# -->Favorite<-- Composer



## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

I don't post often. I haven't necessarily been a fan of classical music for as long as many of you all here.

But I do read. And I do despise the rants concerning anything labeled _greatest_ among these forums.

So, while I would guess this has been posted before, and it does fit the mold of another generic _Favorite [this]_ thread, I thought it would be refreshing, and quite enlightening -- for my sake, at least, as a frequent visitor/reader -- to simply hear who is _your_ favorite composer. There's no requirement to be objective or account for historical impact -- simply, *who is your single favorite composer?*

And if you are feeling particularly expository, why not include your favorite piece by said composer?


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

If favorite means the most frequently listened to or most enjoyed even if infrequently, and assuming we are staying within the realm of classical, it's still *Beethoven* for me. It probably always will be now. Everything it means to be human, every aspect of existence is there. Favorite work? Still the 9th symphony. Sorry to sound like a broken record, folks.

If I can go outside of classical, then I must choose composer, singer song writer, acoustic guitarist, mandolinist, frenetic minstrel, raconteur, charismatic front man, and yes even occasional flute player, *Ian Anderson*. Favorite work, either "A Passion Play" or "Thick as Brick 2," the latter recently released, all new, and as good as his 1970's halcyon days -- finally!


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

It changes all the time. Plus, I differentiate between all-time favorite and current favorite. 

Beethoven is my all-time favorite but my current favorite is Alkan. Next week my current favorite will probably be someone else.


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## OboeKnight (Jan 25, 2013)

Constantly changing...but today it's the amazing Tchaikovsky


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Only one?  I guess Beethoven.

... or Bach.

... or Schumann.

... or Fauré, or Chopin, or Janáček.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

I have two. It is impossible for me to say I have one. Jean Sibelius and Akira Ifukube, I suppose you all already knew that.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

My current obsession is *Sibelius,* but in the near future I will probably become obsessed with another composer...


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Edgard Varese


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Amongst many composers whose music I _favor_, why not name Stravinsky...

from a goodly number of what I consider masterpieces by Stravinsky, I'll cite _Les Noces._

I slip into the common misuse of the word 'favorite' like many others, but it is another superlative, just like 'best' the only proper usage of which is the singular 

Since that is the case, and I have a good handful of composers whose music I would say I 'most favor,' I go on record as having 'no one favorite' from that goodly handful.


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## ProudSquire (Nov 30, 2011)

Knight Baron is my all time favorite composer. :cheers:


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> My current obsession is *Sibelius,* but in the near future I will probably become obsessed with another composer...


May I suggest _Segerstam_?


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

My most favorite is also the best in every field of classic music: *Dvorak*


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## Zabirilog (Mar 10, 2013)

There are many of them, but there is only one Richard Wagner


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

For me, it's Brahms. He combines the legacies of Bach and Beethoven. He writes in a rich, dense style. He doesn't care for program music or even opera. His works are melancholic, yet always dignified. He was hated by wagnerians and modernists, but admired by the greatest wagnerian and modernist of all, Schoenberg. What can I say, I love the man.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Classical music: *JS Bach*. Favourite work: Matthaeus Passion.

Outside classical: Peter Gabriel.


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## CyrilWashbrook (Feb 6, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> Classical music: *JS Bach*.


I like how there's an automatic tool-tip that identifies him as "JavaScript Bach".


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## Feathers (Feb 18, 2013)

I don't really have a single all-time favourite, but my current favourite is _ALEXANDER SCRIABIN_. <3 <3 <3 (I simply couldn't refrain from adding those cheesy but genuine heart signs.)


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I suppose I'm between favorites just now. But the one who's delighted me the most in the past few months is probably Martinu. But maybe Kodaly, or maybe Janacek.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

It would be the composer that spurred my interest in classical music; *Dmitri Shostakovich*, the work would be his *Fourth Symphony*!
Even if Shostakovich's music is not someone's I listen to extremely much today (I've over-listened his music) he is the core reason that made me start to discovering the riches that classical music is, and it is a gift that keeps giving! 

/ptr


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Alexander Scriabin remains my favorite. In the first place for his piano music, but his orchestral music happens to be great as well. A lot of variation can be found within the limited amount of styles he composed in. Every piece is a unique little treasure. It feels like he put his entire soul into everything he composed. It's warm, organic, sometimes wild and very passionate music, indeed, very romantic at its core, yet it manages to be innovative.


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## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

Mine most certainly used to be Mozart and that was the case for a good part of my listening-life. But I can't say that now, though if I _had_ to choose just one composers music to listen-to, it would have to be be his. But I'd hate that...as I love the variety of music that is available to me & that variety means that I never get fed-up with listening and appreciating the talents of others.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Mozart, but I like to listen to some Schubert, Wolf, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Mahler, Sibelius and Beethoven. 

I fit these in around Wolfie, though, to be honest. He's my default setting, my home key, my northern star, my lexicon, my fix and my obsession. He's both the question and the answer, the rule book and the map...


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## userfume (Nov 21, 2012)

The composer whose music I like to listen to the most in all forms is probably *Dvorak*

at the moment


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## WJM (Mar 25, 2013)

If I had to pick one, it would be Chopin for sure. 

Favorte piece - Ballade Op.23 in G minor


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## poconoron (Oct 26, 2011)

Mozart has been and is mine!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Today, it's Anton Bruckner. I can't pick a favorite piece.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Zabirilog said:


> There are many of them, but there is only one Richard Wagner


_Uh,_ there is only one of each of the others of hundreds of composers....


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

^^That's true, and if there were _two_ Richard Wagners, who would Wagner's favourite composer be, then?


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Kieran said:


> ^^That's true, and if there were _two_ Richard Wagners, who would Wagner's favourite composer be, then?


Himself, of course.

Anyway, I suppose my favorite composer is Bach. I could spend years listening to and playing (if I spent years, I'd get good enough eventually) nothing but his music.


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## BartokBela (Mar 12, 2013)

My favorite composer is Bartok, which should be quite obvious. My favorite piece is the Concerto for Orchestra.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Zabirilog said:


> There are many of them, but there is only one Richard Wagner


Actually, there are other things in life to be happy about as well.


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## Zabirilog (Mar 10, 2013)

I actually meant, that I like many composers, but Wagner is my favourite  Maybe I said it too wagneristically


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

J.S. Bach...


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Zabirilog said:


> I actually meant, that I like many composers, but Wagner is my favourite  Maybe I said it too wagneristically


I checked your post and it was only twelve words long. Hardly wagneristic... :lol:


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## Pastoral (Oct 13, 2012)

Beethoven is my obsession. When the gas price at the local gas stations goes up to something like 127.9, 130.9, 131.9, 132.9, or 133.9 cents per litter, the first three digits make me play some Beethoven music in my head. I would welcome if the price goes down to 67, 57, or even lower, like the old days.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

It's gonna be a long time before you listen again to the Op. 5 cello sonatas...


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Richard Wagner!


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## Logos (Nov 3, 2012)

Kieran said:


> ^^That's true, and if there were _two_ Richard Wagners, who would Wagner's favourite composer be, then?


There are two--the real one and the one on the cover of this book. http://www.amazon.com/Search-Wagner-Radical-Thinkers/dp/1844673448


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Mr John Cage


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

I do believe we hit all the major composers -- _sans_ *Mendelssohn*. A *John Cage*, *Scriabin*, and *Martinu* vote before Felix.

Nothing wrong with that I 'spose.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Avey said:


> I do believe we hit all the major composers -- _sans_ *Mendelssohn*. A *John Cage*, *Scriabin*, and *Martinu* vote before Felix.
> 
> Nothing wrong with that I 'spose.


Two votes for Scriabin. And why put these together?


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## Logos (Nov 3, 2012)

DeepR said:


> Two votes for Scriabin. And why put these together?


Rightly or wrongly, they are not traditionally considered among the front rank of composers, whereas Mendelssohn is, or at least was for some time.


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## Feathers (Feb 18, 2013)

Avey said:


> I do believe we hit all the major composers -- _sans_ *Mendelssohn*. A *John Cage*, *Scriabin*, and *Martinu* vote before Felix.
> 
> Nothing wrong with that I 'spose.


I don't think there's a lack of love for Felix. For me he's consistently among my favourites, perhaps more consistently than any other composer, but he's not my single current favourite, that's all. Compared to some other composers, maybe he's just not the type who attracts obsessive love or extreme hate, but there's definitely plenty of love for him.

The way Scriabin is mentioned in this post makes me a little sad. Scriabin is so underrated.


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

Feathers said:


> I don't think there's a lack of love for Felix. For me he's consistently among my favourites, perhaps more consistently than any other composer, but he's not my single current favourite, that's all. Compared to some other composers, maybe he's just not the type who attracts obsessive love or extreme hate, but there's definitely plenty of love for him.
> 
> The way Scriabin is mentioned in this post makes me a little sad. Scriabin is so underrated.


I think my comment has been taken wrongly. I initiated this thread expecting to see some names, but not others. My comment was merely touching upon my surprise to what names were mentioned/how often despite the general _popularity_ of some other composers, like Mendelssohn. @Logos pretty much summed up my response.


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## Feathers (Feb 18, 2013)

Avey said:


> I think my comment has been taken wrongly. I initiated this thread expecting to see some names, but not others. My comment was merely touching upon my surprise to what names were mentioned/how often despite the general _popularity_ of some other composers, like Mendelssohn. @Logos pretty much summed up my response.


Sorry, I think my reply might have seemed like a negative response to your comment,  but I did not intend for it to be so. I was just referring to Scriabin being underrated in general and did not mean to target your comment, which I understand as being a response to how the composers' general popularity is reflected in this thread and not actually your view of their greatness.


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

My favorite composer is *Franklin Porter Schnebnert*.. He's a really great German opera composer rivaling even Richard Wagner.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Logos said:


> Rightly or wrongly, they are not traditionally considered among the front rank of composers, whereas Mendelssohn is, or at least was for some time.


Yes, fortunately such notions as "who are traditionally considered as top tier/major composers" do not matter in a _favorites_ topic. That belongs in a "greatest' topic, where people try or pretend to be objective (shudders). 
That said, I think the vote for John Cage wasn't serious.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

John Cage and Edgard Varese............


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## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

Chopin. My alpha and omega.


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Wagner: Siegfrieds funeral March and Gotterdamerung finale


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2013)

Apparently, even in a 'favo*u*rite' thread, a couple of members can't resist trying to impress upon us how 'great' their preference is.

Mine are Beethoven and Debussy.


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## astronautnic (Mar 25, 2013)

Andreas said:


> For me, it's Brahms. He combines the legacies of Bach and Beethoven. He writes in a rich, dense style. He doesn't care for program music or even opera. His works are melancholic, yet always dignified. He was hated by wagnerians and modernists, but admired by the greatest wagnerian and modernist of all, Schoenberg. What can I say, I love the man.


Couldn't have put it better myself, you absolutely speak my mind there!


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

MacLeod said:


> Apparently, even in a 'favo*u*rite' thread, a couple of members can't resist trying to impress upon us how 'great' their preference is.


And you can't resist impressing upon us your preference for British English.

It's all in the same.


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## Logos (Nov 3, 2012)

Avey said:


> And you can't resist impressing upon us your preference for British English.
> 
> It's all in the same.


Isn't it weird how the British insist on retaining French spellings, but anglicize French pronunciations--GArage instead of the French/American gaRAGE. Go figure.


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## Logos (Nov 3, 2012)

duplicate post


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Jean-Baptiste Lully - I shall never tire of him because for me he has that 'je ne sais quoi'!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

MacLeod said:


> Apparently, even in a 'favo*u*rite' thread, a couple of members can't resist trying to impress upon us how 'great' their preference is.
> 
> Mine are Beethoven and Debussy.


My favo*U*rite is *SIBELIUS.*

Whether he is the greatest or not, I don't really care. I just love his music.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> My favo*U*rite is *SIBELIOUS.*
> 
> Whether he is the greatest or not, I don't really care. I just love his music.


I, Cazazza of Dan, Right Honourable Englishman of England, do hereby improve tenfold the aforementioned composer by placing within his name a vowel of great Englishness.


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> My favo*U*rite is *SIBELIUS.*
> 
> Whether he is the greatest or not, I don't really care. I just love his music.


I thought this was a phase you were going through - a temporary, heightened fascination.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

COAG has a different favorite composer every week. He is a promiscuous young tallywag.


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## unpocoscherzando (Sep 24, 2011)

Brahms and Grieg, although if pressed for only one, I would tend toward the former.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Brahms

Favorite pieces: German Requiem, Piano Concerto #2, Clarinet quintet.


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

My favorite composers is *Wagner*. All of these years in TC pretending that I'm a *Schubert devotee* is just a front!!

Bwahhaaaa.. Long Live Wagner!!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

peeyaj said:


> My favorite composers is *Wagner*. All of these years in TC pretending that I'm a *Schubert devotee* is just a front!!
> 
> Bwahhaaaa.. Long Live Wagner!!


Aren't those Czerny's glasses? I think he gave them to Schubert...


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

KenOC said:


> Aren't those Czerny's glasses? I think he gave them to Schubert...


I think its Schubert own.


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Liszt!

Filler


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

^ Lisztomanic!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

From a description of one of Liszt's recitals:

"As the closing strains began I saw Liszt's countenance assume that agony of expression, mingled with radiant smiles of joy, which I never saw in any other human face except in the paintings of our Savior ... he fainted in the arms of a friend who was turning the pages for him, and he bore him out in a strong fit of hysterics."

Now *that's* a performance I'd pay good money to see! Everything's so tame today...


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

^ Maybe that's what classical music needs another Lizst type character. Are there any potential crazies out there?

Bieber................. with 30 years of consevatory training - no thats is crazy - would do better with a million monkeys.

Keith Richard mmmm tooo old.

Any other suggestions


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

unpocoscherzando said:


> Brahms and Grieg, although if pressed for only one, I would tend toward the former.


Imagine *Briehg*, imagine _that_ sound.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2013)

A few recent favorites (this week):
-Sarasate - who has been reincarnated as Tianwa Yang
-Koechelin - for his violin sonatas
-Jongen - who also wrote wonderful chamber music
-Balakirev - reveling in his Piano Sonata

Beethoven still gets top nod as all-time favorite though.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Mendelssohn


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Vaughan Williams probably... With The Sea Symphony a piece that I return to time and time again without tiring of it. The chorale like "Mocking Life" bit makes me shiver every single time.
Glorious. Glorious. Glorious.


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

*Felix Mendelssohn*. His music is full of character, warmth, beauty and emotion.

For me, the *Violin Concerto in E Minor* is utter genius - truly moving from the first note to the last, and the gold standard of all concerti.


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## trazom (Apr 13, 2009)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> ^ Maybe that's what classical music needs another Lizst type character. Are there any potential crazies out there?


You mean another stage clown? We already have Lang Lang.


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## Celloissimo (Mar 29, 2013)

Beethoven, Wagner, and Shostakovich all have to share the title in my case. Beethoven and Shostakovich's symphonies have a special place in my soul, while Wagner's immense intellect, prolific output, and sheer grandiosity of almost all of his works are sublime. While Wagner do not move me as much as the beauty of the works of the former two composers, just the pure genius and talent of Wagner beckon for me to include him.


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## Borodin (Apr 8, 2013)

Borodin has been my favorite composer for many years now. This is mostly due to 1:43 - 2:30 




I don't find such beautiful spirituality in music as I do his.


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## eipi (Aug 5, 2013)

Beethoven. Favorite work is the Eroica Symphony.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

J. Haydn - so much variety and excellence in all genres. Love this composer, hence the name .


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Nobody in particular. I like a lot of composers.

I can just as easily listen to Persichetti as I can Mozart.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

HaydnBearstheClock said:


> J. Haydn - so much variety and excellence in all genres. Love this composer, hence the name .


Yeah. How could they tell???


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

*Beethoven* is my favourite, and my favourite work of his is either the 7th or the 9th symphony. But *Bach* is a close second, and perhaps always will be - I like his works and truly understand how they are among the greatest music ever written but I just get that little extra kick when I hear Beethoven's music. In fact, all the other composers are truly some way behind these two, IMHO, even the likes of Mozart, Haydn, Chopin, Schumann and Shostakovich, who are all great too.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

They're mostly decomposing these days.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

starthrower said:


> They're mostly decomposing these days.


You mean decomposed? Hehe, oh well, the music of the greats lives on.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I actually really like the OP's question and POV. 

I don't know who my favorite is, but some candidates are Brahms, Kodály, and Janáček. 

Some others that I love far more than most people are Enescu, Victoria, Machaut, Monteverdi, Nono, Biber, D. Scarlatti, Schütz, Zelenka, Takemitsu, Albéniz, and Martinů. Maybe also Ligeti, Dutilleux, Dohnányi, and maybe even Debussy, Reich, and Bartók.

I enjoy the Second Vienna School composers more than their detractors. 

The main ones that I enjoy less than most people are Mahler, Bruckner, R. Strauss, Vaughan Williams, Prokofiev, and Schumann. Maybe also Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Barber, and Copland.

This doesn't have anything to do with their objective greatness or anything like that. Just how much I've enjoyed them to this point in my life compared to how much it seems that most other people enjoy them. It changes over time, of course.


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

For me it is Bach, Mozart, Beethoven or Schubert, usually depending on which of the four I last listened to. These are the four perpetual favourites whom I always return to. At the moment I am listening to nothing but Bach thanks to a newly acquired box set of cantatas. I marvel at the enormous breadth of his output, from the beautifully melodic arias to the staggeringly complex instrumental and late contrapuntal works.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

For me it's *J.S. Bach*, if I were forced to choose just one. *K. Stockhausen* is a close second.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Oh, and favorite pieces!

Brahms: I can't choose between Symphony #1 and _Ein deutsches Requiem_, but I love almost everything he wrote, though I confess I haven't gotten into the songs very much.

Kodály: _Háry János_ - not just the suite, the full work. Again, however, I love everything I've heard.

Janáček: _On an Overgrown Path_, but again...

Enescu: Oedipe.

Victoria: Requem.

Machaut: the secular works, but especially as performed by Dominique Vellard and the Ensemble Gilles Binchois - I assume the culture cops do not approve of them because I enjoy their recordings so much! The _Messe de Nostre Dame_ is great too.

Monteverdi: the madrigals, in particular perhaps Book 8.

Nono: Como una ola de fuerza y luz.

Biber: the Rosary (or Mystery) Sonatas.

D. Scarlatti: the harpsichord sonatas that I've heard (I'm tempted to buy the Ross box but I haven't done it).

Schütz: _Musicalische Exequien_ by a smidge over the _Historia der Gebert Jesu Christi_.

Zelenka: I love everything I've heard by Zelenka, but my favorite is either the _Missa votiva_ or the _Sub olea pacis et palma virtutis_.

Takemitsu: _From Me Flows What You Call Time_ is by very far my favorite work of his.

Albéniz: The _Suite española_ though of course Iberia is wonderful as well.

Martinů: the _Field Mass_ is my favorite work by him, but there are lots of good ones.


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

science said:


> Schütz: _Musicalische Exequien_ by a smidge over the _Historia der Gebert Jesu Christi_.


Would be interested to know if you have any favourite recordings, because I am thinking about adding some pieces by this composer to my collection (a current omission!)?


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

I will let you guess who gets my vote
That said currently Schubert and Brahms are pushing him close


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Winterreisender said:


> Would be interested to know if you have any favourite recordings, because I am thinking about adding some pieces by this composer to my collection (a current omission!)?


I have Harry Christophers and the Sixteen, and Lionel Meunier with Vox Luminis. Both are great and I can't tell you which to get. I like the way Meunier is recorded a lot more - there's more clarity and intimacy, and the organ sounds better to me; but I like the Sixteen's singing a little better.

I like the Sixteen's SWV 432 better, but Meunier's 433 better. They're just both really good disks, and if one rather than the other is easier to get, I guess I'd just go with that one.

BTW, were there any other recordings of it you've considered?

Edit: I should add, Meunier uses two voices per part, and the Sixteen uses more voices; and the Meunier seems much more popular.

I haven't heard Gardiner, but of course that is a popular choice as well!


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

There seems to be a recording by Herreweghe, whom I am normally quite a fan of. Then there is the 19 disc Brilliant Classics set... not sure if that is any good.

Edit: There is also this box set of narrative works: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schutz-Narr...surection/dp/B005MJDVWI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_h__4

Edit2: Or this set from Harmonia Mundi, including Weihnachtshistorie http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schutz-Edit...qid=1392533853&sr=8-1&keywords=schutz+box+set


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Composer: Bach - Close Seconds (none).

Work: Well-Tempered Clavier - Close Seconds: ClavierUbung III, Leipzig Chorales, Mass in B minor and Goldberg Variations.


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## Physix (Feb 14, 2014)

Bach: goldberg variations, partita no. 2


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## guy (Jan 4, 2014)

Number 1 Composer: Beethoven
Favourite works: Grosse Fuge, Symphony 9.

Number 2 Composer: Debussy
Favourite works: Nuages, Estampes, Reflets dans l'eau, Reverie

Brahms, J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, Chopin, Saint-Saens, C.P.E. Bach and the rest come in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

I'm going to be predictable here and say Beethoven, with Bach and Mozart in a virtual tie with him. Tomorrow it could be Bach or Mozart. 

Favorite works:
Beethoven - "Kreutzer" Violin Sonata
Mozart - Sinfonia Concertante
Bach - Brandenburg Concertos


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*Mahler*

OK. I will play. To be frank I find it more interesting to read about others choices.

If anybody really cares it is Mahler.

My favorite piece of music is Walton's: _Belshazzar's Feast_.

One final observation about Cage. I would rather listen to Cage than listen to members complain about him. Confessions: I really dislike 99% of the music of Cage. As a result of my participation in this forum I have actually been introduced to some of his music that I now enjoy listening too. Now I only dislike 90%.


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## Cimmerian Soul (Feb 26, 2014)

My Gods:Herrmann, Vaughan Williams,Sibelius,Rachmaninov,Respighi,Richard Strauss,Debussy,Ravel,Wagner,Shostakovich,Rozsa, Korngold,Goldsmith.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Vincent Persichetti, especially his piano sonatas.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Ever and always *Beethoven*!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Perhaps, Ives too, in addition to Persichetti.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Vincent Persichetti, especially his piano sonatas.


I'm sure if I spent a month listening to a single composer non-stop, I'd come to find a good bit of value in him. Come now, though.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

arcaneholocaust said:


> I'm sure if I spent a month listening to a single composer non-stop, I'd come to find a good bit of value in him. Come now, though.


Yes, that's true. Persichetti's my favorite composer of the moment and I'm sure that will change.
I'm really getting kinda bored with the "museum" stuff. A case of much too much repetition on my part over the years. Call it fanatical.
Longing to discover great pieces I'm not familiar with. It hasn't been easy!
The Persichetti has been a pleasant surprise, but that won't be enough to sustain me forever!


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2014)

Honestly I'm sorry for any implied tone in my previous post. I think it's really cool if it's actually your favorite. I guess I got cranky because it seems like we hear about Persichetti as much as JS Bach these days


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

arcaneholocaust said:


> Honestly I'm sorry for any implied tone in my previous post. I think it's really cool if it's actually your favorite. I guess I got cranky because it seems like we hear about Persichetti as much as JS Bach these days


No apology necessary. I'm looking for new composers and great works I'm not familiar with and that means contemporary music.

I recently tried Seppo Pahjola's symphonies (contemporary Finnish), but not into them.

Of course any composer I audition must produce pithy music. I don't have all day.


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

Time and time again, it's been Dvořák. I can't get enough.


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