# Favorite composers during the last 100 years?



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

A no-poll poll. Name or list your composers primarily active since 1914. Consider ONLY works written in 1915 or later -- for instance, you wouldn't consider Stravinsky's big-three ballets.

I'll assign points (3-2-1) to the first three you name in the order you name them and ignore any others. You can also name two or just one if you like. Will post results now and then as people vote. One vote only please, and no vote changes later!


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## Guest (Jun 12, 2014)

I would make this the last 50 years, if you want to make it interesting. Otherwise, no one from the last 50 years will stand a chance against the likes of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Schoenberg, etc.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

KenOC said:


> A no-poll poll. *Name or list your composers primarily active since 1914. Consider ONLY works written in 1915 or later -- for instance, you wouldn't consider Stravinsky's big-three ballets.*
> 
> I'll assign points (3-2-1) *to the first three you name *in the order you name them and ignore any others. You can also name two or just one if you like. Will post results now and then as people vote. One vote only please, and no vote changes later!


Not clear to me. Are you asking for names of composers, or titles of works?


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## Guest (Jun 12, 2014)

If I am correct, he is referring to composers, but disregarding their oeuvre before 1914. So you could say Schoenberg or Stravinsky but only if it's based on their works beyond The Rite Of Spring / Verklarte Nacht / etc.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

SONNET CLV said:


> Not clear to me. Are you asking for names of composers, or titles of works?


Exactly right. Composers (per the thread title etc.), but considering only their works from 1915 and later.

Another way to put it: Which composers wrote your favorite music from the last 100 years?


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## classicalgamble (Jun 12, 2014)

I am a new beginner and forgive my blurting in but there are very prolific composers writing scored music right now that is considered in my opinion really great pieces. John Coda, a friend of mine, George Skaroulis, Steve Haun, Art Reynolds, Basil Poledouris (passed away now), Rachel Portman, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, these men and women, including but not limited to, are really great composers with in this 100 year period. If you mean outside the box of 100 years ago and mean 100 years or greater then I look like a total freak and didn't read the format title. My apologies. But again if we are talking about "during the last 100 years" then lets look at the recent scored music coming out now. How marvelous these people are. thanks for your time.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

You can vote for whomever you wish, inside the box or out, for whatever they wrote in the last 100 years. I didn't know Basil Poledouris had passed away, sorry to hear that.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Lots of posts, but no votes?


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## Guest (Jun 12, 2014)

KenOC said:


> Lots of posts, but no votes?


Well you ignored my posts, so I figured you'd ignore my vote too.


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Britten


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

arcaneholocaust said:


> Well you ignored my posts, so I figured you'd ignore my vote too.


Actually I responded to your second when I said, "Absolutely right." Sorry if this wasn't clear.

And musicrom, thanks for your vote!


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## Guest (Jun 12, 2014)

I shall submit a vote tomorrow when I can look through some composition lists to make sure I'm not including something based on pre-1914 stuff  musicrom's choices are solid, but I need to evaluate how much of my favorite oeuvres I can consider. 

Oh yeah, and Messiaen is a given.

IOW: I'll get back to you.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and Messiaen would lead the pack in my book.

And yes, I am basing this _entirely_ on post-1914 works.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Gotcha, thanks!


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Favorite, not greatest.

1. Ligeti
2. Vaughan-Williams
3. Martinu

At least I'm eclectic. I'm not 100 percent sure about any of them. Tomorrow it might be different.

[Edit: Not even close to a consensus so far.]


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

1. Prokofiev
2. Britten
3. Berg


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Weston and amfortas, thanks for your votes. I'll wait for tomorrow to post the early results.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

1. Vaughan Williams
2. Glass
3. Weinberg

(Heard quite a bit of Weinberg lately, so I'm giving him his moment in the sun!)


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## Guest (Jun 12, 2014)

KenOC said:


> Lots of posts, but no votes?


And I, for my part, am surprised that anyone has voted at all, given the ignoring of your own that you announced, and given that there's scoring. Your scoring.

But it's a funny world. And you've gotten the validation you wanted.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

To name only 3 is a tall order, but my favourites at this moment in time would be Messiaen, Berg and Sciarrino.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

This is a really difficult task for me, as my top 100 is largely interchangeable depending on what mood I'm in.. 

So based on the moment:

Messiaen

Haas

Gubaidulina 

Ask me again in ten minutes and I may have changed my mind!

/ptr


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

William Schuman, Sergei Prokofiev, Charles Ives and Aaron Copland.

I seem to be the only horizontalist amidst a sea of verticalists.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

1. Stockhausen
2. Ligeti
3. Lutosławski


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Messiaen
Shostakovich 
Ligeti

It pains me to leave Britten off the list. 

Ps: I concur with the view above that we should do this another time with a more recent date window.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Favorite "composers"? Only three? Tough ...

Dmitri Shostakovich
Miles Davis
Antônio "Tom" Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim

By the way, viewers interested in this thread might want to take a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_20th-century_classical_composers


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

Prokofiev
Shostakovich
Reich


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Hmm... 20th century composers:

1) Alfred Schnittke
2) Olivier Messiaen
3) Magnus Lindburg


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

1. Stravinsky
2. Prokofiev
3. Shostakovich


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Bartok
Stravinsky
Ligeti

Stravinsky would pip Bartok if we could go back a few years earlier (although Bartok is hurt as well). And #3 is really wide open. On another day, Ligeti could drop out of the top 10.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

1. Leonard Bernstein
2. Havergal Brian
3. Joly Braga Santos


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

1. Bartók
2. Prokofiev
3. Ives (final editions)


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## omega (Mar 13, 2014)

For the moment...

1. Messiaen
2. Prokofiev
3. Bartok


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

some guy said:


> And I, for my part, am surprised that anyone has voted at all, given the ignoring of your own that you announced, and given that there's scoring. Your scoring.
> 
> But it's a funny world. And you've gotten the validation you wanted.


I feel no compunction to accept KenOC's scoring, or in fact anybody's ranking but my own. The 1915 date imposes a stricture that encourages some thought; like how it affects my love for Rachmaninoff's music, for instance. It also could instigate research and contemplation on how 'date-shifts' of a decade at a time would affect selections. That would probably just give me a headache, but we ain't all of us fragile geezers.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Schoenberg
Webern
Messiaen
Shostakovich
Xenakis
Ligeti

...and a dozen or more others. You know the composers I like :lol:


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Bartok


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

So far 20 posters have nominated 29 composers. With points assigned 3-2-1 for the top 3 choices of each poster, the following composers have more than three points.

Prokofiev - 18
Messiaen - 16
Shostakovich - 14
Bartok - 8
Stravinsky - 8
Ligeti - 7
Schoenberg - 5
Vaughan Williams - 5


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

KenOC said:


> So far 20 posters have nominated 29 composers. With points assigned 3-2-1 for the top 3 choices of each poster, the following composers have more than three points.
> 
> Prokofiev - 18
> Messiaen - 16
> ...


No Stockhausen or Lutosławski? You Philistines.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

1. Shostakovich
2. Prokofiev
3. Weinberg


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

1. Charles Koechlin
2. Giacinto Scelsi
3. Andre Jolivet


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## mashoo (Jun 14, 2014)

I'm rather hopeless with choosing favourites with anything...but I have been recently listening to orchestral works by Takemitsu which has been an utter pleasure to my ears and brains :3


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## mashoo (Jun 14, 2014)

Oh can't forget Ligeti and Unsuk Chin and Revueltas!


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## Guest (Jun 15, 2014)

You may not be able to forget Revueltas, but KenOC has already promised to ignore him.:lol:


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

some guy said:


> You may not be able to forget Revueltas, but KenOC has already promised to ignore him.:lol:


Pollster Prank #13,847.


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## BensonhoistLesbianChoir (Jun 15, 2014)

Peter Steele. No one else can evoke as much emotion as he does. The man is a musical genius. He is also criminally underrated, and never achieved significant acclaim. I should add that he wasn't a classical composer, although he had studied classical music and the way he composed songs was strongly influenced by classical music.

My internet is really slow today so I can't find any links at the time, but here are some of his songs you can find on Youtube:

Love You To Death by Type O Negative
Christian Woman by Type O Negative
Black No 1 by Type O Negative

Musically, I consider these songs to be the most characteristic of his talent. I've never studied music and I don't know the musical terminologies, but I can recognise a masterpiece when I hear one! These are masterpieces, esp. "Love You To Death". Of course I can suggest several other songs by Peter Steele to anyone interested. 

P.S.: All three of these songs have short and long versions. The longer versions are by far the best; why listened to the chopped-up ones? LYTD is about 7 minutes long, CW 9 minutes and B#1 11 minutes long.

Enjoy!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

24 people have now proposed 35 composers. Still the same eight on top with more than three points each, though the order has changed slightly.

Prokofiev - 20
Shostakovich - 17
Messiaen - 16
Ligeti - 10
Bartok - 8
Stravinsky - 8
Schoenberg - 5
Vaughan Williams - 5

Revueltas, with but a single point, does not yet qualify for ignoring.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Ligeti is in ascension.^ Seems appropriate.


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