quote:Who do today’s leading composers rate as the finest? We asked 174 of them that very question and here, in their own words, we present the fascinating results.
‘Making decisions concerning the “greatest” this or that is always problematic,’ replies composer Brian Ferneyhough, when BBC Music Magazine asks him to name his greatest five composers in history. And, to be fair, he has a point. Can one really compare figures who were writing music 800 years apart? Or weigh the intricate craftmanship of a two-minute piano piece up against the grand vision that goes into a four-hour opera?
Nonetheless, when faced with the same question, Ferneyhough gamely named his top five – as did 173 other leading composers from across the globe.
To clarify things, we set out the criteria for greatness as follows:
a) originality – to what extent did your chosen composers take music in new and exciting directions?
b) impact – how greatly did they influence the musical scene both in their own lifetime and in years/centuries to come?
c) craftmanship – from a technical point of view, how brilliantly constructed is their music?
d) sheer enjoyability – quite simply, how much pleasure does their music give you?
He we present the Top 50, in descending order, with each composer personally appraised by one of those who voted for them.
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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
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pj, citizen-poster, unless specifically noted otherwise.
mod-in-training.
pj@ermosworld∙com
All types of erorrs fixed while you wait.
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If you think looting is bad wait until I tell you about civil forfeiture.
The same ones who like Phillip Glass also liked The Magic Flute?quote:Originally posted by jon-nyc:
How TF did Mozart make that list?
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pj, citizen-poster, unless specifically noted otherwise.
mod-in-training.
pj@ermosworld∙com
All types of erorrs fixed while you wait.
quote:Originally posted by jon-nyc:
How TF did Mozart make that list?
quote:Originally posted by Nina:
Was it just me, or were the majority of the composers on the list from the 1900s to now?
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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
quote:Originally posted by Nina:
I can't really quibble with the list, but some of their choices are odd--Tallis instead of des Prez, Palestrina, or Dufay? Why?
quote:And where the heck is Handel?
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“It's hard to win an argument with a smart person. It's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person." -- Bill Murray