# You're only allowed 10 composers.



## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

OK, please excuse me as a newbie.
I'm sure this has been done many times before in some guise or another. 
List your top 10 composers. The 10 that you couldn't do without. Forsaking all others till death do you part.
Nothing too outfield in my lot. Beethoven probably just misses the cut. I'd cry for weeks over the loss of Holst, Elgar, Walton and Purcell. No more Messiaen, Takemitsu, aaggh. It's hard. It's only in writing this list that I've realised how many good composers I'd have to miss out on.

Probably this lot then.

1. Vaughan Williams
2. Mahler
3. Wagner
4. Bach
5. Shostakovich
6. Rachmaninov
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Brahms
9. Mozart
10. Haydn


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm going to treat my answer as if some higher power was really going to force me to listen to only 10 composers for the rest of my life. So, in that scenario I won't necessarily be listing my 10 favorite, but 10 that would provide a reasonable variety to keep me interested. So, here goes (numbered but the order does not reflect preference.)

1. Bach
2. Vivaldi
3. Mozart
4. Beethoven
5. Alkan
6. Schubert (couldn't live without the sonatas.)
7. Liszt
8. Ligeti (for a change of pace, particularly in the piano music.)
9. DeBussy 
10. Schoenberg (here is an example of a composer I would choose, but isn't anywhere near my top 10 favorite. I would want to include him as a change of pace from the rest.)

So, I definitely didn't choose all the styles available, but I think enough to keep me interested for the most part.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Mendelssohn
Brahms
Chopin
Schumann
Dvorak
Beethoven
Liszt
Tchaikovsky 
Mozart
Grieg


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

1. Bach
3. Schoenberg
4. Charles Ives
5. Morton Feldman
6. Stockhausen
7. Mozart
8. Terry Riley
9. Webern
10. Debussy


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## ahammel (Oct 10, 2012)

For breadth and depth of output:
J. S. Bach
Schubert
W. A. Mozart
Beethoven

Personal Favourites:
R. Strauss
Wagner
Ravel

The spice of life:
Gesualdo
Ligeti
Bartok


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

30 would be more convenient. But: 11, for quality and variation

Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Bruckner 
Mahler
Scriabin
Ravel
Janacek
Shostakovich
Takemitsu
Nørgård

EDIT: oops, forgot Stravinsky. can´t under any circumstances be omitted, so that makes 12.


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

In no order whatsoever:

Schumann
Faure
Beethoven
Bach
Chopin
Janacek
Bartok
Josquin
Webern
Ives


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

Bach
Brahms
Schoenberg
Bruckner
Górecki
Haydn
Honegger
Hovhaness
Josquin
Nono

So many wonderful composers left out. On the other hand, it's interesting that, if forced to select the absolute top, even beloved masters become, in the end, dispensible.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

J.S. Bach
J. Brahms
G. Mahler
F. Schubert
D. Shostakovitch
A. Dvorak
F. Mendelssohn
E.J. Moeran
R. Wagner
J. Sibelius

The 10th spot could also have gone to Debussy or Ravel.


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## unpocoscherzando (Sep 24, 2011)

1. Brahms
2. Grieg
3. Beethoven
4. Puccini
5. Sibelius
6. Rodrigo
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Granados
9. Bizet
10. Albeniz


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

In no real order of preference:

Beethoven
Schubert
Bruckner
Mahler
Hindemith
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Stravinsky
Britten
Schnittke

Apologies mainly to Bach, Mozart, Ravel, Janacek, Ives, Poulenc and Tippett.


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## Bone (Jan 19, 2013)

Not exactly this order, but these are the faves for me:

Brahms
Beethoven
Bartok
Sibelius 
Shostakovich
J.S. Bach
Haydn
Messiaen
Bruckner
Mahler

Just missing the cut: Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky - those crazy Russians.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

In alphabetical order:

(JS) Bach
Beethoven
Bruckner
Debussy
Mahler
Messiaen
Mozart
Schoenberg
Stravinsky
Takemitsu


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## IBMchicago (May 16, 2012)

Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and, what the heck, Brahms.


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## Daniellll (Feb 21, 2010)

Beethoven
Mozart
Bach
Brahms
Schubert
Liszt
Tchaikovsky
Mahler
Sibelius
Rachmaninoff


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## Feathers (Feb 18, 2013)

In chronological order:

Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Mendelssohn
Chopin
Schumann
Bruckner
Mahler
Scriabin
Shostakovich

Nothing too unusual in mine. 

Making this list actually made me more grateful for the composers whom I didn't include in the list (like Ravel, Faure, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Schubert, etc.) because now I can better imagine how painful life would be without them.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

Greetings.

What is the purpose of listing one's top 10 composers?


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

1. J.S. Bach
2. W.A. Mozart
3. L.v. Beethoven

The first three are virtually given. There's a universe of beautiful music in nearly every genre imaginable to be explored.

4. Richard Wagner... The only operas to rival Mozart... and such lush orchestration
5. Franz Schubert... The last two symphonies; the late piano sonatas; the impromptus; and the lieder!
6. Joseph Haydn... ack! All that lovely choral music, the quartets and symphonies and sonatas!

That was somewhat painless... but now it gets interesting? I want some variety. A non-German. Russian? French? Italian? Renaissance? Modernist? Can I do without Handel? Brahms? Something weird like Biber or Gesualdo?

7. Richard Strauss- I can't live without _The Four Last Songs_... and _Salome_ and _Elektra_ and _Der Rosenkavalier _

Mahler? Can I do without the Second Symphony and the _Song of the Earth_?

8. Gabriel Faure... My love of French music must be addressed... and I cannot live without Faure's Requiem and his mélodies and chamber works are so exquisite.

9. Tchaikovsky... I must have one Russian... and so limited, the choice is obvious. All those ballets, the symphonies, the romances... and the under-rated operas.

10. Offenbach... I initially thought of going with Debussy (if only for Pelléas et Mélisande) or Ravel (for the exquisite piano concerto)... but I need something from out in left field... something seriously fun... something audacious and irreverent (beyond Mozart's _Magic Flute_)... something deliciously decadent that thumbs its nose in the face of Wagner, Bach, and Beethoven and all that "serious"music.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

J S Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Debussy
Handel
Hermann
Martinu
Monteverdi
Stravinsky
Vaughan-Williams

Mine is not too different from others. Bernard Hermann is listed because I simply do not want to live the rest of my life without The Day the Earth Stood Still suite. The other surprise, Martinu, is there because of his output is well rounded, always varied but always satisfying. He edged out Medtner by a hair.

I was only able to omit Holst because I don't really need to hear The Planets ever again. They are committed to memory. Respighi and Schumann were very painful omissions. Schubert and Mendelssohn I decided I would not miss much as long as Beethoven and Brahms were around.

Edit: I am surprised at the proportions. 3 baroque. 1 classical. 1.5 romantics, 5.5 moderns (or at least 20th c.) I would never have suspected so many moderns.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Hi, MagneticGhost.

May I be so forward as to comment on your avatar image belonging to Roxanna Panufnik?










If so, then it's interesting that your Top 10 composers doesn't contain Andrzej Panufnik. 

As for the 10 composers whose music I wouldn't want to be without, they are:

1. Charles Koechlin
2. Giacinto Scelsi
3. Andre Jolivet
4. Aarre Merikanto
5. Alex North
6. Maurice Ohana
7. Arne Nordheim
8. Jerry Goldsmith
9. Meyer Kupferman
10. Pierre Jansen

I need my weekly "fix" of music by Koechlin, no matter what opus or how many times I've listened. Koechlin = #1 with me!
Scelsi is one whose works I collect multiple versions of; if there's a new recording of _Aion_ or _Uaxuctum_, then I gotta get it even if I already own 2 or more renditions.

Music written by Alex North or Maurice Ohana crawls into my head through the ears and won't leave my mind.

I own almost every Soundspells CD produced by Meyer Kupferman, whose music is always of interest. Moonflowers, baby!
Last but not least, soundtracks of film music by Jerry Goldsmith have been accumulated by me since 1982 when I was age 15.
I have been a Goldsmith completist for 30 years, & I'm not stopping.


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## MJongo (Aug 6, 2011)

Beethoven
Bach
Mingus
Mahler
Schubert
Shostakovich
Messiaen
Zappa
Wagner
Mozart


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

I can't love without you, Schubert...


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Bach
4. Brahms
5. Schubert

These above are mandatory

6. Wagner
7. Haydn
8. Dvorak
9. Mendelssohn
10. Schumann

I think more than missing any other specific composer, I'd miss the ability to play a wide range of music from the Renaissance through contemporary.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

1. Edgard Varese
2. Frank Zappa
3. John Milton Barrett
4. David Hirschfelder
5. Betty Beath
6. Harry Partch
7. Alberto Zelman
8. Larry (Lazarus or Lazar) Sitsky
9. Stockhausen
10. Dudley Moore


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## Llyranor (Dec 20, 2010)

Bach
Vivaldi
Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Tchaikovsky
Dvorak
Mahler
Sibelius
Shostakovich


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> 1. Edgard Varese
> 2. Frank Zappa
> 3. John Milton Barrett
> 4. David Hirschfelder
> ...


Dudley Moore? Does your health insurance cover that sort of thing?


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

It was a test to see if you pick it up and yes my health cover is wide ranging thanks........


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

hayd said:


> Greetings.
> 
> What is the purpose of listing one's top 10 composers?


Hello Hayd
No purpose at all. Just a bit of fun for those who like compiling pointless lists.
Maybe slightly educational in showcasing a snapshot of people's tastes. 
Not to be taken seriously in any shape or form.


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Prodromides said:


> Hi, MagneticGhost.
> 
> May I be so forward as to comment on your avatar image belonging to Roxanna Panufnik?
> 
> ...


I'd be delighted for you to comment. 
I didn't include Andzej Panufnik because I only know three pieces. I was trying to learn more about him when I found his beautiful daughter also composed beautiful music. Was looking for an avatar and thought she would be more attractive to look at than Elgar's moustache. 

When I have explored further both Panufniks may make my top 10


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## Borodin (Apr 8, 2013)

I chose John Williams and 9 other composers I can cool down to after hating his talent.


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2013)

As classical is not my default listening habit, I'd struggle to list 10 composers who are indispensable. It would be more important to me to be able to include some from other genres.


Beethoven
Debussy
Brian Eno
The Beatles
Sigur Ros
Robert Wyatt
Radiohead
Wilco
Muse
Depeche Mode...no, Kraftwerk


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Mozart
Beethoven
Bach
Sibelius
Tchaikovsky
Schubert
Rachmaninov
Grieg 
Debussy
Ravel


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

hayd said:


> Greetings.
> 
> What is the purpose of listing one's top 10 composers?


Lists,lists,lists,they love them. Mind you it gives us the chance to look into members depths.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Beethoven. No particular order.
Rossini.
Verdi.
Schubert.
Loewe.
Mozart.
Tchaikovsky.
Brahms.
R.Strauss.
Liszt.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

MagneticGhost said:


> Hello Hayd
> No purpose at all. Just a bit of fun for those who like compiling pointless lists.
> Maybe slightly educational in showcasing a snapshot of people's tastes.
> Not to be taken seriously in any shape or form.


I don't mean to be disparaging of this (or many other) lists, it is just that I do not see music in terms of better or worse, favoured & less favoured. The more I hear of music in all genres, by more & more composers, the less I can relate to it in those terms.

In other words, I hear each piece as a unique creation and can't therefore compare it to any other works.

I see all these lists and think I may be missing something!


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Classical (any genre):

Dvorak
Haydn
Sibelius
Brahms
Schumann
Wagner
Beethoven
Mozart
Bruckner
Saint Saens

My list have few changes every time I rewrite it!


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Non Classical:

Horace Silver 
The Chieftains
Altan
Bill Monroe
Benny Goodman
Duke Ellington
Cole Porter
Nat King Cole
Amos Milburn


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

"10 favourite composers" is like a ritual, it always re-surfaces. No need to hate it more than eating or sleeping. Here's mine, again:

1. Bruckner
2. Wagner
3. Mahler
4. Beethoven
5. Brahms
6. Sibelius
7. Schubert
8. Berlioz
9. R. Strauss
10. Liszt


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2013)

hayd said:


> I do not see music in terms of better or worse, favoured & less favoured.


So, all your music gets an equal airing and received at each airing with equal enthusiasm, treating every piece as of equal quality and value - nothing better or worse than anything else? You relegate nothing to the 'back' of the CD rack - you never sell stuff on...?


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

1. Lully
2. Bach
3. Handel
4. Turlough O'Carolan
5) Mozart
5) Purcell
7. Chopin
8) Tchaikovsky
8) Beethoven
10. Dowland

Small & big lumped together. But hey - small is beautiful!


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

MacLeod said:


> So, all your music gets an equal airing and received at each airing with equal enthusiasm, treating every piece as of equal quality and value - nothing better or worse than anything else? You relegate nothing to the 'back' of the CD rack - you never sell stuff on...?


Yes, that is pretty much it. I play music I haven't heard before multiple times, to get to know it somewhat, then it joins the collection in rotation.

I tend to give things away when I have finished with them, rather than sell them, but I have not disposed of a single piece of classical music, ever.


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## ricardo_jvc6 (Dec 8, 2010)

Chopin
Liszt
Alkan
Debussy
Erik Satie
Beethoven
Mozart
Richard Wagner
Richard Strauss 
Antonin Dvoräk
Schubert

I don't include bach, Handel or others since they are not my favourite I am not really a great listener to baroque music (though I like the choir).


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Ingenue said:


> 1. Lully
> 2. Bach
> 3. Handel
> 4. *Turlough O'Carolan*
> ...


That one get´s you curious, thanks. I didn´t know him - are you referring to a particular cd or do you have experience playing his works ?


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Burroughs said:


> Mendelssohn
> Brahms
> Chopin
> Schumann
> ...


Excellent taste! I love most of the ones you picked


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Difficult, because as soon as I've decided on 10 names to post I get the urge to change at least 5 of them! this is today's provisional list in no particular order...

Olivier Messiaen
Cesar Franck
Johann Sebastian Bach
Dmitry Shostakovich
Gustav Mahler
Charles Marie Widor
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Carl Nielsen
Iannis Xenakis
Allan Pettersson

/ptr


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

joen_cph said:


> That one get´s you curious, thanks. I didn´t know him - are you referring to a particular cd or do you have experience playing his works ?


 He's a blind Irish harpist who lived in the 17th/18th century so his pieces are in the Irish folk tradition, but they make it into the ABRSM exams in list B (the 'romantic' section) along with Paganini, Schubert & Schumann, so I figured he was 'allowed'. Yes, Taggart & I love playing his pieces (written for his patrons, members of the Anglo-Irish gentry) together on piano & violin. They are beautiful. Google 'Carolan' to get a flavour, as played by the pianist J. J. Sheridan. We own & listen to a 'licensed mp3' from Sheridan's site.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Mahler
4. Chopin
5. J.S. Bach
6. Tchaikovsky
7. Brahms
8. Schubert
9. Haydn
10. Mendelssohn or Schumann (Depending on the exact moment I was told to choose)


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

joen_cph said:


> That one get´s you curious, thanks. I didn´t know him - are you referring to a particular cd or do you have experience playing his works ?


It's her cousin once removed.
Oh no he's not, must have been somebody with a similar name !


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

1) Brahms
2) Mahler
3) Chopin
4) Ravel
5) Grieg
6) Mozart
7) Beethoven
8) Dvorak
9) Mendelssohn
10) Puccini

Let's see: I have a wealth of excellent piano music here, some of the finest chamber music ever composed, my favorite two composers of opera, elite symphonists, a fine "minaturist", amazing lieder. A heart-rending Stabat mater in there. 

I lack a ballet, and I do regret the exclusion of Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky, but I feel I could enjoy the output of only these ten and be pretty happy for quite a long time!

Yeah, I'm set!

I may even do a playlist focusing on just these ten sometimes in the next few months.


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## BartokBela (Mar 12, 2013)

Bartok
Bach (J.S.)
Beethoven
Brahms
Mozart
Schubert
Shostakovich
Debussy
Messiaen
Sibelius


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

millionrainbows said:


> 1. Bach
> 3. Schoenberg
> 4. Charles Ives
> 5. Morton Feldman
> ...


No number 2?


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Sonata said:


> 1) Brahms
> 2) Mahler
> 3) Chopin
> 4) *Ravel*
> ...


You actually have one of the greatest ballets of all time!


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

tdc said:


> You actually have one of the greatest ballets of all time!


That's right!! Daphnis et chloe!!!  Good point tdc. :tiphat:


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## GiulioCesare (Apr 9, 2013)

It breaks my heart to see only one person mentioned Händel. 

JS Bach
Mozart 
Beethoven
Händel
Stravinsky
Mahler
Mendelssohn
Tchaikovsky
R. Strauss
Schubert


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## TitanisWalleri (Dec 30, 2012)

Really just two I couldn't live without:
Holst 
Respighi
They comprise over 50% of my playlist 
I am getting more interested in Mahler, Shostakovich, and Dvorak.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

*like father like daughter?*

Hi, MG

Coincidently, there are only 3 works by Andrzej Panufnik in my music collection as well: his Symphonies #8 & #9 and his piano concerto. On the basis of these, though, Panufnik hasn't resonated with me so far. Both Lutoslawski and Penderecki have intrigued me more than Panufnik, yet none of them are particular favorites.
Nonetheless, I'm fascinated with the overall Warsaw Autumn from the late 1950s and the evolution of textural music/sonorism into the 1960s. I feel that Tadeusz Baird may arise one future day to be my favorite Pole, if and when more of his music thaws out of its hibernation.

Now I must admit that I don't own any albums of music by Roxanna. I'm familiar only with her name and face because I periodicaly search online for living and/or female composers.
We TC members owe thanks to your good taste in avatars.


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Interesting just been exploring Andrzej Panufnik myself. Wasn't that interested by his symphonic works either but I liked his works for strings including his 3 string quartets which have a searching quality and his final work, a cello concerto for Rostropovich. I'd never heard of his daughter despite her being "one of the UK's most popular and loved composers" according to her website.


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

In no particular order--either alphabetically or "favorite":

1. Carl Nielsen
2. Serge Prokofiev 
2b. Piotr Chaikovskii { I know I'm cheating, sorry! :scold:}
3.  Vaughan Williams
4. Antonin Dvorak
5. Jean Sibelius
6. Anton Bruckner
7. Gustav Mahler
8. Ludwig Van Beethoven
9. Franz Schubert
10.Robert Schumann 

Good idea for a thread, although I found it very hard to winnow my "go to" composers down to a mere ten.  Twenty-- or even fifteen-- would have been a lot easier! :kiss:


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Prodromides said:


> Hi, MG
> 
> Coincidently, there are only 3 works by Andrzej Panufnik in my music collection as well: his Symphonies #8 & #9 and his piano concerto. On the basis of these, though, Panufnik hasn't resonated with me so far. Both Lutoslawski and Penderecki have intrigued me more than Panufnik, yet none of them are particular favorites.
> Nonetheless, I'm fascinated with the overall Warsaw Autumn from the late 1950s and the evolution of textural music/sonorism into the 1960s. I feel that Tadeusz Baird may arise one future day to be my favorite Pole, if and when more of his music thaws out of its hibernation.
> ...


Check out A. Panufnik's Sinfonia Sacra. Played it at University. It's really good. This is the only version I can find on youtube. Great fanfare for 4 offstage trumpets.






As for Roxanna - I've just posted a couple of her pieces on this thread.

http://www.talkclassical.com/25080-best-21st-century-vocal.html#post447711


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## Aecio (Jul 27, 2012)

In no preference order

1.Beethoven
2.Brahms
3.Bartok
4.Bach
5.Fauré
6.Debussy
7.Sibelius
8.Mendelssohn
9.Schumann
10.Shostakovich


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Aecio said:


> In no preference order
> 
> 1.Beethoven
> 2.Brahms
> ...


Nice variety!


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

I'll name 4, considering only those I could "not do without":

- Mendelssohn
- Tchaikovsky
- Beethoven
- Grieg


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## Hoosier (Apr 19, 2013)

Stravinsky
Beethoven 
Mozart
Dvorak
Chopin
Prokofiev
Haydn
Bartok
Poulenc (I know . . . What can I say?)
Rimsky


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

Without giving it much thought, in generally chronological order, with some hope of variety:

Bingen
Dowland
Bach
Beethoven
Schubert
Chopin
Fauré
Scriabin
Mahler
Shostakovich

Looking at those names in a list made my soul smile.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Beethoven
Mozart
Mahler
Chopin
Liszt
Scriabin
Rachmaninoff

non classical:
Steve Roach

that's it


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## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

Chopin
and 9 others


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2013)

CypressWillow said:


> Chopin
> and 9 others


I don't like Chopin, but I double-like your answer!


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## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

CypressWillow said:


> Chopin
> and 9 others


Merci beaucoup! You, sir, are a gentleman.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

........._No!_


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

I have an ever expanding group of Composers I love and increasingly I find im not thinking in terms of favourites. The following are composers I have been obsessed about at one time or another and still enjoy returning to:

Bach, Bruckner, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Mahler & Vaughan Williams


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