gathered at his Winter Palace in order to get some economic and food relief}. I find the music to be highly evocative and stirring, and always inspirational, even when one knows the cause is doomed--as in the latter event.


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## Webernite

Bach, I think.

Edit: But I definitely wouldn't say I identify with his industrious artistic temperament. I'm lazy!


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## World Violist

I think mine is Bruckner. It's almost ironic, but I feel like I've settled down within the last year or so in ways that have somewhat split me away from Mahler (who would've been my immediate choice a year or two ago). I feel like Bruckner's music is deeply personal in some ways that the "hyper-personal" composers couldn't come close to; malleable and spacious so one can fit inside the sound; but still having its own personality, rather than Mahler's or Wagner's solid wall of their personal angst and emotion. It's nice to be moved by something you feel part of rather than being moved by something because it's shoving its way into your mind, you know?


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## regressivetransphobe

Judging from what I listen to the most, it's gotta be Satie, of all people. Somewhat wafting, melancholic structures conceal nocturnal passion and deep mysticism. His music reflects his iconoclasm and sense of humor so plainly that it might be part of the reason a lot of people don't take him seriously, classically speaking. Debussy was writing about sunken cathedrals, and meanwhile Satie was writing about pears & dried up crustaceans and confusing interpreters with instructions like "play with hypocrisy". Then there's the Vexations. What a proto-troll.


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## kv466

Ludwig van Beethoven...for sure


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## Meaghan

Argh, I dunno... Like World Violist, I would have said Mahler a year ago, but (though he's still my avatar) I've become a lot less fixated on him. And I certainly wouldn't say I identify with his artistic temperament. (Thank goodness! Don't need the angst.) Maybe Beethoven? As much as it feels like a cop-out to pick him, I always feel like I can come home to Beethoven. Especially in his piano sonatas, everything that happens just feels so inevitable (not the same thing as predictable), that I always wonder at the music being something that was composed by a person, rather than just arising fully formed and self-sustaining and perfect. That probably sounds silly. I'm not sure how to say what it is I mean. Oh well.


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## Huilunsoittaja

Glazunov IS mine! MINE! All Mine! Muahahaha! :lol:

But he can be yours too with 18 payments of $8.95 on the Naxos Label. 

Well, what's kinda different is, say, 10,000 people can have Beethoven as "their" composer. But almost no one wants Glazunov, so I can really adopt him.


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## World Violist

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Well, what's kinda different is, say, 10,000 people can have Beethoven as "their" composer. But almost no one wants Glazunov, so I can really adopt him.


I know the feeling...see if anyone else takes Bruckner on this forum...hehe


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## crmoorhead

I am a bit of a novice at this forum, but one with an almost insatiable apetite. Out of all my purchases, Beethoven is the composer whose works I have made the most individual CD purchases (as opposed to a boxed set) and the only one whom I have a significant number of duplicate works under different composers. It is hard not to admire Beethoven - his impetuous, passionate and frenzied music is mixed with a delicate and more reflective side and he is engaging at all levels. It is hard not to admire Beethoven story either and the Ninth alone puts him as a high contender. But is one that appeals to me personally or one that appeals universally? It does seem, as one poster put it, a cop-out to pick him, but it is also a bit of a cop-out to NOT pick him simply because he is popular with those who know very little about classical music. I admire the man, warts and all and, most of all, I admire his music.

Yet, there are other composers I could say the same of. Bach is, naturally, almost daunting when it comes to assessing the magnitude and detail of his work. Mozart, I have not yet got into in a big way, but I recognise that he is equally as inspiring. Tchaikovsky is lush, almost maudlin in places, and packed with emotion and (melo)drama. That suits me to a tee.

I could try to be individual and to say I have very personal attachments to some pieces. Some things that I just click with and that, in popular listings, I would place a lot higher. Firstly, Robert Schumann does something very stange to me with his second symphony. Secondly, I enjoy the flair and brilliant style of Liszt. Thirdly, I have had a recent fascination with Bartok. But to pick one from that three is just about impossible. 

So, I'll stick to my guns and my gut instinct and go with Beethoven after all.


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## clavichorder

W.F. Bach

http://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/w/wi/wilhelm_friedemann_bach.jpg

Those who witnessed my somewhat controversial entrance post to the forum may have thought CPE, but I go with W.F. Bach. Something about that music, and that look.


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## jurianbai

Paganini!

For the sake that music is competition and to land you as many girls as possible. (calmly remove Mozart on the list)

On quiter move, I think the poor Schubert also reserved for me.


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## Ukko

It's either Bartók, or Rachmaninoff, or both. When my life forces battery is near full charge it's Bartók. When things slow down and I get philosophical, I like to follow the pathways Rachmaninoff charted.


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## Manxfeeder

Mine is Bruckner. I'd say why, but World Violist already said it very well for me.


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## Ravellian

Having played _Gaspard de la Nuit_ in a recital, I think I can claim Ravel as my composer.


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## tdc

Id have to say Bach. I feel the most at home and at ease listening to his music, yet it takes me to miraculous places every time, and makes me feel inspired and peaceful. 

Close runners up would be:

Ravel - for his most immaculate attention to detail, beauty and depth. His music takes me to fantastic new places and shows me colors I did not previously know existed. I relate a lot to his artistic statements.

Rodrigo - because his guitar and piano compositions speak to me on a very deep level, and I feel quite connected to him. I find something I can't even put into words in much of his music. It takes me back to my youth, or maybe even before that. In ways I find a lot of similarities in his music to Bach.


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## Tapkaara

I have two composers. But y'all know who they are, so I'm not going to even bother...


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## HarpsichordConcerto

clavichorder said:


> W.F. Bach
> 
> http://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/w/wi/wilhelm_friedemann_bach.jpg
> 
> Those who witnessed my somewhat controversial entrance post to the forum may have thought CPE, but I go with W.F. Bach. Something about that music, and that look.


Good on you. Fascinating of you, too, to have picked W. F. Bach.


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## HarpsichordConcerto

As for my composer, the answer is obvious, namely Mr John Cage ...


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## Weston

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> As for my composer, the answer is obvious, namely Mr John Cage ...


 
Why, I would have expected you to choose Morton Subotnik.


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## Meaghan

clavichorder said:


> W.F. Bach
> 
> http://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/w/wi/wilhelm_friedemann_bach.jpg
> 
> Those who witnessed my somewhat controversial entrance post to the forum may have thought CPE, but I go with W.F. Bach. Something about that music, and that look.


I love that picture.  I have a friend who also loves W.F. Bach. He calls him W.T.F. Bach.


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## Sid James

I've come to the point where I don't have favourites, I love them all equally. It largely depends on the mood or "vibe" that I'm in. Also with live music, I just see anything that piques my interest and that I can afford - last month it was Mahler & Haydn, last weekend some mixed things for mandolins, a few nights ago it was Xenakis played by Synergy Percussion, this weekend will be some spectralist electro-acoustic stuff that I also like (but don't know that much about, but who cares?), next weekend some non-classical folksy stuff. It's all good, I'm over distinguishing between things, I just jump straight in whenever I get the chance...


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## bassClef

Igor Stravinsky for me - though his full repertoire is very varied, there's almost nothing that doesn't strike a chord with me in some way.


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## Aramis

RICHARD WAGNER

Yes indeed.

He is musical poet but also thinker, his music is both full of life, burning passion and at the same time - wisdom. It has almost everything I'm looking for in music. It doesn't have anything to do with genre stuff - it's not because he wrote mostly operas. He could write symphonies or anything. It's essence of his music that makes me think he's "mine" composer. And his beret. 

I wouldn't call him my favourite one or the greatest ever though, I find such terms silly. And I can't just turn his music any moment and enjoy it. But when the ejueuy then auysy

The other choice could be Chopin, he is kind of anywhere-anytime life companion always there with me. 

Or Mahler.

But to lesser extent.

I think I don't have "mine" composer.

Or it could be Wagner. 

Or Chopin or Mahler.

Even Beethoven.

As well as many others. 

I don't know.

Let's start the show.


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## emiellucifuge

Heres what I wrote earlier:



> Dvorak for me! The 9th was my introduction, plain and simple. He was the composer I read about, explored most of his works and had him in my thoughts continuosly. He began to feel like a friend, and listening to his music I felt like I was staring into his soul and had a direct connection.
> 
> Then, I took a long break from him while I was exploring further into everything else.
> Recently I started listening to him, and today rented two biographies from the library.
> If there was enough time to do this with every composer of note my life would be complete.


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## TxllxT

Серге́й Серге́евич Проко́фьев


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## Huilunsoittaja

TxllxT said:


> Серге́й Серге́евич Проко́фьев


He's my second composer. <3


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## haydnfan

My favorite composer is Haydn... but the composer who matches my temperament musically would probably be Robert Simpson.


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## Chris

Frank Bridge


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## mmsbls

Mozart's music for me is simply perfect. He was my first and continues to be my very favorite. I would not say his temperament was remotely like mine though. 

I don't know much about many composers lives, but I have always been very impressed with Borodin - scientist when well and composer when sick (sort of).


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## clavichorder

Yep, yay for Willhelm Friedemann.


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## CaptainAzure

Classical - Mozart

Romantic - Rachmaninov/Mendelssohn


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## Fsharpmajor

Polednice said:


> I don't necessarily mean your _favourite_ composer (though that may be likely anyway). I mean it more in the sense of whose artistic temperament you identify with most


My favourite composer is Shostakovich, but the one I identify with most is Richard Strauss.


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## clavichorder

Ah, for Romantic, mine would be Emmanuel Chabrier.

For baroque it would be Arcangelo Corelli.


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## Argus

A few a like because of their music, some for their peronality and others for both. Here are some that are up their:

*Harry Partch* - this guy pretty much sums up what I like about art. I don't like all of his music and I'm diametrically opposed to his aesthetic views on music, particularly his placing the corporeal over the abstract, but I just like that he had an idea of what his music should be and stuck to it for his entire life, even whilst he was a hobo on the freight trains, working dirty manual labour jobs to get enough money to fashion his fantastic instruments. His theoretical writings on music have been a big influence on my music, as well as his interest in ancient and foreign musical cultures. Plus, he makes a mean rose petal jam.

*La Monte Young* - this is someone who I like nearly all of the music I've heard from him and I like his philosophical sentiments behind his music. He doesn't make music that tries to be anything that its not. His music just simmers along whilst you listen to it, leading off into hypnotic trances. The only downside is that trying to find recordings of his music is hard work because he refuses to release the original tapes for conversion to a new format as he claims sole ownership of, what were in effect, collective group improvisations.

*John Cage* - again not solely on his music but on his general outlook on music and life in general. I do like a fair chunk of his output, but there's also a lot of his chance stuff that just does nothing for me. But that doesn't matter because it's his views on what music is and how he deals with it that interests me. He simply enjoyed sounds and in his music aimed to create sounds that he enjoyed, whether they were the result of human effort or just ambient sounds he heard in his life. Also, he is probably one of the best musicians in history for winding up squares.

But I think the composer I most identify with is:

*Terry Riley* - pretty much everything I could ask for in a musician. Consistently great music, embraces any musical possibilities, influenced and worked with many great musicians, and has a mean beard to boot. His keyboard improvisations are a huge wealth of inspiration for my own playing, and his use of loops, repeats and cycles based on modal figures helped influence my direction in music. Like all my other choices here, he was greatly drawn to exotic musics and like them, he created a sound that is neither a copy nor a pastiche, it all sounds exactly like him. Early use of electronics and tape, as well as all night saxophone improvisations is a cocktail for success.

So alongside these, I rate Brian Eno, Tony Iommi and Miles Davis as clear cut musical idols.


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## clavichorder

I also should add Henri-Joseph Rigel. I've really grown fond of the few symphonies recorded of his.


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## karenpat

Mine is probably Händel. I like other composers too but I think about 60% of my classical music tracks on iTunes are Händel...and almost exclusively opera.


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## Serge

I had a similar idea for a thread where the question was who of the composers, based on their music, had the best disposition. There my own answers would be Bach and Bruckner. Here I am torn between Beethoven and Bruckner though. But I will ultimately go with Bruckner, because I feel that on some level (other than intellectual) his music affects me deeper than that of Beethoven.


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## Polednice

TxllxT said:


> Серге́й Серге́евич Проко́фьев


I only managed to decipher that because I'm currently wearing a Mussorgsky t-shirt, so I used his Russian spelling as a code-breaker


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## Nix

Hmm... I wouldn't call them 'my composers' but more of 'my friends.' Composers who I've listened to enough that I feel like I know them on a personal level. Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart I feel like know almost inside out, Beethoven much more so. Barber is also a close friend, and I've started to become good friends with Haydn and Brahms... me and Schubert hang out on occasion. I spend time with Bartok and Sibelius infrequently, but I always feel like they have something refreshing to offer when we do. I know Mahler and Tchaikovsky well, but they get annoying when your around them for too long.


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## Tapkaara

Nix said:


> Hmm... I wouldn't call them 'my composers' but more of 'my friends.' Composers who I've listened to enough that I feel like I know them on a personal level. Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart I feel like know almost inside out, Beethoven much more so. Barber is also a close friend, and I've started to become good friends with Haydn and Brahms... me and Schubert hang out on occasion. I spend time with Bartok and Sibelius infrequently, but I always feel like they have something refreshing to offer when we do. I know Mahler and Tchaikovsky well, but they get annoying when your around them for too long.


I like this. I also feel that these composers are friends. That is certainly the feeling I get with Sibelius and Ifukube. They have been there with me when I was happy and been there FOR me when I was not.

The Impromtu for Strings by Sibelius, in particular, reminds me of sad times during my senior year in high school. It was a very comforting work. When I hear it today, I get chills. I am so transported back to that time. When I heard it performed live in Finland, it was a very moving, dare I say spiritual, experience.


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## HarpsichordConcerto

Weston said:


> Why, I would have expected you to choose Morton Subotnik.


Subotnik - my close second behind Cage ...


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## Conor71

A composer I have lately come to identify with and admire greatly is Mendelssohn - His music is so beautiful, well crafted and cheerful that he has become a frequent listen for me . In this vein another composer I greatly admire is Dvorak, who is also a generally optimistic Composer with a body of work that rewards further listening.
As far as favourite composers, this has changed a lot over the years but Bach, Beethoven, Shostakovich and Sibelius have a special place in my heart.


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## Meaghan

Polednice said:


> I only managed to decipher that because I'm currently wearing a Mussorgsky t-shirt, so I used his Russian spelling as a code-breaker


I deciphered it by Huilu's response. 

Also, wearing a Mussorgsky t-shirt makes you cool.


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## science

Brahms, and essentially for the reasons stated by the OP, or Bartok. 

I have tried composing, and I know that Brahms had a talent that I don't! But when I read about him, I usually either feel that I am like him (in his flaws and a few of his virtues) or he is what I wish I were (in his virtues). We also seem to get similar things out of the music - I won't claim to have anything like the analytical ability he must've had, but I love his timbres and harmonies, the way he spins tiny motifs into larger structures, and the neo-baroque aspect of his works. 

Perhaps my deepest affinity to Brahms is in consciousness of history. Compared to the people I spend my time with, I feel like I remember history as if it still mattered in a real way, while they seem willing to live as if nothing had happened until recently, perhaps as if the world were created out of nothing around the time that they became conscious of it. Of course that's not fair, I just mean that it often seems like that to me. 

I actually feel exactly the same way about Bartok. Of course I know his music is so much different than Brahms', but I identify with Bartok's way as well - not just way of music, but way of life. He is in many ways what I wish I were. 

I don't get Bartok's music quite as effortlessly as I get Brahms', but I admire the man himself a little more.


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## Serge

Polednice said:


> I only managed to decipher that because I'm currently wearing a Mussorgsky t-shirt, so I used his Russian spelling as a code-breaker


Yeah... Me too!


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## Polednice

Meaghan said:


> I deciphered it by Huilu's response.
> 
> Also, wearing a Mussorgsky t-shirt makes you cool.


OMG, wow! That's, like, totally the first time EVAH in my life that anyone has called me cool! 

*tries not to ruin the cool*


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## Affi

Classical - Haydn

[late] Romantic- Stenhammar/Lars-Erik Larsson


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## Weston

Argus said:


> But I think the composer I most identify with is:
> 
> *Terry Riley* - pretty much everything I could ask for in a musician. Consistently great music, embraces any musical possibilities, influenced and worked with many great musicians, and has a mean beard to boot. His keyboard improvisations are a huge wealth of inspiration for my own playing, and his use of loops, repeats and cycles based on modal figures helped influence my direction in music. Like all my other choices here, he was greatly drawn to exotic musics and like them, he created a sound that is neither a copy nor a pastiche, it all sounds exactly like him. Early use of electronics and tape, as well as all night saxophone improvisations is a cocktail for success.
> 
> So alongside these, I rate Brian Eno, Tony Iommi and Miles Davis as clear cut musical idols.


Another plus for Terry Riley is he seems to be a genuinely friendly guy. I've not met him, but did see him debut what I remember being a piano concerto, but since I can't find any evidence of a piano concerto on the web, maybe it was something else. A chamber work, maybe. How could I forget what it was?

Anyway it was a fairly intimate venue and he appeared with the Paul Dresher Electro Acoustic Ensemble, and he seemed like such a calm likable fellow, I took to him immediately. Sadly I've not added one piece of his to my collection.

Interesting that you would choose Tony Iommi as an influence. He seems about the least academic of those on your list, if you hear him speak. His musical ability must be innate. If that's the case, I'm glad he didn't stifle that with academia.


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## Il_Penseroso

Sibelius . A high mountain peak you can not reach so easily.


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## Argus

Weston said:


> Another plus for Terry Riley is he seems to be a genuinely friendly guy. I've not met him, but did see him debut what I remember being a piano concerto, but since I can't find any evidence of a piano concerto on the web, maybe it was something else. A chamber work, maybe. How could I forget what it was?
> 
> Anyway it was a fairly intimate venue and he appeared with the Paul Dresher Electro Acoustic Ensemble, and he seemed like such a calm likable fellow, I took to him immediately. Sadly I've not added one piece of his to my collection.
> 
> Interesting that you would choose Tony Iommi as an influence. He seems about the least academic of those on your list, if you hear him speak. His musical ability must be innate. If that's the case, I'm glad he didn't stifle that with academia.


I've seen him interviewed a few times and he does come across as a nice, friendly guy. Very much a child of his time in many ways(the 60's i.e. a bit of a hippie). I've yet to hear a piece of his I don't like which is rare for even those guys like Eno and Davis, who produced some music I'm lukewarm to. Even his more experimental early tape pieces are good for that genre.

Have you heard any of his collaborations with the Kronos Quartet. If not, they are the kind of thing you might like:






I heard a new piece by him on Radio 3 the other day. It was a cello octet called ArchAngels. I wouldn't put it up there with his best but it was a enjoyable listen for such a weird instrument combo.

I think Iommi appeals to me because he is simply a riff machine. Nearly everything he does on the guitar fits the song perfectly. He doesn't get caught up in wankery or trying to be over complex. He just writes riff after riff, year after year, and can always pull out a melodic moment or a blistering solo when he feels like it. I do think his style does wear thin after a certain number of years, but he still at 7-8 years of being at the top of his game, which is rare in the pop/rock world.

Brian Eno on the other hand I like because he's like an effortless genius. He's no virtuoso and doesn't really play anything per se. His instrument is the entire recording studio and everytime he enters one he seems to come out with something great. At his best he knows how to create music with pure simplicity. There is nothing special or fancy about much of his music, in fact much of it is supposed to be below the radar, yet it really connects with me.

Miles Davis is unlike the others in that he's not a 'down to earth' guy at all. He could be a right ******** at times, but you can tell he genuinely loved music. I see him as comparable to an Alex Ferguson in that he could see potential in other musicians, then he would bring them into his band and get the best out them everytime, much like Fergie at Man Utd (Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba excused). His horn playing was obviously sublime at times, but even when his technique faded in his later years, he knew how to use other people and emphasise their strengths to mask any of his weaknesses. Plus, I always like people who have an easy route yet take their own way anyway. Davis could have continued in his Kind of Blue vein for the rest of his career and made an easy living off that, but he wanted more and continually strived for evolution in his sound.


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## Tapkaara

Il_Penseroso said:


> Sibelius . A high mountain peak you can not reach so easily.


I could not agree more. Beautiful!


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## Meaghan

Weston said:


> Another plus for Terry Riley is he seems to be a genuinely friendly guy.





Argus said:


> I've seen him interviewed a few times and he does come across as a nice, friendly guy. Very much a child of his time in many ways(the 60's i.e. a bit of a hippie).


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## Keychick

Latly for me its been Hindemith and Tchaikovsky.
I love The Manfred on the Naxos label R.L.P.O.
Vasily Petrenko conducting.
A wonderful piece of work.


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## Polednice

Keychick said:


> Latly for me its been Hindemith and Tchaikovsky.
> I love The Manfred on the Naxos label R.L.P.O.
> Vasily Petrenko conducting.
> A wonderful piece of work.


Oh, thank you!!! You have restored my faith in humanity!! Isn't that just _the_ best recording of one of _the_ bestest pieces ever written?!

I like you already - you can be my little newbie pet!


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## Guest

WESTON: Beethoven 'derivative'??? (I love Bach, btw). But please don't suggest for a single minute that LvB was 'derivative'!! He was always highly original. Don't confuse writing in a 'classical style' with being 'derivative'. This is a huge insult to Beethoven.


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## Argus

Meaghan said:


>


Well, a full blown hippie, maybe.



CountenanceAnglaise said:


> WESTON: Beethoven 'derivative'??? (I love Bach, btw). But please don't suggest for a single minute that LvB was 'derivative'!! He was always highly original. Don't confuse writing in a 'classical style' with being 'derivative'. This is a huge insult to Beethoven.


1) He said _early_ Beethoven was derivative.

2) It's his opinion.


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## Air

I think for me, there is only one simple answer to the question. I should probably apologize for mentioning his name so much, actually - but just to show how devoted I am... Robert Schumann.

It's an obsession that I feel is very akin to love. When I listen to Schumann's music I feel like I am somehow able to capture the very essence of the love and passion he describes, neither receiving nor giving it, but becoming acquainted with its innermost qualities. I think the beautiful thing about Schumann's music is its inability to restrain itself from all the colors of the emotional palette - unlike many early Romantic composers who attempted to arouse emotion gradually from subtlety, Schumann shows emotion as an extremely unstable equilibrium that is always being tipped, an endless struggle. His characters of Eusebius and Florestan that represent the opposing forces depict a sort of yin and yang ongoing battle. For me, this is the essence of true 'geist', the heroic Romantic wrestling of the soul that is at the center of human emotion. Like two lovers, they surrender and yield, but then are able to fight back with even more conviction and passion. I don't think any other music in the world is able to arouse so much feeling in me nor teach me so much about the inherent character of happiness and love itself.

The tragic yet beautiful story of Schumann's life is something that I continue to find an enigma, yet I think it does say a lot too about this struggle that is so well reflected in his music. In a way, it's always heartbreaking for me to go from the simple, innocent, 'love of life' happiness that marks the op. 2 Papillons into the deep yet heroic longing of the Fantasie in C or Piano Concerto, yet the truth is that the unfulfilled, wrestling love of the op. 17 and op. 54 are even more beautiful because of their struggle and eventual triumph over a darker force and their will to overcome it. Even in his last works like the Violin Concerto, there's always this conviction to get back to the original beauty of love and life that characterizes the Papillons even when such hope is but a fading light. And though I may not be able to identify with the individual events of Robert's life since I simply am not faced with them, day after day I am continually able to identify with his struggle and spirit and this is ultimately what makes his music so important to me.


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## Tapkaara

Air said:


> I think for me, there is only one simple answer to the question. I should probably apologize for mentioning his name so much, actually - but just to show how devoted I am... Robert Schumann.
> 
> It's an obsession I feel that is very akin to love, and when I listen to his music I am actually able to feel like I'm in love.


Well put and I share these sentiments with my two favorites. I also apologize for mentioning their names so much!


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## Couchie

Beethoven. He took my classical music virginity, and has been good to me ever since.


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## Tapkaara

Couchie said:


> Beethoven. He took my classical music virginity, and has been good to me ever since.


I just hope that you were legal at the time.


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## rojo

Well, I relate to particular pieces more than to composers, so I have difficulty answering this.

I'm currently teaching R. Schumann's Waltz Op 124 No 4. A short and fairly simple piece, yet when I sight read it for the student, I was immediately 'lured in,' so to speak.

Happens all the time. So much to treasure.. so much.


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## Guest

Air, that is beautifully expressed love of Schumann. I'm going to his birth house in Zwickau, Germany, in July. This is part of a wider musical pilgrimage to Europe (I've been in Vienna 5 months now) involving the major composers, their homes, birth-places, graves, concert-halls etc. I've always loved Robert Schumann and think that the relationship between him, Clara Weick-Schumann and Johannes Brahms worthy of film treatment (perhaps it's already been done in the German language), by somebody like Jane Campion ("The Piano"). Thanks for your lovely thoughts about the extraordinary music of my beloved Robert Schumann.


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## Vaneyes

"Your" composer, good question. As years pass (Devolution or evolution?), I seem to be gathering more composers that seem closer to me...and these are not the most famous. For example, D. Scarlatti, Tartini, Janacek, Delius, Enescu, Scriabin, Myaskovsky, Poulenc, Rawsthorne, Roussel, Ginastera, Schnittke.


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## Olias

*Antonin Dvorak*

He is "my" composer. I identify with his music more than any other. He proved that you didn't have to have inner demons in your mind to compose deep music. He proved that you can write to appease both the academic world and the popular tastes. He proved that an artist can be loved and appreciated during his lifetime. He proved that you didn't have to choose sides in the traditional vs innovative cultural war of the time. He proved that a man born into near poverty and little formal education could rise to the level of international fame, wealth, and success and still be a nice guy who projects humility and simplicity. I adore Dvorak's music and his outlook on life.


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## Huilunsoittaja

Olias said:


> *Antonin Dvorak*
> 
> He is "my" composer. I identify with his music more than any other. He proved that you didn't have to have inner demons in your mind to compose deep music. He proved that you can write to appease both the academic world and the popular tastes. He proved that an artist can be loved and appreciated during his lifetime. He proved that you didn't have to choose sides in the traditional vs innovative cultural war of the time. He proved that a man born into near poverty and little formal education could rise to the level of international fame, wealth, and success and still be a nice guy who projects humility and simplicity. I adore Dvorak's music and his outlook on life.


Amen!

:angel:


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## emiellucifuge

Olias said:


> *Antonin Dvorak*
> 
> He is "my" composer. I identify with his music more than any other. He proved that you didn't have to have inner demons in your mind to compose deep music. He proved that you can write to appease both the academic world and the popular tastes. He proved that an artist can be loved and appreciated during his lifetime. He proved that you didn't have to choose sides in the traditional vs innovative cultural war of the time. He proved that a man born into near poverty and little formal education could rise to the level of international fame, wealth, and success and still be a nice guy who projects humility and simplicity. I adore Dvorak's music and his outlook on life.


Very well said!
I was just recently trying to find a post you made about his violin concerto, but couldnt remember what your exact username was...


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## Air

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> Air, that is beautifully expressed love of Schumann. I'm going to his birth house in Zwickau, Germany, in July. This is part of a wider musical pilgrimage to Europe (I've been in Vienna 5 months now) involving the major composers, their homes, birth-places, graves, concert-halls etc. I've always loved Robert Schumann and think that the relationship between him, Clara Weick-Schumann and Johannes Brahms worthy of film treatment (perhaps it's already been done in the German language), by somebody like Jane Campion ("The Piano"). Thanks for your lovely thoughts about the extraordinary music of my beloved Robert Schumann.


Thanks ContenanceAnglaise for the comments. I am indeed very jealous that you get to visit Schumann's birthplace (and those of other composers), since when I went to Europe last year all I did was tour museums, visit popular monuments, and eat! Such a pilgrimage must be very akin to a religious experience, I would think, and I wish you the best of luck on the rest of your trip. Take some pictures for us!

If you are interested in a Schumann-Wieck-Brahms film there is a 1947 biopic starring Hepburn and Henreid called _Song of Love_. It's not the best rendition possible of the story possible, a little sappy and on the chick-flick side, but it's still effective and the Träumerei is used to a good effect as Schumann's "Song of Love". The entire movie can be found on Youtube here. 

It would definitely be nice to see a remake of the story though - there's certainly a lot of worthy plot material to work with.


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## Olias

emiellucifuge said:


> Very well said!
> I was just recently trying to find a post you made about his violin concerto, but couldnt remember what your exact username was...


I love that violin concerto. Its so overshadowed by the cello concerto (which I totally understand) but its such a well written work. Love how the 1st movement cuts the recapitulation short and segues to the slow movement without a break. Very slick.


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## Cyber

A. Vivaldi and J.S. Bach. I love their music...


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## gridweb

Is it only me? 
*Debussy* it is.
I have been listening for over 30 years to his music and I never get tired of it.


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## presto

I cant pick out any one composer. 
If I was to single out Mozart I would feel I was doing Handel and Bach a dishonour.


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## HarpsichordConcerto

presto said:


> I cant pick out any one composer.
> If I was to single out Mozart I would feel I was doing Handel and Bach a dishonour.


Too harsh on yourself because I don't think Handel nor Bach would mind; afterall, Mozart made arrangements of Handel's and Bach's pieces, even studying them. It's all good.


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## trazom

Mozart, even after 8 years of diligent exploration of works by many other famous composers. I thought his music seemed 'pretty' and 'interesting' but never really made a connection beyond that until I went to a classical concert when I was 14 and heard his piano concerto #27, then the emotional impact of his music hit me with full force and I've been in awe of his music ever since. I guess the quality I admire most about his music is the sly humor, life-affirming joy/wistful longing combination that people have mentioned, seeming self-awareness, and most importantly: I hear new, important(to me) phrases with each successive listen that, previously, I hadn't noticed. To me, he writes the kind of melodies that haunt your dreams, but can never remember exactly how they sound when you wake up. I sometimes get this with Schubert, too, who is my second favorite composer


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## Frei aber froh

I feel like it's so, so impossible to pick just one... but if I were to pick two based upon duration and intensity of my identification with them, they would be Bach and Shostakovich. I've been obsessed with Bach my entire life in a very literal sense; I can't remember not having heard the St. Matthew Passion or a good portion of the Well-Tempered Clavier, and when I play or even just hear his music I feel like it's this unbelievably divine film score that describes everything that has ever existed and the way I see the universe. It's nearly inexplicable. As for Shostakovich, the way he uses music to communicate really resonates with the way I see music – and any art form – and I find the all the emotions (from sorrow to rage to joy to bitterness to love) of his music a remarkable testament to the human experience. I adore his sense of humor and relate strongly to the irony of the duplicity of experience – how any emotion can be a façade for another and how the strongest of positives and negatives, goods and evils, can coexist (or seem to coexist, or be different than we like to believe they are). I admire his empathy (towards oppressed people and towards humanity in general). I have many, many favorite composers and quite a number of obsessions, but it seems like I simply can't fall out of love with these two.


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## DiesIraeCX

From OP


> I don't necessarily mean your favourite composer (though that may be likely anyway). I mean it more in the sense of whose artistic temperament you identify with most; whose music you always feel at home with; the composer equivalent of your astrological sign (minus the quackery )!


I would have to list two, I couldn't list one without the other, I'd feel guilty. 

It would be Beethoven and Mahler (with all due respect to Brahms, Bruckner, and Schubert). They both fit my artistic temperament equally, when I'm feeling like "_this_" some days, I go to Mahler. When I'm feeling like "_that_" other days, I go to Beethoven.

Plus, they both overlap in sentiment and mood sometimes. They both have that sense of grandness/epic, weirdness (in the best sense possible), heroism as well as suffering, tragedy and yearning (and more, of course. I'm simplifying). Mahler and Beethoven are the composers that just "get me" the most. I don't just listen to them, I feel connected to their music and I couldn't be without it.


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## hpowders

For me it's Haydn: witty, brilliant, pithy, prolific, non-confrontational.

His compositions got many "likes".

When the shoe fits....


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## Guest

I don't think I would call this "my composer", but more of an oddball in my list of favorites that I would consider unique to anyone with a similar list of favorites.

Einojuhani Rautavaara.

Obviously not "my composer" because he ain't even close to the top 10. Also not simply an obscure oddball because a lot of people love Rautavaara. My point is that most extreme Rautavaara love might come from people with similarly extreme Bax-love, Sibelius-love, Vaughan Williams-love... I do love Sibelius, ofc...

It simply intrigues me that I love Rautavaara as much as I do _when my favorites of his contemporaries are more along the lines of Stockhausen, Boulez, Ligeti, Saariaho, Berio, or Kurtag_. He's certainly an oddball in that group, but what can I say, the guy moves me and scratches all the right itches.


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## Declined

Beethoven. He's the one who got me into classical music and his music never gets old.


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## Morimur

If I could only listen to _one_ composer's work, it'd be J.S. Bach.


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## trazom

well, another quiz said Robert Schumann was my soul mate composer so I assume that's the best answer I can give this thread without being partial/biased. I personally would've picked Schubert, but meh..

Now that I read the thread title, it almost sounds like you can own a composer. I would like to buy one if possible.


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## elgar's ghost

I can't say for sure whether Shostakovich is my favourite but I do find that even his lesser material holds my attention more easily than the less illustrious output of other composers.


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## samurai

I would definitely have to say--especially lately--Carl Nielsen and Dmitri Shostakovich, for their often stormy and unsettling thematic developments, which have perfectly matched my own restless, uneasy moods and feelings.


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## KenOC

hpowders said:


> For me it's Haydn: witty, brilliant, pithy, prolific, non-confrontational...


Pithy? If you knew my bladder and prothtate, you wouldn't be thaying that! (thigned: Haydn)


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## science

It's so nice to see the old Polednice threads revive. I miss him.


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## samurai

science said:


> It's so nice to see the old Polednice threads revive. I miss him.


Same here!


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## DiesIraeCX

May I ask what happened to him, or is that a no no? He was active before I made an account here.


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## samurai

DiesIraeVIX said:


> May I ask what happened to him, or is that a no no? He was active before I made an account here.


I believe that he was banned.


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## trazom

samurai said:


> I believe that he was banned.


Well, it does say that under his username.

If I remember the right poster, he got himself banned on purpose so he'd have to spend time on other stuff.


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## Cosmos

MAHLER!!!!! I've yet to connect to anyone's music as closely as his


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## poconoron

Mozart............... without a doubt!


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## musicrom

<-- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, for sure


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## OldFashionedGirl

Mahler is my jam!


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## violadude

science said:


> It's so nice to see the old Polednice threads revive. I miss him.


Polednice is definitely missed by me as well. I remember when I first joined the forum I couldn't stand the guy. But you gotta get past the tough sarcastic exterior to get to the little fuzz ball inside.


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## MoonlightSonata

Saint-Saens
From the moment I first heard his music, I thought that he would become a favourite.


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## tdc

Polednice could be around us right now... he has come back at least once and posted under a different user name (Mephistopheles).


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## science

tdc said:


> Polednice could be around us right now... he has come back at least once and posted under a different user name (Mephistopheles).


I talked to him on another site and he admitted he deserved to be banned for that. Perhaps he lurks (after all, you don't have to sign in to see the discussion), but I'd be surprised if he's tried using another user name again.


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## Lukky

Bedřich Smetana


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## Kopachris

Tchaikovsky is the one who makes me feel welcome when I come home. Tchaikovsky is the one who makes me feel ready to seize the day when I get up in the morning. Tchaikovsky is the one who has always been there to comfort me when I'm feeling upset or lonely, or if I'm just really drunk and need something stable to hold on to.


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## Woodduck

This question is one I simply love. I've always felt that it is quite different from certain apparently similar questions that might be asked, such as "Who is your favorite composer?", or "What composer have you listened to the most in your lifetime?", or even "Who impresses you as the greatest among the composers you enjoy?" A person might answer all these questions with the same name, or with different names in every case.

I've loved reading the ways others have explained what it is in the music and lives of composers that they identify so strongly with. But trying to do the same, I'm finding that the more I think of how closely I identify with a composer, the more I also think of the ways in which I do not. Yes, I'm stalling for time here!

I think what I will have to do is name a few specific musical works that have had the deepest personal meaning for me, presume that these works represent something essential about the people who wrote them, and then presume that their composers and I have some affinity that may perhaps go deeper than any explanation or analysis that I could offer.

There are three works in particular which always seem to be present, even silently, in the house of my mind, and which from time to time welcome me like a favorite chair: Wagner's _Parsifal_, Sibelius' _Symphony #7_, and Rachmaninov's _Symphonic Dances_. I think I would have to write a book to try to explain why, and then I would have to put the manuscript in a drawer and leave it there. The feelings induced by the music that is closest to me are, as Mendelssohn said, not too vague to express in words, but too specific. But that is all right. The most important things in life are, in the final analysis, unspeakable, and unspeakably wonderful.


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## csacks

Mine is Brahms. A solid, technically perfect and innovative composer. A composer able to take the classical forms and refresh them as no one else could do. If I listen music and love music, is because of his capacity to touch my feelings, from the deepest to the most sparkling. From the joy of the Academic Festival Overture to the sadness of the andante of his 1st sextet.


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## D Smith

Francis Poulenc would be my choice because he was the first composer who really spoke to me in my teens. My first classical record that I purchased had one of his works on it. I still have it.


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## dgee

I would love to identify with Stravinsky - the willful and daring genius who shook it up any which way with effortless perfection throughout his life. But instead, probably the composer who defined my youthful listening, Richard Strauss - some precocious success, some flamboyant eccentricity but ultimately a disappointing maturity. At least that gives me autumnal mastery to look forward to


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## scratchgolf

Mine is Franz Schubert by a long shot. Mendelssohn would be a distant 2nd. I can't get enough of Schubert's music, I've recently purchased 3 movies about him, and I never get tired of reading about his life, struggles, and inner circle of friends. He is the only composer that could make me swear off Beethoven forever without an ounce of regret.


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## DiesIraeCX

scratchgolf said:


> Mine is Franz Schubert by a long shot. Mendelssohn would be a distant 2nd. I can't get enough of Schubert's music, I've recently purchased 3 movies about him, and I never get tired of reading about his life, struggles, and inner circle of friends. He is the only composer that could make me swear off Beethoven forever without an ounce of regret.


One composer has never made me swear off another composer, it doesn't really work like that for me. I just add him to the list of composers I love. An ever growing list. 

I know what you mean about not getting enough, it's that way for Beethoven. I immensely enjoyed reading his biography, his youth, struggles, victories, life in general. It enhanced my already massive admiration for the music.

P.S. I especially enjoyed the part about Schubert practically worshiping Beethoven.


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## AdmiralSilver

Good question, I always think of Bartok.
Either Mendelssohn or Schumann would be my 2nd.


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## Korados

Just look at this and you'll know. ^^ This is the art on one of my wheelchair wheels. I made it myself together with my mother.


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## wandelweisering

Definitely John Cage. Playful, innovative and interested into other things than mere expressionism (which is what a lot of modern music boils down to -- not necessarily, just my conclusion), setting up a lot of liberty.


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## CypressWillow

Mine is Chopin. He lifts me up, even though just for a few moments, from this world, and gives me a glimpse of a better, nobler world.

As dear Wordsworth shows:

 "The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; 
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."

Indeed, I agree, we are out of tune. Chopin for me, (and yours for you,) plays it in tune, a wonderful respite that gives us the courage to carry on here and now.


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## Harrytjuh

Mine would be Bartók, I like his music very much and am also very interested in folk music (espacially Hungarian of course). I also think that, from what I have read about him, his personality is very similar to mine.


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## Guest

I'd have to go with Hector Villa-Lobos. His music always amazes me, at least the Bachianas and the Choros.

This is the best classical music purchase I ever made:


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## billeames

Brahms because I have so many sets of the symphonies, and I can listen to Brahms 1st many times without getting tired of it. And because its so hard to find an acceptable recording of it. Another composer Beethoven esp in my early days of listening 30 years ago. For several months Messiaen was my choice. Mahler Shostakovitch, and Bruckner have been past choices. Bill


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## Itullian

Brahms, Schumann. Never tire of their symphonies or chamber music.


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## QuietGuy

I'd say "my" composer is Leonard Bernstein. I've always liked his attitude toward the music he wrote whether it was symphonic, broadway or choral or religious, tonal or atonal -- he just wrote what he felt, and if the critics didn't think it was "serious" enough to be legitimate "classical" music, then tough. One can only write to please oneself, not the critics or the academics.


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## hpowders

QuietGuy said:


> I'd say "my" composer is Leonard Bernstein. I've always liked his attitude toward the music he wrote whether it was symphonic, broadway or choral or religious, tonal or atonal -- he just wrote what he felt, and if the critics didn't think it was "serious" enough to be legitimate "classical" music, then tough. One can only wrote to please oneself, not the critics or the academics.


A fine choice!


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## Art Rock

My favourite is JS Bach, but the composer I most connect to is Mahler.


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## hpowders

^^^^Me too! Agreed!!!


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## hpowders

Anybody but Schubert. However, if given a choice: Mahler.


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## Andrei

DiesIraeVIX said:


> One composer has never made me swear off another composer, it doesn't really work like that for me. I just add him to the list of composers I love. An ever growing list.
> 
> I know what you mean about not getting enough, it's that way for Beethoven. I immensely enjoyed reading his biography, his youth, struggles, victories, life in general. It enhanced my already massive admiration for the music.
> 
> P.S. I especially enjoyed the part about Schubert practically worshiping Beethoven.


Agree. 100.0% Each new discovery is an addition, not a replacement.


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## Dave Whitmore

Given that I listen to his music more than any other I would have to say Tchaikovsky. I love his violin concerto. Swan Lake is amazing and there is so much more of his music I enjoy.


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## ArgumentativeOldGit

I don't know if this answers the question, but the composer whose music chimes with my frame of mind more closely and more frequently than that of any other is, these days, Schubert.

There is, in most of Schubert's music, a profound melancholy, which sometimes deepens into inconsolable grief, and even, on occasion, into terror. This sense of darkness co-exists with a sense of joy and wonder at the sheer beauty of nature, and of life. This twofold nature may seem contradictory, or even, perhaps, schizophrenic, but I don't think it is, for it is those who love life most deeply who are most perturbed by its transience. 

I do not mean to imply that I too am like this as a person, but this sense of joy, of longing, and of loss that I find in Schubert's music affects me, I find, very deeply. Schubert is, alongside Mozart, my favourite composer.


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## trazom

ArgumentativeOldGit said:


> I do not mean to imply that I too am like this as a person, but this sense of joy, of longing, and of loss that I find in Schubert's music affects me, I find, very deeply. Schubert is, alongside Mozart, my favourite composer.


Those are my favorites as well; well, those and JS Bach, but I had to work at it before I liked him. With Mozart and Schubert, the connection was immediate and profound.


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## Portamento

I would have to say Florent Schmitt. His music has sort of a raw flavor to it that gets me every time.


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## hpowders

The populist Aaron Copland. I have a wistful, nostalgic, romantic dreamer quality to my personality and Copland's populist music melds perfectly with my personality.


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## Bettina

I identify with two composers, each matching a different aspect of my personality. Beethoven, for my stormy and dramatic side. Debussy, for my dreamy and whimsical side.


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## Pugg

Portamento said:


> I would have to say Florent Schmitt. His music has sort of a raw flavor to it that gets me every time.


Welcome to Talk Classical Portamento, enjoy your stay .


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## Kjetil Heggelund

I'm a Mozart and Bach guy and love everything I've heard  That's just too normal, so I'll say Edison Denisov! I try to play his guitar sonata and hope to do so live one day. Also I'm writing his guitar concerto in Sibelius to send through my Vienna Symphonic Library to use as playback to play live (only dreaming still). I believe Denisov is a neglected composer these days.


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## Lenny

That must be Schumann.


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## Totenfeier

World Violist said:


> I think mine is Bruckner. It's almost ironic, but I feel like I've settled down within the last year or so in ways that have somewhat split me away from Mahler (who would've been my immediate choice a year or two ago). I feel like Bruckner's music is deeply personal in some ways that the "hyper-personal" composers couldn't come close to; malleable and spacious so one can fit inside the sound; but still having its own personality, rather than Mahler's or Wagner's solid wall of their personal angst and emotion. It's nice to be moved by something you feel part of rather than being moved by something because it's shoving its way into your mind, you know?


World Violist, I am on exactly the same journey that you are, and for roughly the same reasons. Long was I an ardent Mahler fan; years ago I gave up the music for a while as too emotional, and wandered long in the Baroque. But Mahler came around again, and I was as much a fan as ever. But I've really gotten into Bruckner in the past year, and still have a way to go before I understand him fully. In a way, if you look at it right - Bruckner is Baroque for Mahler fans!


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## millionrainbows

I feel like mine is Charles Ives, since back in 1973, I "turned on" a group of very hip, close friends to him. At the same time, I had just discovered Steve Reich on the pop Columbia "Violin Phase/Come Out" LP, so him too.


----------



## Valjuan

Beethoven, hands down. I've been wildly obsessed with him ever since I was a child and my mom would put on records of his Symphonies. I find his personal story incredibly compelling and can't help feeling correlation within his music. I own the DG Complete edition of his works, which I'm happy with for the most part, but there are so many other great performances of this music and so I haven't stopped collecting!.


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## lextune

As a fan. A musician. A pianist. I could never pick just one. One does not outweigh the others....It depends on my life at the time, but there is no doubt that five stand head and shoulders above all others for me:

Beethoven
Chopin
Liszt
Debussy
Scriabin


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## calvinpv

At first, I thought this thread was asking for music that matches my personality, and I would have said Feldman, even though I've only heard a handful of his works and certainly wouldn't call him my favorite composer. His quiet, withdrawn meandering yet almost obsessive devotion to conveying rich color palettes (not like Debussy who's coloring works in abrupt contrasts -- Feldman wants a patient gradual unfolding) would describe my personality to a tee.

But as far as the composer who I just "connect" with, it would be Roslavets. If I answered this a couple of years ago, he would have almost been a personal deity: I would have gladly taken his obscure music to some remote corner of the world to worship and claim as "my composer." Nowadays, he has moved a few notches down my list of favorites, but his music still speaks to me. The 5 piano preludes, 2nd and 5th piano sonatas, 2nd and 3rd piano trios, two cello sonatas, 2nd and 4th violin sonatas, Dance of the White Maidens -- all fantastic.


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## Pat Fairlea

Different levels of affinity, I think. I feel a real attachment to the music of Rachmaninov, probably because of having a similarly depressive and repressed emotional personality. And to Satie, for his sense of mischief. 
But it has to be Sibelius. I just 'clicked' with his use of orchestral colour and structure as a teenager and simply feel more depth of understanding for his music than for any other composer. Oddly, given my comment above regarding Rachmaninov, it is Sibelius' detachment from human feelings and concerns that really gets to me, and his ability to conjure up great landscapes as soundscapes. The opening of 'Oceanides' is marvellous, not least for the curlews calling. 
All that applies to his music. Had we ever met, I suspect that we would not have got on at all!


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## Strange Magic

I'll also go with Brahms. I never tire of his music-- such a rich, textured, complex, sometimes dark musical tapestry shot through with points of light. Then I'll mention Prokofiev, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Bartok, and my old friend Respighi--he for the amazing orchestral color married to engaging melody. But Brahms first.

Edit: Pat Fairlea reminded me--I forgot Sibelius! Add him too.


----------



## Francis Poulenc

The great Gustav Mahler.


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## jdec

My composers: Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms and Wagner.

Although I also love many more (Bach, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Debussy, Ravel, R. Strauss, Chopin, Liszt, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Handel, Dvorak, etc, etc...).


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## hpowders

Strange Magic said:


> I'll also go with Brahms. I never tire of his music-- such a rich, textured, complex, sometimes dark musical tapestry shot through with points of light. Then I'll mention Prokofiev, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Bartok, and my old friend Respighi--he for the amazing orchestral color married to engaging melody. But Brahms first.
> 
> Edit: Pat Fairlea reminded me--I forgot Sibelius! Add him too.


Yeah, but is Brahms "you"?


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## Genoveva

I'll go with Mozart by a fairly narrow margin. 

For most of my listening career I've hovered between Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann as my very top favourites. Below these there are many more I like a great deal, but none has ever been a candidate for the top spots. 

At one time, I was very keen on Mahler but he's somewhat receded, mainly because of the much narrower range of his output, and I have discovered that I do very much like to switch around the various genres from orchestral to chamber to choral to solo instrument etc, that each composer offers.

Among my top 4, Beethoven offers a lot of dynamism, dazzling inventiveness, elegance, and wide variety of genres. It's great for while, but can it can become a bit tiring after a while. Bach is too sacred and hallowed to criticise, as he offers perfection in the baroque style, but I slightly prefer the late classical and early romantic era. The pathos and mood swings in Schubert, and the incredible gift of melody that he had, are magnificent and in my view unsurpassed. At times I wonder if Schubert is really my favourite after all, but after a while I begin to tire and return again to Mozart who basically I find to be the one who offers the greatest polish and finesse.


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## jdec

Genoveva said:


> At times I wonder if Schubert is really my favourite after all, but after a while I begin to tire and return again to Mozart who basically I find to be the one who offers the greatest polish and finesse.


So you might agree with George Szell who once said:
"Lengthy immersion in the works of other composers can tire. The music of Mozart does not tire, and this is one of its miracles."


----------



## Strange Magic

hpowders said:


> Yeah, but is Brahms "you"?


I do believe so.


----------



## jegreenwood

Strange Magic said:


> I do believe so.


Sorry to disabuse you, but he's me.


----------



## R3PL4Y

Vaughan Williams


----------



## Strange Magic

jegreenwood said:


> Sorry to disabuse you, but he's me.


Maybe there are a lot of us......


----------



## Woodduck

jdec said:


> So you might agree with George Szell who once said:
> "Lengthy immersion in the works of other composers can tire. The music of Mozart does not tire, and this is one of its miracles."


I do have to wonder why people think they can speak for others. I love some Mozart on occasion, but not too much or too often. Sorry, George.


----------



## hpowders

Wagner is "my" composer. He and I are so alike, it's scary, right down to our superior blood and Talk Classical hero worship. Neither of us has killed anybody. That's a plus. And best of all, neither he nor I are/were particularly well-balanced.


----------



## Pugg

> I do have to wonder why people think they can speak for others


Because _they_ think they are superior to the rest Woodduck.
Don't lose sleep over it, not worth it.


----------



## DeepR

calvinpv said:


> But as far as the composer who I just "connect" with, it would be Roslavets. If I answered this a couple of years ago, he would have almost been a personal deity: I would have gladly taken his obscure music to some remote corner of the world to worship and claim as "my composer." Nowadays, he has moved a few notches down my list of favorites, but his music still speaks to me. The 5 piano preludes, 2nd and 5th piano sonatas, 2nd and 3rd piano trios, two cello sonatas, 2nd and 4th violin sonatas, Dance of the White Maidens -- all fantastic.


Nice to see some love for this composer. If you'd like to share anything here's the composer's guestbook:
http://www.talkclassical.com/40904-nikolai-roslavets.html


----------



## znapschatz

Modest Mussorgsky, no question about it. His view of humanity dovetails with mine almost perfectly, except he had no hope. But I am fast losing mine, so it may soon be a complete merger. Just sitting here typing these words brings on emotions.


----------



## Pat Fairlea

Strange Magic said:


> I'll also go with Brahms. I never tire of his music-- such a rich, textured, complex, sometimes dark musical tapestry shot through with points of light. Then I'll mention Prokofiev, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Bartok, and my old friend Respighi--he for the amazing orchestral color married to engaging melody. But Brahms first.
> 
> Edit: Pat Fairlea reminded me--I forgot Sibelius! Add him too.


Glad to be of service. Currently listening to Tapiola, by chance.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

Strange Magic said:


> I'll also go with Brahms. I never tire of his music-- such a rich, textured, complex, sometimes dark musical tapestry shot through with points of light.
> 
> Edit: Pat Fairlea reminded me--I forgot Sibelius! Add him too.


I was just mulling over the same kinds of thoughts about Brahms when I came across this. Yep, he has solidly remained my favorite from the time he originally became my favorite 56 years ago....As for Sibelius, he currently runs second only to the master.


----------



## Strange Magic

Pat Fairlea said:


> Glad to be of service. Currently listening to Tapiola, by chance.


I remember well my first exposure to Sibelius. On a whim, maybe when I was 14 or 15, I had bought an Anthony Collins LP with _En Saga_ on one side and _Tapiola_ on the other. The LP's notes were fascinating, and spoke of the stir _En Saga_ made in musical circles when it was first heard--a new and compelling voice hinting at solitary, arduous winter journeys in the primeval northern forests. I was riveted by that first hearing, and immediately dragged my fellow CM-loving best friend over to hear the record, and he liked it too (though not as much as me, I fear). Been a big fan ever since. It's interesting to read the sections of the 1997 edition of Harold Schonberg's The Lives of the Great Composers, to compare and contrast Schonberg's take on Rachmaninoff and on Sibelius: Schonberg is at pains to resurrect and elevate the reputation of Rachmaninoff, whom he documents as having been trivialized and marginalized in previous decades. Yet Schonberg then proceeds to run Sibelius through the same wringer and concludes that, while Sibelius' reputation may somehow recover, he only "deserves to occupy an honorable place among the minor composers".


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

What a nervy statement by Schoenberg, but then again, time has a way of changing many original views or assessments regarding artists, musicians, writers, etc. etc.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Myozart

but Harry Partch is better


----------



## jdec

_______________


----------



## jdec

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Myozart


R U Kidding, not Varese???


----------



## hpowders

Now I'm thinking "my" composer is Brahms. Like him, I can be sarcastic, snotty and I've been distant to women who liked me to avoid getting involved, so I could be alone, as he did to Clara Schumann, so I can relate to the feelings of loneliness that pervade his late piano pieces and a lot of chamber music.

Yeah. Brahms is the composer I can most relate to.

No wonder I am so addicted to his chamber music!


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

jdec said:


> R U Kidding, not Varese???


Only Kidding................... of course


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

hpowders said:


> Now I'm thinking "my" composer is Brahms. Like him, I can be sarcastic, snotty and I've been distant to women who liked me to avoid getting involved, so I could be alone, as he did to Clara Schumann, so I can relate to the feelings of loneliness that pervade his late piano pieces and a lot of chamber music.
> 
> Yeah. Brahms is the composer I can most relate to.
> 
> No wonder I am so addicted to his chamber music!


The impression I've always gotten was that Brahms *did* want a relationship with Clara Schumann but she was the one who wanted to avoid a full involvement.


----------



## hpowders

Haydn67 said:


> The impression I've always gotten was that Brahms *did* want a relationship with Clara Schumann but she was the one who wanted to avoid a full involvement.


After Robert died, she became available. Brahms became distant. That's what I read.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

hpowders said:


> After Robert died, she became available. Brahms became distant. That's what I read.


I re-checked several sources that have given accounts of their relationship. Based on written statements from Clara's daughter as well as surviving correspondence between Brahms and Clara Schumann, the picture that emerges after Robert's death is as you have stated. It reflects Brahms' desire to preserve his free space and time for both composition and the continuing desire to live his life as a single man. Despite this, their relationship seemed to have remained mostly close, endearing and mutually respectful for many years until their deaths less than 11 months apart.

Incidentally, aside from Jan Swafford's excellent book on Brahms, there are some others that I would consider additional good reading. It's been some time since I've read them:

Brahms:His Life and Work by Karl Geiringer
Brahms and His World edited by Walter Frisch
Brahms by Malcolm MacDonald
Florence May's older and endearing, The Life of Brahms


----------



## Sonata

Brahms is my favorite but he isn't "mine" in the way that Felix Mendelssohn is. I can't quite explain it clearly, but Mendelssohn resonates with me.  I don't listen to him everyday, but I feel I could. It's a very welcoming, at-home sound from Mendelssohn. Most composers I have to be "in the mood for" but not so with him.


----------



## Lenny

Strange Magic said:


> I remember well my first exposure to Sibelius. On a whim, maybe when I was 14 or 15, I had bought an Anthony Collins LP with _En Saga_ on one side and _Tapiola_ on the other. The LP's notes were fascinating, and spoke of the stir _En Saga_ made in musical circles when it was first heard--a new and compelling voice hinting at solitary, arduous winter journeys in the primeval northern forests. I was riveted by that first hearing, and immediately dragged my fellow CM-loving best friend over to hear the record, and he liked it too (though not as much as me, I fear). Been a big fan ever since. It's interesting to read the sections of the 1997 edition of Harold Schonberg's The Lives of the Great Composers, to compare and contrast Schonberg's take on Rachmaninoff and on Sibelius: Schonberg is at pains to resurrect and elevate the reputation of Rachmaninoff, whom he documents as having been trivialized and marginalized in previous decades. Yet Schonberg then proceeds to run Sibelius through the same wringer and concludes that, while Sibelius' reputation may somehow recover, he only "deserves to occupy an honorable place among the minor composers".


The two-fold attitude towards Sibelius among the critics needs to be seen in the light of 19th century nationalist project. You see, Sibelius was one of those 'karelianists', group of intellectuals who tried to create a mythical past of great Finland, using the very same elements that for example Wagner was using with his project. So, it is no wonder some critics step back in horror - not that stuff anymore! Even the great Mahler called Sibelius a 'provincial composer' when visiting Finland.

That being said, I obviously love that fantasy, as much as any such fantasy. But the elements of fantasy needs to be also recognized as such, just a fantasy. Finland was mostly poor and ugly country. Not a single inch of forest or soil that hasn't been turned upside down, burned, chopped, raped (note: purely personal opinion). But still.... there was something really inspiring in those karelian lands of singing people... Something that fit perfectly to Sibelius's brand of romantic music. Karelia was properly distant, properly different... to inspire, to attract the young minds working on creating a mythical fantasy world of distant finnish past of greatness. Something that Jacob Grimm 'accidentally' forgot from his book 

So you see, some people absolutely hate that stuff. Some people love. And for my personal delight, loving that stuff is becoming more and more acceptable again (I mean outside Finland, where you are almost obliged to worship his music, but also in central Europe). If you are able to shake the negative sound of 'national project' away, Sibelius can also be recognized for what he is - a truly original creator, something on the border line of weirdness, madness and 'dark side'.


----------



## Strange Magic

Lenny, thank you for your excellent post. Years ago, I bought an English translation of the _Kalevala_, and got a ways into it before I ran out of steam. The rhyming scheme of the translation reminded me strongly of Longfellow's _Hiawatha_ or was it _Evangeline_. I certainly and greatly enjoy the tone poems that Sibelius fashioned from the _Kalevala_, but in what esteem is the _Kalevala_ regarded in Finland today? Is it held to be an authentic mythic tale handed down relatively untouched from days of yore?


----------



## ArtMusic

Lately, Carl Philippe Emanuel Bach has been one of my favorites among the "constant" favorites. A truly great composer.


----------



## Lenny

Strange Magic said:


> Lenny, thank you for your excellent post. Years ago, I bought an English translation of the _Kalevala_, and got a ways into it before I ran out of steam. The rhyming scheme of the translation reminded me strongly of Longfellow's _Hiawatha_ or was it _Evangeline_. I certainly and greatly enjoy the tone poems that Sibelius fashioned from the _Kalevala_, but in what esteem is the _Kalevala_ regarded in Finland today? Is it held to be an authentic mythic tale handed down relatively untouched from days of yore?


I'm no author - not by any means, so I'm a bit reluctant on commenting this. But what I dare to say is this: most of the tales and songs in Kalevala are believed to be authentic - meaning they really were sung like that when they were collected. Then there was some small piece of artificial glue material, but mostly for ensuring the nice 'flow' of the narrative, but I believe it is rather small portion. What is really exciting about Kalevala is that it was one of the last national myths and its collection was nicely documented, as it happened on the brink of modern times. Those people collecting the myths were like exploring the wilderness and some of that process was documented. Kaleva has been studied extensively, like for recognizing the different layers of christian and pre-christian times etc. We still read it in the school!

About Sibelius... I was watching the TV series Westworld the other day. It just struck me that someone should produce a movie about Sibelius and hire Anthony Hopkins as an ageing Sibelius! I insist that!


----------



## Casebearer

For me it's Bela Bartók, although I don't listen to his music that much anymore. Maybe because I know it by heart.


----------



## zinc701

Lots of great composers, but it's J. S. Bach for me.


----------



## Strange Magic

@Lenny: The mention of the _Kalevala_ brings up the issue of the verifiable authenticity of "national" myth cycles, folk dance, folk song. There is likely a complete spectrum ranging from the quite well documented (perhaps the Icelandic Eddas) to the utterly fake (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossian), James Macpherson's _Ossian_ creation, so vigorously attacked by Doctor Johnson. It seems that the late 18th and the 19th centuries were a time when a growing national consciousness among a large body of the population triggered in many imaginations the desire to discover a rich folkish heritage of great antiquity. So many searchers, right down to Bela Bartok, took to the back country, real or sometimes imaginary, to locate and refine those obscure treasures. The Wikipedia entry on the _Kalevala_ is very complete, and discusses this very issue--how much/to what degree did its compilers create or fill in material to present a finished work? Is this aspect discussed widely when the _Kalevala_ is mentioned? The USA is such a new country that we are completely without the same sort of founding myth, though we have plenty of the other sorts.


----------



## OldFashionedGirl

My composer is Schoenberg. His music represents my sudden mood changes, and for others I don't understand I feel identified with his music.


----------



## hpowders

OldFashionedGirl said:


> My composer is Schoenberg. His music represents my sudden mood changes, and for others I don't understand I feel identified with his music.


Good for you!!! :tiphat:


----------



## Tristan

Tchaikovsky has been "my" composer for a while. I know the most about him and I feel like I identify with him through some of his music (I also come close to owning his complete oeuvre, more than I can say for any other composer).


----------



## David OByrne

Stravinsky or Brahms, I can't choose


----------



## Pugg

David OByrne said:


> Stravinsky or Brahms, I can't choose


Be grateful, you don't have to, you can listen what ever you like.


----------



## TwoPhotons

Charles-Valentin Alkan. There's a certain playfulness in his music which I really identify with for some reason, and I love how he can turn seemingly standard piano figurations into something that's new and exciting. Aesop's Feast is one of my favourite classical works ever:






In second place I would put Tchaikovsky.


----------



## Richard8655

Handel. I guess I'm stuck in the Baroque era for whatever reason.


----------



## Bettina

TwoPhotons said:


> Charles-Valentin Alkan. There's a certain playfulness in his music which I really identify with for some reason, and I love how he can turn seemingly standard piano figurations into something that's new and exciting. Aesop's Feast is one of my favourite classical works ever:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In second place I would put Tchaikovsky.


Thanks for bringing up Alkan! He's so underrated. I really enjoy his music. I wouldn't necessarily say that he's one of "my" composers, but as a pianist I am drawn to his figurations.

I particularly like his sonata_ Les quatre âges_. Quite a philosophical topic for a piece, and he does justice to it with his contrasting portrayal of various stages of life.


----------



## David OByrne

Pugg said:


> Be grateful, you don't have to, you can listen what ever you like.


I choose Stravinsky and Brahms


----------



## Isiah Thanu

Vaughan Williams. A composer whose music I love. A man whose principles I admire.
When I hear his music I want to hear it alone with a glass of something within arms reach.
He transports me to the England of my childhood and youth. An England now gone.


----------



## superhorn

Huilunsoitaja, when I show people photos of Glazunov, and I ask them if I look like him, they almost always say yes !


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

superhorn said:


> Huilunsoitaja, when I show people photos of Glazunov, and I ask them if I look like him, they almost always say yes !


Do you look more like my profile pic of him, or my avatar on my TC page? :tiphat:

Either way, take it as compliment.


----------



## jenspen

"...whose artistic temperament you identify with most; whose music you always feel at home with..."

Franz Peter Schubert. I am in awe of him and don't identify with him but I feel such warmth and love when I think about his music. 

J. S. Bach has the edge over Schubert in my esteem, but not in my love.


----------



## superhorn

I'm not sure which I resemble more. Hard to tell .


----------



## 433

My composer is you


----------



## Ondine

*Chopin* is the one that can be told as 'my' composer even when my favourite one is Mozart. But with Chopin I felt like if I were a composer I will have made music like him; for piano and in a variety of forms in an intimate way.


----------



## hpowders

Polednice said:


> After having read Huilunsoittaja's wonderful recent TC blog post on Glazunov, and emiellucifuge's reply commenting on his own affinity with Dvorak, I was inspired to ask others who their composer of choice would be.
> 
> I don't necessarily mean your _favourite_ composer (though that may be likely anyway). I mean it more in the sense of whose artistic temperament you identify with most; whose music you always feel at home with; the composer equivalent of your astrological sign (minus the quackery )!
> 
> Obviously, for me it's Brahms. I'm familiar with the majority of his works like with no other composer, and, given the extent of my listening, I don't listen to his pieces as much as to other composers' nowadays, but, when I'm in the mood for it, I always feel like I've returned on a musical pilgrimage to the Man for Me, and everything sounds fresh, life-affirming, and perfect.
> 
> Can you choose?


Right now I would agree on Brahms. The sarcasm, the disastrous relationships, the aloneness, the perfectionist tendencies, the intelligence.

I can relate. Love Brahms, but chamber music only, not the symphonies.


----------



## Pugg

superhorn said:


> I'm not sure which I resemble more. Hard to tell .


I recognise this .


----------



## tdc

hpowders said:


> Right now I would agree on Brahms. The sarcasm, the disastrous relationships, the aloneness, the perfectionist tendencies, the intelligence.
> 
> I can relate. Love Brahms, but chamber music only, not the symphonies.


All of Brahms works are excellent but my favorites are the symphonies, requiem and piano pieces.


----------



## chromatic owl

'My' composer is Scriabin. I can identify with his music and his personality like no other composer's. Listening to his music feels as if someone is reading my thoughts. When I first heard the prelude op. 22-1 I actually thought I was dreaming.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

Interesting to see how even favorite composers may not necessarily please one in all respects. Inasmuch as Brahms has been _my_ favorite over a very long time, I still find it tough to warm up to his string quartets and clarinet trio, nor am I especially fond of his requiem or classical vocal solos. Nonetheless, I have long received immense pleasure from many of his other works. So much, in fact, that unlike other favorites of mine, he has been the only one for whom my affections have never even slightly lessened. With Haydn, somewhat of a different situation has unfolded over the last couple of years. Never close to being one of my favorites, once I discovered the wonderful, facile contentment of his piano trios, I was brought to the realization he would constitute a vital part of my sense of well being. A rediscovery of some of his symphonies and string quartets also has enhanced that feeling. Despite the fact only one other composer currently has a very substantial impact on my emotions, I haven't taken as much time for listening to him. That is Mahler, who himself demands much time. Still, there is a deep, personal connection with his intense and often bittersweet character of expression. There are times when I feel I'm an almost inescapable part of his odyssey, especially concerning his love of life and his sorrow over the realization he will be leaving that life behind.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

hpowders said:


> Right now I would agree on Brahms. The sarcasm, the disastrous relationships, the aloneness, the perfectionist tendencies, the intelligence.


What does this mean for ME then?


----------



## lluissineu

tdc said:


> All of Brahms works are excellent but my favorites are the symphonies, requiem and piano pieces.


I couldn't agree more. It's very difficult to choose a composer among all, but were I compeled to take one, I'd probably choose Brahms and I would add, to what TDC chose (symphonies, requiem and piano pieces), both serenades (n 1 is great for me) and all the concertos (piano 1&2, violin and double).


----------



## Nevum

Bruckner....of course....


----------



## Pugg

Nevum said:


> Bruckner....of course....


We can do a poll on that one.


----------



## Nevum

Pugg said:


> We can do a poll on that one.


He he.........


----------



## hpowders

For me it would be Brahms. I completely identify with his life story, as I have had similar disappointments in life.

I can also be as sarcastic as he was!!


----------



## Tallisman

Probably Brahms. Varied: quiet but capable of intensity. Either him or Schubert due to their simultaneous restraint and emotional power.

The figures of Bach and Beethoven seem too gigantic and Herculean in their creativity and personality for me to 'identify' or align with them.


----------



## shangoyal

For me, it is surely Bach.

I like the clarity of his composition. There is a sense of order and neatness in his music which I find very comforting and uplifting.


----------



## Larkenfield

Lately, I have no one with whom I identify as "mine." There's a certain freedom in not being identified with anyone, even the immortals, the biggest names down through history.


----------



## Totenfeier

Check out the avatar.

When I _first_ heard the opening of the Third, I _recognized_ it; it was already there in my soul.

I do love a warm snifter of depression, angst and fury on a cold dark winter's night.

My fondest wish is to die slowly on a train to Vienna, and to have my ashes scattered in and around the Komponierhauschen at Steinbach am Attersee, or failing that, due to officious and stuffy local ordinance, the mountains around the lake.

Gustav Mahler for me.


----------



## Sonata

I may have posted to this one before (I think I picked Mendelssohn at the time). Right now Verdi definitely feels like "my" composer


----------



## dzc4627

World Violist said:


> I think mine is Bruckner. It's almost ironic, but I feel like I've settled down within the last year or so in ways that have somewhat split me away from Mahler (who would've been my immediate choice a year or two ago). I feel like Bruckner's music is deeply personal in some ways that the "hyper-personal" composers couldn't come close to; malleable and spacious so one can fit inside the sound; but still having its own personality, rather than Mahler's or Wagner's solid wall of their personal angst and emotion. It's nice to be moved by something you feel part of rather than being moved by something because it's shoving its way into your mind, you know?


I feel similarly.


----------



## Rossiniano

From my screen name I think it is obvious! Plus Rossini had nothing but great admiration for Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, etc as do I. Heck Mendelssohn was floored at his love of Bach's B Minor Mass. plus he had a subscription to the complete works of Bach. Plus, Italian and French opera as know it would never have existed if Rossini was not there to lead the way for Donizetti, Bellini, Meyerbeer, Verdi and beyond! 

Interestingly, the manager and more than one employee at a now out of business Classical Music Record Shop in an Ivy League University Town were all "closet" Rossini fanatics! That was a few years ago. We have now since come out of the closet!


----------



## 20centrfuge

For me, hands down *Prokofiev*. He is my homeboy so to speak. The dissonances, the quirkiness, the optimism. Piano Concertos, Sonatas, Symphonies, Ballets, Operas, you name it, it all works for me.


----------



## ST4

If it's a composer you want to murder because you hate them so much and wish death upon anyone that likes or loves or has deep feelings for their music, than that composer is my composer. Bring on the hatred, I can take it


----------



## Pugg

ST4 said:


> If it's a composer you want to murder because you hate them so much and wish death upon anyone that likes or loves or has deep feelings for their music, than that composer is my composer. Bring on the hatred, I can take it


I don't believe I ever seen anyone wishing any composer death.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

20centrfuge said:


> For me, hands down *Prokofiev*. He is my homeboy so to speak. The dissonances, the quirkiness, the optimism. Piano Concertos, Sonatas, Symphonies, Ballets, Operas, you name it, it all works for me.


You're a kindred spirit to me then :tiphat: If it weren't for Glazunov, I'd probably say Prokofiev too.


----------



## Bettina

Pugg said:


> I don't believe I ever seen anyone wishing any composer death.


Glenn Gould said that Mozart died too late, so I guess in a way he was wishing an even earlier death on Mozart. But nobody on TC has ever said anything like that about any composer, as far as I know.


----------



## Pugg

Bettina said:


> Glenn Gould said that Mozart died too late, so I guess in a way he was wishing an even earlier death on Mozart. But nobody on TC has ever said anything like that about any composer, as far as I know.


I am sure that some people has the same feeling about Gould, but the latter was my point exactly.


----------



## 20centrfuge

Huilunsoittaja said:


> You're a kindred spirit to me then :tiphat: If it weren't for Glazunov, I'd probably say Prokofiev too.


Which makes me think I should explore more Glazunov! What are some pieces you'd recommend?


----------



## jim prideaux

Sibelius (may well have already posted this response earlier in the life of this thread)


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

20centrfuge said:


> Which makes me think I should explore more Glazunov! What are some pieces you'd recommend?


If you really like piano music, Glazunov wrote really a lot, 2 piano concertos, 2 piano sonatas, a host of miniatures and other short works for piano. Otherwise I'd highly recommend his orchestral music, his greatest medium. Symphonies 4 and 5, The Seasons, Raymonda (both of those are ballets), Lyric Poem, and Stenka Razin (both early works but very different). Oh, and Violin Concerto of course, I forget about mentioning that one sometimes.


----------



## hpowders

Bettina said:


> Glenn Gould said that Mozart died too late, so I guess in a way he was wishing an even earlier death on Mozart. But nobody on TC has ever said anything like that about any composer, as far as I know.


Glenn Gould may have been a recreative musical genius, but he could also be a complete idiot.


----------



## Forss

Beethoven! [Apart from the music itself] There's something about his _strict_ oeuvre that appeals to the very core of my nature. _His_ was also _my_ world: "The moral law within us, and the starry sky above us." (Kant)


----------



## Anankasmo

*Saint-Saëns*

While I knew much classical music before i discovered this guy he was someone i had to get warm to. Indeed his rather emotionless style of writing was hard to access but his works somehow immediately showed something i was most interested in. After repeated listening and reading his music i realised what i so immensly like about his music:

*1) Form:* He was a master of every genre and every form. He wrote masterworks in almost every genre. His form is impeccable and perfectly put togehther. No other composer imo was able to utilize the cyclical form as he did. His pieces flow perfectly and always satisfy one with their craftsmanship and formal structure. I once read in a Saint-Saëns biography a statement which i find to be true: *There is no other composer who was as adept in his craft as Saint-Saëns, even Bach would bow down before his perfectly written pieces and fugues.* For me form is the most important thing regarding a piece of classical music so it is clear why i like Saint-Saëns so much.

*2) Melody:* As a Frenchman S-S wrote beautiful melodies which flow super naturally and which are incredibly gallant. His melodies also have something of this very typical French sound which i love dearly and which his pupil Faure has as well. The melodies are not as memorable, tuneful or emotional as e.g. Tschaikowskys but that actually fits my temperament more.

*3) Orchestration:* S-S orchestration skills are top notch. He always achieves incredibly unique soundscapes as well as perfect transperency which is rare for a romantic (one just thinks of Mahler, Bruckner, Wagner etc.). His use of the instruments are incredibly idiomatic and he knew the possibilities of every instrument and the effects it could make perfectly. Through his gift for orchestration he could conjure up effects which other composers would never dare to dream of.... (Organ symphony, finale pianos are included into the orchestra). Even Debussy had to admit that "no other knows the world of music better than Monsieur S-S." Ravel also admired S-S orchestration.

*4) Concertos:* S-S wrote many great concertos of which everyone is special. Im a sucker for concertos and so i love this part of his œuvre quite much.

*5) Diversity:* There are few composers who possessed the same ability to write seemingly effortlessly music in every genre. Therefore you never grow tired of listening to S-S as i do e.g. with Chopin (almost only piano works). S-S wrote masterpieces in many genres including
Piano concertos 1,2,4,5 / Violin concerto 3, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo cappriciosso / Cello Concerto 1,2, Allegro Appassionato / Organ Symphony / Samson et Dalilah / Requiem, Le deluge, La lyre et la harpe, several songs / Danse Macabre, Phäton / Oratorio de Noel / Piano Trios 1,2 , Piano Quartests 1 and in e major, Sonatas for woodwinds, Violin Sonatas 1,2 , Cello Sonata 1, String Quartet 1, Suite for Cello, Septett, Piano Quintet, etc.....

I do not consider him to be the greatest composer but he certainly is my favourite.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit

Polednice said:


> After having read Huilunsoittaja's wonderful recent TC blog post on Glazunov, and emiellucifuge's reply commenting on his own affinity with Dvorak, I was inspired to ask others who their composer of choice would be.
> 
> I don't necessarily mean your _favourite_ composer (though that may be likely anyway). I mean it more in the sense of whose artistic temperament you identify with most; whose music you always feel at home with; the composer equivalent of your astrological sign (minus the quackery )!


Yes. Mine would have to be Francois Couperin, as we are both very Scorpio-type individuals.


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## Botschaft

Brahms for sure. I guess it must be the melancholy of impotence, the uninventiveness and the cold, turgid character of his music.


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## Woodduck

Improbus said:


> Brahms for sure. I guess it must be the melancholy of impotence, the uninventiveness and the cold, turgid character of his music.


Sounds like what Tchaikovsky said about him.


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## Botschaft

Woodduck said:


> Sounds like what Tchaikovsky said about him.


And Nietzsche, as well as others with the best understanding of and the clearest possible insight into his music.


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## Woodduck

I don't have one composer who's "mine," but the composers who seem best to exemplify facets of my nature are Brahms, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, and Wagner. For the first three I have a deep and abiding affection, and I go away warmed and contented after visiting with them. Wagner is too big for affection; after _Tristan_ or _Parsifal_ I'm exhausted and transformed, and need time to remember who I think I am, or was. When I've the time and fortitude for that experience, crazy old Richard is "my" composer, but as I get older I'm more likely to want a nice chat and a cream sherry with Johannes, Jean or Sergei.


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## Crystal

Beethoven! His symphonies and piano sonatas are wonderful!


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## Phil loves classical

Bartok. My piano teacher force-fed me Bartok (her fellow country man, she was also Hungarian), against my wishes. Now it is an inescapable part of my musical outlook.


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## SCSL

I would say Beethoven, who has always held first position for me. But I’m going to say Dvorák, who gets so much hate on this forum.


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## Jacck

I have been thinking about this for some time, that is which composer speaks to me the most. And I agree with the OP, it is *Brahms*. Where Brahms really shines is the chamber music - string quartets, quintets, sextets, piano quartets, quintets, all his sonatas etc. I have seem Brahms being blamed for lack of melodies. What nonsense! Brahms has the most beautiful melodies of all composers, only he overlays them and hides them, so that they are not obvious on first listening. 
Other composers who speak to me are Janáček, Beethoven, Dvořák, Saint-Saëns, Hindemith, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.


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## CnC Bartok

Bartok. He's probably the only composer whose complete works mean something to me, even those never ever performed songs; (although admittedly I could survive without some of his more pedagogical piano pieces.)


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## darekpawel

Gfh gfh gfh gfh


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## jdec

I might have a multiple personality disorder, 'cause "my composers" (whose artistic temperament I identify with most) are 6 quite different: Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler and R. Strauss.


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## tdc

Lots more I like a lot, but these are my guys

J.S. Bach
Brahms
Ravel
Debussy
Mozart
Rodrigo
Bartok 
Ives
Monteverdi
Prokofiev


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## Dimace

This should be difficult for only one composer, easier for more. I will do it the hard way. :lol:

*Ferencz Liszt*

(Some other names I could put in an other list and occasion are>> Beethoven, Chopin, Wagner, Faure, Berlioz, Hanson, Wallace, Gershwin, Field, Schubert, Tschaikowsky, R. Strauss, Mahler, Bruckner, Steinberg etc. without name priority.)


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## Meyerbeer Smith

Temperamentally? Offenbach, probably.

Parodist who loved turning things on their head, putting familiar things in strange contexts (and vice versa), and toppling sacred cows. Clever, irreverent, imaginative, and one of the few composers with a sense of humour. (Who says life has to be serious all the time?)

Where else do you find choruses in Chinese or operatic Italian gibberish; sopranoes singing waltzes from cannibals' cooking-pots; or Zeus disguised as a fly?


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## Bob516

Polednice said:


> whose music you always feel at home with
> Can you choose?


Choose one, that would be near impossible. A top 7, in no particular order, Arvo Pärt, John Adams, Jóhann Jóhannsson (what a loss), Timo Andres, Thomas Newman, Osvaldo Golijov, James Horner. There is no reason I stopped at seven, I could have added more names. These are the composers whose work will get me to stop what I am doing and simply listen.


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## elgar's ghost

Earlier in the thread I tentatively nominated Shostakovich - four years on that's probably still the case.


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## Rogerx

darekpawel said:


> Gfh gfh gfh gfh


And what do you like about this composer?


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## Kopachris

elgars ghost said:


> Earlier in the thread I tentatively nominated Shostakovich - four years on that's probably still the case.


Likewise for me and Tchaikovsky.


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## Brahmsian Colors

It's been two years since my original post on this thread...and it's still BRAAMZ (for 58 years now, I'm pleased to say). Vaughan Williams now takes second place over Sibelius.


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## Xisten267

Beethoven. I feel at home with his music.


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## Orfeo

Olias said:


> *Antonin Dvorak*
> 
> He is "my" composer. I identify with his music more than any other. He proved that you didn't have to have inner demons in your mind to compose deep music. He proved that you can write to appease both the academic world and the popular tastes. He proved that an artist can be loved and appreciated during his lifetime. He proved that you didn't have to choose sides in the traditional vs innovative cultural war of the time. He proved that a man born into near poverty and little formal education could rise to the level of international fame, wealth, and success and still be a nice guy who projects humility and simplicity. I adore Dvorak's music and his outlook on life.


That is very much how I would describe *Carl Nielsen*, whose knowledge of and appreciation for life are well known, and manifest themselves in his music, with force yet with humility and humanity.

That said, to answer the question on this thread (why I waited this long I wonder), *Glazunov* for me. How often is he accused of academicism, and yet his music is impressively wide ranging, with the abundance of often profound, striking ideas that is all too apparent, the mastery of form with an impressive sense of structure and development, the melodic invention that more than occasion rivals that of Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff. Moreover, his music speaks, and with vitality and utmost fluency and flow. This guy has it all.

Close runner ups would be people like Myaskovsky, Bax, Bruckner, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and yes, Carl Nielsen.


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## Joe B

I see most things in life from a slightly Daoist point of view. One side of my *Who's 'Your' Composer?* coin would be Howard Hanson. The other side would be Francis Poulenc.


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## Bulldog

My composer is Bach - wonderful counterpoint, depth of expression, rhythmic pacing and melodies. Overall, he's no. 1 when it comes to organ works, solo keyboard and sacred choral music.


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## sharkeysnight

I always feel like I've gone back home when I listen to Philip Glass. I don't know how to explain it without sounding like a prong, but his music makes me feel like I'm okay with time passing. My absolute favorite feeling is the sense of being lost in a moment with no concern for later or what came before, and Glass does such a good job of stretching moments out and exploring that liminal space between thought and feeling. When I listen to him, I stop consciously thinking about the construction of the music and enter a no-zone where it's _just_ music, which is, I think, why the repetition that bothers some people is so magical to me. The music moves without moving, the mood is allowed to perservere without having to elbow you with phrases, which is exactly how I want my life to pass: an entirely saturated feeling, always present, and never interrupted.


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## dismrwonderful

I would have to say, after some thought, that Bruckner is the composer I'm most comfortable with. Although I'm not religious, his music portrays a sense of artistic spirituality that I enjoy. His craftsmanship in his 2nd, 7th, and 9th Symphonies is very satisfying for me. An exploration of the completions of this 9th Symphony was one that taught me a great deal about my own need for closure and why I won't always get it.

Dan


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## Tchaikov6

For me, it is Tchaikovsky. He is not my favorite composer anymore, as he was when he joined, but I find I can identify with him the most- his struggles, his victories, his music.


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## Listenerris

For me Tchaikovsky do not number one. His music something as an sign and this is not clear music in my opinion. Clear music which is identical itself own and produce only the of idea of music.that is Bach.


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## Tchaikov6

Listenerris said:


> For me Tchaikovsky do not number one. His music something as an sign and this is not clear music in my opinion. Clear music which is identical itself own and produce only the of idea of music.that is Bach.


I take this to mean Tchaikovsky's music is intended to express his personal struggles and emotions, while Bach's emotions expresses a universal emotion and appeal? Perhaps, but I think that every composer, whether they admit it or not, writes music that reflects their joys, or sadness, or "suffering" in the Romantic sense of the word. And I personally love Bach's music much more than Tchaikovsky. However, in terms of what the OP asked- "whose artistic temperament you identify with most; whose music you always feel at home with; the composer equivalent of your astrological sign (minus the quackery )!"- Tchaikovsky is that composer for me. He never fails to move me.


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## Listenerris

Tchaikov6 said:


> I take this to mean Tchaikovsky's music is intended to express his personal struggles and emotions, while Bach's emotions expresses a universal emotion and appeal? Perhaps, but I think that every composer, whether they admit it or not, writes music that reflects their joys, or sadness, or "suffering" in the Romantic sense of the word. And I personally love Bach's music much more than Tchaikovsky. However, in terms of what the OP asked- "whose artistic temperament you identify with most; whose music you always feel at home with; the composer equivalent of your astrological sign (minus the quackery )!"- Tchaikovsky is that composer for me. He never fails to move me.


So, in my opinion is of course rightly that you are saying but there is few additional moments. First of all Chaikovsky more concentrated in the movement of soul and sensations. And he said that I am writing music such as another master professional in another area. I want to do with that all is 
to be helpful reaches level, high level and he was teaching in that way his compositions.


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## Tchaikov6

Listenerris said:


> So, in my opinion is of course rightly that you are saying but there is few additional moments. First of all Chaikovsky more concentrated in the movement of soul and sensations. And he said that I am writing music such as another master professional in another area. I want to do with that all is
> to be helpful reaches level, high level and he was teaching in that way his compositions.


I guess I'm a bit confused what you're saying, mostly due to a language barrier (I think, is English not a first language?). Of course, that is not at all your fault, and I know I would sound just as confusing speaking another language, as well, but I guess I cannot discuss your point because I don't really understand it. Please don't take this the wrong way, there are no insults intended


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## Red Terror

I cannot choose just one. Here are my strongest candidates:

1. J.S. Bach
2. Gyorgy Kurtag
3. Gyorgy Ligeti
4. Igor Stravinsky
5. Arnold Schoenberg
6. Bela Bartok
7. Morton Feldman
8. Gustav Mahler
9. Richard Wagner
10. Anton Webern


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## Listenerris

Tchaikov6 said:


> I guess I'm a bit confused what you're saying, mostly due to a language barrier (I think, is English not a first language?). Of course, that is not at all your fault, and I know I would sound just as confusing speaking another language, as well, but I guess I cannot discuss your point because I don't really understand it. Please don't take this the wrong way, there are no insults intended


Yes, English not a my first language. Especially as you are seeing that the verb is difficult to me. And that point do not me any barriers, though honestly speaking I was ashamed because maybe very careful in searching right words.


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## Tchaikov6

Listenerris said:


> Yes, English not a my first language. Especially as you are seeing that the verb is difficult to me. And that point do not me any barriers, though honestly speaking I was ashamed because maybe very careful in searching right words.


No, don't be ashamed at all! From what I think you might have been trying to say, it sounded like a very well-rounded and intelligent claim, just not worded great because of the English of course. You are doing much better than I would be in a Spanish (or any other language) forum.

And I would definitely agree that Bach I think is a composer for everyone in a sense, really quite universal. For me, Tchaikovsky is that composer too, and I guess not for you. To each his own.


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## Rogerx

Today it will be ....Haydn.


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## emegele12

Chopin, for sure!
Although I've been exploring a lot recently, I had listened and studied Chopin compositions extensively and I feel really connected to him... Everything is so beautiful and I kind of like his obsession with the piano


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## Marinera

My temperament is much too mercurial for just one composer. My list will be inclusive of all composers, the ones I like and dislike and composers I don't know yet, because new discoveries are very important to me and in my view the yet unknown composers partially represent myself as well, what I'll find I may like or dislike, but it's imperative to me to broaden my knowledge and understanding. Also, this is because I don't believe the saying 'know yourself' is achievable. Not casually. You may think you know yourself, at this moment, but this knowledge doesn't really run that deep at least not on the deep existential scale when it includes knowing yourself, if this is even possible, as a form of consciousness in this universe existing right now. Well, what was' you' then before now, and before that ad infinitum; and what 'you' will be after, again ad infinitum. You have to know all that and the sum of those parts to equate and answer. I believe, many things in my psyche are locked from my own perception and all unknown to me music can be symbolic of that. And the other thing I hold a view that all things are connected part of the same 'body' similar to Buddhist's belief, which means that the boarders of my own psyche are much less distinct then thought initially which leads to a path to know 'outside' of yourself as well. There's is another mysterious spiritual condition called dark night of the soul that happens to those seeking spiritual experiences across various religions in Christianity, interesting that in Buddhism this can happen to people because of and during the meditation. People perhaps thought they knew themselves before that. Perhaps this is too abstract, but I won't pigeonhole myself if possible.


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## Steve Mc

Bach does it for me. Not only my favorite composer, but really a role model, as well. I turn to his music when I'm down.


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## Listenerris

Tchaikov6 said:


> No, don't be ashamed at all! From what I think you might have been trying to say, it sounded like a very well-rounded and intelligent claim, just not worded great because of the English of course. You are doing much better than I would be in a Spanish (or any other language) forum.
> 
> And I would definitely agree that Bach I think is a composer for everyone in a sense, really quite universal. For me, Tchaikovsky is that composer too, and I guess not for you. To each his own.


Oh! Thank you. By the way ,one thought came into my head, that english language very universal .But I need to expand my vocabulary.


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## Littlephrase

The music of Schubert and Brahms is where my heart lies. The wistful melancholy which pervades most of their oeuvre, mixed with the occasional outbursts of anger and passion (all the while being contained within the classical precepts of Beethoven and Mozart) is something that deeply resonates with me.


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## millionrainbows

I identify with Charles Ives. An outsider, his love of dissonance, his atmospheric orchestrations, a sense of the mysterious, always changing, able to be conservative-sounding or radical. He always questions and challenges the norms. A bit eccentric, too.


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## millionrainbows

Now, it's time to put this all in a box:

If you identify with Tchaikovsky, you're gay.

If you identify with sibelius, you're a pedophile.

If you identify with Wagner, you're a Nazi.

If you identify with Ives, you're crazy.

Etc, etc.

Does anybody have any more? Let's continue.


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## Littlephrase

millionrainbows said:


> Now, it's time to put this all in a box:
> 
> If you identify with Tchaikovsky, you're gay.
> 
> If you identify with sibelius, you're a pedophile.
> 
> If you identify with Wagner, you're a Nazi.
> 
> If you identify with Ives, you're crazy.
> 
> Etc, etc.
> 
> Does anybody have any more? Let's continue.


If you identify with Bruckner, you're a pedo AND a nazi.

With Lully, just a pedo.

With Scriabin, you... well... want to bring about the apocalypse?

With Schumann, you're schizophrenic.

With Beethoven, you want your nephew to commit suicide.

This is fun.


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## Tchaikov6

Littlephrase1913 said:


> If you identify with Bruckner, you're a pedo AND a nazi.
> 
> With Lully, just a pedo.
> 
> With Scriabin, you... well... want to bring about the apocalypse?
> 
> With Schumann, you're schizophrenic.
> 
> With Beethoven, you want your nephew to commit suicide.
> 
> This is fun.


With Purcell, you're a hopeless drunk.

With Bax, you're an adulterous pedophile.

With Berlioz, you're a wanna-be murderer.

With Gesualdo, you _are_ a murderer.


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## Red Terror

millionrainbows said:


> Now, it's time to put this all in a box:
> 
> If you identify with Tchaikovsky, you're gay.
> 
> If you identify with sibelius, you're a pedophile.
> 
> If you identify with Wagner, you're a Nazi.
> 
> If you identify with Ives, you're crazy.
> 
> Etc, etc.
> 
> Does anybody have any more? Let's continue.


OoOoOh! Let's do Beethoven, Mahler, and Schoenberg next!


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## millionrainbows

...with Beethoven, you're a bombastic, ill-tempered brute.

...with Mahler, you're an insecure nerd, like Woody Allen in a powdered wig.

...with Schoenberg, you're a trouble-making weirdo having a bad hair day.


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## Bulldog

If you identify with Bach, you're a stud.


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## KenOC

If you identify with Schubert, by your age you're probably dead.


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## ribonucleic

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji.

Intelligent, weird, most comfortable in isolation, a bit of a jerk.


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## elgar's ghost

If you identify with Elgar you wear tweeds and plus-fours.

If you identify with Stockhausen you're probably an android.

If you identify with Prokofiev you wish you'd have stayed in the West.

If you identify with Stravinsky you can't wait for your next bank statement.


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## Guest

I'm pretty much new to classical but I find myself liking Beethoven and Schubert. To be honest I was surprised to find they were contemporaries.


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## Marinera

Correction. I misunderstood the OP question. If I have to identify with composers personally , then I identify with none. I am not interested in their personalities and personal life, don't know enough about any of them to make an informed choice.


All or nothing for me I guess.


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## zelenka

Schubert, Brahms and Ravel


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## Josquin13

Some of the composers that most fascinate me, I don't feel a huge connection with outside of their music--such as Debussy, Ravel, Handel, Bach, Dufay, & Prokofiev--though of course I'm keenly interested in their biographies. On the other hand, though I know very little about his personal life, I do feel a strong personal connection to the music of Josquin Desprez, which I suspect goes beyond the music, but I can't know that for certain. Although, if I were an early Renaissance composer in Italy, as Josquin was, I would have likewise composed the majority of my works in Marian devotion.


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## Red Terror

It's between J.S. Bach and György Kurtág.


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## Rogerx

I think it's Bach today.


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## Jacck

Hindemith. He had a decent personality and was a musical genius.


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## Red Terror

With Xenakis:
“Nothing quite like the sound of a grenade blowing up in your face early in the morning.”

With Wagner:
“I am the real Kanye West up in this mutterficker.”

With Kurtag:
“Life is a miserable farce and the joke’s on us.”


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## Captainnumber36

I think I just have favorite performances of works rather than favorite composers.


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## Alkan

Schubert. Yesterday, today and tomorrow.


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## Vaan

Igor Stravinsky.


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## Citroen2CV




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## tdc

Both J.S. Bach and Ravel's music I have a very close connection with. They 'speak' to me, and I most closely identify with their aesthetic and the things I know about their lives to an extent as well. 

In a way perhaps also Monteverdi because I find myself appreciating his music more and more over the years and we also share the same birthday.


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## Red Terror

Citroen2CV said:


>


That does not look like Mahler at all. Bad bust!


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## Janspe

Robert Schumann, hands down. When I listen to his music I feel like I'm having a conversation with a very close friend. There are so many sides and temperaments to his music! One moment he conjures up images of riotous celebration and euphoria, and suddenly he writes something so intimately moving that you feel like you've been told a personal secret. And of course the late pieces are another story entirely: think about the _Geistervariationen_ for example...

Schumann wrote a lot of music that's very seldom heard these days. His vocal output is absolutely massive: Lieder, duets, choral works, choral + orchestral works, even an opera. My intention is to explore it all even more deeply in the upcoming few years.

I don't always fancy listening to his music and sometimes even have rather long breaks from his work, but I can say without a moment of hesitation that Schumann is _the_ composer for me.


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## elgar's ghost

Red Terror said:


> That does not look like Mahler at all. Bad bust!


Oh, I dunno - seems a pretty good likeness to me. Perhaps if he was wearing his customary spectacles?


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## Ingélou

Jean-Baptiste Lully for me - something about his *élan* that gets me every time.


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## Captainnumber36

If I had to pick one, it's probably Beethoven. I love his PC, PS, Symph, his sole VC, sole opera and SQ.


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## Taggart

J S Bach - so much good music and he sums up the Baroque era.


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## millionrainbows

Today, my composer is John Cage. His music is not about the past, or the future, but about NOW.


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## meitei

My composer is Haydn. Not only for his virtuosity and musicality but also for the eclectic nature of his musical interests.


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## gellio

Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert tower above all others for me. Beethoven's music stirs emotions in me (from balling during the 2nd movement of the 5th Piano Concerto to feelings of utter joy during the 4th movement of the 5th Symphony. Mozart just has me in complete and total awe. The perfection. The one great idea after another. The hearing new things every time I listen to _Figaro_, even though I've listened to it probably a thousand times. Schubert - the 8th Symphony. As soon as I heard that, I was won over. Exploring his works has been amazing. Truly a towering giant, who died all too young.


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## DavidA

Just about every composer I love really. I am very fortunate in that I am able to appreciate a huge range of composers.


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## gellio

Beethoven. His music makes me feel so alive, whether it's filling me with joy or sorrow. I connect to his works, on an emotional level, like nothing I've ever connected to in my life.


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## Dimace

*I feel at home* with every composer doesn't FFF my ears, like William Wallace who knows tons of music and he has the way to express his profoundness on a piece of paper. The same way Elgar, Korngold and Parry did it. (Very big names play no role to this feeling.)


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## jasper01

I always return to J S Bach, especially the cantatas, Before I joined Spotify I had purchased dozens of CD's. Now I have an endless choice of works by Bach. One of my favourite CD's offers a quote - Bach's biographer Forkel said "Bach's music is not merely agreeable....but transports us to the regions of the ideal. .......after a thousand hearings, its treasures are still unexhausted and yield fresh beauties to excite our wonder"


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