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Do you have one favorite composer?

12K views 81 replies 61 participants last post by  Woodduck 
#1 ·
For me it's Debussy. I love all of what I've heard thus far, eventually I'll listen to it all. Mozart gets a nod, but there isn't enough variation for me from work to work, but his highs are very high.

What about you?
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have at points in the past. Most notably Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms. Admittedly, my enjoyment of Chopin has dwindled in recent years (though I am quite sad to admit it, and would like to find a way to retrieve the magic at some point), but for the most part I find my appreciation of music that I consider to be truly great (even on first hearing) rarely ever diminishes with time. I simply grow to appreciate more music, and like everyone else, go through my own phases as a listener. At the moment, I'd have to say I don't really have a single favorite. It's probably a tie between the 3 B's: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Mozart could just easily be included in that short list, and the more I listen to Wagner (whom I'm not nearly as familiar with as I am with the others I've mentioned), the more tempted I am to add his name as well.
 
#9 ·
Sibelius - not the early work, but those from about the forth symphony onwards. I'd also mention Vaughan Williams for whom my interest continues to grow.

It would seem that life's experiences - one's chemical make-up - may determine whether one is sympathetic or not to a certain composer. I find that with Sibelius (and RVW and some others) that I can perceive very clearly what they are trying to say - with what is essentially (my focus predominantly being instrumental music) an abstraction. The mental imagery such pieces evoke is startling.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I have many heroes, but I don't really have a favourite.

Perfection sounds like Tchaikovsky's highlights, but there is also a lot of his music that I find boring.
I could listen to virtually anything by Bernard Herrmann. In fact, as far as published music is concerned, I nearly already did.
The greatest influence on my musical imagination was probably Shostakovich.
My favourite contemporary is John Williams.
 
#12 ·
Difficult, but if pushed I'd say Shostakovich - when I binge on his music I tend to binge harder than usual, and it helps that he had a large and diverse output, even if some works are obviously going to be better than others. Apart from nearly all of the very early pre-first symphony stuff, works for unaccompanied choir and various transcriptions of his and other peoples work I have virtually everything that is available.
 
#13 ·
I mentioned RVW - well perhaps his fifth symphony is worth referencing - composed during the second world war, it uses materials salvaged from his abandon opera 'The Pilgrims Progress'.

According to wikipedia:

"In January 1943, Vaughan Williams arranged for two of his friends to play through the newly completed piano duet score of the symphony. In later years his widow, Ursula, recalled that he was not impressed after hearing it, causing him to doubt his new work. After hearing the first orchestral rehearsal by the London Philharmonic on 25 May, he changed his mind."

He dedicated the work to Sibelius.

The third movement 'Romanza' is emotionally devastating imo:

 
#17 ·
If someone pointed a gun at my head and forced me to choose only one composer to take on a desert island, it would be Robert Schumann. His music speaks to me on a very personal and special way, and there's so much of it: piano music, orchestral works and concertos, chamber music, choral pieces, and of course the countless songs...

Fortunately such a choice is not required!
 
#20 ·
MOZART

due to the bewildering variety of masterpieces written in every genre ..........
 
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