The Greatest [Who were the top ten composers of all time?]

NY Times Blog ^ | January 7, 2011 | ANTHONY TOMMASINI

[GOYAKLA]

I don’t know how you could make this list and not have ENNIO MORRICONE up around # 4.
What were you th(dr)inking? :^]

[KamperKen]

"Agreed...and I was thinking of Liszt for the Fantasie

An amazing body of works for the piano. Too bad more don't play piano these days, as in the 19th century, which would create a much broader audience for them.

[Ozarkie]

With all due respect (I can’t help but think I’m sounding like Cliff Clavin here..lol), the book “Hammer of the Gods” description of John Paul Jones pretty much nails him as the real brains of the band. The only one coming out of the whole thing toward the end of their run with any real money in the bank, he was responsible for a great many of their signature riffs and a master of arrangement at age 18 working in the studio in Liverpool, doing just that at the time for top name bands. Unheard of in the day at that age. On tour, he would lock himself in his hotel rooms and while the others were partying and doing heroin, he was writing and taking care of the music. That is not to take away from the writings of music by Page (also his studio abilities) and the lyrics of Plant at all, though. They just let the rock and roll life distract them, as young guys will. Well, that really was a bit long winded...sorry for that.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks...nice listing. But Schumann ahead of Chopin? I don’t think so.

[Borges]

Grieg is much better than those others. His harmonies were quite advanced and influenced Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Ravel.

[GAB-1955]

Williams can't hold a candle to Korngold, who wrote movie music AND opera (Die Todte Stadt).

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Bach, Mahler, Stravinsky, Haydn, Mozart, then whatever...

I agree that Haydn does belong among the greatest composers. I think Haydn deeply influenced Beethoven. The 1st movement of Haydn's "Bear" symphony sounds like the 1st movement of Beethoven's "Eroica."

[catfish1957]

There were several in the sequence I didn't agree with either. You never can when try to list the 1-100 best.

Still, I think they got the top 3 absolutely right though.

If you have time, take a listen to this (esp. 4th movement). May be one of the greatest documented musical peformance in history.

Beethoven's 5th 1st movement- Karajan

2nd Movement

3rd Movement

4th Movement

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Mozart is #1, and so far beyond everyone else in greatness that words just cannot suffice.

Mozart was good but

Mozart, visiting the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, upon hearing a Bach motet for the first time, exclaimed "Now there is music from which a man can learn something." Whereafter, it is recorded, Bach's grand-successor ushered the young composer into the library where Mozart quickly spread out reams of Bach in earnest study.

It says "the young composer." but Mozart was 33, and lived to be only 35.

[mylife]

Defiantly Bach and Mozart.

You forgot Hayden

[mylife]

Dvoraks humoresques

[mylife]

PDQ Bach Itsanotta Sonata * but it's close*

[mylife]

“The Lark ascending” is stunning

[curmudgeonII]

Bach
Mozart
Everybody else

[the invisib1e hand]

I don't doubt that about jpj. I recently read a guitar player mag interview with him from the late 70s that was absolutely hilarious. Had I known back in the day how sharp he was, I might not have let Plant's voice scare me away from owning one of their records.

But for me the proof was the post-heyday work. Plant's compositional genius really shone since Led Zeplin. His best work, IMHO, and as good as any pop composer's, better than most.

[Gapplega]

1. Beethoven
2. Bach
3. Mozart
4. Haydn
5. Brahms
6. Handel
7. Mendelsohn
8. Schumann
9. Schubert
10.Tchaikovsky

[pineybill]

Wow, although there were a few mentions of Mr. Haydn, I think that using a current term he has been “dissed.”

Mozart,Bach,Beethoven top three.
Haydn 4
Schubert Brahms 5-6 not sure which order
To honor pre-classical composers, I place the wonderful Giovanni Gabrieli 7
Tchaikovsky 8th for his last three symphonies, plus the ballet scores.
Wagner 9th for some of the most beautiful musical minutes ever composed, despite the fact you have to listen to four of five hours of filler if you want to hear them in “context”

10 is tough, either Verdi or Berlioz, but I give it to Hector for the Symphonie Fantastique, plus we need a token Frenchman.

Handel I put in a special category, as his greatest work, The Messiah, was aided in it’s composition by Heaven itself, to a much grater extent then Heaven usually inspires.

Of today’s composers,I have the highest regard for movie composers-Williams of course but I have been putting a lot of Zimmer and Horner on the Ipod lately.

Finally, as honorable mention and to honor all mediocrity, a special mention for Antonio Salieri!

[choirboy]

I was listening to Willie as I read your post. I’d have put him #1.

[EveningStar]

Wow. I have quite a few favorites and could probably not remember them all on a single post:

Beethoven, Bruckner, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Dvorak, Sibelius, Nielsen, Shostakovich, Prokoviev, Mussorgsky, Janáček, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky, Haydn, Mozart, Bartók, Berlioz, Ravel, Bizet ...

[Errant]

Finally, as honorable mention and to honor all mediocrity, a special mention for Antonio Salieri!

Antonio Salieri - Concerto for fortepiano in B flat-major (1/3)

Bravo!