# The most humorous/quirky composers(looking at musical style)



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Which composers do you think had the greatest sense of humor in their music? These composers are not necessarily conventionally the greatest. My first vote would go to Charles Valentin Alkan, his music has such slapstick gumption to it, I don't think anyone had more balls than him in that regard, and he seems totally out of place amidst many humorless 19th century composers. His fellow Frenchman Eric Satie's compositions also show extreme quirkiness to an almost greater degree though he's not as cool as Alkan in my opinion. I would say that Berlioz on the other end is a quirky nutcase that has an unwitting sense of humor.

Looking ahead to the 20th century, I believe Prokofiev had a real sense of humor. His less well known Russian contemporary Alexander Tcherepnin, though not as good a composer on the whole, might in fact have an even superior light hearted way about his music. Stravinksy certainly had one, as did Shostakovich sometimes. 

The 18th century is full of quirky guys. CPE Bach stands at the top of them. HIs elder brother WF is subtly weirder yet. Telemann is pretty nutty, and Haydn can have his moments though I take him to be a more serious composer usually, but a favorite of mine in the humor department, who can make me laugh like no one else, is Henri Joseph Rigel. Nutty music. And we have to give Mozart and Beethoven credit for their humor.

And the french Baroque master Rameau is one of the greatest humorists of them all across all the repertoire.

Oddly enough, I find a sense of humor in Bruckner. He's just so bizarre in certain ways, I enjoy that aspect of him, his excess noodling seems a bit playful at times. Brahms is the second romantic german candidate I'd nominate after Bruckner, he's not exactly lighthearted, but some of his piano music is very odd.

1) Charles Valentin Alkan
2) Henri Joseph Rigel
3) Jean Phillip Rameau
4) WF Bach
5) CPE Bach
6) Alexander Tcherepnin
7) Eric Satie
8) Sergei Prokofiev

Funny that the top 3 happen to be French. Naturally.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

In Ravel's opera, L'enfant et le sortileges, you will find plenty of funny moments or at least satirical. Also in his piano concerto in G.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Haydn.....


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## rojo (May 26, 2006)

I'll go with Schnittke.

Also, Grieg, Messiaen and Cage. They have some quirky pieces. Quirky in a sweet way.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Schumann wrote a lot of very quirky music.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

Charles Ives, no?


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Haydn

5char


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Crudblud said:


> Charles Ives, no?


Charles Ives, yes. Frequently kind of sneaky. Both Haydn and Alkan composed music-with-humor, but I'm not sure that Haydn would have recognized Alkan's.

Humor takes many forms, with a wide range of sophistication. I am more sensitive to humor than the average bear (laughing is my favorite occupation), but there are probably some twisty things that get by me.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

+Hindemith (early period in particular includes downright satire), 
- Mussorgsky (satire/grotesque), 
- Langgaard "Daddies Dashing Off to Office" as a symphonic movement etc; "Insectarium" for piano, 
- Nielsen (especially his wind music, such as the "Serenata in Vano" & Wind Quintet; "Humoresque bagatelles" for piano, 6th Symphony etc.; 
- Lord Berners (most of it is very much in the spirit of Satie)
- Vivaldi (programme music such as "The Seasons");
- Grainger (difficult to know when he is being serious ...)
- Malcolm Arnold 

etc. ...


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I completely forgot Mahler.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Poulenc
Schnittke
Zappa
Gershwin


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Louis Aubert (1877-1968) - another French composer who in the early 20th century occasionally provided playful, frothy Les Six-style works alongside more serious fare. Must be something in the pastis or Gauloises from those times. One highlight of his is the later 'Cinema', an orchestral suite that offers musical portraits of Hollywood's finest, including Walt Disney, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Rudolph Valentino.

Constant Lambert also produced works that had a twinkle in their eye - 'Prizefight' and the earlier piano concerto are good examples.

There are a fair few pithy moments in Shostakovich's film and ballet music, as well as examples of a grim and sardonic humour in some of his orchestral and chamber works.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

not a classical composer, but still a composer: thelonious monk


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

The Strauss family ! Viennese operetta composers !


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Cole Porter is the master of, if we may include him. Poulenc, Satie, Haydn, Shostakovich, Bartok, Prokofiev, Mozart, Mompou, Severac, Scriabin, are others that quickly come to mind.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Carl Stalling


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Janacek yet.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

William Bolcom is pretty quirky. I don't know If I'd describe him necessarily as humorous; his wit is more ascerbic. Listen to his piano concerto. 

Michael Daugherty also falls into that category. You can't be too serious when you're writing a symphony about Superman, especially when you kill him off with a tango.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I get the sense that Ligeti went through his entire career with his tongue in his cheek waiting for someone to get the joke. But nobody ever did.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Well, I would have to admit that Prokofiev's music does make me laugh-out-loud more than any other composer.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Erik Satie for sure. The most humourous and the most quirky guy who ever wrote music.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Erik Satie for sure. The most humourous and the most quirky guy who ever wrote music.


Mmm. Did you know that Socrates wrote music?


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

I agree with Poulenc, Haydn and Ligeti for humorous and Malcolm Arnold for quirkiness. I would add that Beethoven's humorous side is often overlooked in favor of his melodramatic side. Louis Hardin aka "Moondog" wrote humorous canons in the style of a Renaissance madrigal, with lyrics like "This student of life is enrolled as a student for life" "Be a Hobo" "Down is up and so up is down"


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Erik Satie for sure. The most humourous and the most quirky guy who ever wrote music.


He was pretty out there. Le Piege de Meduse is just plain whacky.


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## TrazomGangflow (Sep 9, 2011)

Gershwin

Beethoven (Every once and a while Beethoven steers away from the serious)


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I still vouch for Alkan, I mean, come on', he wrote a piece called Funeral March on the Death of Parrot!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

clavichorder said:


> I still vouch for Alkan, I mean, come on', he wrote a piece called Funeral March on the Death of Parrot!


Satie wrote some "flabby preludes for a dog."


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Gounod "Funeral March Of a Marionette".
Shostakovich. Concerto For Piano and Trumpet No.1
Dohnanyi. Variations On a Nursery Theme. (The whole thing is a send-up).
Ives. Old Songs Deranged .
Loewe. Many of his ballads.
Mozart. Comic and bawdy songs. Also the opera "Die Entfuhrung".
Lortzing. "Zar und Zimmermann" and "Der Wildschuetz".


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Oh dear, I didn't mention Offenbach !!


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Satie wrote some "flabby preludes for a dog."


Satie was a straight up nut. Sometimes his music is too ridiculous for me, but often I find it very amusing.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

clavichorder said:


> Satie was a straight up nut. Sometimes his music is too ridiculous for me, but often I find it very amusing.


Satie was also known for some eccentric gestures such as purchasing twelve identicle grey velvet suits.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Satie was also known for some eccentric gestures such as purchasing twelve identicle grey velvet suits.


You mean everybody doesn't have twelve grey velvet suits ? Well I feel like a one-legged man in an arsekicking competition !!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

moody said:


> You mean everybody doesn't have twelve grey velvet suits ? Well I feel like a one-legged man in an arsekicking competition !!


He bought them all at one time.


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