Who is the Greatest (Not Favourite) Composer

I just love how only one baroque composer is represented... because (sarcasm implied) Bach was obviously the greatest of his time...

Let's just ignore Vivaldi, who basically invented the entire concerto form and who finally broke away from modal tonalities to create the major/minor system that's still in use today...

We could also ignore Handel, who knew more about how to write for voices than anyone before or after him, who had an innate knowledge for orchestration, and managed to bring together the past and the future (seriously, Orlando's mad scene can get pretty romantic, harmony-wise), and who could hold himself hands down as one of the top five keyboard improvisers of all time (when other composers who have heard you state that your improvisation sounds better than anything you've ever written, then I think that's enough to back up said statement... Arne said something like that about Handel's music).

Hmmm, Corelli, who actually started instrumental music, Lully who invented the declamation style used in french opera, Rameau who quantified harmony... etc etc.

How could I forget Palestrina, the man whose counterpoint has been studied as the "model of perfection" for the past 400 years. Gesualdo probably wins the "most ahead of his time" award by predating Romantic (and atonal) harmonies many centures before they were used.

If I had to state who the "Best" composer was who's up there, it would be Bach... His sense of form is formidable to Beethoven's (in the St. Matthew and St. John Passions, along with the Art of Fugue, and reusing the same music for both ends to his Mass in b Minor wasn't the worst idea in the world...). Orchestration-wise, just look at his Actus Tragicus, the Brandenburgs, and definately the rest of his cantatas and orchestral suites.
If I need to discuss his contrapuntal ability and his melodic inspiration, this site would not be named "youngcomposers," and he could write entire pieces out of half-measure-length motives... Beethoven never wrote pieces with simply one motive (at least none that I've heard yet- I've only heard the symphonies; so I claim ignorance if he wrote a piece that uses, like, a single note as a motive).

Again, if I had to vote up there, I'd vote with Bach first, Mozart second, Haydn third, and Beethoven fourth... If I got to write the list, Handel goes first, Bach second, Mozart third, Haydn fourth, Vivaldi fifth, and Beethoven sixth...

There really can be no "greatest" composer... each has their merits (even Schoenburg). Beethoven can only be called "greatest" if he managed to do what he did without help... As I hope that we are all well-informed as to Beethoven's education, he did in fact build greatly upon foundations which were created by Mozart and Haydn... in fact some of his symphonies can be traced back to symphonies by those composers. The fact that he changed music from an aristocratic pleasure to the art for the people does constitute some amount of greatness, although he did not do it single-handidly (he had the Enlightenment to thank for some amount of help).

Each major of their composer of their era takes what is given to them, perfects it (or at least gains some ounce of mastery over it), and then creates something new for the next generation. This is why they are remembered. I could be a complete jerk and state what my personal beliefs are about the talents of composers- that Bach and Handel divide the world between them; there is no third... but that would still be my opinion.

Therefore, the greatest composer...... I don't think that any of us are qualified in any way, shape, or form to give that answer: we're all extremely biased towards our favorite eras of music, and towards our favorite composers... One man's Schoenburg is another man's Scarlatti, and vice versa....

wow... this was a long post... Hopefully I haven't offended anyone too badly... my apologies if I have, but trying to answer the question "who is the greatest (not your favorite) composer?" usually melts down into a "how many people can I convince to raise their hand for my favorite guy" contest.

Originally Posted by Qmwne235

^Well, Grieg is hard to believe, but Tchaikovsky is understandable.

I was disappointed by the lack of choices. In the end, I was forced to pick Mendelssohn.

im glad you picked mendelssohn, even if you were forced to.