# Some Composer Questions



## ArcticFox (Oct 10, 2014)

These are some questions that I've had and I've wanted to know what everyone here thinks.

1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?

2. Who are your favorite obscure composers? (Not so obscure that they are pretty much unknown, so not like your great uncle or anything, or someone who only composed one or two works or someone who never got their work recorded. What I mean is not someone you know personally or someone who only works on Youtube. For example, Mahler and Bruckner are not obscure, neither are Alban Berg or John Cage, because although the average person who doesn't listen to much classical music might not know them, nearly all classical music fans have heard of them. Composers who even most classical fans aren't very familiar with are the types that I mean).

3. Who do you think is the best female composer?

4. Who is your favorite composer?

5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?

6. What is your favorite musical period?

7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera).

I've just been curious as to what people on here think.


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

Who doesn't love Q&As?! Excellent thread.

1. ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD

2. I am not experienced enough to name a composer that fits your criteria. Would Toru Takemitsu count? Yes? OK, him.

3. Amy Marcy Beach. Saariaho excellent too, though. Too close to say, I suppose. From my experience.

4. Gustav Mahler.

5. Philip Glass. But I object to the "greatest" label, as we are so apt to do in these parts. I would just say, Philip Glass is my _favorite_ living composer.

6. Romantic, late-romantic. Judging by my listening tendencies.

7. ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD. Well, actually, I don't appreciate his film music _as much as_ all his other music. So, for real, I would actually say Jonny Greenwood. I am obsessed with P.T. Anderson films. And the music is a significant part of that experience.

BTW, Fox, you should post your responses, too. If it does not skew your experiment.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

1. Schnittke

2. I wouldn't know who counts

3. Weir

4. Beethoven and Schnittke. Do not ask me to choose.

5. Thomas Adès

6. eeeekkk don't ask me this

7. Prokofiev


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

1. *Underrated*: William Walton, Alfred Schnittke, Max Reger
2. *Obscure*: Alfred Hill, Einar Englund
3. *Female*: Sofia Gubaidulina
4. *Favorite*: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
5. *Living*: Philip Glass, Magnus Lindberg
6. *Period*: I guess it used to be the Romantic era, but now it's trending towards early 20th century
7. *Film Music*: Sergei Prokofiev, I suppose


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

You may get pounced on for "greatest" and "underrated," but most of us know what you mean.

*1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?*
They are legion, but I'll list a few: Carl Reinecke; Yves Ramette; Joaquin Turina.
*
2. Who are your favorite obscure composers? *
Same as above, but I could add Cecile Chaminade or Gunnar de Frumerie.

*3. Who do you think is the best female composer?*
Cecile Chaminade above, or Sofia Gubaidulina or Unsuk Chin

*4. Who is your favorite composer?*
Still Beethoven after all these years.

*5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?*
? It's too soon to tell. Of those I know about, possibly Penderecki. [NO! Make that Boulez!]

*6. What is your favorite musical period?*
All of them with a slight aversion to the real classic period pre-Beethoven (with the exception of Haydn who is amazing). I am currently binging on modern/contemporary in spite of all the romantic composers I've listed above.

*7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera).*
Bernard Hermann 
Bernard Herrmann
and maybe Bernard Herrmann.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

My answers in bold font, limiting to three examples. Good questions. 

1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated? *Johann Christian Bach, Michael Haydn, Johann Nepomuk Hummel *

2. Who are your favorite obscure composers? (Not so obscure that they are pretty much unknown, so not like your great uncle or anything, or someone who only composed one or two works or someone who never got their work recorded. What I mean is not someone you know personally or someone who only works on Youtube. For example, Mahler and Bruckner are not obscure, neither are Alban Berg or John Cage, because although the average person who doesn't listen to much classical music might not know them, nearly all classical music fans have heard of them. Composers who even most classical fans aren't very familiar with are the types that I mean). *Charles Avison*

3. Who do you think is the best female composer? *Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, she actually published her own music, which was unique for her time.*

4. Who is your favorite composer? *The established greats: Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven*

5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer? *John Towner Williams*

6. What is your favorite musical period? *The great 18th century*

7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera). *John Williams, again*

I've just been curious as to what people on here think.  *Nice questions, thank you for asking. We should have more threads like this here at TC.*


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

1. Gyorgy Ligeti (even though he is highly regarded by many)

2. William Duckworth, Hans Abrahamsen, Henry Cowell, Jorg Widmann

3. Saariaho, Chin, Oliveros...

4. Beethoven

5. Steve Reich

6. 20th century...can't narrow beyond that

7. Bernstein, based only on West Side Story. I'm not into musicals and don't have a favorite film composer.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Hmm...

I think that the term "greatest" is a social construct so that term doesn't really apply to my belief system. I really don't have any favorites either because I like everything honestly.

Honestly lately I haven't had much time lately except to work on 20th century (and 21st) classical music, jazz, and lots of hip hop listening this month.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Taking greatest as my personal favourite..

1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated? EJ Moeran, Bax, Takemitsu, Respighi, Barber, Raff

2. Who are your favorite obscure composers? Hans Huber, Louis Glass

3. Who do you think is the best female composer? Gubaidulina

4. Who is your favorite composer? JS Bach (then Mahler, Brahms, Schubert)

5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer? Gubaidulina

6. What is your favorite musical period? Late romanticism

7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera). Korngold


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> Taking greatest as my personal favourite..
> 
> 1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated? EJ Moeran, Bax, Takemitsu, Respighi, Barber, Raff
> 
> ...


Interesting about Gubaidulina - she was born about four months before John Williams (i.e. October 1931 vs. February 1932).


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> Hmm...
> 
> I think that the term "greatest" is a social construct so that term doesn't really apply to my belief system. *I really don't have any favorites either because I like everything honestly.*
> 
> Honestly lately I haven't had much time lately except to work on 20th century (and 21st) classical music, jazz, and lots of hip hop listening this month.


Surely you prefer some music to others? I like most music I hear, but I still have definite favourites.

Also, I can't help but say that this is the first time I've heard the phrase "social construct" used seriously for weeks.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated? *Delius, Respighi, Szymanowski*

2. Who are your favorite obscure composers? *?*

3. Who do you think is the best female composer? *Gubaidulina, Saariaho*

4. Who is your favorite composer? *Beethoven*

5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer? *Gubaidulina*

6. What is your favorite musical period? *Post romanticism, fin de siècle early 20th Century*

7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera). *Leonard Bernstein, not a big output but terrific*


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

ArcticFox said:


> These are some questions that I've had and I've wanted to know what everyone here thinks.
> 
> 1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?
> 
> ...


1. Charles Tournemire

2. Charles Tournemire

3. Jeanne Demessieux

4. J.S. Bach

5. Having battled with this type of question before I respectfully decline to answer this question

6. I like all periods, simply...

7. George Gershwin


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Just quick remarks concerning

3: Gubaidulina, Saariaho. 
5: either Nørgård or, less likely, Gubaidulina.
7. None really, but Ravel (Don Quixote), Morricone, Schnittke, and Lubos Fiser would be among the candidates.


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## timh (Nov 14, 2014)

1. Underrated: Havergal Brian
2. Obscure: Anne Dudley http://www.annedudley.co.uk/
Not really obscure more hiding in plain sight. She wrote the music for Poldark for example.
3. Female: Edith Smyth loved her opera The Wreckers.
4. Favourite: Havergal Brian
5. Living: Peter Maxwell Davies
6. Period: c20th
7. Film Music: Bernard Hermann


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

ArcticFox said:


> 1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?


Many, to many to single out one!



> 2. Who are your favourite obscure composers?


Obscure is all about the context! Åke Hermanson for me!



> 3. Who do you think is the best female composer?


Undecided, but probably a tie between Kaija Saariaho and Galina Ustvolskaya



> 4. Who is your favourite composer?


I don't have a singled out favourite! But I would not want to live without Gustav Mahler! (But there are so many!



> 5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?


Utterly difficult, but George Friedrich Haas



> 6. What is your favourite musical period?


Now!



> 7. Last but not least,who is your favourite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera).


Arthur Sullivan!

/ptr


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

Fun questions!

1. Underrated: Karl Amadeus Hartmann

2. Obscure: William Alwyn

3. Female: Hildegard de Bingen

4. Favorite: J.S. Bach *or* Wagner (depending on my mood)

5. Living: Arvo Part

6. Period: 20th century

7. Film music: Bernard Hermann (favorite film score is Vertigo)


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

1. Underrated - Liszt
2. Obscure - Walter Braunfels
3. Female - not enough knowledge but leaning toward Saariaho
4. Favourite - Bruckner
5. Living - not enough knowledge but leaning toward Saariaho
6. Period - German Romanticism
7. Film music - not enough knowledge but leaning toward Nino Rota, Il Gattopardo being a favourite


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## Guest (Jun 16, 2015)

MoonlightSonata said:


> Surely you prefer some music to others? I like most music I hear, but I still have definite favourites.
> 
> Also, I can't help but say that this is the first time I've heard the phrase "social construct" used seriously for weeks.


He's posted lists of favorites many times before. He's just being Albert.


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

1. *Underrated*: Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, Vaughan Williams.

... in my view, since "underrated" is a relative concept.

2. *Obscure*: Rautavaara, perhaps?

3. *Female*: No idea. I'll name drop Anna Meredith for the hell of it.

4. *Favorite*: Tchaikovsky.

5. *Living*: Greatest? Let's not go there. Favourite? Glass, by a mile.

6. *Period*: Late Romantic, however you want to define that.

7. *Film Music*: Uh ... Alexandre Desplat?


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## BlackKeys (May 12, 2015)

1. Underrated: Marjan Mozetich

2. Obscure: Not sure 

3. Female: Clara Schumann 

4. Favorite: Chopin

5. Living: Mozetich 

6. Period: Classical-Romantic 

7. Film music: Gershwin


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

1. Underrated: Gubaidulina, Saariaho, Chin, Mazzoli, Auerbach, Tabakova
2. Obscure: Gubaidulina, Saariaho, Chin, Mazzoli, Auerbach, Tabakova
3. Female: Gubaidulina, Saariaho, Chin, Mazzoli, Auerbach, Tabakova
4. Favorite: usually Hovhaness, Mozart, Koechlin; probably Takemitsu, Xenakis, Feldman; maybe Messiaen, Stockhausen; oh yeah Grisey, Murail, Norgard. Furrer? Ligeti!
5. Living: Gubaidulina, Saariaho, Chin, Mazzoli, Auerbach, Tabakova
6. Period: contemporary
7. Film Music: Takemitsu, Bax, Glass, Williams, the dude who scored the Lord of the Rings


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## Guest (Jun 16, 2015)

1. Underrated: *Stockhausen*_ (A composer I revere on the same level as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Debussy, and guys like that. Therefore, he fits the subjective use of the word underrated.)_

2. Obscure: *Mahnkopf* _(Sorry, I'm saving my most obscure treat!)_

3. Female: *Mochizuki *_(Ok, it should really be Saariaho, Gubaidulina, or Chin, but I opted to share the love based on previous posts)_

4. Favorite: *J. S. Bach* _(Depends on my mood, the barometric pressure, what's actually playing at that moment, and other factors)_

5. Living: *G. F. Haas* _(Can shift to Furrer, Saariaho, Barrett, Lopez, etc just about any ole time... oh and I'm not counting Boulez as I'd prefer to stick to "living and active")_

6. Period: *Now!*

7. Film Music: *Shore *_(I struggle to say this, as I haven't listened to any film music in a long long time)_


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

1. Underrated: Boris Tchaikovsky

2. Obscure: Alfred Hill

3. Female: Dora Pejacevic

4. Favorite: The One And Only Johann Sebastian Bach

5. Living: Haven't heard any one who really turns me on.

6. Period: Given where Bach resides, I have to go with baroque.

7. Film Music: Film music can be very important to a movie, but I never pay attention to the composers.


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

ArcticFox said:


> These are some questions that I've had and I've wanted to know what everyone here thinks.


Cool, I love threads like this.



ArcticFox said:


> 1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?


William Walton, David Diamond, Howard Hanson, Peter Mennin, *Francois Couperin, Carlos Chavez, Silvestre Revueltas.
*


ArcticFox said:


> 2. Who are your favorite obscure composers? (Not so obscure that they are pretty much unknown, so not like your great uncle or anything, or someone who only composed one or two works or someone who never got their work recorded. What I mean is not someone you know personally or someone who only works on Youtube. For example, Mahler and Bruckner are not obscure, neither are Alban Berg or John Cage, because although the average person who doesn't listen to much classical music might not know them, nearly all classical music fans have heard of them. Composers who even most classical fans aren't very familiar with are the types that I mean).


Hmm, not sure where the boundary is for what obscure and what isn't. I'm going to say the guy who composed the score for a a video game I used to play, Takayuki Aihara. His music really had such imagination, it stayed with me in my mind ever since (I was 10 or so when I first heard it).



ArcticFox said:


> 3. Who do you think is the best female composer?


Not sure at all....I wish there were more whose music I was familiar with. Joan Towers?



ArcticFox said:


> 4. Who is your favorite composer?


Can't say.



ArcticFox said:


> 5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?


I need to listen to more, I don't know.



ArcticFox said:


> 6. What is your favorite musical period?


Early/ picturesque 20th century. So like Daphnis and Chloe, Russian-phase Stravinsky, etc.



ArcticFox said:


> 7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera).


John Williams and Joe Hisaishi.


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2015)

Weston said:


> You may get pounced on for "greatest" and "underrated," but most of us know what you mean.


Most of us who would pounce on you would do so _because_ we know what you mean. Or perhaps because we know that "greatest" and "underrated" are meaningless. It's one of those two, I'm pretty sure.

Interesting that so many people report delight at these questions, which in their entirely represent about 90% of all the threads that have already been done, here and on any other classical forum. Already been done and done and done and done and done and done.

Not to mention.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?
Farrenc, Bruckner, Michael Haydn, Schumann, WF Bach, Percy Grainger, Sweelinck, Buxtehude, Ginastera, Gesualdo

2. Who are your favorite obscure composers?
Farrenc, Mertz, Eisler, Liza Lim, Chris Dench, Anthony Pateras....his one is particularly difficult because I don't know who is obscure and who isn't!

3. Who do you think is the best female composer?
Unsuk Chin, but also I must mention Isabel Mundry, Liza Lim and Farrenc (again)

4. Who is your favorite composer?
Pierre Boulez gets the top spot today, although Matthias Pintscher and Brett Dean are soooo close!

5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?
Living...as in currently composing and getting new music out there....I would have to say Matthias Pintscher. Thomas Adès perhaps as well. For less well known living composers I do really like the music of Chris Dench and Anthony Pateras. 

6. What is your favorite musical period?
Right now

7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera).
Either Michael Nyman or Joe Hisaishi for film, Sondheim and Bernstein for musical theatre.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

some guy said:


> Interesting that so many people report delight at these questions, which in their entirely represent about 90% of all the threads that have already been done, here and on any other classical forum. Already been done and done and done and done and done and done.
> 
> Not to mention.


Interesting that someguy is here expressing his disappointment with all of us.

Already been done and done and done and done and done and done.


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2015)

You leave some guy alone, buster. All he ever wanted in this world was to live, love, and experience acousmatic sounds.


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## ArcticFox (Oct 10, 2014)

Sorry some guy if my questions have been done to death. I also didn't know that I had to be so careful about the words I use on here, since just about everywhere else on the Internet people freely use the words "greatest" and "underrated". It isn't that I believe that there is actually one composer that everyone will agree on as being the greatest or most underrated, such a person does not exist, I know these are subjective terms, that is why I used them, because I wanted people to give their opinions of who they feel doesn't get well deserved attention or who they like the most, because if you have a favorite composer(s) then those composers are probably the greatest composers to you. 

If I made a list of my favorite composers I could easily title the list, "The Greatest Composers Ever IMO" because if I like them enough to put them on the list then they are the greatest composers to ME, if something is your favorite then it is the greatest in your eyes. I'm not trying to say that my opinions are facts but to me they are the best, I hope I'm making sense. The same goes to underrated, people will have different opinions on who is underrated but that doesn't mean that we should eliminate the word from our vocabulary, whenever someone says that something is underrated they are giving their opinion not fact, so why should it bother anyone. 

I could say that Beethoven is underrated (I don't think he is, by the way) and that's fine, it's my opinion. You can disagree with it but why call it meaningless? Opinions are meaningless? Including yours, perhaps? Or excluding them? To me it might be true, maybe not to you. These words are not meaningless but they are subjective, of course, and they can be controversial but that doesn't mean that we can never use them. People have a right to say that Beethoven is the greatest composer (because to them he might be, it's their opinion and they don't always have to add IMO for people to figure that out since this isn't a fact) or that Korngold is underrated (a lot of people would actually agree with that statement but it is still an opinion and it is o.k. to express that opinion). 

If you understand what I mean than why complain about the choice of words? If you do not want to answer the questions that's fine but why complain that other people like them and don't mind that I use "greatest" and "underrated", which are words that people use all the time to express their opinions. Why would you pounce on my questions if you understand them? Wow, my questions really are all-encompassing because I had no idea that seven simple questions could possibly represent 90% of all the conversation on this site and classical music sites in general, classical fans don't talk about that many things huh. Interesting.

Now I know to be more careful about the simple, commonly used words that I choose when writing here. Next time I'll be extra careful to not use "meaningless" terms or ask questions that have been done, done, done because apparently every other thread here and on other classical forums ask the same questions and discuss the exact same topics.

Not to mention. < What did you even mean by that?


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

some guy said:


> Most of us who would pounce on you would do so _because_ we know what you mean. Or perhaps because we know that "greatest" and "underrated" are meaningless. It's one of those two, I'm pretty sure.
> 
> Interesting that so many people report delight at these questions, which in their entirely represent about 90% of all the threads that have already been done, here and on any other classical forum. Already been done and done and done and done and done and done.
> 
> Not to mention.


I agree with 'some guy'. These questions have been raised in most of the threads here. One of the common mistake that we all make as newcomers, including myself when I first became active, is that we start a new thread without realizing that we are the fourth of fifth person to have done so. As result of some experiences that I have had early on I try to search the archives before I start a new thread.

One of the problems is that there is nothing wrong with inquiries like this if they are used to help a person expand his knowledge of classical music. There are a few who feel that the 20th century composers like Schoenberg destroyed classical music. They will use questions like these in an effort to prove their hypothesis. As a result many of us, and I am guilty of this, overreact.

I can not find it but there was a poll asking what century produced your favorite music. The results were very surprising to me Over 50% selected the 20th century. What became clear from the discussion is that the members who selected the 20th century still appreciated music from all periods. I have one friend who is a proponent of contemporary whose favorite composer is Tchaikovsky. I only know of one of the members who responded to the poll that listened exclusively to 20th century music. Many of the ones who selected the earlier centuries were members of the Schoenberg killed music crowd.

There are a few members that I have lost my patience with. For example, if I dislike something it must be bad crowd. I have learned to try to ignore them.

I will give an answer to the first question. The stature of concert band music is very low in talk classical. Even lower than _433_. There have been a few band junkies who have tried to generate interest in band music. Check out some of my entries in the latest purchases thread.

Got to stop to go to band rehearsal so we can rehearse that great American patriotic work that accompanies the July 4th fireworks composed by a gay Russian in 1880 to commemorate Kutosov stopping Napoleon's army at Borodino in 1812.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

1. I don't know
2. I don't know
3. Cecile Chaminade
4. Maurice Ravel
5. Rautavaara
6. Impressionistic - Early 20th century
7. Film: John Wiliams Theater: Stephen Sondheim


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

1. Alkan, Thalberg, Meyerbeer, Byrd, *Graupner*, and Pachelbel.
2. *Graupner*, Perotin, Sanz, and Froberger.
3. Not sure. I'm sad to say that I haven't heard enough from them to form any kind of satisfying conclusion.
4. It's probably exceedingly obvious to some of my friends here that my favorite composer is J.S. Bach.
5. Same answer as number 3. Maybe I'll get some brownie points if I say it's Frederick Magle 
6. The Rennaissance and Baroque eras are at a stalemate for me.
7. Basil Pouledouris. It may seem like pretty simple tastes but his music is nostalgic for me, I can still hear the music from Conan in my head.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?
I take "underrated" to mean simply a composer I like a lot that other people tend not to (ie, an expression of my taste rather than a criticism of others'). Mieczyslaw Weinberg comes to mind.

2. Who are your favorite obscure composers?
Hard to pick one; there's a lot of music that I like that's by obscure composers, but they're sufficiently obscure that I don't know enough of their work to judge them! So I'll go with John Allemeier.

3. Who do you think is the best female composer?
Not going for "best" but "favourite", which is Julia Wolfe.

4. Who is your favorite composer?
An easy one! Gustav Mahler.

5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?
Well, I don't think that's a judgement any of us can make, so again it will have to be "favourite". But this time I'll add a bit of "significant" and "popular" and say Steve Reich.

6. What is your favorite musical period?
The one right now, because it's right now and full of surprises (many of them good!).

7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer?
Musical theatre's easy, that's Stephen Sondheim. Don't really have a favourite film composer.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

1. Joseph Bodin de Boismortier

2. Heinrich Marschner

3. Hildegard von Bingen, Francesca Caccini, Barbara Strozzi

4. Wolfgang Amadé Mozart

5. Philip Glass 

6. Too difficult to say

7. Nino Rota


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Xaltotun said:


> 2. Obscure - Walter Braunfels


I like his opera _Die Vogel_ but don't know much of his other work - any suggestions, Xaltoun?


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?
Max Reger, and Karol Szymanowski

2. Who are your favorite obscure composers? 
Compared to what names others have mentioned on this forum, I don't think I know ANY composers that would be considered "obscure" haha.

3. Who do you think is the best female composer?
As opposed to just "best composer"  But I really like Kaija Saariaho

4. Who is your favorite composer?
Gustav Mahler

5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?
I don't really know many, but among those I'm aware of, it's a toss up between Steve Reich and Philip Glass

6. What is your favorite musical period?
My favorite works tend to cluster around the turn of the century, so I guess it's a toss up between Romantic and Modern [?]

7. Last but not least,who is your favorite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera).
For musical theatre: Stephen Sondheim


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

*1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?*
Bax, Bridge, Delius, Koechlin, Honegger, Schulhoff, Reger, Zemlinsky, Hindemith, Eisler, Szymanowski, Ginastera, Kurtag

*2. Who are your favourite obscure composers?*
Erwin Schulhoff, Frank Bridge

*3. Who do you think is the best female composer?*
I don't know, but I like Sofia Gubaidulina, Judith Weir, Kaija Saariaho

*4. Who is your favorite composer?*
This week, Hindemith. I have a permanent attachment to Mahler, Beethoven, Schumann, Faure, Berg, Webern

*5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?*
I don't know. Steve Reich is pretty great, though.

*6. What is your favourite musical period?*
Late-romantic up until around 1950

*7. Last but not least,who is your favourite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera).*
Possibly Ennio Morricone


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

1. Which composers do you think are highly underrated?

Hmm... lots of them. Murail, Grisey, Clyne, Grime, Tower, etc. etc. Boulez is underrated too as a composer.

2. Who are your favourite obscure composers?

Any spectralist composer, particularly Avram or New Complexity guy like Ferneyhough...

3. Who do you think is the best female composer?

Anna Clyne is killing it in today's world for me. Auerbach is a second one my list.

4. Who is your favorite composer?

I don't play favorites.

5. Who do you think is the greatest living composer?

Too many to list.

6. What is your favourite musical period?

Post-1950's stuff with pre-1800's period + Mahler + Beethoven + Haydn shebang.

7. Last but not least,who is your favourite film/ musical theatre composer? (Not opera).

John Williams with Star Wars


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