Who is the best composer of all time? Look inside please!

Sean Malone is a great bassist, and certainly still alive. And he is one of the greatest composers of all time.

Sean Malone is a cool guy, he was my Theory IV instructor when he was a doctoral student at Florida State...

Well, I haven't heard this name yet in this thread, and he may not be the most influential or universally liked.

Richard Strauss seems like a really underrated composer to me. I just think he was brilliant on the same level as the "greats", but rarely gets as much recognition for it. Although he returned to classical aestheticism with his later operas, I think he had a really wonderful "voice". I think he is the master of the leitmotif.

Ludwig van Beethoven

You just can't beat LvB. His music is pure emotion, not something you hear but something you experience in the depths of your being, because thats the only way he could write it (not being able to hear himself).

Also, he is probably the most influencial composer of all time. Every style of music that is apparent today was apparent in his music. If ever there was a Heavy Metal Pianist, it was Beethoven. Just look at Sonata No. 14 Mov. 3 and Sonata No. 20 Mov. 2: Powerful, intense, agressive, percussive, fast, everything a good heavy metal artist strives to be.

Beethoven is definitely the best, but I also enjoy my own compositions...... :unsure:

I'm sure it's either The Spice Girls or Justin Timberlake. Can't pick between the two of them.

Definitely Timberlake.

MOZART

:wub:

well because he showed an astounding, perfect blend of speech and music in his operas, Cos

Sean Malone is a cool guy, he was my Theory IV instructor when he was a doctoral student at Florida State...

Does he have an aura of musical amazingness glowing around him at all times?

Mahler

i just love his huge symphonies, his own personal style which is unique, a form of expression only hinted at by others, but unmistakably his own. He combines lots of complexity with lots of lyricism...... i don't know what else to say, there's nothing in the world better than a good Mahler symphony :)

...?

You changed the words when you quoted me...And I absolutely don't understand why I'm a moron! (Or it was just your... you?)

You're a moron, Christian. Let me illustrate just why you are a moron

Originally Posted by 18th century critic ''Christian''

As some people said, it is positively impossible to name just one composer.

One that I find especially great is Carl Firenze, please take a listen to the 5 contradances for orchestra...

Firenze one of the rare modern composers able to create something new IN CONTINUATION with the past. Most modern or contemporary music by Mozart, the illustrious Beethoven and others is all so... what to say.. "I-want-to-go-farther-no-one-ever-went" or simply music for the ''elite'' and/or the trained ear...

Please respect my wish for this thread: No quoting (and this goes primarily for Anders, the moderator for his quote in the past page).

No one is a moron in this thread! No one!

Mahler

i just love his huge symphonies, his own personal style which is unique, a form of expression only hinted at by others, but unmistakably his own. He combines lots of complexity with lots of lyricism...... i don't know what else to say, there's nothing in the world better than a good Mahler symphony :)

Amen to that! Though I'm not so fond of a few things here and there like "frare jacques" in #1.

I find the above post both confusing and hilarious.

Sibelius

Just to throw a new name into the ring. Composed with such an economy of means and with great clarity and created some of the most listenable but innovative music of the last century.

Without a doubt, John Williams. He composes some of the most human, yet most complex music you will ever hear. His ongoing contributions to humankind will never be forgotten.

I quite like John Williams also, along with other film composers.

But surely either Mozart or Beethoven have got to be fairly high in the rankings; some of their melodies are the most famous, used in many nursery rhythmes and are the starting points for many modern tunes...

Erik Satie is my hero.

Steve Reich is my hero.

Alfred Schnittke is my hero.

Penderecki is my hero.

J.S. Bach is my hero.

Debussy is my hero.

And they take turns being my favourite. ;P

It's hard to say for sure, they are all so different. My experiences in classical music and opera are fairly new. However, I would have to say that my favorite composer in terms of the operatic genre would have to be Mozart (though I haven't heard many yet) I love Don Giovanni.

However, I love a lot of Beethoven's work, specifically his piano sonatas, I'm playing the one commonly known as the "Moonlight" sonata now but all of them are wonderful.

The one thing I don't like about Mozart's music is that a lot of it seems to be very similar. Very rarely new. Again, my knowledge is limited but listen to the overtures to Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro and you'll see what I mean.

God, I think so many of them are the best in various aspects. How do you judge who is the best composer? What makes a composer better than another? Is it melody? Well, if you ask the person who started this thread they will say that Beethoven didn't know how to write melodies. But if that's true than why is he so great? Is it complexity of the music? I don't think so, there is often very simply but beautiful or powerful music that doesn't need to be complex. It's like asking who the best painter of all time is. There is no answer and I'm sure most people couldn't really choose.

The idea was imply to "push" the members to think of all those things, without having the problem of getting attacked by other members (that's why I mentioned no quotes, etc). Of course nobody could name 1 person, heck I could choose 100s (!) of composers. But in here, in this thread, you get tons of names, which then you can research for.

That was the simple idea. Not a fight, not a debate, not even a top 10. 1 name that springs to mind. And on page 7, many people have decided to participate really. ;) I sure hope that noone is dead serious about their choice of composer. But it does go to show how people and each member think about what is great on a composer. And so on.

And all this without pressure, or debates, or flames. It's worth it I think, and I certainly enjoyed many names that came on here (for example the people that Robin posted!)

Honestly, I'd have to say Beethoven as well, except that Beethoven isn't me.

That may sound like egotism, but it's not.

The music I want to hear exists only in my head at this point, but working it out, studying it, and writing it for myself is a greater joy than listening to ANYONE else's music.

there is no such composer, ''cause simply ''all the time'' hasn't ever happened.

due to that there is no such thing as "best".

there are events, and people bearing these events.

all of them are into something you might call 'a truth of art' (in different places, truth of science, of love, or politics).

names doesn't mean a scraggy.

only works as a generated instances of truths.

which is endless and eternal.

and none of the works are best.

they bear some truth, that's all it has significant about it.

amen :))

pliorius:

The idea of this thread is a simple foolish exersise: To try and think which could be potentially the best. There is no best, no doubt about it and the world would be a totally dull place with only 1 composer, but to try and think inside you who you would rank.

The basic thing is that you get many different recomendations about composers in this thread, and all this without (much) arguements or flames. no reason to fear to mention that... Whoever is your best. Nobody can quote you, or should quote you, and nobody can say anything. It's all highly personal and totally subjective. ;)

potentially the best could be anyone...does this question differs from: who's your favourite composer? if yes, then i agree, everyone can mention their favourites. if no, in what sense the best you had in mind? ''cause i could easily think bach to be the best, yet hate his music :)

.... everyone can mention their favourites....in what sense the best you had in mind? ''cause i could easily think bach to be the best, yet hate his music :)

Don't think about it so much. This is simply a way for everyone to voice their opinions and thoughts. MY concept of best/better/good/bad is going to be significantly different than yours, or Nikolas', or anyone else's. It doesn't matter in what MY sense of 'best' is ... what's YOURS?!

;)

Somebody's overcomplicating this methinks!