# Composers and their most essential compositions



## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Please list 1-5 composers and for each composer, list the one most essential composition of the given composer, in your opinion.

The compositions should represent the composers to the core and essence.

On the representative compositions picked, explanations would be much appreciated. That could be the base for a discussion which should enlighten us on the unique aspects of the composers as perceived by the forumists.

I wouldn’t mind if experts here at some stage took the challenge of systematically mentioning the composers not yet mentioned.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Bach - Mass in B minor
Mozart - Don Giovanni
Beethoven - String Quartet op. 131
Schubert - String Quintet
Brahms - 3rd Symphony
Bruckner - 7th Symphony
Mahler - 6th Symphony
Debussy - Jeux
Schoenberg - Moses und Aaron
Stravinsky - Sacre du Printemps
Shostakovich - 8th Symphony
Prokofiev - 5th Symphony

(sorry, I didn't observe the 5 composers limit)


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Not possible . .


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

*Schubert - Winterreise*

The string quintet is indeed one of the jewels of chamber music, but the essential composition for Schubert should be taken from his vast Lieder oeuvre. And this is the best Schubert song cycle, and one of the very best of all time (not just IMO, but I think there's consensus on that). It also is one of the compositions that opened the door to the romantic period - and Schubert is one of the key figures in that transition.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Art Rock said:


> *Schubert - Winterreise*
> 
> The string quintet is indeed one of the jewels of chamber music, but the essential composition for Schubert should be taken from his vast Lieder oeuvre. And this is the best Schubert song cycle, and one of the very best of all time (not just IMO, but I think there's consensus on that). It also is one of the compositions that opened the door to the romantic period - and Schubert is one of the key figures in that transition.


Agreed! Schubert most certainly may be considered the master of song!

I have both played the piano on Schubert lieder and sung as a tenor. Not for 20 years, though!

The melodic and harmonic genius of Schubert is represented in his other music, too.

So Art Rock, with your choice and statement you sure get to the core of Schubert.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Duruflé - Requiem, Op. 9*. As a devout Catholic, most of his music is sacred, and he was incredibly self-critical and only published 14 opuses. The Requiem is in three iterations: 1) choir, soloists and organ with optional cello (1947), 2) choir, soloists and full orchestra (1947), and 3) choir, soloists and chamber orchestra (1961). My favorite is the for organ and cello.

The work is based on the Gregorian mass for the dead and in some ways is a transcription of those chants for the vocal and instrument forces, harmonized in a lush modality. I consider the work to be perfectly executed and represents Duruflé at his best.

*Bernstein - Mass*. The consummate example of Bernstein's omnivorous style and also presents a snapshot of the zeitgeist of the early '70s. It also has some of Bernstein's best music. The work has been criticized (although opinion has shifted considerably in the last 20 years) for the very reasons I love it and consider it the quintessential Bernstein work, IMO his one true masterpiece.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

*Bela Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra* / dramatic, filled with tension, intense
*Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring* / rhythmically complex, really does seem to musically represent some pagan ceremony
*Elliott Carter - Concerto for Orchestra* / tense, complex, elicits (in me) feelings of catharsis
*Arnold Schoenberg - Variations for Orchestra* / imaginative, fascinating, has its own sort of beauty
*Krzysztof Penderecki - Violin Concerto No.2 'Metamorphosen'* - from Penderecki's later, tonal period, but still retains much of his imaginative creativity and vitality of his earlier period


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Handel- Theodora (a dramatic oratorio)

Bach- Mass in B Minor

Haydn- String Quartet Op 33/1(wit and clarity)

Mozart- Don Giovanni

Beethoven- Piano Concerto no. 5 (very heroic sound)

Schubert- Die Schone Mullerin

Mendelssohn-- A Midsummer Night's Dream

Brahms- String Quintet no. 2

Dvorak- Symphony no. 8

Bruckner- Symphony no. 8

Mahler- Das Lied von Der Erde

Bartok- Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta

Stravinsky- Symphony of Psalms (best neo-classical work of his)


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Do I want to sit and reflect on this?...I'll try...
Orlando di Lasso-Lagrime di San Pietro...devine vocal music of late renaissance.
John Dowland-Lachrimae or Seven Tears...some more tears, also devine with some sweet emotions.
Archangelo Corelli-Concerti Grossi...the original concerto grosso guy, as Italian as can be!
CPE Bach-Viola da Gamba sonatas...maybe just as fantastic as his fathers.
Haydn-The Seven Last Words of Christ...meditative music by fun composer.
...that's 5, but I didn't even get to my favorite, MOZART...put in some piano concertos!


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

This posting won't address specific works/composers - but will offer a general insight - 

Years ago, we played the Mozart Piano 5tet in Eb with Frank Glazer, an eminent pianist, who specialized in chamber music...it was a wonderful experience, he was extremely knowledgeable, a terrific musician, and had recorded that same work with the great NY Woodwind 5tet...Frank really knew his stuff.

We were talking as a group, and Glazer offered his opinion on composers and their essential works - generally, not specific works....to him the essence of certain composers could be found in their general body of works:
for 
Beethoven - the symphonies
Mozart - the operas
Schubert - the songs

To Glazer - the "essence" of these composers could be found in these works...obviously, they created many great works outside of these particular genres...but to discover the "essential" composers...those categories were the key...


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Some major composers that have not been mentioned yet:

Messiaen - Quatuor pour la fin du temps
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto no. 3
Ravel - Gaspard de la nuit
Schumann - Kreisleriana
Szymanowski - Symphony no. 3 "Song of the Night"

I also agree with #4 on Schubert and #2 on Beethoven.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

RobertJTh said:


> Bach - Mass in B minor
> Mozart - Don Giovanni
> Beethoven - String Quartet op. 131
> Schubert - String Quintet
> ...


I am interested in hearing, why the 3rd Symphony by Brahms, and not the 1st or 4th?

Why the 7th by Bruckner?

Why the 6th by Mahler?

Why the 8th by Shostakovich? For some reason it is my favourite Shostakovich symphony, but still I have to ask. 

Why Sacre du Printemps and not Symphony of Psalms? (Although I cannot decide between the two either. Both are essential. The 1st belonging to the Russian period, the other to neoclassical period.)


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Highwayman said:


> Some major composers that have not been mentioned yet:
> I also agree with #4 on Schubert and #2 on Beethoven.





RobertJTh said:


> Beethoven - String Quartet op. 131


I cannot agree on the C#minor String Quartet, for in all its finesse, it is out of this world.

It represents only the very late Beethoven. It is a most important and outstanding work. Yet it is not as essential as, say, the 9th Symphony, which is more holistic, multi-faceted, representing both classicism and romanticism, going to the core of Beethoven´s personality, craftmanship and expressive powers, and having a huge influence on future generations of music.

The 9th Symphony pointed both towards Wagnerian (Bruckner, Mahler etc.) and Brahmsian (Schubert, Sibelius etc.) lines. It represents Beethoven perfectly.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

It's obviously impossible for most great composers with a broad oeuvre. Of course, a late quartet represents "only late Beethoven" but this seems still closer in many ways to middle Beethoven than Stravinsky's "Movements" are to Firebird. 
It's also odd to pick for Bach one of the handful of Latin church works instead of one of hundreds in German, or not to have an organ or keyboard work. 
For Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Stravinsky etc. picking one "essential" work will always be a gross distortion. It might work for some minor composers, obviously Freischütz for Weber, Carmen for Bizet outshine the rest of their work clearly. With Wagner one could pick Tristan and it would not be such a misrepresentation as with Beethoven or Stravinsky, but still quite a restriction.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

*Johann Sebastian Bach*

With all respect for people thinking otherwise, I agree with Kreisler Jr. that the Mass in B Minor is not a good choice as representing the essence of Bach. I'd go for the Saint Matthew's Passion. Wonderful melodies, moving, religious (like lots of his work). That it is also my favourite work from my favourite composer is purely coincidence.

:tiphat:


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## BoggyB (May 6, 2016)

I once read that in the 19th century the only Mozart opera that was regularly performed was Don Giovanni. It seems the great-grandchildren of those opera-programmers are alive and well!

The question of the definitive/representative Bruckner symphony is interesting. One is tempted to reject the 8th because of the first movement (climax and ending), the 7th because the adagio is "emotional", the 5th because of the fugue-finale, and the 4th because it's programmatic. If the early symphonies are to be put aside as well, this leaves only 6 and 9. Joe Public wouldn't choose the 6th because of the widespread prejudice and bigotry that's directed against it, so maybe it has to the 9th. With a finale included, of course.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

BoggyB said:


> I once read that in the 19th century the only Mozart opera that was regularly performed was Don Giovanni.


It was the most famous one (the opera of all operas, "Oper aller Opern") but The Magic Flute and Figaro were also performed regularly. The composer Lortzing wrote a chorus in praise of Mozart using music from the Magic flute ouverture.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

Bach - St. Matthew Passion
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 5
Mozart - Don Giovanni
Brahms - Ein deutsches Requiem
Mahler - Symphony No. 2
Schubert - Winterreise
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde
Debussy - Preludes for piano, Books I & II
Bruckner - Symphony No. 9
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Just my opinion of course but:

I stuck to orchestral/vocal as opposed to chamber music because I could do a separate list for chamber music.

Bach - Wachet Auf
Handel - Messiah
Haydn - Symphony 88
Mozart - Le Nozze Di Figaro
Beethoven - Symphony 3
Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto
Brahms - Symphony 4
Dvorak - Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto
Debussy - La Mer
Stravinsky - Le Sacre du Printemps
Shostakovich - Symphony 5
Copland - Appalachian Spring
Bernstein - Jeremiah Symphony


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

I agree at least on:

*Bach: St. Matthew Passion.*
The libretto is in German which suits a most protestant and Lutheran composer working for decades in a Leipziger church. The music is most representative, too.

*Debussy: La Mer*
No other composer could have possibly composed this beautiful and unique orchestral work which includes everything I find essential to Debussy.

*Brahms: Symphony 1*
Brahms was obsessed over Beethoven, the giant walking behind him. In order to achieve quality and weight equal to Beethoven, Brahms worked on his 1st Symphony for such a long time. So the work is in abundance of everything thoroughly Brahmsian. For me, this is Brahmsian heavy weight statement more than any other work.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Significant numbers of my favorite composers have had phases of stylistic evolution throughout their lives' careers. Szymanowski, Merikanto, Ives, etc. started writing in traditional romantic idioms before attaining distinguishing characteristics. Scelsi didn't arrive at his mature aesthetic until the 1950s. Wellesz, Gerhard & Frankel were all over age 50 when they embraced 12-tone techniques in their final decades of life. Rautavaara (and others whose initial training were serial) afterwards drifted away from dodecaphony. So distilling entire _oeuvre_s down to single works does not accurately represent these _oeuvre_s.

I decided to focus upon composers who've demonstrated their uniques voices early within their output and had continued with such voices to the end.

Heitor Villa-Lobos wrote in many _genre_s, but his cycle of Chôros best illustrates his unique contribution to music - incorporating Brazillian essence into Western European traditions. Villa-Lobos wrote 12 Chôros ... and he wrote 5 piano concerti.
*Chôros No. 11* blends both!

We travel from South America to Iceland now ...

Nobody sounds like Jón Leifs either before or after Jón Leifs. He was writing Icelandic songs & cantatas from the very start. I nominate his late-in-life tone poem - *Hafís*, op. 63 - to represent his unique utilization of orchestral & choral forces with augmented percussion.

... and, if Iceland is not north enough for you, here comes ...

Alex North. North was an East Coast composer before relocating to the West Coast for Hollywood. North excelled at writing film music for the American South ... but I like almost all his soundtrack albums no matter which direction they took.
I select *Death of a Salesman* as a quintessential Alex North score, one he originally provided for the 1949 theatrical production before adapting it for the subsequent 1951 film. Bluesy melancholia with dramatic dissonances depicting the flip side of the American dream.

Here's 'The Essence of Man' according to *Barbarella*.


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## Michael122 (Sep 16, 2021)

Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata {His most autobiographical, therefore, to him, what he is all about.}

Brahms: 1st Symphony {The cumulation of what he had learned and liked best to that point. His enjoyment with this is why his 2nd symphony was written so quickly.}

Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man {So moved was he by Pearl Harbor. Right after the trumpets sound the wake-up call, the timpani and bass drum drop the bombs.}

Debussy: Claire De Lune {Enough said.}

Mozart: 41st Symphony {His swan song.}


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Michael122 said:


> Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata {His most autobiographical, therefore, to him, what he is all about.}


Can you explain how it is autobiographical? If it was really autobiographical then it must be conceived prematurely as he lived 25 more years after he published his 14th piano sonata.


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