Who is, in your opinion, the world's worst reputable composer?

Originally Posted by QcCowboy

To blithely dismiss "most other film composers" in this way is... ill-advised.

(I feel like this quote should be followed by narration)

Joe Normalguy knew he had said something awful. He winced at his own stupidity and had just enough time for a very deflated "Sorry-" before he was struck by several lightning bolts that seemed to come from nowhere.

The Cowboy King sat down again, and spoke to the assembled company: "Let that be a warning for the rest of you."

Originally Posted by Engineered Composer

John Cage, he was definitely one of the most important musical philosophers, but if I have to listen to someone argue that chance music is just as difficult to compose as traditional composing, I may scream.

Well, it's certainly as time-consuming. I don't know about difficult. Maybe the difficulty comes in allowing yourself to spend so much time in throwing dice.

Which composer who is reputable is the worst? What's so hard about that ?

Worst doesn't always mean bad, it just means not as good as the rest .

Originally Posted by BiddyPocket

I'd say cage. 4'33 or whatever it was kinda put me over the edge with him into my "no" category. The fact that it was arranged for full orchestra makes me giggle.

Since it can be played by any assortment of instruments in the first place it couldn't have been "arranged for full orchestra".

Originally Posted by Christopher Dunn-Rankin

Well, it's certainly as time-consuming. I don't know about difficult. Maybe the difficulty comes in allowing yourself to spend so much time in throwing dice.

I find it useless to discuss difficulty, however, the main task about chance music is not throwing the dice, but deciding what parameters they influence and in which way, what parameters they don't influence and how to determine those, how to connect all musical parameters in a way that makes musically sense to you as a composer and so on. Just throwing a die won't magically create music. Just like a computer, algorithm, or any compositorial technique doesn't just create music out of nothing. All those things need to be musically conceived and applied in certain carefully thought-out ways. Ultimately, no matter what technique you use, the musical responsibility stays with human minds.

Originally Posted by Gardener

Since it can be played by any assortment of instruments in the first place it couldn't have been "arranged for full orchestra".

Must suck having this as your cellphone ringtone, eh?

Yeah

Hmmm...Stockhausen, Penderecki (listen to the Capriccio for Oboe and Orchestra), and Schubert. I also strongly dislike Paganini and Sarasate.

Originally Posted by Qmwne235

Hmmm...Stockhausen, Penderecki (listen to the Capriccio for Oboe and Orchestra), and Schubert. I also strongly dislike Paganini and Sarasate.

actually, the thread wasn't entitled "what music don't I understand or like".

it was (whether the question is actually valid or not is another issue completely) entitled "who is, in you opinion, the worst reputatble composer?"

and being a mod, and sometimes feeling huffy and bitchy, I figure, if you participate in this thread, you need to be able to at least answer what, in your opinion, makes your choice of composer "the worst" among reputable composers.

and please, "I don't like his music" is actually NOT a valid answer.

If your answer is in any way or form related to "I don't like his music", then honestly, don't bother responding to this (already HIGHLY disreputable) thread.

Originally Posted by QcCowboy

actually, the thread wasn't entitled "what music don't I understand or like".

it was (whether the question is actually valid or not is another issue completely) entitled "who is, in you opinion, the worst reputatble composer?"

and being a mod, and sometimes feeling huffy and bitchy, I figure, if you participate in this thread, you need to be able to at least answer what, in your opinion, makes your choice of composer "the worst" among reputable composers.

and please, "I don't like his music" is actually NOT a valid answer.

If your answer is in any way or form related to "I don't like his music", then honestly, don't bother responding to this (already HIGHLY disreputable) thread.

You go gurl :-p

You're right though.

and being a mod, and sometimes feeling huffy and bitchy, I figure, if you participate in this thread, you need to be able to at least answer what, in your opinion, makes your choice of composer "the worst" among reputable composers.

Schubert, because with the exception of a few pieces, everything he wrote sounds the same, which means that to me it seems that it didn't require much original thought or creativity, even if it did require skill to compose. I don't know if this feeling is unique to me or is shared by others, but I don't really care, because this thread is at least to some extent about opinion. He was a good composer in that he was good at composition and his pieces are "nice" if a little boring, but they aren't creative, or at least I don't see the creativity. Of course, I don't mean to suggest that I could do better at this stage, but I don't pretend to think I'm a good composer.

As for Penderecki, just like Schubert, some of his music is quite good (especially his later works), but as for the rest, I don't really see how that really requires skill to compose. It seems to rely on the idea that all sounds are "equal", and also seems to have a lot of extended technique and dissonance for its own sake. Maybe I do just fail to understand him, but I guess I have a fundamental disagreement with his style.

As for Stockhausen, I think you're right there - I just don't get his music (and I probably don't have enough experience with it). I appreciate that Penderecki is at least more straightforward.

I'm going to get shot down, I just know it...such is the way of Internet forums.