Favorite Composer?

[AnutyLou]

It's so hard to choose, but it does have to be Johann Sebastian Bach.

Some of those chorales are just brilliant to sing.

But I love Beethoven's moonlight sonata, and other piano pieces.

I adore Mahler's 5th Symphony, especially the 4th movement.

I also think that Howard Shore's music for Lord of the Rings was brilliant, as is anything composed by John Williams - the Schindler's List theme is just amazing.

Then there's Widor's toccata, and Saint Saens Organ Symphony...

 

[st. jerome]

Bach, i love the Bradenburg concertos 1,3, and 5 are my favorites
also the magnificat plus i think the harpsichord sounds real cool

god bless

 

[Fledge]

Tchaikovsky. The 1812 overture makes it impossible for me to choose anyone else, although I love listening to Dvorak, Wagner, Rossini, and many others. Bach's organ music is great, and Mozart has some great string pieces, but I can't remember a time when I didn't love the finale to the 1812 overture.

 

[ObeseAsianBarbie]

Ohhh I absolutely am obsessed with Dvorak. oh goodness. everything he created is just so incredibly delicious. I love Strawinsky and Copland as well... and Definately Mendehlson.

I really don't like Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart... and i can't stand baroque music

If it's Baroque, then it needs to be fixed!

ahaha sorry, i love that joke

 

[ObeseAsianBarbie]

btw, does anyone like Mahler? There's a kid in my symphony who's related to him... and he is quite the cellist.

 

[freyajem]

Rachmananov(spelling?)there is one particular piece that I love....gotta look it up.

 

[winglovesall]

Beetoven and Mozart.

 

[ChristRules]

Bach is the best, and he was a Reformed Christian composer who composed Reformed Christian music.

 

[Fledge]

Rachmananov(spelling?)there is one particular piece that I love....gotta look it up.

I think it's spelled Rachmaninoff, but I'm not entirely sure. My ability to access the music that I used to listen to all the time is kind of limited right now, so I can't tell you for sure. But some of his stuff is good, as well as some of Brahms works.

 

[pianoangel_18]

I like most composers music and I couldnt possibly narrow it down to one but among my favourites are be Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Mozart, Liszt, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff,Ravel.

 

[Fledge]

I like most composers music and I couldnt possibly narrow it down to one but among my favourites are be Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Mozart, Liszt, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff,Ravel.

I don't recall ever running across Liszt or Ravel, what kinds of pieces are they best known for?

 

[Jon_]

I don't recall ever running across Liszt or Ravel, what kinds of pieces are they best known for?

Ravel was an Impressionist. A lot of his music is similar in composition to Debussy.

Liszt was a Romantic Period composer. His piano arrangements were similar to Chopin and his string concertos remind me a lot of Brahms, but with their own crisp, vivacious overtones. I like Liszt a lot, actually. His music was very well composed and his melodies are as fresh and intriguing as they were 150 years ago.

Soli Deo Gloria

Jon

 

[Fledge]

Ravel was an Impressionist. A lot of his music is similar in composition to Debussy.

Liszt was a Romantic Period composer. His piano arrangements were similar to Chopin and his string concertos remind me a lot of Brahms, but with their own crisp, vivacious overtones. I like Liszt a lot, actually. His music was very well composed and his melodies are as fresh and intriguing as they were 150 years ago.

Soli Deo Gloria

Jon

Thanks, Jon, I'll have to check them out some time.

Fledge

 

[shezshy]

LUDVIG
I luv my Beethoven,I liked many on the list but some I didn't know of like Ravel,and Gershwin

 

[Dikki]

btw, does anyone like Mahler? There's a kid in my symphony who's related to him... and he is quite the cellist.

I live in Amsterdam, so sure I have something with Mahler. There is something of a tradition in Mahler going on here, with very good performances of his symphonies. A few days ago I have bought the symphonies of Mahler by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Chailly. I'm very happy with it!

 

[Dikki]

Bach is the best, and he was a Reformed Christian composer who composed Reformed Christian music.

You know, for years I have thought he was catholic. Later I learnt he would be the only catholic in the Lutheran dominated Germany of his time, so I wondered about that. Now I know better. Take for instance his cantatas: the way they are connected to some kind of liturgical calender that says on which day they should be sung, sounds very catholic to me. As a Dutchman I am brought up as a Calvinist, so I always thought the reformed church wopuld be like the Calvinist church, but to me, Lutheranism has a lot more in common with catolicism than it suggests. Looking from the outside, I mean.
Theologically speaking there is a lot of difference, but can you hear that in the music of Bach?
Can anybody understand my rant?

 

[Dikki]

I don't recall ever running across Liszt or Ravel, what kinds of pieces are they best known for?

Ravel is most famous for his symphonic work. He made musical poems, music that represents some kind of story or image. The best known are Bolero and La Mer.
As far as performances go, I would recommend (in general) choosing a conducter and an orchestra from the same country as the composer. I don't know how, but they mostly seem to know the composers mind better than performers from somewhere else. The name Boulez comes to mind.

 

[themaster]

The Master Says,

As a dedicated piano player, my favorite classical composer is Maksim.

 

[dcrowther3]

Mendelssohn at the moment.
Innocently delightful and underappreciated.

 

[Fledge]

Mendelssohn at the moment.
Innocently delightful and underappreciated.

I would agree that Mendelssohn is underappreciated. Some of his stuff is quite good, but he's nowhere near as well known as some of the other composers.