Cage, Stockhausen, Schoenberg, Gorecki, Part probably.

 

Perhaps I could throw the names of Pierre Boulez, Karl-Heinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis into the ring too?

 

I would expect most opera-only composers like Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, or even Britten will be polarizing.

For the non opera-only guys, probably Bruckner and Shostakovich.

 

John Cage, probably.

 

Cage, Schoenberg, Bruckner, Wagner. The usual suggestions are predictable really.

Nevertheless even Mozart polarises people.

 

Curious. Why on earth would Schoenberg be considered polarizing?

Is it because of the musical illiteracy of the listener? The lack of "musical comprehension?"

In that case, I'm sure Beethoven was considered quite the polarizer in his day as many in his audiences didn't know what the heck his music was supposed to be "saying".

 

You're not wrong. I wouldn't call myself musically literate by any stretch of the imagination. Most of his music I just don't "get", that being said I do like Verklate Nacht and String Quartet No. 2.

 

This is a question Portamento's composer project could shed light on: which composer gets a lot of high scores and a lot of low scores.

The first three to my mind would be Schoenberg, Cage and Stockhausen. I imagine Schoenberg has more supporters than the others, so the love/hate may be more balanced.

 

Before I try to answer this, I think I need some clarification of the term. Does polarizing mean that we actually have angry debates about the composer, in which people call names and receive infractions? :lol: Or can it just mean that there's a lot of variation in how people rate the composer, without anger necessarily being involved?

 

There's a difference?

Well, except in the case of Mozart I guess. Who can get angry about Mozart even if they don't like him? :lol:

 

Historically, a few names come to mind, beyond what has already been mentioned:

Monteverdi
Piccini
Debussy
Stravinsky
Bartok
Adams

 

Adams

Probably Glass even more.

 

I think Nietzsche is the most controversial composer but not because of his musical compositions.

 

Glass is half full of it.

 

If avantgarde composers are controversial because they leave the others behind, then so are the 'reactionary' composers like Bruch and Saint-Saëns who composed music which was regarded outdated by the critics...

 

For me it is Bruckner, a third rate composer who attempted to emulate his idol Wagner, but not very successfully.

 

For me it is Bruckner, a third rate composer who attempted to emulate his idol Wagner, but not very successfully.

That's simply a convenient rationalization to keep listeners in their comfort zones, without bothering to really listen, i.e. musically lazy and won't make the effort to concentrate on his music.

 

Glass: Agreed - he fits the polarising category exactly - you either love him excessively or detest him totally

 

I only detest him 98% - basically, from the second iteration of the ostinato on.

 

For me, it's Beethoven and Verdi. I'm still new to classical but I've had no trouble getting into modern music at all, it's really fun and exhilarating music. It's like nobody else has any ears

 

Boulez, Stockhausen , Xenakis ,Cage, Varese and Schoenberg.
In no particular order

 

Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

 

One of the most important rules for living a sane life that I religiously follow is, if it's music written between 1700-1900 and Trevor Pinnock has conducted it, it must be non-polarizing.

So that makes rum cake out of your selections, as keenly and carefully chosen by you, nevertheless.

Bruckner? On the other hand?

 

Edward Land .

 

Mozart.

I would add Brahms but I'm not sure many people listen to him much.

.........

 

I believe the number of revisions and alternate versions of the Bruckner symphonies, tell one all one needs to know.

I didn't care going in about all the revisons. I gave the guy a fair shot. He lost.

 

I didn't care going in. I gave the guy a fair shot. He lost.

No one cared the first time you stated you don't care for Bruckner, and no one cares after the 100th time. But maybe you should stop belaboring the point.

I mean, I know I know, trashing great artists who enrich people's lives immeasurably more than these frivolous discussion on TC is so hip and fun and cool. But people tend to get defensive when something that they consider meaningful and which brings them great pleasure is endlessly insulted and ridiculed.

 

I haven't seen any mentions of Morton Feldman or Andrew Lloyd Webber yet.

 

There are still people who like Andrew Lloyd Webber? (Classical music fans?)

 

OP: One must include Wagner in any "most polarizing" list, because with the exception of the atonality discussions, nobody gets one's emotions more ajuiced than a Wagner discussion as to his character, his anti-semitism and his music.

So my real-time list as to the most polarizing composers would include Bruckner, Wagner, and a new addition, Nielsen- the composer Carl- and NOT the "Put the lime in the coconut and eat it all up" guy named Harry Nillson.

 

OP: One must include Wagner in any "most polarizing" list, because with the exception of the atonality discussions, nobody gets one's emotions more ajuiced than a Wagner discussion as to his character, his anti-semitism and his music.

So my real-time list as to the most polarizing composers would include Bruckner, Wagner (and a new addition, Nielsen).

It's Wagner's neck beard that gets my emotions going! Not in a good way either!

Is Nielsen really popular enough to be polarizing? :lol: I guess, if anything, one might say that the movement names within his Aladdin Suite are not very P.C. these days!

 

If TC were a group of pigeons, this thread appears to be the cat...!

Wagner, obviously, because some people appear to be greatly enamoured of his bombastic, derivative ramblings (heheheheh). :devil:

More seriously, I have heard people highly polarised as regards Debussy, including saying things such as "I really can't stand his music".

 

The OP does say "Most Polarizing," and since there is probably a certain amount of disagreement over any composer you can name, and, in some sense, the "Most Polarizing" composers are probably the ones with the broadest name recognition. Now, the question becomes whether "most polarizing" is matter of numbers or degree.

 

Look over the threads on TC and you will find no-one polarises opinion more vehemently than Wagner. He'd probably be delighted as history reveals he loved to be the centre of attention!