# ONE composer for the rest of your life



## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

If you will have only one composer for the rest of your life (only one, no cheating), who would it be?

Mine would be:* SCHUBERT*

Who's yours?

and

*WHY?*


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Varese


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

Well....he's far from my favorite, but I might say Telemann. He composed a ton of things lol! Maybe Bach, he had a pretty good number of pieces as well. The more works to listen to, the less likely you'll get bored!


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

Only one. No other composer to be mentioned, and why? ^_^


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Virtually anyone but...[no prizes for guessing]...


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

For me the answer is easy even though I'd hate the thought of not being able to listen to anyone else. Mozart simply wrote more beautiful music, by far, than any other composer. He also wrote great works in every genre. I think his late symphonies are superb, but I also love many of his earlier symphonies including some very early ones (#6, #7, $55). His concertos are remarkable for the number and quality - unbeatable piano concertos (a dozen or so), gorgeous violin concertos (#3-5) and the Sinfonia Concertante (I probably overrate this work since I feel it's one of the truly greatest string concertos ever written), great horn concertos (#3-4), the wonderful clarinet concerto, along with his flute and bassoon concertos. Schubert may have written the greatest quintet, but Mozart's quintets as a whole stand alone - the clarinet quintet is just perfect, the 6 string quintets are stunning (I think his K. 516 closely rivals Schubert's), the lovely horn quintet, and of course the beautiful piano quintet. Many of his other chamber works, although perhaps not in the same league, are wonderful (Haydn quartets, violin sonatas, piano trio #5). His vocal works, Requiem and Mass in C minor, are two of my favorite large scale works. Some of his Serenades always lift my spirits - the Posthorn, wind serenades (the adagio to K. 361 is perhaps the most beautiful music I have ever heard), and even the much maligned Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is a lovely piece of music. There are other works I don't hold in quite as high regard, but I have never heard a Mozart work that I do not like.

With all those works, I would take Mozart over any other composer. But then there are all his operas. I love Wagner, but no one has written more beautiful operatic music than Mozart. I agree with Brahms when he said that the Marriage of Figaro was perfect. And Don Giovani comes close. The first time I saw The Magic Flute I was stunned by it's beauty both in music and thought. 

But that's just me.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Hmmm...let's review the field:

- Bach, a one trick pony with a knack for counterpoint. Amusing.
- Haydn: A music factory, any of whose symphonies is equivalent to a two-holer outhouse in the backyard of a mansion by a certain other composer.
- Mozart: A cute little guy in a wig and satin pants who had some facility in writing music.
- After 1827 -- fugetaboutit!

Guess that leaves... :tiphat:


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

^Cobwebs..................


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Mendelssohn... Or Schubert... Or Mozart... How about I have three short lives instead of one long one?  

But I'll stick with Mendelssohn.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I would go down kicking and screaming, and in the end I think I'd drag Beethoven with me. 

If I weren't allowed any of the big, big names, I might take Janacek, or if that's too big, Martinu. 

If I had to take a contemporary, I think it would be Reich. (I almost said Adams, and then I remembered their works for 9/11.) I might've pretended to be old and said Takemitsu, by a hair over Crumb or Nono. If I'd got caught, I'd've considered Golijov and gone with Reich. But better watch his back because Rzewski, Feldman, and Vasks aren't just sitting there. 

And finally, if I had to take a female, I'd take Gubaidulina, I think. Would consider Bacewicz and Tailleferre. But I think Gubaidulina would win.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

JS Bach. Not only my favourite composer, but with a wealth of output and large variety (passions, orchestral, cantatas, organ, keyboard, chamber music).


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

*Mendelssohn.*

Amazing contrapuntalist
Emotionally powerful music
Pretty good orchestrator
Composed in a huge amount of genres
MaesroViolinist picked the same composer...means that it would be rather difficult to pick a different one anyway :lol:


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

I'd select ONE HUNDRED, but not one.

I would prefer to live the rest of my life in silence rather than listen to one musical voice only.

Why?

Because having approximately 600 composers in my music collection (soundtracks along with classical music), I'm acclimated towards listening to at least 2 different composers on a daily basis, typically with no repeats on any given composer throughout the duration of a week.

I'll listen to music by Charles Koechlin once a week, practically every week of the year. Listening to only one composer for the rest of one's life, though, would be similar to a form a torture with me.


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## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

Ravel if he had written more music...


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

mmsbls said:


> For me the answer is easy even though I'd hate the thought of not being able to listen to anyone else. Mozart simply wrote more beautiful music, by far, than any other composer. He also wrote great works in every genre. I think his late symphonies are superb, but I also love many of his earlier symphonies including some very early ones (#6, #7, $55). His concertos are remarkable for the number and quality - unbeatable piano concertos (a dozen or so), gorgeous violin concertos (#3-5) and the Sinfonia Concertante (I probably overrate this work since I feel it's one of the truly greatest string concertos ever written), great horn concertos (#3-4), the wonderful clarinet concerto, along with his flute and bassoon concertos. Schubert may have written the greatest quintet, but Mozart's quintets as a whole stand alone - the clarinet quintet is just perfect, the 6 string quintets are stunning (I think his K. 516 closely rivals Schubert's), the lovely horn quintet, and of course the beautiful piano quintet. Many of his other chamber works, although perhaps not in the same league, are wonderful (Haydn quartets, violin sonatas, piano trio #5). His vocal works, Requiem and Mass in C minor, are two of my favorite large scale works. Some of his Serenades always lift my spirits - the Posthorn, wind serenades (the adagio to K. 361 is perhaps the most beautiful music I have ever heard), and even the much maligned Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is a lovely piece of music. There are other works I don't hold in quite as high regard, but I have never heard a Mozart work that I do not like.
> 
> With all those works, I would take Mozart over any other composer. But then there are all his operas. I love Wagner, but no one has written more beautiful operatic music than Mozart. I agree with Brahms when he said that the Marriage of Figaro was perfect. And Don Giovani comes close. The first time I saw The Magic Flute I was stunned by it's beauty both in music and thought.
> 
> But that's just me.


^^^This!

Saves me typing, too! :tiphat:


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## Ramako (Apr 28, 2012)

While Beethoven may have composed more of my absolute favourite works, my answer to this question is easy. Haydn. He already makes up a reasonable percentage of my listening.

Why?

He wrote more than 104 symphonies, most of which are more than enjoyable, at least 20 very enjoyable, and a few which reach the heights of the sublime and are among my favourite in the genre.
He wrote 67.5 quartets, all of which have their charms, a huge variety of style and mood which easily outdoes any other composer in the genre I am aware of, and which are in quality perhaps even higher than the symphonies.
Over 50 brilliant piano sonatas, along with some other great piano pieces.
Over 120 baryton trios, which I have yet to see bettered as fairly mindless background music.
Some masses which I am not even familiar with but am assured are very good to have a look at.
2 oratorios for me to learn to like or not.
Many other pieces, some of which I don't have and can look for!!

I don't particularly care for concertos as a genre anyway. The only genre I would miss is opera, but this is easily compensated for.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Sid James said:


> Virtually anyone but...[no prizes for guessing]...


it would be funnier if you had to take the name of the only composer to be stuck with out of a hat - and you ended up with _that_ one 

but we aren't talking being stuck with the actual person, are we? in that case the composer might write more stuff, for better or worse. If somebody twisted my arm I might have to say Bellini and I would make sure he wrote as much as Donizetti by the end of the adventure. When peejay's back was turned I'd also steal Mozart from whoever had him at the time. He was tiny, he'd be easy to smuggle if I wore a big coat  reasons: great writing for the voice and a variety of moods between the two of them, aka, I like their stuff.


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## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

satie.....


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Dvorak: 
Excellent chamber music
Varied and interesting symphonies
Very good Orchestral works considering three concertos and lots of overtures

In these things he beats Beethoven not by far.


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## Andolink (Oct 29, 2012)

For me it's J. S. Bach. So much music at such a high level inspiration that satisfies equally the emotions and the intellect.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I'll go with Wagner. Wagner is not only music, but also literature and philosophy that comes with it. Wagner makes me want to live and be a part of society of human beings.


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## userfume (Nov 21, 2012)

really? d


Xaltotun said:


> I'll go with Wagner. Wagner is not only music, but also literature and philosophy that comes with it. Wagner makes me want to live and be a part of society of human beings.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Yes, I really feel this way, no exaggeration.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*Mahler*

I was not planning to respond because:

One. I really an unable to explain the reasons why like 'mmsbls' so eloquently did for his choice.
Two. The only person I would be impressing is myself.

I am glad to see some post 1827 guys make the list.

Mine would be Mahler.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

One composer stands as the benchmark to which most others are compared, at the very crossroads of music history with his feet in two eras but not entirely grounded in either, and close to the halfway point in the time span of music I can generally understand, with enough variety warranting multiple listens. That is Beethoven.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Right now, Anton Bruckner. His music reflects how I see life, as a spiritual journey.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Me or Beethoven


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I'd be bored to tears with only one composer for the rest of my life. Couldn't do it!


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## Eschbeg (Jul 25, 2012)

Ravndal said:


> Ravel if he had written more music...


Even if we limit ourselves to what he _did_ write, I'll happily go with Ravel.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

BETHOVEN.

All human life is there, particularly in the piano sonatas.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

moody said:


> BETHOVEN.
> 
> All human life is there, particularly in the piano sonatas.


Start watching at 55:50.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

If I could only listen to one composer for the rest of my life, I would choose Mozart.

I love his Symphonies, String Quartets, String Quintets, Piano Sonatas, Piano Concertos, Violin Sonatas, Violin Concertos, Operas, Serenades and Divertimenti, Masses and of course the Requiem. There's just so much variety there. His early works are so much different than his later works, yet they all have some constant thread in them. I can hear a work of his, even one I'm not familiar with, and go "Mozart" after a few notes.

I would have chosen Mahler if Mahler had a greater output, but for the rest of my life I would need to hear Sonatas and Symphonies, Operas and Concertos, more variety than Mahler could offer me. However; if I only had 1 year left to live, than Mahler would be my choice.


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## Carpenoctem (May 15, 2012)

mmsbls said:


> For me the answer is easy even though I'd hate the thought of not being able to listen to anyone else. Mozart simply wrote more beautiful music, by far, than any other composer. He also wrote great works in every genre. I think his late symphonies are superb, but I also love many of his earlier symphonies including some very early ones (#6, #7, $55). His concertos are remarkable for the number and quality - unbeatable piano concertos (a dozen or so), gorgeous violin concertos (#3-5) and the Sinfonia Concertante (I probably overrate this work since I feel it's one of the truly greatest string concertos ever written), great horn concertos (#3-4), the wonderful clarinet concerto, along with his flute and bassoon concertos. Schubert may have written the greatest quintet, but Mozart's quintets as a whole stand alone - the clarinet quintet is just perfect, the 6 string quintets are stunning (I think his K. 516 closely rivals Schubert's), the lovely horn quintet, and of course the beautiful piano quintet. Many of his other chamber works, although perhaps not in the same league, are wonderful (Haydn quartets, violin sonatas, piano trio #5). His vocal works, Requiem and Mass in C minor, are two of my favorite large scale works. Some of his Serenades always lift my spirits - the Posthorn, wind serenades (the adagio to K. 361 is perhaps the most beautiful music I have ever heard), and even the much maligned Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is a lovely piece of music. There are other works I don't hold in quite as high regard, but I have never heard a Mozart work that I do not like.
> 
> With all those works, I would take Mozart over any other composer. But then there are all his operas. I love Wagner, but no one has written more beautiful operatic music than Mozart. I agree with Brahms when he said that the Marriage of Figaro was perfect. And Don Giovani comes close. The first time I saw The Magic Flute I was stunned by it's beauty both in music and thought.
> 
> But that's just me.


Absolutely this!

It would be a tough call between him and Beethoven, but I would never be truly satisfied without Mozart's genius operas.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Bach. I know that my screen name may imply something different, but if I had to give up everything else, I would want to keep Bach's music. I can't imagine having to give up the Cantatas, the Passions, the Art of Fugue, the Goldberg Variations, the organ works, the B minor Mass, the Violin concertos, the Cello sonatas...and I could go on.

If I had to choose a 19th century composer, Mahler.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Beethoven. Lots of my favorite pieces, decent variety from the Haydn-esque early stuff to the late works.

Haydn himself is tempting for the quantity of it (and I like him a lot). Stravinsky is very tempting, with some of my favorite works spread across a few different styles. But I think I'd miss the emotional expressiveness, which I need a bit of.


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## KRoad (Jun 1, 2012)

Bachoven - without doubt my single most!


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Not so long ago Wagner was the only classical composer I listened to, I think it could very well continue to be the same for the rest of my life.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I was very tempted to say Bach for this, but that would mean I could never listen to Ravel ever again, and if I chose Ravel I could never listen to Bach again. Either option is completely unacceptable to me! I love each of these two composers too much, therefore I would need an absolute minimum of 2 composers for the rest of my life.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Why is this great thread rated as a one start thread?!? I guess it has something to do with the modernist bunch ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

I would have to go with Beethoven as well. Though Tchaikovsky would be a great one also.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

neoshredder said:


> I would have to go with Beethoven as well. Though Tchaikovsky would be a great one also.


 Tchaikovsky's music has too much "glitter " and "pink" to my taste, i know that it can sound confusing but try to understand what i mean.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

jani said:


> Tchaikovsky's music has too much "glitter " and "pink" to my taste, i know that it can sound confusing but try to understand what i mean.


His Symphonies are quite masculine to my listening. And he was influenced by Mozart. So I do hear some Mozart influence. I prefer not to label melodies as a color. To me it sounds bright and melodic. Similar to Mozart in that way. Though he stuck with the Romantic form while doing it.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Btw Judas Priest wrote masculine music and we know about him as well. Just because you're gay, doesn't mean you can't write masculine music. Or tough music as a better word. To avoid insulting the genders.


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## TinyTim (Feb 16, 2013)

moody said:


> BETHOVEN.
> 
> All human life is there, particularly in the piano sonatas.


When I was recovering from cancer surgery seven years ago, I listened to the piano sonatas, a collection performed by Craig Sheppard. I found them to be a tremendous help in my emotional recovery. As you say, all human life is there.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

jani said:


> Why is this great thread rated as a one start thread?!? I guess it has something to do with the modernist bunch ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.


Such as what?


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Easily Liszt. Not only for the original compositions, but also his many great transcrptions, like...

Complete Beethoven Symphonies.
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique and Harold en Italie.
Six Chopin lieder.
Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre.
Schubert: Half of Winterreise, Schwanengesang, much more lieder, Wandererfantasie for piano and orchestra, made changes to two Impromptus (Op. 90 no. 2 and no. 3).
Many great paraphrases on Verdi and Wagner.
The great opera fantasies on Bellini, Mozart, etc.

Many on a shorter scale, like sections of Mozart's and Verdi's requiem, Bach organ preludes and fugues, Mozart's Ave verum corpus (and also a work based on it and Allegri's Miserere).

And many more. It's like having a few composers in one.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

That's interesting about Liszt's transcriptions. He transcribed Beethoven symphs, for piano? Is it not too cluttered and distracting?


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I would put Prokofiev and Glazunov's names on each side of a coin, and toss. I'll be happy either way.


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Kieran said:


> That's interesting about Liszt's transcriptions. He transcribed Beethoven symphs, for piano? Is it not too cluttered and distracting?


It may take some time to get used to, but by most who know them they are revered. Indeed, Horowitz called them the greatest piano pieces ever written.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Lisztian said:


> It may take some time to get used to, but by most who know them they are revered. Indeed, Horowitz called them the greatest piano pieces ever written.


Interesting! I have only one box set of Liszt, it includes something he transcribed from Tannhauser, I must give it a spin.

Cheers! :tiphat:


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Haydn or Bach.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

It is ludicrous having to choose one, but at present, if I had to it would be - the lovely Lully.
Why? Because his grace & spirit make me feel serenely happy.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

TinyTim said:


> When I was recovering from cancer surgery seven years ago, I listened to the piano sonatas, a collection performed by Craig Sheppard. I found them to be a tremendous help in my emotional recovery. As you say, all human life is there.


He was a very good pianist ,is he still around?


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Kieran said:


> That's interesting about Liszt's transcriptions. He transcribed Beethoven symphs, for piano? Is it not too cluttered and distracting?


He as a genius without doubt and the answer is no.
Have a look at Idil Biret on Naxos.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

deggial said:


> it would be funnier if you had to take the name of the only composer to be stuck with out of a hat - and you ended up with _that_ one
> 
> ....


Yes that would be just my luck or a cruel joke of fate - from the gods of Valhalla - or something you can explain with some high minded philosophy. Take your pick. Lose-lose situation.

But seriously its been great reading people's responses on this thread. I think that all of the great composers 'have it all' & encapsulate so much. Even composers like Chopin who wrote mainly for the piano are not limited by their concentration on perfecting/working in one genre.


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## poconoron (Oct 26, 2011)

For me it comes down to a choice between Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn.

But the sheer all-around genius of Mozart (and the overwhelming beauty of the operas) put Mozart on top.


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## TinyTim (Feb 16, 2013)

moody said:


> He was a very good pianist ,is he still around?


Craig Sheppard is still alive and well. He's a professor of piano at the University of Washington (Seattle) and gives concerts several times a year. Every one I have attended has been superb. He was awarded second prize at the 1972 Leeds Piano Competition, with first prize awarded to Murray Perahia. Another terrifc pianist who teaches at UW is Robin McCabe. She was the subject of the book about her studies at Julliard School of Music and subsequent concert career:_Pianist's Progress_ by Helen Ruttencutter (Crowell, 1979).

www.craigsheppard.net


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I would be heartbroken over the loss of Mozart and Schubert (especially) as well as Haydn, Beethoven, Wagner, Handel, Richard Strauss and any number of other composers... but limited to a single composer I'd have to go with J.S. Bach. Not only is my favorite composer and the greatest composer bar none IMO... but his oeuvre offers such a scale and variety that I could listen to him and him alone without totally going mad.


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## Bone (Jan 19, 2013)

Haydn. I just find his music to be very imaginative and witty.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> I would be heartbroken over the loss of Mozart and Schubert (especially) as well as Haydn, Beethoven, Wagner, Handel, Richard Strauss and any number of other composers... but limited to a single composer I'd have to go with J.S. Bach. Not only is my favorite composer and the greatest composer bar none IMO... but his oeuvre offers such a scale and variety that I could listen to him and him alone without totally going mad.


True, plus with Bach you would get transcriptions of works by other composers as well such as: Telemann, Torelli, Marcello, Vivaldi, Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar, and other unknown German composer(s).

Edit - also Albinoni, Corelli, Fasch and Ernst


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## Rapide (Oct 11, 2011)

Sid James said:


> Virtually anyone but...[no prizes for guessing]...


John Cage, right?


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Rapide said:


> John Cage, right?


Nope, Wagner.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Are you sure, I thought it was Boulez?


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Wagner here. Mozart second and Haydn third.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Are you sure, I thought it was Boulez?


Nope. he likes some Boulez, especially the piano sonatas.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

It would be Beethoven. Are justifications really needed?


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Novelette said:


> It would be Beethoven. Are justifications really needed?


Yep versatility is big if he can stand the test of time for your life. No one more versatile than Beethoven imo.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

neoshredder said:


> Yep versatility is big if he can stand the test of time for your life. No one more versatile than Beethoven imo.


It would be difficult to confine myself to one composer for the remainder of my life, I would be secretly dreaming of listening to Mendelssohn and Bach!


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Novelette said:


> It would be difficult to confine myself to one composer for the remainder of my life, I would be secretly dreaming of listening to Mendelssohn and Bach!


Or Mozart, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky. I would find it hard to go without any of those names.


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## Kevin Pearson (Aug 14, 2009)

I have been thinking about how I would/could respond to this thread and it is very hard to even contemplate only one composer. I suppose that Beethoven has had the most influence on my love of classical music and it would be hard to think of life without my beloved Beethoven but if I have to single it down to one and only one composer than I would have to have the 13 box sets of the Sibelius Edition. I think I could be very happy with his complete output. It happens to be one of my quests as well. I'm thinking about buying one set a month until I own all 13 sets.

I do think others have made very valid points about Bach and Mozart etc. and it just shows how diverse our tastes are. So if we are all limited to owning the works of only one composer I suppose we would have to borrow discs from each other so we can get around the one composer rule. 

Kevin


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

So true. I already dream about listening to them, and I'm not even deprived of their music!

Let us hope that we are never brought to that condition. :cheers:


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

Kevin Pearson said:


> I have been thinking about how I would/could respond to this thread and it is very hard to even contemplate only one composer. I suppose that Beethoven has had the most influence on my love of classical music and it would be hard to think of life without my beloved Beethoven but if I have to single it down to one and only one composer than I would have to have the 13 box sets of the Sibelius Edition. I think I could be very happy with his complete output. It happens to be one of my quests as well. I'm thinking about buying one set a month until I own all 13 sets.
> 
> I do think others have made very valid points about Bach and Mozart etc. and it just shows how diverse our tastes are. So if we are all limited to owning the works of only one composer I suppose we would have to borrow discs from each other so we can get around the one composer rule.
> 
> Kevin


Collusion in order to circumvent the rules? Count me in!


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

As a replacement of Dvorak If all of the *Sibelius* and *Schumann* works was composed by one of them, that would be him!


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## Mordred (Mar 15, 2012)

Shostakovich. Brilliant, original and bleak . And a great snapshot in time of soviet blood and iron. Can live without all these pampered western composers that all sound the same. Shostakovich stuck it to Stalin and lived to tell the tale. And plenty of epic symphonies to soak in for a lifetime!


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

peeyaj said:


> If you will have only one composer for the rest of your life (only one, no cheating), who would it be?
> 
> Who's yours?
> 
> ...


Either Xenakis or Handel, I am really struggling to choose. The dramatic idiom and the way with melodies by both just make theirs utterly unique. I really cannot choose.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

violadude said:


> Nope. he likes some Boulez, especially the piano sonatas.


Damn slipped up on that one!


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Rapide said:


> John Cage, right?


I bet he means Wagner.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

I'd probably go with Olivier Messiaen because He is so very varied and I always discover something new every time I listen to his music. 
But in principle, I'd really like chose someone who's music I am not at all familiar with, who has a wast output, and not least, someone who would challenge my belief and preconceptions of what music is, can be and could be! 
It is my stern belief that having Your musical belief systems challenged every day by the unfamiliar is much more giving than taking the safe journey of a composer You already know and love!

/ptr


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

But surely after a while you'd get used to this new composer & no longer feel challenged? Or you might find out you hated him in the first few minutes. No, if you really love someone, then, as you say of Olivier Messiaen, you'll discover something new every time you listen to him.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Ingenue said:


> But surely after a while you'd get used to this new composer & no longer feel challenged? Or you might find out you hated him in the first few minutes. No, if you really love someone, then, as you say of Olivier Messiaen, you'll discover something new every time you listen to him.


Sure, that is an almost indisputable truth! ..but I still kind of like the thought of growing through facing the issues that life puts in front of me. And if life tells me; You can only experience "X" for the rest of Your life, I'd always choose "X = something I've previously not experienced". Mostly because none of us really know how long "the rest of our life" is; 10 seconds or 50 years doesn't matter, I'm the kind that will always choose the tingling excitement of discovery in front of the safe comfort of the known.

But then in the end, I'm sure that a choice like this will come down more to pragmatic reasons than sticking pigheadedly to an intellectual vision in an exercise like this is not it?

/ptr


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Nope. I prefer the excitement of monogamy!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Easy choice!


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

starthrower said:


> Easy choice!


This fellow knows what's up.


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## Bone (Jan 19, 2013)

starthrower said:


> Easy choice!


Truly, I dig this choice - but I'm just not man enough yet. Now, one piece / recording I couldn't do without would be "Girl in the Magnesium dress" from Yellow Shark. Or maybe 8th Blackbird "Les Moutons de Panurge." Okay, I would just not survive the one composer/lifetime thingie...


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2013)

mmsbls said:


> For me the answer is easy even though I'd hate the thought of not being able to listen to anyone else. Mozart simply wrote more beautiful music, by far, than any other composer. He also wrote great works in every genre. I think his late symphonies are superb, but I also love many of his earlier symphonies including some very early ones (#6, #7, $55). His concertos are remarkable for the number and quality - unbeatable piano concertos (a dozen or so), gorgeous violin concertos (#3-5) and the Sinfonia Concertante (I probably overrate this work since I feel it's one of the truly greatest string concertos ever written), great horn concertos (#3-4), the wonderful clarinet concerto, along with his flute and bassoon concertos. Schubert may have written the greatest quintet, but Mozart's quintets as a whole stand alone - the clarinet quintet is just perfect, the 6 string quintets are stunning (I think his K. 516 closely rivals Schubert's), the lovely horn quintet, and of course the beautiful piano quintet. Many of his other chamber works, although perhaps not in the same league, are wonderful (Haydn quartets, violin sonatas, piano trio #5). His vocal works, Requiem and Mass in C minor, are two of my favorite large scale works. Some of his Serenades always lift my spirits - the Posthorn, wind serenades (the adagio to K. 361 is perhaps the most beautiful music I have ever heard), and even the much maligned Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is a lovely piece of music. There are other works I don't hold in quite as high regard, but I have never heard a Mozart work that I do not like.
> 
> With all those works, I would take Mozart over any other composer. But then there are all his operas. I love Wagner, but no one has written more beautiful operatic music than Mozart. I agree with Brahms when he said that the Marriage of Figaro was perfect. And Don Giovani comes close. The first time I saw The Magic Flute I was stunned by it's beauty both in music and thought.
> 
> But that's just me.


Yep. What he said. Mozart.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Bone said:


> Truly, I dig this choice - but I'm just not man enough yet. Now, one piece / recording I couldn't do without would be "Girl in the Magnesium dress" from Yellow Shark. Or maybe 8th Blackbird "Les Moutons de Panurge." Okay, I would just not survive the one composer/lifetime thingie...


Lets see how many times we can keep this Zappa pic up - thread within thread!!


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Bone said:


> Truly, I dig this choice - but I'm just not man enough yet. Now, one piece / recording I couldn't do without would be "Girl in the Magnesium dress" from Yellow Shark. Or maybe 8th Blackbird "Les Moutons de Panurge." Okay, I would just not survive the one composer/lifetime thingie...


:lol: Would you believe that I heard both of those pieces today and 2 completely different contexts? Both on internet, but different locations. Cool coincidence! I enjoyed both. I know the Moutons de Panurge better.


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## Francesca (Feb 24, 2013)

A difficult decision, I would have to choose between Beethoven and Brahms, probably the former. Brahms wrote wonderful complex music in virtually every form except opera but Beethoven was a revolutionary genius and incredibly versatile. While I accept that Mozart had a rare talent, I have never warmed to his music I fear - it is almost too perfect and I find it superficial, though there are some exceptions - I love the symphony in G minor. Bach would be my third choice as a remarkable
composer but I would find all the counterpoint exhausting after a while!


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## TinyTim (Feb 16, 2013)

This question is excruciatingly difficult, on the order of choosing which one of my children I love the most. I am thankful that this is a a decision I will never, in fact, have to make. But in choosing my one favorite composer, I can say without hesitation, Johann Sebastian Bach. He is, in my opinion, the musical Mt. Everest, and his music encompasses the entire range of emotion, of spirituality, of what music at its best is. Plus, with such an incredible output, the musical well never runs dry, even with only this one composer allowed.


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## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

peeyaj said:


> ONE composer for the rest of your life


- might well be Wagner if you will not listen to his too often, thus prolonging the bliss.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

For me, the composer has to fulfil the following criteria:

1. Vast output.
2. Cover a variety of genres.
3. Accessible music as this rewards multiple playing more than denser weightier music. Also works better as ambient music.
4. Multiple recordings of a large number of the works.

The best qualified would be Bach, Mozart & Haydn. I'd probably favour Bach for the way his music in particular can be played repetitively without becoming turgid & for the cantatas. For any of those three, and many others besides, I would be quite satisfied to be tied to a single composer, as I would get to know his works in a more intense way than it is otherwise possible to do.


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

If I had to choose it would probably be Shostakovich. I've always enjoyed dipping into his lesser-known works like the film scores, piano works and songs and the 'core' repertoire of symphonies, concertos and chamber works is both deep and voluminous enough to sustain my interest. I love Bruckner and Mahler but I don't think I could survive for ever on just a bunch of symphonies and a few liturgical works or song cycles, despite how great they are.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

hayd said:


> 3. Accessible music as this rewards multiple playing more than denser weightier music. Also works better as ambient music.


I disagree entirely. Weightier music holds up better than immediately accessible music on subsequent listens.


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## rrudolph (Sep 15, 2011)

One composer...sorry, can't do it. I love pizza (for example), but if I had to eat only that for every meal for the rest of my life it would ruin my ability to enjoy both pizza and life.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

> Mahlerian said:
> 
> 
> > I disagree entirely. Weightier music holds up better than immediately accessible music on subsequent listens.


Yes, I would have thought so to, in principle. However, I do find that I can listen to simple music, and by that I include folk and rock music as well as baroque & classical, over and over again without any depreciation in pleasure.

On the other hand, music that is heavier, such as later classical music, whilst it may be more immediately satisfying, doesn't seem to sustain my interest once I feel I have 'got' it. This maybe after about 10 playings.

I am surprised that this is my response. Indeed, I feel naturally aligned to new & challenging music, but my response is overwhelmingly toward multiple playings of more accessible works.

Of course, this is not to say that I like them better...


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

The Beethoven fans are in full force in this thread....


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

peeyaj said:


> The Beethoven fans are in full force in this thread....


It was actually a tough choice to make. I love Baroque in small amounts. Bach would probably be my choice if I only had 30 minutes a day to listen to music.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

hayd said:


> I am surprised that this is my response. Indeed, I feel naturally aligned to new & challenging music, but my response is overwhelmingly toward multiple playings of more accessible works....


I blame your early conditioning with nursery rhymes!


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## BaroqueOnly (Feb 25, 2013)

Bach, as I love the High Baroque and the Baroque period itself; cannot get enough of it.


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Who? Ralph Vaughan Williams
Why? It would never get under my skin.


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## RonP (Aug 31, 2012)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I enjoy the breadth and variety of his work and would spend the better part of a lifetime getting to know all of it.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

^














which one composes music???


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## Combinebobnt (Jul 21, 2015)

J.S.Bach easy .


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I would go with Brahms


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

I feel like I've answered this in another thread, but I will say again Haydn.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

Beethoven, obviously.


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## Janspe (Nov 10, 2012)

Ultimately, it would have to be J. S. Bach - with Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert as runners-up. Bach's vast output contains so much great, _great_ music that it'd be impossible to give that up. The sonatas and partitas for solo violin, the cello suites, the 48 preludes and fugues, the concertos, the Goldberg variations, the many suites for keyboard, the cantatas, and so much more...


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Beethoven. 

Why? Because Beethoven.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

J.S. Bach

Why? Cuz he's da best!


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2015)

Who? Until I hear enough Bach, I'll choose Coates.

Why? Because her music takes me outside of myself, and that's all you can ask.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

..........................


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## Dr Johnson (Jun 26, 2015)

Jeffrey Stolet.


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2015)

You need to say why.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Why ?


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2015)

Why does he need to say why?


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

J. S. Bach

Why? Output of 1128 compositions (or so), that means a different composition per day for three years. I meant 1128 sublime compositions.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Schnittke--that gives me about 200 composers for the price of one.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Dim7 said:


> View attachment 76157
> 
> ..........................


Hugo Wolf, you mean?


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

I'd choose myself, that way I could have new things to listen to by writing more of it.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Bach by a large margin. Next up would be composers such as Scriabin, Shostakovich and Mahler.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Schnittke or Bach. No idea which one.


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

*MOZART.*

Why? some great minds/musicians give a hint :angel::

The most tremendous genius raised Mozart above all masters, in all centuries and in all the arts. 
- (Richard Wagner)

Mozart is the greatest composer of all. Beethoven created his music, but the music of Mozart is of such purity and beauty that one feels he merely found it-that it has always existed as part of the inner beauty of the universe waiting to be revealed. 
- (Albert Einstein)

Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name; he has taste, and, furthermore, the most profound knowledge of composition.
- (Joseph Haydn to Mozart's father)

Posterity will not see such a talent again for 100 years
- (Joseph Haydn on Mozart)

Mozart is the highest, the culminating point that beauty has attained in the sphere of music. 
- (Tchaikovsky)

Mozart is the musical Christ.
- (Tchaikovsky)

Listening to Mozart, we cannot think of any possible improvement.
- (George Szell)

21 piano sonatas, 27 piano concertos, 41 symphonies, 18 masses, 13 operas, 9 oratorios and cantata, 2 ballets, 40 plus concertos for various instruments, string quartets, trios and quintets, violin and piano duets piano quartets, and the songs. This astounding output includes hardly one work less than a masterpiece. 
- (George Szell)

Mozart makes you believe in God because it cannot be by chance that such a phenomenon arrives into this world and leaves such an unbounded number of unparalleled masterpieces. 
- (Georg Solti)

Mozart shows a creative power of such magnitude that one can virtually say that he tossed out of himself one great masterpiece after another. 
- (Claudio Arrau)

A phenomenon like Mozart remains an inexplicable thing.
- (Goethe)

I my dreams of heaven, I always see the great composers gathered in a huge hall in which they all reside. Only Mozart has his own suite. 
- (Victor Borge)

It may be that when the angels go about their task praising God, they play only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they play Mozart. 
- (Karl Barth)

Beethoven I take twice a week, Haydn four times, and Mozart every day!
- (Rossini)

Before Mozart, all ambition turns to despair.
- (Charles Gounod)

Mozart encompasses the entire domain of musical creation, but I've got only the keyboard in my poor head.
- (Chopin)

What gives Bach and Mozart a place apart is that these two great composers never sacrificed form to expression. As high as their expression may soar, their musical form remains supreme and all-efficient.
- (Camille Saint-Saens)

In Bach, Beethoven and Wagner we admire principally the depth and energy of the human mind; in Mozart, the divine instinct.
- (Edvard Grieg)

Together with the puzzle, Mozart gives you the solution. 
- (Ferruccio Busoni)

Mozart's music is free of all exaggeration, of all sharp breaks and contradictions. The sun shines but does not blind, does not burn or consume. Heaven arches over the earth, but it does not weigh it down, it does not crush or devour it. 
- (Karl Barth)

I never heard so much content in so short a period. 
- (Pinchas Zukerman)

Designing an opera by Mozart is like doing something for God-it's a labor of love.
- (Maurice Sendak)

There are three things in the world I love most: the sea, Hamlet, and Don Giovanni.
- (Gustave Flaubert)

Lengthy immersion in the works of other composers can tire. The music of Mozart does not tire, and this is one of its miracles. 
- (George Snell)

Mozart, prodigal heaven gave thee everything, grace and strength, abundance and moderation, perfect equilibrium.
- (Charles Gounod)

Give Mozart a fairy tale and he creates without effort an immortal masterpiece.
- (Saint Saens)

What a picture of a better world you have given us, Mozart!
- (Franz Schubert)


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Since I do not really like too much pre-20th century music, the big 3 composers do not even make it on my radar as viable choices.

If I had one composer to listen for the rest of my life, it would probably be Elliot Carter. Not because he's my favorite composer, but because he has a lot of high quality output of good variety.


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## Andolink (Oct 29, 2012)

*J.S. Bach*

So much that's so sublime!


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Mahlerian said:


> Hugo Wolf, you mean?


You are probably just being deliberately dense, but there were many wolves in the picture, not just one....


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## Lerouse (Sep 10, 2013)

Beethoven without a doubt, would have to include Brendel's complete Piano Sonata/Concerto's though!


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2015)

Mahlerian said:


> Hugo Wolf, you mean?


That's Simon Pegg.


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## Ferrariman601 (Oct 10, 2015)

Mozart

Nothing at all reminds me more of how spectacular life is than his music.


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## billeames (Jan 17, 2014)

I will try to evaluate my preferences in each form. String Quartets Beethoven favorite. Operas: Verdi, Symphonies tie between Beethoven, Bruckner, and Brahms, Piano Works Beethoven, Trios-Beethoven. Choral Works: Beethoven Missa Solemnis tops, I do love Mozart Mass c minore and Verdi Requiem also. Summary, Beethoven because of I love a variety of his output.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

I'd be really sad to lose a bunch of composers, but I would be totally devastated if I lost Mozart. 
So, Wolfy, come with me!


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## HolstThePhone (Oct 11, 2015)

The thought of only listening to one composer for the rest of my life fills me with dread... Whatever I'd choose I'd find myself missing the ones I hadn't chosen. 

I suppose I would have to reluctantly choose Beethoven... Though the thought of never listening to Mozart, Bach, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Handel, Schubert, Liszt, Grieg or any of the other great musical minds throughout history makes me sad. Thank God this is only hypothetical.


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

"Bach, a one trick pony" - ???!!!

KenOC,

I have read your postings and really dig what you share 99.97% of the time but calling Bach a one trick pony - That is a crude verdict especially when thinking about how much Shostakovich was enamored of JSBach.


Johann Sebastian Bach - Because he lifts the veil just a smidgeon so that us mere mortals can witness the Beauty of Creation and the Beauty of the Author who does the Creating!


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

If there is an alternate universe, regardless of how much better it is, ours has Mozart in its history.


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Johann Sebastian Bach.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Assuming Celibidache was conducting, Bruckner could probably last me the rest of my life.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Blancrocher said:


> Assuming Celibidache was conducting, Bruckner could probably last me the rest of my life.


 ............... :lol:


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

Blancrocher said:


> Assuming Celibidache was conducting, Bruckner could probably last me the rest of my life.


No pun intended?


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

Either Wagner or Bach.


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## Gustav Mahler (Dec 3, 2014)

Can you guess who is mine?


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Gustav Mahler said:


> Can you guess who is mine?


I'm assuming _Mozart_.

It was Mahler's final word, after all!


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## Asterix77 (Oct 17, 2015)

When everything else fails....there is always Bach


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## Nevum (Nov 28, 2013)

Bruckner. Of course.


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## Tomas (Aug 23, 2014)

I know it's been said many times, but there is no alternative other than Bach


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## Roi N (Oct 22, 2013)

It is a great question. One that requires a lot of thought.
Brahms obviously comes to mind. His choir music is nothing short of divine, his works are masterly crafted in both form and orchestration. After Ein Deutsches Requiem, The 3rd and 4th symphonies and the wonderful Op. 104 Funf Gesange not much else is needed. Although...
Mendelssohn maybe? His melodies are unmatched, which might help explain why he is the master of the romantic-era counterpoint. From the early works such as the String Octet and the Midsummer Night Dream Overture to the late works - Elias and the 4th symphony, and his beautiful sets of Lieder (With and without words ) - he is a strong contender, no doubt. Then again...
Haydn. Definitely Haydn. His output is unparalleled - both in quantity and quality. The Fantastic Paris and London symphonies, the unbelievable quartets, his last Opera and final two Oratorios, his six late masses, concerti for almost every instrument, wide range of piano sonatas and also fine lieder - there isn't a genre that Haydn neglected - and he excelled in them all.


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## Ariasexta (Jul 3, 2010)

Honestly, I will never be satisfied with only one composer, if situation happened that I do have to choose one composer with me get send to live with his composition only(interplanetary immigration?), I will choose Guillaume Dufay, becaus living with a composer only means the instrumental music will be characterized by his works alone, to restrict musical taste to a single composer would be painful. Even JS Bach tried to steal his cousins musical collection of other composers organ music, only succeeded at the deathbed of his cousin. How painful, so I choose Guillaume Dufay for his simplicity, such simplicity will give me more space of imagination to compose music on my own. I will never stand listening only to one composer, I will turn into a composer myself or creat more composers.:lol:


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