Favorite Composer?

[astrios]

my is baroque music.and favourite is Bach and vivaldi and purcell.

 

[symphonyb]

i had always loved Mozart but lately my hearts enveloped in Chopin! Fantasy Impromptu..........Etude4..MMMMMM

 

[Jon_]

Aaron Copland. Hands down.

 

[Faith In God]

Baroque style =

Beethoven's is nice, though some of his pieces get a little repetitive...
Ever hear Rage over a Lost Penny?

Most of those composers, though, are guiniuses. Beethoven for a deaf man, Mozart for a ...preteen.

How about some more modern things? Charles Young and Tempered Steel. Ahhh...

 

[minisam]

I haven't seen anyone post Eric Whitacre, so I'll suggest him. He's a contemporary composer, but his music is nothing short of AMAZING. He composes instrumental and choral pieces but his choral music just touches me. I love it. I get chills just thinking about it. Oh, and I also suggest O Magnum Mysterium. Absolutely brilliant piece of music.

I have three pieces by him (Whitacre): Cloudburst, Sleep, and Lux Aurumque
Feel free to IM me and I'll be glad to share. samh062.

 

[Faith In God]

I haven't seen anyone post Eric Whitacre, so I'll suggest him. He's a contemporary composer, but his music is nothing short of AMAZING. He composes instrumental and choral pieces but his choral music just touches me. I love it. I get chills just thinking about it. Oh, and I also suggest O Magnum Mysterium. Absolutely brilliant piece of music.

*points* I've heard that one! And I remember the man, too. He still writes and makes a mint. That is the most beautiful thing I've heard a choir sing. Gotta love modern renaissance music. In fact, the modern renaissance is sometimes better than the original...

 

[minisam]

*points* I've heard that one! And I remember the man, too. He still writes and makes a mint. That is the most beautiful thing I've heard a choir sing.

I'm not alone!

 

[kelsey2008]

AHH that was way too hard...I love them all! My favorite modern composer would have to Hans Zimmer.

 

[TSharpFilm]

My vote is for other/Chopin. That guy was amazing.

 

[BohemianChris]

Probably Chopin.

Cheers!

 

[Kehaar]

Vivaldi

 

[Dikki]

I checked Wagner, and others. Rachmaninov mostly, but a little Mahler may also get me through the day.

 

[Miss_Music]

SHOSTAKOVICH!!!!

man, he is the most amazing composer ever! his 8th string quartet brought me to tears!

 

[Hark3N]

Dvoräk and Copland. Handel is also very good.

 

[Dikki]

SHOSTAKOVICH!!!!

man, he is the most amazing composer ever! his 8th string quartet brought me to tears!

I have never heard his string quartets, but I know them from reputation. I have heard his 5th symphony. How do they compare? (apart from the instrumentation, I know)

 

[Miss_Music]

I have never heard his string quartets, but I know them from reputation. I have heard his 5th symphony. How do they compare? (apart from the instrumentation, I know)

hmmmm... i'm actually embarassed to say that i have heard his 5th but can't remember it!

his 5th symphony is his most well known piece, we had to study it last year but me being a typical uni student i forgot it as soon as the exam was over. my admiration for him is based mostly on his string quartets (having to write one myself for uni last semester, I studied some string quartets from different composers and discovered Shostakovich. he ended up being a big influence on the style i used for that piece. i'm now in the process of writing a research paper on Shostakovich's 8th string quartet)

in terms of comparing his string quartets to his symphonies, it's actually a pretty complicated issue. as one of my friend put it, 'there's Shostakovich then there's Shostakovich.' by this he meant that at the time that Shostakovich was composing there was enormous pressure on him to compose 'politically correct' pieces. therefore, there are pieces in which Shostakovich conformed to these political pressures and composed what was expected of him and then there are pieces in which he let his true intentions show by pushing boundaries and creating truely sensational music (not that all his stuff isn't good).

*phew*

so to answer your question, Dikki, Shostakovich's symphonies were generally more 'politically correct' than his string quartets. this is due to the performance situations of the different forms. a symphony is usually performed for a large audience in a concert hall while string quartets (generally speaking) are intended as chamber music to be performed for a smaller audience therefore, lessening the need for his string quartets to conform to political expectations.

anyway...

wow, that was a long answer hey? sorry for lecturing, i just really admire Shostakovich. the emotional involvement in his pieces is phenomenal.

man, i'm such a nerd...

 

[Dikki]

so to answer your question, Dikki, Shostakovich's symphonies were generally more 'politically correct' than his string quartets. this is due to the performance situations of the different forms. a symphony is usually performed for a large audience in a concert hall while string quartets (generally speaking) are intended as chamber music to be performed for a smaller audience therefore, lessening the need for his string quartets to conform to political expectations.

This doesn't sound too nerdy to me, so don't be harsh to yourself.
I think I'm going to check them out. Can you recommend some good recordings? The performance should not be too technical form me; some people like their performances very technical, but I think that leaves the feeling out.

 

[JesseRaymondBassett]

I am rethinking my thought on who the best composer is:

It is Schubert! I like his method of composition.

 

[TinaCL]

Mozart isn't in this poll? tsk tsk.

 

[jazzbird]

Of those you listed, I chose Bach.....If you would have told me ten years ago - or even five - that I would be typing those words, I wouldn't have believed you. Has anyone else found that they appreciate Bach more and more the older you get?

Other favorites not on your poll include Puccini and Brahms.