Name Your Top Ten Composers
Friday, January 14, 2011
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Earlier this year, Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic for the New York Times, announced he was creating a list of the 10 greatest classical composers of all time (or at least since the beginning of the 18th century). In a series of follow-up articles and web posts he invited readers to nominate their own lists, and hundreds chimed in. Tommasini also joined Elliott Forrest to talk about the results.
Today, May 26, we're playing the top ten in order. Below follows the complete schedule:
9:00 am: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
10:00 am: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
11:00 am: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 — 91)
12:00 pm: Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828)
1:00 pm: Claude Achille Debussy (1862 — 1918)
2:00 pm: Igor Stravinsky (1882 — 1971)
3:00 pm: Johannes Brahms (1833 — 97)
4:00 pm: Giuseppe Verdi (1813 — 1901)
5:00 pm: Richard Wagner (1813 — 83)
6:00 pm: Bela Bartok (1881 — 1945)
Also earlier this year, WQXR asked: Who are your top ten composers? Listeners were invited to win a free one-year subscription to the Sunday New York Times. Our winner was Joie from the Upper East Side. Congratulations, and thanks to all who participated!
The Fine Print
How to Enter: No purchase or pledge necessary. Entries may be made between the hours of 12am on Sunday, January 16 and noon on Friday, January 21, 2011 Eastern Standard Time.
Eligibility: Anyone 18 years of age or older can except employees of WQXR and its related organizations, their immediate family or persons living in the same household. Void where prohibited by law.
Prize: A 1-year subscription to the Sunday New York Times (Sunday only), valued at approximately $235.00.
Selection and Notification of the Winner: One winner and three back up names will be selected by random drawing no later than January 22. The winner will be notified by email. If the winner is unable to collect his/her prize, the unawarded prize will go to the first back-up and subsequent back-ups thereof until prize is awarded. Winner must provide his/her social security number. The chances of winning are dependent upon the number of entries. A list with the winner’s name will be kept on file at WQXR and is available by writing WQXR Listener Services, 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013.
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Comments [435]
Guess I'm late. Cleaning ice off car, but just had to add.
Puccini
Mozart
Schumann
Liszt
Beethoven
Rossini
Tchaikovsky
Rachmaninoff
Chopin
J.Strauss
I just wrote the names of composers whose music almost always makes me stop what I'm doing and listen!
Mozart, Beethoven,Vivaldi,Chopin,Gershwin,Dvorak,Brahms, Tschaikovsky,Rachmaninov,Bizet
Made my list immediately after reading AT in the nytimes afew weeks ago. And #1 on my list of influential composers is also my #1 favorite:
1. Bach
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Schubert
5. Brahms
6. Mahler
7. Debussy
8. R. Strauss
9. Stravinsky
10. Shostakovich
Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
J S Bach
Tchaikovsky
Mahler
Monteverdi
Bizet
Dvorzak
Verdi or Paart
My Top 10 - Basically Chronological
1. J S Bach
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Schubert
5. Brahms
6. Debussy
7. Ravel
8. Schostakovich
9. Bartok
10. Verdi
In no special order:
1. Beethoven
2. Bach
3. Mozart
4. Haydn
5. Mendelssohn
6. Dvorak
7. Britten
8. Vivaldi
9. Chopin
10. Handel
1.Bach
2.Beethoven
3.Mozart
4.Vivaldi
5.Tchaikovsky
6.Choppin
7.Brahms
8.Haydn
9Gershwin
10.John Williams
My choices for the top 10 (in no particular order): Beethoven, J.S. Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Handel, Brahms, Mahler, Wagner,
Haydn, Vivaldi.
However, my favorites would include:
Dvorak, Prokofiev, Vaughan-Williams, Mendelssohn, Puccini and Verdi.
Not in any particular order
1. Beethoven
2. Brahms
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Copland
5. Sibelius
6. Bernstein
7. Rachmaninoff
8. Bloch
9. Liszt
10. Grieg
in alfabetical order:
1- Bach, JS
2- Chopin
3- Glass, Phillip
4- Liszt
5- Mozart, WA
6- Piazolla
7- Scriabin
8- Schubert
9- Tchaikovsky
10- Vivaldi
1. Bach
2. Verdi
3. Tchaikowsky
4. Schubert
5. Mozart
6. Dvorak
7. Puccini
8. Beethoven
9. Rachmaninoff
10. Chopin
Mozart
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Haendel
Tchaikovsky
Vivaldi
Haydn
Rodrigo
Mendelssohn
Schubert
My favorite 10. Not necessarily in order. They all have multiple pieces that I really love. It's tough to get it down to 10....not sure I did it right, even for myself!
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Rimsky-Korsakov
Rachmaninoff
Shostakovich
Saint-Saëns
Gershwin
John Williams
Only 10? Hmm . . . in no particular order:
Bach
Beethoven
Rachmaninoff
Vivaldi
Faure
Chopin
Gorecki
Part
Brahms
Handel
Anthony Tommasini is having a very hard time narrowing his field of the best composers down to 10. So am I. I would always put Bach and Mozart at the top of everone's list . Here are my 10 today, but tomorrow, perhaps, the list would be a little different.
In alphabetical order:
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Chopin
Mahler
Mozart
Schubert
Schumann
Tschaikowsky
Wagner
The ten whose music I would want on that desert island:
1. Beethoven
2. Dvorak
3. Schubert
4. Brahms
5. Mahler
6. Rachmaninoff
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Berlioz
9. Shostakovich
10. Elgar
Only 10??? very difficult because there is just so much incredible talent. You should do 10 from each era (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic etc.)
My choices...
Mozart
Beethoven
JS Bach
Vivaldi
Tallis
Hildegard von Bingen
Telemann
Handel
Mahler
Strauss (pick one...)
1) Bach
2) Handel
3) Vivaldi
4) Mozart
5) Schubert
6) Telemann
7) Purcell
8) Beethoven
9) Tchaikovsky
10) Glass
I interpreted this to mean not necessarily my favorites, but 'Top Ten', as in -- composers that changed the world:
1. JS Bach
2. Handel
3. Beethoven
4. Mozart
5. Mahler
6. Wagner
7. Schoenberg
8. Debussy
9. Philip Glass
10. John Cage
(I am overthinking this a bit, but thank you for the fun question, WQXR!)
1) Mozart
2) Beethoven
3) Bach
4) Mahler
5) Prokofiev
6) Shostakovich
7) Vivaldi
8) Haydn
9) Schubert
10) Bruckner
1. J.S. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Brahms
4. Chopin
5. Haydn
6. Mozart
7. Mendelsshon
8. Dvorak
9. Rachmaninoff
10. Vivaldi
Chopin
Johann Strauss II
Rachmaninoff
Mozart
Schubert
Beethoven
Johann Strauss I
Shostakovich
Bach
Brahms
1 Beethoven
2 Mahler
3 Chopin
4 Gershwin
5 Mozart
6 de Falla
7 Nilsson
8 Rachmaninov
9 Debussey
10 Grieg
1. Brahms
2. Ravel
3. Rachmaninoff
4. Mendelssohn
5. Mahler
6. Debussy
7. Strauss
8. Puccini
9. Bach
10. Verdi
1. JS Bach
2. Brahms
3. Beethoven
4. Mozart
5. Vaughan WIlliams
6. Stravinsky
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Bernstein
9. Mendelssohn
10 Debussy
1) Beethoven
2) Bach
and otherwise, in no particular order: Stravinsky, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Copland, Mozart, Grieg, Lizst, Vivaldi
1 Mozart (a god, the Shakespeare of music)
2Gershwin ( i love him best...jazzy, American and thrilling)
3 Wagner (yup, even tho he was a jerk)
4 Puccini (La Boheme being my fave)
5 Bach (like Mozart)
6 Ives (a sense of place -- you KNOW where he lives) and Copland, ditto)
7 Sondheim ( good music and words as well...coordinated)
8 Beethoven
7 Vivaldi
9 Grieg
10 Chopin
My Top 10 Composers:
1.) Sibelius
2.) Mozart
3.) Rachmaninoff
4.) Mendelssohn
5.) Chopin
6.) Delius
7.) Holst
8.) Debussy
9.) Ravel
10.) Rodrigo
L Beethoven
JS Bach
I Stravinsky
P Tchaikovsky
A Dvorak
M Ravel
G Gershwin
F Chopin
R Wagner
S Prokofiev
As a former opera singer and currently a public school music teacher, I am partial to beautiful vocal music, but will take a more "holistic" approach to list my top ten!
1) Mozart
2) Beethoven
3) Verdi
4) Schubert
5) Mendelssohn
6) Brahms
7) Handel
8) J.S. Bach
9) Schumann
10 Bernstein
As a former opera singer and vocal music teacher I am partial to composers who wrote beautiful songs/lieder as well as symphonies, chamber music, etc. So I've taken a more "holistic" approach to my top ten!
1. JS Bach
2.Beethoven
3. Mozart
4. Brahms
5. Vivaldi
6. Schubert
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Schubert
9. Handel
10. Mahler
As a pianist and chamber musician, the composers I couldn't bear to be without:
1. Brahms
2. Ravel
3. Mendelssohn
4. Schubert
5. Prokofiev
6. Dvorak
7. Debussy
8. JSBach
9. Rachmaninoff
10. Chopin
And I want to give a shout-out for Piazzolla, who sets everyone's heart dancing.
L v Beethoven
JS Bach
WA Mozart
F Mendelssohn
PI Tchaikovsky
Beatles - Lennon / McCartney
L Bernstein
J Rodrigo
G Verdi
A Piazzolla
My Favorite Composer are: the following. However ther aresome 20thcnetury coposer9such as Gershwin) which should be included.Since Mr Tomassini has excluded them I have done the same.
Mozart
Beethoven
Bach
Schubert
Chopin
Dvorak
Verdi
Mendelssohn
Stravinsky
Handel
My Top 10 Composers are:(1): Mozart: (2) Beethoven; (3) Handel; (4) J.S. Bach; (5) Brahms; (6) Schubert; (7); Schumann; (8) Dvorak; (9) Mendelssohn; and (10) Saint Saens
My 10 favorites are:
Bach
Mozart
Handel
Beethoven
Schubert
Chopin
Dvorak
Stravinsky
Shostakovich
Haydn
1. Beethoven
2. J.S.Bach
3. Mozart
4. Haydn
5. Schubert
6. Michael Haydn
7. CPE Bach.
8. Handel
9. Bela Bartok
10.William Bolcom
Bach J.S.
Rachmaninoff
Schubert
Mozart
Beethoven
Haydn
Mendelssohn
Tchaikovsky
Shostakovitch
Bach C.P.E.
Here's my revised list
1. Ligeti
2. Beethoven
3. Haydn
4. Bach
5. Schubert
6 Bartok
7. Nancarrow
8. Kurtag
9. Mozart
10. Bolcom
1. Ligeti
2. Beethoven
3. Haydn
5 Bartok
6. Nancarrow
7. Kurtag
8. Bach
9. Mozart
10. Bolcom
Here are my 10 favorite composers.
1. Mozart.
2. Bach.
3. Vivaldi.
4. Debussy.
5. Chopin.
6. Saint Saens.
7. Schubert.
8. Stravinsky.
9. Dvorak.
10. Ravel.
1. Elgar
2. Sibellius
3. Chopin
4. Tchaikovsky
5. Mozart
6. Dvorak
7. Beethoven
8. Puccini
9. Verdi
10. Schubert
Beethoven,Mozart,Bach,Vivaldi,Lizst,Brahms,Boccherini,Debussy,Ravel and Rossini
What a fun brain teaser, thanks WQXR (and yes you dont have to say that so often, we who listen know that!)!
J.S. Bach
W.A. Mozart
Beethoven
R. Schumann
Schubert
J. Brahms
G.F. Handel
F.J. Haydn
Dvorak
G. Verdi
Well my comment on the comments showed up. Now I have registered for an account, so maybe my vote will come through this time.
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Monteverdi/Schubert
Vivaldi
Stravinsky/Ravel/Debussy
Tchaikovsky/Chopin
Sibelius/Saint Saens
Puccini/Menotti
Maybe these double/triple names are cheating, but how is one to choose? I left out Bloch, Barber, Schoenberg, Prokofiev, Pergolesi, Joaquin Rodrigo, and the wonderful Brazilian, Borodin . . . .
In order of preference:
1. Antonin Dvorak
2.Aaron Copeland
3.Tchaikovsky
4.Rimsky-Korsakov
5.Beethoven
6.Alexander Borodin
7.Smetana
8.Claude Debussy
9. Vivaldi
10.Rachmaninoff
Most revered in Northvale, NJ
1. Mozart
2. Bach
3. Beethoven
4. Tschaikovsky
5. List
6. Chopin
7. Wagner
8. Rimsky-Korsikoff
9. Rachmaninoff
10. Debussey
Why aren't my "comments" showing up? I have now submitted a list twice. How disappointing!
My top ten composers; Hendel, Thomas Talus, Luly, Chopin, Faure', Satie, DeBussey, Delius, Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, Suk.
Here is my list of the ten most influential composers, listed in order of preference:
Mozart
Beethoven
Bach
Stravinsky
Verdi
Schubert
Wagner
Bartok
Brahms
Debussy
Honorable mention go to Prokofiev, a close call with Debussy.
Today, my top ten composers, almost in order, are:
J.S. Bach
Dvorak
Tchaikovsky
Chopin
Beethoven
Mahler
Schubert
Schumann
Handel
Mendelssohn
However, if in the next few hours I hear a piece by Janacek and/or Granados, who both had such tragic deaths, I will have to do some rearranging because my heart will go out to them.
On the other hand, how about in no particular order, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Copeland, Vivaldi, Gershwin, Liszt, Bizet, Debussy ... The question is almost impossible to answer!
1. J.S.Bach
2. F. Mendelssohn
3. J. Brahms
4. W. A. Mozart
5. Schumann
6. Schubert
7. G. Faure
8. Wagner
9. Grieg
10. Samuel Barber
Here's my top 10 list; for me the top 5 is easy,but the last 5 took a lot of soul-searching. Tchaikovsky made the list because I love his music, not that he's as technically great as some other composers.10.TCHAIKOVSKY 9.MENDELSSOHN. 8.R. SCHUMANN 7.BRAHMS 6.SCHUBERT 5.HANDEL 4.MOZART 3.BEETHOVEN 2. F.J. HAYDN 1.J.S. BACH
My Top Ten Composers
1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. J.S. Bach
4. Handel
5. Tchaikovsky
6. D. Scarlatti
7. Telemann
8. Stravinsky
9. Holst
10. Mussorgsky
Ravel, Debussy, Chopin, Borodin, Mozart, Beethoven, List, Bach,Strauss, Vivaldi
Where do I make my selections!
First five were easy. A bit of jockeying for position in the second five...
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Maurice Ravel
Aaron Copland
Franz Schubert
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ludwig van Beethoven
Claude Debussy
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Antonin Dvorak
Gian Carlo Menotti
My favorite composers are:
Beethoven
Verdi
Puccini
Brahms
Tchaikowski
Mozart
Debussey
Ravel
Rhymsky-Korsakov (sp)
Vaughan-Williams
15-20 would allow for more adventurousness!
Bach
Handel
Beethoven
Haydn
Mozart
Schubert
Brahms
Rachmanninov
Sibelius
Vaughan Williams
My list:Tchaikovsky,Beethoven,Chopin,Mendelsohn,Brahms,Mozart,Bach,Rachmaninoff ,Dvorak and don't forget Copland.
Copland does belong as a great American composer who added a new sound to music.
The top ten out of many composers who have moved me, sometimes to tears, and usually to deep and high emotional places of ecstasy and sorrow: Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Puccini, Mahler, Wagner, Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky and Copeland.
Here are my top ten composers:
1. G. Mahler
2. S. Rachmaninoff
3. A. Bruckner
4. P.I. Tchaikovsky
5. A. Dvorak
6. A. Copland
7. L. von Beethoven
8. J. Sibelius
9. Richard Wagner
10. D. Shostakovich
Top Ten
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Handel
Hayden
Mahler
Mozart
Shubert
Verdi
Wagner
I have a lot to say but I'm having trouble finding where to make the selections.
Jonathan Messeloff, NYC
My Top 10 Composers are:
Beethoven (By Far the Best ever!!)
Tchaikovsky
Mozart
Brahms
Bizet
Verdi
Puccini
J.S. Bach
Dvorak
Mendelssohn
Beethoven
Bach
Brahms
Mozart
Wagner
Strauss
Verdi
Mahler
Wagner
Schumann
and so many more
1. Mahler
2. Shostakovich
3. Barber
4. Beethoven
5. Martinu
6. Listz
7. Chopin
8. Wagner
9. Verdi
10. Prokofiev
Very difficult to choose, but here goes:
1.Mozart
2.Bach
3.Verdi
4.Bethoven
5.Rossini
6.Tchaichovski
7.Handel
8.Wagner (not my favorite, but can't be ignored)
9. Puccini
10. Scarlati
Cutting down to ten is difficult. In David Letterman format:
10. Mendelssohn
9. Brahms
8. Rachmaninoff
7. Chopin
6. Liszt
5. Smetana
4. J.S. Bach
3. Tchaikovsky
2. Mozart
1. Beethoven
1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Schubert
4. Mozart
5. Handel
6. Pärt
7. Purcell
8. Monteverdi
9. Chopin
10. Stravinsky
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Gershwin
Chopin
Tchaikovsky
J.S. Bach
Holst
Sibelius
Mozart
Copland
Beethoven
1 Bach
2.Puccini
3.Mozart
4 Beethoven
5.Schubert
6 Chopin
7. Brahms
8.Liszt
9.Ravel
10. Debussy
It's hard to limit my choices to only 10, but here goes:
1) Ludwig van Beethoven
2) Johann Sebastian Bach
3) Georg Friedrich Handel
4) Franz Schubert
6) Henry Purcell
7) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
8) William Boyce
9) Felix Mendelssohn
10) Karl Maria von Weber
1. J. S Bach
2. D. Scarlatti
3. L. V. Beethoven
4. F. Chopin
5. W. A. Mozart
6. F. Schubert
7. A. Vivaldi
8. Corelli
9. G. F. Handel
10. F. J. Hayden
Corelli
1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Chopin
5. Bach
6. Debussy
7. Dvarak
8. Wagner
9. Schubert
10. Mendelson
1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Brahms
4. Tchaikovsky
5. Schubert
6. Schumann
7. J.S. Bach
8. Haydn
9. Dvorak
10. Handel
Wow. Only 10.
Beethoven
Bach
Hayden
Mozart
Telemann
Vivaldi
Tallis
Purcell
Albinoni
Corelli
1-Beethoven
2-Mozart
3-Bach
4-Wagner
5-Shostakovich
6-Liszt
7-Copeland
8-Rachmaninoff
9-Brahms
10-Ravel
* Homorable Mention G.Gershwin
top 10 composer list:
Mozart
Bach
Rachmaninoff
Barber, Samuel
Sibelius, j
Beethoven
Bruckner
Prokofiev
Haydn
Mc Cartney, Paul (yep,best and most underrated( classical too) composer of the past 50 years)
Chopin. Prokofiev. J.S. Bach; Debussy. Satie. Villa-Lobos. Purcell. Copland.
Shostakovich. Stravinsky. = 10
My top ten are:
J.S. Bach
Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven;
Chopin and Schuman;
The Strauss Family (Johann & Josef);
Debussy;
Schoenberg;
Gershwin
There are several others I would like to add to the list - but , then, it would no longer be the top ten!
1. Wagner
2. Mahler
3. Beethoven
4. Strauss (R)
5. Bruckner
6. Tchaikovsky
7. Puccini
8. Dvorak
9. Schubert
10. Brahms
10 Greatest Composers
1 Bach
2.Haydn
3.Mozart
4 Beethoven
5.Schubert
6 Chopin
7. Brahms
8.Wagner
9.Mahler
10. Debussy
1. Bach
2. Schubert
3. Handel
4. Mozart
5. Haydn
6. Beethoven
7. Berlioz
8. Dvorak
9. Tchaikovsky
10. Janecek
It's hard to pick 10, but here goes:
J.S. Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Mendelssohn
Copland
Stravinsky
Dvorak
Rachmaninoff
Handel/Vivaldi
Puccini
ANTONIN DVORAK
ANTON BRUCKNER
GUSTAV MAHLER
PUCCINI-VERDI
MOZART
GRANADOS-DE FALLA
RAVEL-DEBUSSY
My top 10-J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Brahms
Chopin
Wagner
Verdi
Tchaikovsky
Stravinsky
Weill
1 Beethoven
2 Dvorak
3.Copland
4.Brahms
5.Gershwin
6.Wagner
7.Riemsky-Korsikov
8.Mendelson
9.Liszt
10 Mozart
All depends on the mood but...
Frederic Chopin
Richard Wagner
Johann Sebastian Bach
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Giacomo Puccini
P.I. Tchaichovsky
Giuseppe Verdi
Franz Liszt
Gustav Mahler
Anton Dvorak
1. The Strauss Family
2. Franz Lehar
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Anton Dvorak
5. Beethoven
6. Stravinsky
7. Shostakovich
8. Copland
9. Sir Wm Walton
10. Gustav Holst
Runners up
1. Sir Wm Elgar
2. Sousa
3. JS Bach
I recently travelled by train to Boston and listened to BILLY BUDD. It confirmed my feeling that Britten belongs on the list. In my opinion, BB is quite simply the greatest opera of the second half of the 20th century. I would be inclined to include Alban Berg (since LULU and WOZZECK are jointly, the opera picks for the1st half of the 20th century), but he was insufficiently prolific. I am bemused by Tony's agonizing over Chopin & Schumann, two technically limited, though imaginative composers. Brahms is harder to omit but choices have to be made. My list of the greatest (not necessarily my favorites which would have to include Berg, Brahms, Bruckner, Debussy, Ravel and Mahler):
1. Bach (there's Bach and everybody else)
2. Haydn
3. Mozart (have to include, though I am not a big fan)
4. Beethoven
5. Schubert
6. Berlioz (TROJANS is the best 19th century opera not by Wagner or Verdi)
7. Wagner
8. Verdi
9. Stravinsky
10. Britten
My list is not untypical - but how to deal with a batch of Bachs, a whole bunch of other Baroque folk, then the Mannheimers, lesser luminaries like Quant, more big guys like Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Franck - makes my head spin to try to think of 'em all. And do we want those to whom we listen - how about those we prefer to perform? This is too rich a world to confine to ten - and the rankings would squirm and wriggle as we learn new stuff. Fun exercise though.
I find it incredible that so many lists herein contain NO 20th century composers. Are these people incapable of appreciating contemporary music?
1) Copland
2) Prokofiev
3) Stravinsky
4) Ravel
5) Debussy
6) Vaughn Williams
7) Rachmaninoff
8) Respighi
9) J. Adams
10) S. Reich
Shostakovich
G. Puccini
Respighi
Percy Grainger
J.S. Bach
Khachaturian
Jules Massanet
John Adams
Gordon Jacob
L. Gottschalk
Bette Davis once said "getting old ain't for sissies!"
how in heaven's name did I forget Mozart?
I am demented for sure.
need a stiff double shot of coffee!
Beethoven
Mozart
Bach
Haydn
Brahms
Mendelssohn
Wagner
Dvorak
Verdi
listed in order of favorites. I think!
Mahler
Beethoven
Bach
Dvorak
Chopin
Brahms
Sibelius
Ravel
Stravinsky
Puccini
Mozart
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Wagner
Mahler
Brahms
Chopin
Handel
Stravinsky
Tchaikovsky
J.S. Bach
Chopin
Schubert
Granados
Mahler
Brahms
Shostakovich
Elgar
H. Purcell
Corelli
1. JS BACH (ruler supreme over all!)
2. Igor Stravinsky (_______ speechless)
3. Beethoven (a truly deft composer!)
4. Olivier Messiaen (birds!)
5. Antonin Dvorak
6. Bohuslav Martinu (so much *?!%)
7. Richard Strauss (transfiguration!)
8. Steve Reich (repetition!)
9. Claude Debussy (colors!)
10. Maurice Ravel
There are tons of wonderful classical composers but MY favorite are:
Shostakovich
Mahler
Part
Sibelius
Glass
Tchaikovsky
Grieg
Brahms
Mussorgsky
Symonowski
Bach and Beethoven are the greatest without saying so that is why they are not included in my list!!!
1. L.V. Beethoven
2. J.S. Bach
3. W.A. Mozart
4. R. Wagner
5. J. Strauss (Jr.)
6. A. Copland
7. E. Grieg
8. G.P. Telemann
9. A. Vivaldi
10. F. Schubert
*There are SO many "top composers" that this list may be somewhat inaccurate; however, these happen to be my personal favorites.
Extremely difficult choice between composers we love and those important in musical history and development.
Herewith an attempt at balance:
1. J.S. Bach
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Chopin
5. Brahms
6. Wagner
7. Debussy
8. Stravinsky
9. Bartok
10. Schoenberg
Also close runners-up:
Haydn (n. 11), Schubert, Schumann, Verdi; Mahler
Bach
Handel
Purcell/Vivaldi (tied)
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Mendelssohn (no relation)
Wagner
Mahler
Sibelius
(and Tchaikovsky and Puccini for an even dozen)
als from New York City
By alphabet:
Bach
Bartok
Beethoven
Brahms
Debussey
Mahler
Mozart
Prokoffief
Schubert
Shostakovich
This is not my list of ten greatest composers, nor exactly my ten favorite, but rather ten composers I get inordinate pleasure from listening to (in no particular order).
1. Olivier Messiaen
2. Arvo Pärt
3. György Ligeti
4. Karlheinz Stockhausen
5. Harry Partch
6. Brian Eno
7. John Adams
8. Kurt Weill
9. Witold Lutosławski
10. Conlon Nancarrow
My suggestions for Top Ten classical composers (alphabetical):
1. J. S. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Chopin
4. Handel
5. Haydn
6. Mendelssohn
7. Mozart
8. Schubert
9. Tchaikovsky
10. Vivaldi
Then, if you could expand beyond 10, you have Rachmaninoff, J. Strauss Jr., Brahms, Puccini, Rossini, Verdi, Prokofiev, Liszt, ...
Thank you.
Beethoven
Brahms
Haydn
Schubert
Handel
R. Strauss
Liszt
Wagner
Sibelius
Mendelsson
1. J.S Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Mozart
4. Brahms
5. Chopin
6. R. Wagner
7 . R. Schuhmann
8. Dvorak
9. Rachmaninoff
10. G. F. Handel
These are not necessarily in order of importance.
1. Beethoven
2. J.S. Bach
3. Wagner
4. Mozart
5. Brahms
6. Mahler
7. Stravinsky
8. Hayden
9. Handel
10. Vivaldi
Tommasini decided to exclude composers from the pre-Baroque eras, but these include some of the most astonishingly talented musical architects of all time. Just to be provocative, here are my top ten:
10. John Dunstable
9. Johannes Ockeghem
8. Tomas Luis de Victoria
7. William Byrd
6. Orlando Lasso
5. Guillaume Dufay
4. Guillaume de Machaut
3. Thomas Tallis
2. Giovanni Palestrina
1. Josquin Desprez
JSBach
Mozart
Beethoven
Mahler
Schubert
Shostakovich
Sibelius
Brahms
Tchaikovsky
Wagner
My apologies for the left out ...
1. J.S. Bach
2. Franz Schubert
3. Johann Strauss II
4. Tchaikovsky
5. Gustav Mahler
6. Palestrina
7. Joseph Haydn
8. Chopin
9. Dvorak
10. Brahms
Just to show how tough the choice is, here are ten I had to eliminate:
H. Berlioz, J. Brahms, A. Dvorak, E. Grieg,
F. Mendelssohn, D. Schostakovitch, F. Schubert,
R. Schumann, J. Sibelius, R. Strauss
[have to spell DS as D S C H because that what he wrote in his music: d, e flat ("es"), c, b ("h")
1. Mozart
2. Bach
3. Debussy
4.Beethoven
5.Susato
6.Praetorius
7.Ravel
8.Handel
9.Glass
10.Hanson
Bach,Handel,Mozart,Hayden,Beethoven,Schubert,
Dvorak,Mahler,Richard Strauss,,Stravinsky,Prokofiev My top Ten 12 choices would have been easier 20 even better
1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Dvorak
5. Brahms
6. R. Strauss
7. J.S. Bach
8. Handel
9. Mendelssohn
10. Rossini
There are so many more. It should be the top 25 or 50!
1. Rachmaninoff
2. Prokofieff
3. Beethoven
4. Chopin
5. Copland
6. Grieg
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Stravinsky
9. Dvorak
10. Liszt
My top ten composers are:
J.S. Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Berlioz
Wagner
Brahms
Mahler
Debussy
Stravinsky
Britten
copland js bach beethoven brahms the beatles debussy chopin wagner holst von williams
J.S. Bach (the foundation of all who came after him)
Beethoven (my lifelong love and forever favorite)
then, in no particular order:
Mozart
R. Strauss
Wagner
Brahms
Mendelssohn
Mahler
Verdi
Haydn
J. S. Bach
L. van Beethoven
F. J. Haydn
G. Mahler
W. A. Mozart
F. Schubert
I. Stravinsky
P. I. Tchaikovsky
G. Verdi
R. Wagner
@brooklynbookworm: you're totaly right! but if they want a list, they get it:
1. johann sebastian bach
2. claudio monteverdi
3. wolfgang amadeus mozart
4. richard wagner
5. clara schumann
6. ludwig van beethoven
7. phil glass
8. gustav mahler
9. franz schubert
10. john cage
J.S. Bach
Vaughan Williams
Chopin
Rachmaninoff
Mozart
Faure
Handel
Grieg
Schubert
Debussy
Top 10 alpha order
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Chopin
Dvorek
Haydn
Mendelsshohn
Mozart
Schubert
Tchaikovsky
Ooops! Aaron Copland. Sorry.
1. J.S. Bach
2. Brahms
3. Beethoven
4. Mozart
5. Chopin
6. Mendelssohn
7. Grieg
8. Schumann
9. Schubert
10. Mahler
Beethoven, Motzart, Verdi, Puccini, Schubert
Saint-Saëns, Strauss Jr., Mendelssohn,
Dvorak, Grieg
1.Aaron Copeland
2.Aaron Copeland
3.Aaron Copeland
4.Aaron Copeland
5.Aaron Copeland
6.Aaron Copeland
7.Aaron Copeland
8.Aaron Copeland
9.Aaron Copeland
10.Aaron Copeland
1.Mozart
2.Bach
3.Mahler
4.Brahms
5.Dvorak
6.Verdi
7.Debussy
8.Schumann
9.Beethoven
10.Shostakovich
Chopin
Rachmaninoff
Liszt
Tchaikovsky
Dvorak
Saint Saens
Verdi
Puccini
Bruch
Strauss II
My Top 10 Composers
Bach
Handel
Mozart
Haydn
Beethoven
R. Schumann
Brahms
Tchaikovsky
Stravinsky
Puccini
Great project! It is very difficult to chose ten best! I agree with Anthony in his brief descriptions of composters and their contribution in the world of classical music. Behind all their lives there is suffering and struggle, doubts and joys!
On the top of my list is J.S.Bach-all is coming from his genius! Also I would include J.Sibelius!
Thank you for letting us one more time to reevaluate our experience and feel more greatful to the gift of music.
Puccini
Vivaldi
Beethoven
J.S. Bach
Mozart
Faure
Tchaikovsky
Prokofiev
Delibes
Rossini
My top ten are: Wolfgang Mozart, Johann S. Bach, Franz Schubert, Ludwig V Beethoven, Luigi Boccerini, Domenico Scarlatti, Archangelo Corelli, Palestrina, Franz Joseph Haydn,Thomas Tallis
In no particular order these are my ten favorite classical composers:
Tchaikovsky
Chopin
Puccini
Bizet
J.Strauss
Beethoven
Mendelsohn
Grieg
Rossini
Borodin
My top ten are:
1. Bach
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Chopin
5. Debussy
6. Shostakovich
7. Rachmaninov
8. Tchaikovsky
9. Mahler
10. Liszt
Really? Only 10? :)
Please try to avoid-if possible-the constant repetition of WQXR.WQXR.WQXR.
WE, the audience KNOW the radio station we are listening to.
The morning man, (I won't mention the name) is the worse).
ELLIOT FOREST IS ADORABLE !!!!
There are ONLY 2!! Saint Saens and Mozart!
Really difficult decision, picking just 10. So many beloved composers are omitted from this list.
1. Giacomo Puccini
2. Giuseppe Verdi
3. Ralph Vaughan Williams
4. Samuel Barber
5. Aaron Copland
6. W.A. Mozart
7. Anton Dvorak
8. Ludwig von Beethoven
9. J.S. Bach
10. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
bach-beethoven-mozart-debussey-ravel-stravinsky-wagner-schoenberg-haydn-verdi. for sheer popularity, for keeping classical music a going concern, puccini and rachmaninoff also belong as part of a golden dozen.
My 10 favorite composers are:
Chopin
Rachmaninoff
Debussy
Satie
Saint Saens
Sibelius
JS Bach
Vaughn Williams
Respighi
Dvorak
1. Ravel
2. Tchaikovsky
3. Copeland
4. Bernstein
5. Vivaldi
6. Chopin
7. Mozart
8. Beethoven
9. Strauss
0, Bach
Mozart
Verdi
Puccini
Beethoven
R. Strauss
Schubert
Schumann
Handel
Bellini
Wolf
J.S. Bach
Hard to choose just 10
My top 10 composers would be:
1. JS Bach
2. F Schubert
3. J Brahms
4. J Haydn
5. R Wagner
6. C Debussy
7. JP Rameau
8. G Fauré
9. A Vivaldi
10. M Moussorgski
My nominees are;
Mahler
Chopin
Verdi
Brahms
Schubert
Von Suppe
List
Schumann
Bizet
Grieg
It is so hard to narrow this down, but if I must, here goes. J.S. Bach is #1; the rest are not in any order.
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Mozart
Debussy
Ravel
Verdi
Tchaikovsky
Stravinsky
Chopin
Wagner Mozart Haydn J S Bach Richard Strauss Beethoven Verdi Handel Tchaikovsky Mahler
1. J.S. Bach
2. L. van Beethoven
3. W.A. Mozart
4. G.F. Handel
5. Claudio Monteverdi
6. Antonin Dvorak
7. F. Schubert
8. J. Brahms
9. P.I. Tschaikovsky
10. S. Prokofiev
My favorites are:
Mozart,Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt, Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Wagner and Gershwin
in no order: bach, beethoven, mozart, brahms, schubert, tchaikovsky (sp?), wagner, chopin, haydn, puccini
these contests are fun but may I request some serious musicological programs as WQXR used to offer???
My list,which constantly changes as impossible to choose from the wealth we inherited over the ages!
J S Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Wagner
Schubert
Chopin
Verdi
Scarlatti(son and father)
Debussy
Rameau
Couperin
From the Superior Shores of the big lake here in MN:
Grieg,Copland,Bernstein,Jeremiah Clarke,Satie,Bach,Handel,Schumann,Dvorak,Brahms, so many joys and so "few" choices!
My choice is Verdi. He is the composer who reaches the widest public. His specialty was the greatest of all instrument: the human voice. He developed all his life to reach ever greater complexity of harmony, sound, effects.
Top 10 Composers:
1. Beethoven
2. Mozart
3. Bach
4. Tchaikovsky
5. Schubert
6. Brahms
7. Mendelssohn
8.Vivaldi
9.Handel
10.Haydn
1 Mozart
2 Haydn
3 Beethoven
4 Bach
5 Vivaldi
6 Telemann
7 Chopin
8 Handel
9 Tchaikovsky
10 List
In no particular order, choosing 10 is tough enough!
Beethoven
Copeland
Mahler
Tchaikovsky
Mozart
Stravinsky
Rossini
Verdi
Berlioz
Saint Saens
Not in any ranking:
Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Pergolesi, Schubert, Chopin, Puccini, Dvorak, Gershwin
J.S. Bach
Haendel
Mozart
Haydn
Beethoven
Schubert
Mendelssohn
Brahms
Mahler
Duke Ellington
1- Beethoven
2- Bach
3- Handel
4- Verdi
5- Brahms
6- Tchaikowsi
7- Vivaldi
8- Mozart
9- Haydn
10- Schubert
In no necessary order
Purcell, H.
Puccini, G..
Handel, G.F.
Beethoven, L.v.
Haydn,F.J.
Bach,J.S.
Mozart, W.A.
Desprez, J.
Monteverdi, C.
Copeland, A.
1 JS Bach
2 Brahms
3 Beethoven
4 Vivaldi
5 Mozart
6 Dvorak
7 Rachmaninoff
8 Tchaikovsky
9 Copland
10 Mendelssohn
1. Rachmaninov
2. Debussy
3. Grieg
4. Dvorak
5. Gershwin
6. Respighi
7. Sibelius
8. Faure
9. Tschaikovsky
10.Prokofiev
I am glad that I can list them "in no particular order". So, here goes: (Of course, the list of 10 greatest is not necessarily my 10 favorite)
1 Bach
2 Beethoven
3 Haydn
4 Mozart
5 Wagner
6 Vivaldi
7 Mahler
8 Brahms
9 Verdi
10 Mendelssohn
P.S.
I can't believe I forgot Chopin, Mahler and Bruckner! Of course there are many others.
There are many film music composers I love as well - Steiner, Korngold, Rosza, Jarre, and Williams in particular.
I love that a couple of posters listed P.D.Q. Bach!
The ten I currently regard as the giants are:
Bach
Vivaldi
Handel
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Verdi
Wagner
Puccini
Obviously ten leaves no room for a virtual army of other wonderful composers: di Lasso, des Prez, Praetorius, Dufay, Dowland, Gibbons, Tallis, Arne, Clarke, Gabrielli, Gluck, Monteverdi, Telemann, von Biber, Buxtehude, Corelli, Torelli, Pachelbel, Purcell, Palestrina, Scarlatti, Rossini, Paganini, Albinoni, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Grieg, Debussy, Berlioz, J. Strauss I & II, Dvorak, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Khachaturian, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saens, Respighi, Franck, Delibes, Sibelius, Holst, Elgar, Stravinsky, de Falla, Ravel, Joplin, Gershwin, and so many more. These are just the ones I was able to list off the top of my head. So many composers move me - I couldn't do without any of them!
1. Beethoven
2. Tchaikovsky
3. Rachmaninoff
4. Dvorak
5. Sibelius
6. Brahms
7. Grieg
8. Mendelssohn
9. Stravinsky
10. JS Bach
I don't think that one has to ever explain WHY you like a certain composer. You just "do"! And so, here are my ten favorites:
1. Puccini
2. Verdi
3. Rachmaninoff
4. Brahms
5. Mahler
6. Mendelssohn
7. Shostakovich
8. Ravel
9. Grieg
10. Debussy
Steve Bonime (who is a gentleman and a scholar and there are so few of us left) is the only other person to list Victoria.
Since you all seem to have good taste, I assume most of you haven't heard any. What incredible beauty you are missing!
1. Beethoven
2. Bach
3. Mozart
4. Haydn
5. Schubert
6. Chopin
7. Mahler
8. Verdi
9. Wagner
10. Philip Glass
P.S. Please do not be "politically correct": the fact that the top five come from Vienna doesn't have any importance.
composers:
1. Ives
2. Finzi
3. Gershwin
4. Sullivan
5. JS Bach
6. Mozart
7. Michael Haydn
8. Gluck
9. Scarlatti, D.
10.Beethoven
from the home office in Brooklyn, here are the absolute top ten composers:
Beethoven
Mahler
Seiblius
Rachmaninoff
Gershwin
Wagner
Brahms
Ravel
Mendelshon
Bernstein
In no particular order:
Wagner
Verdi
Puccini
Beethoven
Rossini
Schubert
Mendelssohn
Berlioz
Dvorak
But I also would take to a desert Island:
Chopin
Handl
Donizetti
Scott Joplin
George Gershwin
Mahler
Bellini
The whole process is essentially ridiculous, since I can name either 1 or 100 favorites. But since you insist:
Mozart/Bach/Beethoven/Brahms/Tchaikovsky
Stravinsky/Copland/Gershwin/John Adams/ Rameau
Go figure.
What a difficult thing to do, so many more i would like to add here ...
Rachmaninoff
Mahler
Brahms
Elgar
Prokoviev
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Dvorak
Wagner
10 is such a small number, but here goes..
Beethoven, first and foremost since i was 8yrs old....
mendelssohn
chopin
grieg(piano concerto)
Litolff(piano concerto)
bach
tchaikovsky
debussy
ravel
rodrigo.
And to all those whom I have omitted. My sincere apologies,,But I love you still!
In no particular order:
Vivaldi
Handel
Haydn
Couperin
DeLalande
Rameau
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Bartok
Satie
{ More room needed for Boccherini, Josquin des Pres - 10 is just impossible!)
1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Brahms
4. Tchaikovsky
5. Dvorak
6. Rachmaninoff
7. Wagner
8. Berlioz
9. Faure
10. Stravinski
1.Beethoven
2.Schumann
3.Vivaldi
4.Smetana
5.Schubert
6.Bach
7. Stravinsky
8.Copeland
9.Bernnstein
10Tchaikovsky
10 Favorites? So hard to do!
My selection is Debussy, Bach, St. Saens, Mozart, Beethovan, Gershwin, Stravinsky, Glass, Prokofiev, and Ravel.
My favorite radio station? Not hard at all: just one -- WQXR.
1.Beethoven
2.Tchaikovsky
3.Schumann
4.Brahms
Bach
Handel
Mozart
Haydn
Beethoven
Schubert
Wagner
Verdi
Brahms
Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Monteverdi, Shostakovich, Mahler, Dvorak, PDQ Bach, Coltrane, Lennon, Dylan, etc etc et
Beethoven
Chopin
Mendelsohn
Gershwin
Bernstein
F. von Suppe
Ravel
Tchaikovsky
Grieg
Vivaldi
Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak, Vivaldi, Copland, Bernstein, Gershwin, Ellington, Brahms, Chopin
No particular order, but I tried to include a few more recent ones not on the other lists. Ten is impossible -- 50 would be a lot easier.
My top ten composers (in no particular order) based on the diversity, quality, and impact of their work.
Beethoven
Bach
Brahms
Handel
Mozart
Stravinsky
Berlioz
Wagner
Haydn
Bartok
not necessarily in order of preference - would be too hard to decide and depends on my mood or what i have heard most recently!
Beethoven
Mozart
Bach
Saint-Saens
Berlioz
Monteverdi
Verdi
Mahler
Wagner
Lizst
(In general order of magnitude; only Beethoven locks in at No. 1)
Beethoven
Mozart
Bach
Schubert
Brahms
Chopin
Mendelssohn
Schumann
Dvorak
Tchaikowsky
My top ten:
Joseph Haydn, J.S.Bach, Beethoven, Mozart
Brahms, Chopin, Schubert. Gustav Mahler,
George Gershwin, Schumann, Mendelssohn.
It was hard to leave out:
Vivaldi, Bartok, Prokofiev, Dvorak, Debussy,
Ravel, Stravinsky, Shostakovich
Not in chronological order:
Beethoven
JS Bach
Brahms
Berlioz
Mendelssohn
Mahler
Schumann
Tchaikovsky
Mozart
Dvorak
Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Mozart, Brahms, Stravinsky, Verdi, Shostakovich, J.S. Bach, Puccini. The first four are a lock, the order of the remaining composers is more tenuous.
Mr. Tommasini - What fun to suggest this listing and thank you for your wonderful, profound, engaging insights. Wish you'd put it all together in a magazine article, or a book.
Beethoven
Bach
Mozart
Handel
Haydn
Saint-Saens
Schubert
Berlioz
Vivaldi
Schubert
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Chopin
Verdi
Mozart
Sibelius
Vivaldi
Mendelssohn
Mahler
Beethoven
JS Bach
Mendelsohn
Handel
Schubert
Brahms
Mozart
Haydn
Vivaldi
Sullivan
PDQ Bach
Top Ten Composers:
This has been a very difficult task. I had to pass over 20 or 30 other GREAT composers to come up with THE 10. But here they are (in alphabetical order only.)
J S Bach
L Beethoven
J Brahms
G F Handel
F J Haydn
F Mendelssohn
W A Mozart
F Schubert
I Stravinsky
P I Tchaikovsky
I realize I did not put in a composer who was know mostly as an operatic composer or one who is primarily a US composer. They are certainly among the other 20 or 30 GREAT composers.
Al Vidovich 1/19/2011
my list would be: beethoven, j.s.bach, mozart,schubert, tchaikovsky, vivaldi, debussy, dvorak, chopin and rachmaninov. my favorite being beethoven
1) Tchaikovsky
2) Mozart
3) Beethoven
4) Dvorjak
5) Schubert
6) Verdi
7) Wagner
8) Brahms
9) Rachmaninof
10) Bach
Beethoven
Dvorak
Brahms
Mozart
Chopin
G. Gershwin
Verdi
Bach
Mendelssohn
R. Strauss
Beethoven
Handel
Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Verdi
Chopin
Stravinsky
Brahms
Dvorak
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Vivaldi
Brahms
Mahler
Handel
Haydn
Dvorak
Dittersdorf
In no particular order...
1 Mozart
2 Beethovan
3 Tchaikovsky
4 Puccini
5 Verdi
6 Wagner
7 Donizetti
8 Rossini
9 Handel
10 Mahler
My top 10 composers in (more or less) order of preference although #'s 3-8 are virtually tied
1.Beethoven
2.Mozart
3.Schubert
4.Brahms
5.Mendelssohn
6.Tchaikovsky
7.Sibelius
8.Dvorak
9.J. S. Bach
10.Rachmaninoff
My top 10 (in no particular order) would be: Gershwin
Beethoven
Stravinsky
Bernstein
Tchaikovsky
Mussorgsky
Rachmaninoff
Shostakovich
Dvorak
Handel
Honorable mentions go to Grieg, Debussy, Barber, Kodály, Chopin, and Bach (it's hard to pick just 10)!
Not that I can't be convinced that others are better, but I know I go back and listen to some composers more than others, so I have no qualms indicating favorites in that sense.
1) Schubert (run-away favorite - composer of probably 10 of my personal top-40 playlist)
2) R. Strauss (every time I hear it I like his work more)
3) Scarlatti (I could listen to that stuff over and over and over)
4) Mozart (favorite from youth - wanted to hear anything and everything he wrote all the time)
5) Debussy (just impressed with his inventiveness)
6) Beethoven
7) Handel
8) Berlioz (probably listen to it too much)
9) Bach (don't listen to it as much as I'd like to)
10) Mahler (used to listen to it much more often)
Not in any particular order, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Shostakovich, Bartok, Mahler, Debussy, Tchaikowsky, Haydn, Handel, Smetana
My top 10
Beethoven
Stravinsky
Rachmaninov
Prokofiev
Brahms
Tchaikovsky
Wagner
Bartok
Bach
Haydn
Handel
J.S. Bach
F.J. Haydn
Boccherini
Mozart
Beethoven
Rossini
Schubert
Verdi
Wagner
1. Beethoven
2. Mozart
3. Verdi
4. Puccini
5. Rossini.
6. Tchaikovsky
7. Mendelssohn
8. Dvorak
9. Schubert
10. Schumann (tie)
10. Vivaldi
My top 10, alphabetic order:
Beethoven
Brahms
Chopin
Debussy
Gershwin
Granados
Mahler
Puccini
Rachmaninoff
Tchaikovsky
1. Verdi
2. Rossini
3. Elgar
4. Ravel
5. Beethoven
6. Mozart
7. Strauss
8. Gershwin
9. Andrew Lloyd Webber
10. Schubert
11. Everyone else
My top ten composers:
Bach
Schubert
Mozart
Brahms
Beethoven
Wagner
Mahler
Schumann
Debussy
Shostakovich
W.A. Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Schubert
Mahler
Dvorak
Elgar
Shostakovich
Tchaikovsky
Berlioz
TOP TEN - R. Zweier - Vernon, NJ
Bach
Beethoven
Berg
Britten
Mahler
Mozart
Palestrina
R. Strauss
Stravinsky
Wagner
In no particular order ... Haydn, Handel, Bach (JS), Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Brahms.
But if I were to list my 10 fave composers, it changes somewhat ... Beethoven, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Medtner, Glazunov, Gershwin, Ravel, Debussy.
I think the difference, stated in business cliche, pardon me, is that the top 10 moved the needle of composition in their time, whereas my faves all produce a frisson at one point or another when I'm listening ... most especially Rach and Chop..
Top Ten:
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Schubert
Mozart
Verdi
Brahms
Chopin
Mendelssohn
Händel
Gershwin
J. S. Bach
George Frideric Handel
W. A. Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven
Giuseppe Verdi
Richard Wagner
Claude Debussy
Igor Stravinsky
Serge Prokofiev
Olivier Messiaen
Top Ten must include: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Tchaikowsky, Puccini, Mahler and Shostakovich. However, I would prefer to add an additional 10:
Scarlatti, Haydn, Schubert, Schumann,
Grieg, Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Elgar, Prokofiev and Richard Strauss.
How lucky we are!
For me, the top ten are:
L. van Beethoven
R. Wagner
J.S. Bach
F. Chopin
W.A. Mozart
E. Grieg
R. Haydn
S. Rachmaninoff
R. Strauss
G. Puccini
P. I. Tchaikovsky
In no particular order:
Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Brahms
Schubert
Handel
Berlioz
Verdi
Wagner
Richard Strauss
My ten top composers are:(not in order)
Richard Wagner
Richard Strauss
Ludwig van Beethoven
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Carl Maria von Weber
Franz Schubert
Johannes Brahms
Gustav Mahler
Jean Sibelius
Edvard Grieg
My top ten
Dufay, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Handel, Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Puccini, Stravinsky, Satie
My 10 most Favorite Composers:
1. Beethoven
2. Mozart
3. Bach
4, Mendelssohn
5. Bernstein
6. Dvorak
7. Vivaldi
8. Haydn
9. Stravinsky
10.Elgar
There are so many other favorites....
My top 10 composers:
Mozart
Beethoven
Vivaldi
Bach
Schubert
Sarasate
Schuman
Tchaikovsky
Chopin
Mendelssohn
1. J.S. Bach 2. Beethoven 3. Schubert 4. Mozart 5. Monteverdi 6. Bruckner 7. Brahms 8. Anton Webern 9. Morton Feldman 10. Benjamin Britten
Beethoven
JS Bach
Schubert
Chopin
Mendelssohn
Brahms
Mozart
Dvorak
Debussy
Satie
1. J. S. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Mozart
4. Mahler
5. Osvaldo Golijov
5. George Enescu
6. Arvo Paart
7. Gubaidulina
8. Rachmaninov
9. Wagner
10. Chopin
Ones I like to hear again and again: Mendellssohn, Sibelius, Camille Saint-Saens,Rachmaninov, Gershwin,
Dvorak, Monteverdi,Brahms,Tschaikovsky, Massanet,Khachaturian,Handel,Bizet, Rossini..Rimsy-Korsakov,..if it sounds good it is good (Duke Ellington)
1. Bach
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Schubert
5. Verdi
6. Wagner
7. Brahms
8. Tchaikovsky
9. Stravinsky
10. Prokofiev
My Top 10 are the following:
1. Rachmaninoff
2. Ravel
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Gershwin
5. Chopin
6. Strauss
7. Saint-Saëns
8. Beethoven
9. Pachelbel
10. Rossini
My 10 favorites in order:
1. Brahms
2. Bach
3. Beethoven
4. Mozart
5. Handel
6. Mendelssohn
7. Copland
8. Dvorak
9. Berlioz
10. Vivaldi
1. Haydn
2. Handel
3. JS Bach
4. Beethoven
5. Brahms
6. Chopin
7. Vivaldi
8. Tchaikovsky
9. Stravinsky
10. Liszt
Mozart
Beethoven
Bach
Rossini
Haydn
Mendelssohn
Dvorák
Tchaikovsky
Handel
Vivaldi
I would never include any composers with anti-semitic attitudes despite their musical genius
This is not an easy decision! OK, Lennon and McCartney; Vaughn Williams, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Beethoven, and Stevie Wonder.
In no particular order: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Grieg, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and Bernstein
Therese Saint Clair Wilder from New York City
Beethoven
Mozart
Haydn
Chopin
Verdi
Puccini
Tchaikovsky
Wagner
Ravel
Sibelius
Is it "favorites" or "greatest"? The answers might be different. My 10 candidates for "greatest" (in no particular order): J. S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Wagner, des Prez, Monteverdi, Mahler, Chopin, Leonard Bernstein
Favorite top ten:
Mozart
Bach
Haydn
Vivaldi
Telleman
Brahms
Mahler
Schubert
Beethoven
Anonymous
BACH
BEETHOVEN
BRAHMS
CHOPIN
DEBUSSY
DVORAK
MAHLER
MOZART
TCHAIKOVSKY
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
I'M A SUCKER FOR A GOOD MELODY. (LENNON & McCARTNEY WOULD BE NOS. 11A AND 11B:-) )
My ten favorite composers are the following:
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Chopin
Mozart
Puccini
Rachmaninoff
Schubert
Schumann
Tchaikovsky
beethoven
mozart
bach
wagner
chopin
puccini
schubert
schumann
johann strauss, jr.
tchaikovsky
I am excluding composers whose chief interest is opera. That's a separate category though I concur with A.T. that Verdi and Wagner are the giants of the genre.
-Bach
-Handel
-Haydn
-Mozart
-Beethoven
-Brahms
-Dvorak
-Mahler
-Debussy/Ravel in tandem
-Stravinsky
Bench players:
-Tchaikovsky
-Sibelius
-Prokofiev
-Bartok
-Chopin
In no particular order:
Tchaikovsky
Bach (J.S.)
Brahms
Elgar
Delius
Chopin
Schumann
Mussorgsky
Mendelssohn
Beethoven
Top Ten:
Mozart
Brahms
Chopin
Schumann
Beethoven
Palestrina
Rachmanioff
Grieg
Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Elgar
J. S. Bach
Brahms
Dvorak
Michael Torke
Mahler
Puccini
Ravel
In no order, but 11: JS Bach, Beethoven, Mozart,Brahms, Haydn, Schubert, Mahler, R.Strauss, Korngold, Britten, Messiaen.
Mozart
Verdi
Donizetti
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Gounod
Sigmund Romberg
Korngold
Chopin
Scott Joplin
Puccini
1. Beethoven
2. Mozart
3. Bach
4. Wagner
5. Handel
6. Haydn
7. Mendelssohn
8. Verdi
9. Schubert
10. Monteverdi
Here are my top ten composers:
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Debussy
Dvorak
Chopin
Smetana
Robert Schumann
Schubert
Sibelius
Ravel
Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Bach, Janacek, Smetana, Sibelius, Rimsky-Korsakov, Vivaldi, Rachmaninoff. You do not make it easy - there are at least 20 more "favorites", but these are the composers I can identify in three notes. I see a recurring pattern among all those who are responding.
My Top 10 are (in no particular order, maybe):
Bach
Beethoven
Handel
Mozart
Smetana
Rodrigo
Vivaldi
Dvorak
Purcell
Monteverdi
My top composers (in no particular order)
1) Beethoven
2) Mozart
3) Schubert
4) Bach
5) Tchaikovsky
6) Shostokovich
7) Brahms
8) Debussey
9) Chopin
10) Handel
For 3 years, I built an audience for classical music as an on-air host at WUNC - Public Radio - Chapel Hill (NC). My "top 10" list from that experience was as follows:
1. Mahler - Symphonies
2. Wagner
3. Carl Orff
4. Charles Ives
5. Brecht - Weill collaborations
6. Beethoven
7. Brahms
8. Widor - organ works
9. Bruckner
10. J. S. Bach
so hard but here goes - in no particular order:
Bach
Tchaikovsky
Rachmaninoff
Barber
Copland
Stravinsky
Sibelius
Beethoven
Puccini
Glass
J.S, Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Purcell, Gershwin, Copeland, Bernstein
What a choice to have to make! Life would be sooo dull without these great composers.
Lori Goldschmidt
1. Mozart
2. Bach
3. Schubert
4. Brahms
5. Handel
6. Grieg
7. Haydn
8. Scott Joplin
9. Beethoven
10. Leonard Bernstein
I love them all. At the moment I would say:
Brahms, Handel, Beethoven, Schubert,
Mendelssohn, Grieg, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Schumann
1- Beethoven
2- Mozart
3 - Bach
4 - Verdi
5 - Wagner
6 - Debussy
7 - Brahms
8 - Webern
9 - Stravinsky
10 - Bernstein
My list is
1 Beethoven
2 Mozart
3 Faure
4 Puccini
5 Bach
6 Purcell
7 Vivaldi
8 Satie
9 Verdi
10 Rossini
I cannot limit myself to ten - beauty and love know no limits. Here is my eclectic list in no particular order:
Ravel,Manuel de Falla,Debussy,Satie,Britten,Duruflé,Copland,
Albeniz,Gabriel Yared,Vaughan Williams,
Equally loved: Stravinsky, Chopin, Elgar,Barber Sibelius,Gershwin, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Peaslee, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Lecuona, Ignacio Villa, Puccini,Wagner, Edu Lobo, Maysa Matarazzo, Johnny Mandel, Francis HImes, Berg.
My ten, in alphabetical order:
Beethoven
Bernstein
Chopin
Copland
Dvorak
Handel
Holst
Stravinsky
Tchaikovsky
Vivaldi
1. Mozart
2. Bach
3. Beethoven
4. Rimsky-Korsakov
5 Stostakovich
6. Rachmaninov
7. Stravinsky
8 Glass
9. Hayden
10. Rossini
I cannot limit myself to ten - beauty and love know no limits. Here is my eclectic list in no particular order:
Ravel
Manuel de Falla
Debussy
Satie
Britten
Duruflé
Copland
Albeniz
Gabriel Yared
Vaughn Williams
Equally loved: Stravinsky, Chopin, Elgar,Barber Sibelius,Gershwin, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Peaslee, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ernesto Lecuona, Ignacio Villa, Puccini,Wagner, Edu Lobo, Maysa Matarazzo, Johnny Mandel, Francis HImes, Berg, and the list goes on.....
Handel, Brahms, Verdi, Tchaikovski, Faure, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Ravel and Philip Glass
My ten top composers (in no particular order)
Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Mendelssohn
Wagner
Verdi
R. Strauss
Tchaikovsky
Handel
Mahler
It's not fair to be able to list only ten. We all love particular pieces by a great many composers. In no particular order (my apology): Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Verdi, Puccini, Faure, Donizetti, Haendel, Offenbach, Bruch, Rachmaninoff, Elgar, Williams, Brittan, Saint-Saens, Mozart, Ravel, Debussy, Grieg, Liszt, Franck, (and I just can't think of any more right now).
I cannot limit myself to ten - beauty and love know no limits. Here is my eclectic list in no particular order:
Ravel
Manuel de Falla
Debussy
Satie
Britten
Duruflé
Copland
Albeniz
Gabriel Yared
Vaughn Williams
Equally loved: Stravinsky, Chopin, Elgar,Barber Sibelius,Gershwin, Richard Peaslee, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ernesto Lecuona, Ignacio Villa, Puccini,Wagner, Edu Lobo, Maysa Matarazzo, Johnny Mandel, Francis HInes, Berg, and the list goes on.....
!.Haydn 2.Mozart 3.Prokofiev 4. Rameau 5. Sibelius 6. Dvorak 7.Shostakovich 8. Von Bingen 9, Mahler 10. Bruckner
OK, WQXR, maybe you will post my modest list of ten. It's chronological:
Bach
Handel
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Debussy
Stravinsky
Bartok
Shostakovich
J. S. Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Chopin
Schumann
Brahms
Dvorak
Shostakovich
My 10 Favorite Composers are as follows:
Beethoven
Brahms
Mahler
Shostokovich
Dvorak
Tchaikovsky
Mozart
Shubert
Copeland
Ravel
Mendelsohn
mozart
tchaikovsky
js bach
vivaldi
verdi
beethoven
chopin
wagner
strauss
satie
This is more or less the order, but by no means set in stone:
1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Mahler
5. Sibelius
6. Stravinsky
7. Chopin
8. Debussy
9. Prokofiev
10. Brahms
1.Gustav Mahler
2. J.S. Bach
3. Johannes Brahms
4. Ludwig von Beethoven
5. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
6. Franz Schubert
7. Richard Wagner
8. Palestrina
9. Richard Strauss
10. Verdi
my favorite ten composers are as follows:
1. Copeland
2. Gershwin
3. Elgar
4. Verdi
5. Brahms
6. Mozart
7. Schubert
8. Bach
9. Ives
10Handel
(Why 10 ?)
Perotin
Machaut
Dufay
Ockeghem
Desprez
Isaac
Obrecht
Tallis
Palestrina
Victoria
Byrd
Gibbons
Monteverdi
Schütz
Purcell
Handel
Vivaldi
J.S. Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Chopin
Schumann
Brahms
Verdi
Wagner
Puccini
Debussy
Gershwin
Ravel
Janáček
Stravinsky
Prokofiev
Shostakovich
1.debussy
2.prokofiev
3.vivaldi
4.satie
5.R. Schumann
6.mahler
7.brahms
8.boccherini
9.mozart
10.weill
1.Buxtehuda
2. Bach
3.Chopin
4.Beethoven
5.Tchaikovsky
6.Sibelius
7.Mahler
8.Vaughn Williams
9.Ravel
10.Mozart
My Top Ten (but not ranked):
G. Mahler
J.S.Bach
L.v.Beethoven
W.A.Mozart
B.Bartok
G.Faure
G.Verdi
T.Tallis
J.Haydn
Schubert
Top Ten Composers: Music Immortals Chronologically Listed)
1. Josquin Des Prez (early Renaissance)
2. J.S. Bach (Baroque)
3. Handel (Baroque)
4. Beethoven (Classical/Early Romantic)
5. Mozart (Classical)
6. Hadyn (Classical)
7. Schubert (Romantic)
8. Schumann (Romantic)
8. Wagner (Romantic)
9. Brahams (Romantic)
10. Stravinsky (Modern)
Here's my list. Pretty standard I guess, but with one little zinger - DuParc - who for me has one of the most unique voices in classical music. Just his song "Phydile" qualifies him for a place in my top 10.
Ravel
Brahms
Mendelssohn
Haydn
DuParc
Monteverdi
Beethoven
Bach
Bellini
Mozart
And let's not forget Hyppolite Mompou! (only joshing . . . )
In alpabetical order... it was difficult enough to limit it to 10:
Bach
Beethoven
Chopin
Debussy
Mozart
Prokofiev
Rachmaninoff
Ravel
Tchaikovsky
Vivaldi
my favorite 10
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Chopin
Brahms
R. Strauss
Mahler
Ravel
Stravinsky
Copland
Top Ten:
1. Brahms
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Haydn
5. Shubert\
6. Dvorak
7. Shostakovich
8. Mendelsohn
9. Sibelius
10.Schuman
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johannes Brahms
Ludvig von Beethoven
Antonin Dvorak
Georg Frideric Händel
Gustav Mahler
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Carl Orff
Petr Ilych Tchaikovsky
Richard Wagner
I Puccinidon't get WQXR out here in California but I listen from April through November in New York. There is absolutely no question that the top ten composers of all time are: Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Verdi, Puccini, Schuman, and you can pick any two more that you wish.
I have a somewhat diffenent distribution of my ten names:
Beethovan
Mozart
Tchaikovsky
Brahms
Wagner
Copeland
Verdi
Britten
Bach
Stravinsky
Rachmaninoff
Vivaldi
Ravel
Bach
Bizet
Verdi
Beetoven
Mozart
Handel
Brahms
Top Ten Composers
1) Bach
2) Mozart
3) Handel
4) Haydn
5) Wagner
6) Brahms
7) Gluck
8) Chopin
9) Shubert
10) Shumann
1. Rachmaninoff
2. Tchaikovsky
3. Hindemith
4. Stravinsky
5. Beethoven
6. Mozart
7. Dvorak
8. Chopin
9. Bartok
10. Debussy
In no particular order:
Beethoven
Mozart
Bach
Handel
Chopin
Vivaldi
Rachmaninoff
Haydn
Mendelssohn
Scott Joplin (OK, not really classical...)
1. Schuman
2. J.S. Bach
3. Beethoven
4. Schubert
5. Handel
6. Haydn
7. Mozart
8. Chopin
9. Wagner
10. Mendelssohn
Irene -Little Neck,N.Y.
1. Beethoven
2, Mozart
3. Rachmaninoff
4. Mendelssohn
5. Verdi
6. Rossini
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Vivaldi
9. Gershwin
10. Strauss,Richar
My ten favorites in random order are: Mozart, Rachmaninof, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Puccini, Verdi, Sibelius, Copland, Gershwin.
My Top Ten:
Beethoven
Mozart
Brahms
Schubert
Tchaikovsky
Dvorak
Puccini
Verdi
Wagner
Copland
my ten composers are
1- Wagner
2- Mozart
3- Bach
4- Hayden
5- Haendel
6- Locatelli
7- Lulli
8- Corelli
9- Brahms
10- Schumann
Me again....how oh how could i have left off
Marin Marais? A genius!!
1. Bach
2.Beethoven
3.Mozart
4.Berlioz
5.Wagner
6.Tchaikovsky
7.Mahler
8.Stravinsky
9. Prokofiev
10. Bartok
My top 10? Not as eclectic and interesting as a lot I've read but then I've always known WQXR listeners are brilliant.
If I had to choose, mine would be:
Mahler
Brahms
Bach
Prokofiev
Mendelssohn
Schumann
Mozart
Richard Rodgers
Gershwin
Borodin
The best composers are: Bach Beethoven Mozart Haydn Schumann Berlioz Faure Chopin Sibelius and Mahler. This list is in no particular order.
My random list---
Chopin
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Mozart
Dvorak
Tschaikovsky
Rachmaninoff
Mendelssohn
Wagner
Must we limit it to ten???????
George Gershwin
Liszt
Chopin
Tchaikovsky
Beethoven
Verdi
Mozart
Bernstein
Any Strauss
Bach
In no particular order, but how I thought of them.
JS Bach
FJ Haydn
CPE Bach
Telemann
Josquin De Prez
Brahms
Debussy
Moussorgsky
Stravinsky
Vivaldi
1. J.S. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Chopin
4. Schubert
5. Brahms
6. Schumann
7. Saint-Sans
8. Rachmaninoff
9. Elgar
10. Puccini
Mozart
Beethoven
Haydn
Brahms
Bach
Dvorak
Schubert
Mendelssohn
Saint-Saëns
John Williams
Ok, here's ten in absolutely no special order; can't even be sure these ARE my ten favorite, since I had to leave off so many. But if you are keeping tally, I'm happy to add votes for these guys.
Iannis Xenakis
Dimitri Shostakovich
Morton Feldman
Raif Vaughn Williams
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Erik Satie
Allan Petterson
George Crumb
Frederick Delius
Antonio Vivaldi
1.Handel
2.Bach
3.Veethoven
4.Mozart
5.Brahms
6.Joaquin Rodrigo
7.Vivaldi
8.Telemann
9. Tchaikovsky
10.Grieg
J.S. Bach
Handel
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Chopin
Liszt
Wagner
Brahms
Debussy
1. Ravel
2. Berg
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Debussy
5. Stravinsky
6. Rachmaninov
7. Copeland
8. Berlioz
9. Faure
10. Puccini
Handel
Beethoven
Mozart
Verdi
Puccini
Wagner
Mahler
Haydn
Bach
Vivaldi
Berlioz
My ten:
Monteverdi
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Handel
Schubert
Haydn
Glass
Mozart
Stravinsky
Part
1. Handel (always!)
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Vaughan Williams
5. Respighi
6. Haydn
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Bach
9. Vivaldi
10. Mendelssohn
George Gershwin
Top ten composers:
1. Mozart
2. Bach
3. Handel
4. Beethoven
5. Schubert
6. Schumann
7. Bizet
8. Brahms
9. Dvorak
10. Tchaikovsky
My ten favorite composers are:
1. Beethoven
2. Smetana
3. Schubert
4. Tschaikowsky
5. Stravinsky
6. Handel
7. Rossini
8. Dvorak
9. Chopin
10. Grieg
(Not necessarily in the order listed.)
1.) J.S. Bach
2.) Vivaldi
3.) Mozart
4.) Beethoven
5.) Schumann (kinda tied with Schubert)
6.) Brahms
7.) Debussy
8.) Tchaikovsky
9.) Sibelius
10.) Ravel
Handel
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Stravinsky
Bartok
Philip Glass
Lully
Arvo Part
Ravel
Debussy
Handel
Bach
Beethoven
Stravinsky
Top Ten:
Mozart
Bach
Beethoven
Haydn
Brahms
Chopin
Schubert
Tchaikovsky
Handel
Mendelssohn
My favorite list of composers, in no specific order, are:
Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Vivaldi, Glass, Verdi, Haydn, Handel and Bizet.
(When I first heard the Pachelbel Canon in D on a (now defunct) local classical music station, I was so moved by it, I purchased a recording. Not recalling the composer's name, I inquired about the composer whose name sounded like Taco Bell.
Pachelbel
Barber
Mozart
Beethoven
Haydn
Vivaldi
Copeland
Grieg
Verdi
Puccini
In no particular order:
1. Bach (except for Bach, of course)
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Brahms
5. Schubert
6. Schumann
7. Wagner
8. Verdi
9. Mahler
10.Haydn
Sorry, there's just no room for the 20th century--the above are just "greater"
Beethoven
Mozart
Verdi
J.S. Bach
Strauss
Rossini
Chopin
Holst
Grieg
Brahms
Here are my choices:
1. Verdi
2. Puccini
3. Dvorak
4.Tchaikovsky
5. Mozart
6. Chopin
7. Richard Strauss
8. Mendelssohn
9. Beethoven
10.Stravinsky
Ah...so many beautiful pieces of music that have touch me and influenced my life!
But in chosing ten composers I must chose:
Giacomo Puccini
Antonin Dvorak
Edvard Grieg
Ludwig Von Beethoven
Pytor Tchaikovsky
Gustav Holst
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Giuseppe Verdi
Maurice Ravel
George Gershwin
Thank you very much.
1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Bach
4. Brahms
5. Tchailovsky
6. Handel
7. Hyden
8. Mendelsohn
9. Prokofiev
10. Stravinsky
Here are my top ten:
1. Beethoven
2. Bach
3. Mozart
4. Chopin
5. Handel
6. Tchaikovsky
7. Rimsky-Korsakov
8. Prokofiev
9. Vivaldi
10. Puccini
1. Tchaikovsky
2. J S Bach
3. Ravel
4. Beethoven
5. Aaron Copeland
6. Mozart
7. Chopin
8. Puccini
9. Rimski-korsakov
10. Prokofiev
Schubert
Mozart
R. Strauss
Grieg
Handel
Telemann
Vivaldi
Bach
Beethoven
Mendelssohn
Glad to see some opera composers on a few of the lists. Here's my top nine, plus one.
Beethoven
JS Bach
Mozart
Verdi
Donizetti
Puccini
S. Reich
Shostakovich
Sibelius
PDQ Bach
Verdi
Puccini
Donizetti
Beethoven
Chopin
Händel
Strauss (Richard)
Mahler
Wagner
Tchaikovsky
Here is the list of my top ten composers:
1. Tchaikovsky (my love for classical music began when I heard his 4th Symphony)
2. Mahler
3. Beethoven
4. Bruckner
5. Brahms
6. Bach
7. Handel
8. Sibelius
9. Dvorak
10. Haydn
Stravinksy
Brahms
Britten
Bach
Hildegard von Bingen
John Adams
Prokoviev
Shostakovich
Part
Barber
1 Vivaldi
2 Bach
3 Tchaikovsky
4 Rossini
5 Copland
6 Beethoven
7 Strauss
8 Debussy
9 Saint- Saens
10 Brahms
Top Ten Composers
Copland
Grieg
Mozart
JS Bach
Ravel
Faure
Satie
Prokofiev
Tchaikovsky
Beethoven
1.- Beethoven
2.- Bach
3.- Haendel
4.- Mozart
5.- Richard Strauss
6.- Ravel
7.- Stravinsky
8.- Mahler
9.- Tchaikowski
10.- Satie
It is very dificult to name only ten, but it is interestig as an exercise, to know who are de ten most named.
Among my favorite composers are:
1.S. Rachmaninoff
2.P.Tchaikovsky
3.S.Prokofief
4.J. Sibelius
5.B. Britten
6.C.Debussy
7.F.Schubert
8.W.A.Mozart
9.G.Puccini
10.J.S.Bach
My 10 favorites (subject to severe trauma if I could never hear compositions from about 50 other guys): Beethoven, Mozart, J.S. Bach,Brahms, Schubert, Mahler, Berlioz, Verdi, Donizetti, Mendelssohn (tied with Tchaikovsky and Dvorak. And Chopin. And Shostakovich.)
Among my favorite composers are::
1. Edgard Varese
2. Olivier Messiaen
3 . Igor Stravinsky
4 . Richard Strauss
5. Hildegard Von Bingen
6. Gyorgy Ligeti
7. Giovanni Palestrina
8. Dmitri Shostakovich
9. Ludwig Von Beethoven
10. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Haydn
Mendelssohn
Dvorak
Schubert
Puccini
Vivaldi
Gershwin
These are the ten who move me above all the others.
1 Mahler
2 Martinu
3 Bartok
4 Shostakovich
5 Stravinsky
6 Pettersson
7 Zappa
8 Bruckner
9 Verdi
10 Schoenberg
Honorable mention to: Berg, Webern, Varese, R Strauss, Sibelius, Puccini, Wagner, Beethoven, Bach.
1. Mahler
2. Beethoven
3. Strauss (Richard)
4. Wagner (Richard)
5. Puccini
6. Rachmaninoff
7. Verdi
8. Brahms
9. Tchaikovsky
10. Mozart
Wolfgang Mozart
LvBeethoven
Tchaikovsky
Schubert
Schumann
Felix Mendelssohn
Sergei Prokofiev
J.S. Bach
Franz J. Haydn
Antonin Dvorak
1.Mozart
2.Beethoven
3.Bach
4.Brahms
5.Haydn
6.Schubert
7.Robert Schumann
8.Handel
9.Vivaldi
10.Dvorak
My top 10 is!
Copland
Gershwin
Ravel
Bernstein
Holst
Beethoven
Barber
Faure
Tchaikovsky
Bach
Thats It
JS Bach, Georg F. Handel, W.A. Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Mahler, Dmitri Shostakovich, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland. If I could add one more it would be John Williams for his magnificent film scores.
in chronological order:
J. S. Bach
Handel
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Dvorak
Sibelius
R. Strauss
Stravinsky
Randomly,
Beethoven
Mozart
Chopin
Grieg
Schubert
Tchaikovsky
Ravel
Debussy
Dvorak
Strauss Jr.
and many more...
J.S.Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Chopin
Grieg
Brahms
Tchaikovsky
Handel
Schubert
Mendelssohn
MY favorites are:
Antonio Vivaldi
Johann Sebastian Bach
Georg PhilipTelemann
Georg Friderich Handel
W.A. Mozart
Felix Mendelssohn
Johannes Brahms
Antonin Dvorak
Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky
Serge Prokofiev
1.Bach
2.Beethoven.
3.Brahms
4.Debussy
5.Ravel
6.Strauss(richard)
7.Stravisky
8.Messiahn
9.Schnittke
10.Corigliano
I left berlioz bartok mahler barber takemitsu lygeti adams that I really love due to the limited of the ten places...
1.Bach
2.Beethoven.
3.Brahms
4.Debussy
5.Ravel
6.Strauss(richard)
7.Stravisky
8.Messiahn
9.Schnittke
10.Corigliano
The magic five:
Bach
Handel
Mozart
Beethoven
Haydn
The rest are on any given day:
Mendelssohn
Schubert
Chopin
Puccini
Dvorak.....
My ten in no particular order:
Chopin
Beethoven
Mozart
Schubert
Brahms
Handel
Elgar
Haydn
Mendelsohn
Schumann
I would be very interested to see who the most liked 10 would be
1. Edward Elgar
2. Sergei Rachmaninoff
3. Ralph Vaughn Williams
4. Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
5. Reynaldo Hahn
6. John Williams
7. Jules Massenet
8. Georges Bizet
9. Max Steiner
10. James Horner
1. JS Bach
2.Mozart
3.Beethoven
4.Chopin
5.Haydn
6.Smetana
7.Sibelius
8.Tchaikovsky
9.Dvorak
10. Copland
1. J.S. Bach
2. Richard Wagner
3. Ralph Vaughn Williams
4. Johannes Brahms
5. Ludwig Van Beethoven
6. Giacomo Puccini
7. Camille Saint-Saens
8. Antonin Dvorak
9. Gabriel Faure
10.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Bach
Brahms
Bach
Brahms
Bach
Brahms
Bach
Brahms
Bach
Brahms
Mozart
Tchaikovsky
Schubert
J.S.Bach
Handel
Stravinsky
Mahler
Rachmaninoff
Wagner
Liszt
Mozart is however above all, always!
Top Ten Composers:
1 L V Beethoven
2 J S Bach
3 A Dvorak
4 F Schubert
5 W A Moztart
6 R Schumann
7 S Rachmaninov
8 F Chopin
9 F Mendelssohn
10 C Franck
1. Gyorgy Ligeti
2. Stravinski
3. Bartok
4. Lutoslawski
5. Steve Reich
6. Arvo Part
7. Messiaen
8. Shostakovich
9. Magnus Lindberg
10. Philip Glass
1. Beethoven
2. Brahms
3. Bach
4. Mozart
5. Mendelssohn
6. Schubert
7. Vivaldi
8. Rachmaninov
9. Chopin
10. Sibelius
My ten:
Bach
Bach
Bach
Bach
Bach
Bach
Bach
Bach
Bach
Bartók
1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Debussy
4. Tchaikovsky
5. Mendelssohn
6. Bach
7. Liszt
8. Schubert
9. Chopin
10. Rachmaninoff
Top 10 composers: Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Brahms, Verdi. That leaves out Machaut, Salamone Rossi, Monteverdi, Tallis, Lully, Delalande, M.A. Charpentier, Chopin, Dvorak, Schumann, Wagner, Janacek, Joplin, Gershwin and several others whose work is also important to me.
I'm really influenced by Mozart and Bach, and it's sort of in between those. It's like a Mach piece, really.
Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Berlioz
Brahms
Debussy
Stravinsky
Bartok
Berlioz and Stravinsky not really in my personal top ten, but I have to acknowledge their tremendous influence.
1. Mozart
2. Brahms
3. Bach
4. Beethoven
5. Chopin
6. Avro Part
7. Astor Piazolla
8. Igor Stravinsky
9. Ernest Bloch
10.Sibelius
Top 10 Composers
1. Bach
2. Mozart
3. Brahms
4. Mendelssohn
5. Haydn
6. Beethoven
7. Rachmaninov
8. Schumann
9. Schubert
10. John Williams
My top 9 are quite similar to what I think many folks would pick. I had to add John Williams because he is virtually the only composer alive who is capable of composing anything that merits the label "classical music" IMHO. Apologies to Vivaldi, who I love but somehow couldn't find any room on the list.
Some of my favourites: Prokofieff,
Shostakovich, Britten,Silbelius,
Debussy, Messaien, John Adams,
Bernstein, Respighi, R. Murray Schafer
(I have to vote for a Canadian!)
1. Mahler
2. Beethoven
3. R. Strauss
4. Shostakovich
5. Brahms
6. Stravinsky
7. Bartok
8. Franck
9. Sibelius
10. Tchaikovsky
1. J.S. Bach
2. Beetoven
3. Copeland
4. Dvorak
5. E Grieg
6. G.F. Handel
7. W.A. Mozart
8. Vivaldi
9. G. Verdi
10. Tchaikovsky
1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Bach
4. Handel
5.Haydn
6. Brahms
7. Puccini
8. Dvorak
9. Verde
10.Wagner
1. Leonard Bernstein
2. L. Beethoven
3. Edward Elgar
4. Franz Schubert
5. W. A. Mozart
6. Antonín Dvořák
7. Dimitri Shostakovich
8. Kurt Weill
9. Johannes Brahms
10. Gabriel Fauré
My Top 10 are
1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Haydn
4. Bach
5. Schubert
6. Schumann
7. Brahms
8. Mendelssohn
9. Mahler
10. Sibelius
I think the ultimate Top 10 will include number 1-7, plus Debussy, Stravinsky, and Bartok, but they are not in my favorites list.
1 Beethoven
2 Bach
3 Mendelssohn
4 Schubert
5 Hayden
6 Tchaikovsky
7 Brahms
8 Mozart
9 Schulmann
10 Chopin
J.S. Bach
W.A. Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Schubert
Vivaldi
Verdi
Puccini
Haydn
Tallis
My top 10:
Bach
Beethoven
Chopin
Debussy
Dvorak
Liszt
Mahler
Mozart
Tchaikovsky
Wagner
It was hard to eliminate 5 of the 15 in my top 10.
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Chopin
Schubert
Verdi
Wagner
Puccini
Debussy
Mahler
My top 10 favorite composers are:
1. Jean-Baptiste Lully
2. Mozart
3. JS Bach
4. Beethoben
5. Haydn
6. Verdi
7. Brahms
8. Chopin
9. Bellini
10. Salieri
1. J.S. Bach
2. Haydn
3. Mozart
4. Beethoven
5. Handel
6. Debussy
7. Vivaldi
8. Schubert
9. Tchaikovsky
10. Grieg
11. Gershwin
1.Copland
2.Williams
3.Roza
4.Korngold
5.Elmer Bernstein
6.Mahler
7.Shostakovich
8.Ravel
9.Dave Grusin
10. Leonard Bernstein
My top ten favorites:
1. Beethoven
2. J S Bach
3. Mozart
4. Wagner
5. Verdi
6. Stravinsky
7. Debussy
8. Brahms
9. Mahler
10. Tchaikovsky
J.S Bach
Beethoven
Vivaldi
Vitaly
Paganini
Tchaikovsky
Debussy
Ysaye
Kreisler
W.A.Mozart
Only 10! There's so many Great one's! JS Bach most definitely # 1., Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Satie, Schubert, Faure, Elgar, Barber..... not fear! so many more to list.
Bach, JS
Mozart
Beethoven
Brahms
Handel
Prokofiev
Sibelius
Dvorak
Vivaldi
Schubert
JS Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Handel
Mendelssohn
Mozart
Puccini
Respighi
Rachmaninov
R. Strauss
In no particular order:
Tchaikovsky
Beethoven
J.S. Bach
Mozart
Schubert
Berlioz
Chopin
Stravinsky
Debussy
Vivaldi
In no particular order of preference:
Schumann
Schubert
Liszt
Bach (both J. S. and C. P. E., does this count as two? If so, please remove C. P. E.)
Shostakovich
Beethoven
Stravinsky
Bartók
Debussy
Ravel
Well my list in order of 10-1 (includes all composers dead or alive, band or orchestra)
10- Debussy
9- Ravel
8- David Maslanka (Band)
7- John Mackey (Band)
6- Brahms
5- Wagner
4- Richard Strauss
3- Shostakovich
2- Stravinsky
1- Mahler
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Mozart
Boccherini
Debussy
Dvorak
Tchaikovksky
Tartini
Geminiani
Hayden
Ravel
J.S. Bach
Mussorgsky
Satie
Sibelius
Rodrigo
Haydn
Dvorak
Beethoven
Mahler
1. Maurice Ravel
2. Claude Debussy
3. Ludwig Beethoven
4. Wolfgang Mozart
5. Richard Wagner
6. Aram Khachaturian
7. Philip Glass
8. J.S. Bach
9. Ottorino Resphigh
10. Franz Schubert
1. Mozart
2. Bach
3. Haydn
4, Beethoven
5. Verdi
6. Mahler
7. R. Strauss
8.Puccini
9 Wagner
10. Glass
1. Mozart
2. Tchaikovsky
3. JS Bach
4. Beethoven
5. Vivaldi
6. Brahms
7. Chopin
8. Liszt
9. Dvorak
10. Berlioz
My 10 most favourite composers (I have more) are:
Mozart
Mahler
Haydn
Sibelius
Gershwin
Elgar
Brahms
De Falla
Bach
Gluck
1. J. S. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Brahms
4. Schumann
5. Mozart
6. Chopin
7. Schubert
8. Debussy
9. Sarasate
10. Vivaldi
Mr. Tommasini and all of us have our work cut out to get this list down to 10! Every time I put one composer on my list and had to delete another, it felt like I was committing a crime! I should also note that this list is very different from the one I would have prepared 5 or 10 or 20 years ago, as my tastes have changed considerably. Here they are -- in no particular order:
1. Tchaikovsky
2. Mendelssohn
3. Dvorak
4. Richard Strauss
5. Verdi
6. Elgar
7. Sibelius
8. Grieg
9. Brahms
10. Mozart
1. J.S. Bach
2. Faure
3. Brahms
4. Haydn
5. Granados
6. Rachmaninov
7. Sibelius
8. Albeniz
9. Beethoven
10. Debussy
1. Beethoven
2. Tchaikovsky
3. Dvorak
4. Handel
4. Rimsky-Korsikov
5. Mozart
6. Verdi
7. J. S. Bach
8. Bruckner
9. Vivaldi
10. Elgar
Not that they are in any sort of order, but these are my favorite composers:
Franz Liszt
Johann Sebastian Bach
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Camille Saints-saens
Dmitri Shostakovich
George Friederick Handel
Felix Mendelssohn
Sergei Rachmaninov
Frederic Chopin
Thomas Tallis
my ten are:
Berlioz
Dvorak
Handel
Beethoven
Mozart
Haydn
Verdi
Tchaikovsky
Shostakovich
and the scandalously ignored Carl Nielsen
TOP TEN COMPOSERS
1.Beethoven
2.Bach
3.Mozart
4.Debussy
5. Wagner
6.Chopin
7.Berlioz
8.Stravinsky
9.Sibelius
10.Tshcaikovsky
It has got to be J.S. Back, although I love the music composed by many others.
These are my 10 favorites:
1. Brahms
2. Rachmaninoff
3. J.S.Bach
4. Dvorak
5. Mendelssohn
6. Schubert
7. Tchaikovski
8. Schumann
9. Beethoven
10. Chopin
Beethoven
JS Bach
Mozart
Chopin
Debussey
Wagner
Puccini
Bellini
Grieg
Gershwin
Re Michael Meltzer's comment on what ten foods would you like to see on the table in front of you every day without fail, of course nobody would, right? But that doesn't mean you don't have favorites, maybe even more than ten, and what you do is pick them to suit the particular mood of the day or the occasion. Same thing with the music I think. By the way, ten is a pretty restrictive number, I had to leave out many that I also truly love...
F.A. Mozart
Beethoven
Chopin
J.S. Bach
Wagner
Verdi
Copland
Bernstein
Mendelsohn
G.F. Hanbdel
Horror of horrors ! Can You imagine a list w/o Mozart ?! A typo or a [Bruckner advocate] bumped him entirely from # 2..May Mr.Koechel forgive us.
10 Best list:
Beethoven
Mozart
Bach
Brahms
Tchaikowsky
Ravel
Mendelsohn
Wagner
Prokofeiff
Hayden
Tchaikovsky
Shostakovich
Mozart
Chopin
Mahler
Berlioz
Fauré
Verdi
Sibelius
Ravel
Alphabetically, as the order shuffles depending on my mood.
Bach
Beethoven
Bellini
Chopin
Handel
Minkus
Mozart
Rameau
Rossini
Vivaldi
I am listing 10 composers whose output I can embrace 100%. A list of my favorite works would include Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Bartok and Hindemith, but those composers also wrote things I don't relate to. Tough call!
-T. Victoria
-G. Gabrieli
-Monteverdi
-Corelli
-J.S. Bach
-D. Scarlatti
-Beethoven
-Brahms
-Dvorak
-Debussy
1. Strauss, Jr.
2. Vivaldi
3. Tchaikovsky
4. Beethoven
5. Puccini
6. Mozart
7. Ravel
8. Brahms
9. Rimsky-Korsakov
10. Chabrier
D. Shostakovich
L. Beethoven
A. Dvorak
G. Mahler
L. Bernstein
P. Tchaikovsky
J. Sibelius
A. Copeland
J.S. Bach
Did I mention Shostakovich?
My top 10 composers are:
J.S. Bach
Beethoven
Chopin
Dvorak
Handel
Mendelssohn
Mozart
Rachmaninoff
Rimsky-Korsikov
Tschaikowsky
1. Mozart
2. Haydn
3. J.S. Bach
4. Beethoven
5. Tchaikovsky
6. Brahms
7. Rossini
8. Vivaldi
9. Chopin
10. Liszt
Mozart, who ever that is...
1. Bruckner
2. Bruckner
3. Bruckner
4. Bruckner
5. Bruckner
6. Samuel Barber
7. Bruckner
8. Bruckner
9. Prokofiev
10. Bruckner
1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Mozart
4. Mahler
5. Chopin
6. Vivaldi
7. Tchaikovsky
8. Shubert
9. Brahms
1. Bach
2. Beethoven
3. Stravinsky
4. Brahms
5. Mozart
6. Haydn
7. Chopin
8. Dvorak
9. Wagner
10. Puccini
Ten Composers
Additional comment::
Were it not for limits of one entry per applicant,WQXR adheremts could easily produce 4 or 5 equally valid yet different lists without the Procrustean bed of stretching and chopping.
1. J.S.Bach
2.Beethoven
3.Mendelssohn
4.Brahms
5.Mahler
7.Debussy
8.Verdi
9.Dvorak
10.Gershwin [if disqualified kindly substitute
Stravinsky]
My ten favorites are (more or less in this order):
Beethoven
Mozart
Dvorak
Mendelssohn
Tchaikovsky
Brahms
Verdi
Rossini
Schumann
Wagner
Hard to put in chronological order - most of my likings are so close! But here it is:
Hector Belioz
Wilhelm Richard Wagner
Franz Liszt
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Jean Sibelius
Franz Peter Schubert
Bedřich Smetana
Frédéric François Chopin
Pietro Mascagni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Bedřich Smetana
Beethoven
Mozart
Verdi
Puccini
Vivaldi
Wagner
Rossini
Bellini because he was holy water and many composers dipped into his style.
Prokofieff
Dvorak
Beethoven
J.S. Bach
Schubert
Chopin
Dvorak
Händel
Verdi
Mozart
Haydn
Grieg
1. Mahler
2. Bartok
3. Stravinsky
4. Beethoven
5. J.S. Bach
6. John Adams
7. Steve Reich
8. Schubert
9. Osvaldo Golijov
10. Messiaen
Palestrina
J.S. Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Verdi
Sibelius
Ravel
Prokofiev
Stravinsky
Oops and oh my! I do apologize for the typos in my entry. Had a bit of a power surge this morning. The screen hiccupped, and some elements of an earlier list appeared (poor Chopin at no. 6). Erg ... And yes, it's GREGORIAN chant, not GERgorian ...
1. Anonymous writers of Gergorian chant and Chrodegang of Metz, who helped systematize Gregorian chant in the 8th century. They all gave us the groundwork for western music theory and composition.
2. J.S. Bach
3. Beethoven
4. Gesualdo
5. Handel
6. Monteverdi
7. Mozart
8. Chopin
9. Mahler
10. Glass
6. Chopin
My 10 most favorite and influential composers are:
J.S. Bach
W. Mozart
L. Beethovan
J. Sibelius
F. Mendelssohn
H. Berlioz
I. Stravinsky
L. Janacek
D. Shostakovich
J. Haydn
What ten foods would you like to see on the table in front of you, every evening at dinner time without fail?
Liszt's influence is often overlooked...one of his major contributions was DIVIDING THE OCTAVE. First into halves then thirds and finally into whole steps. these divisions led to new key relations, and the last whole step division gave the whole-tone scale...voila, Debussy. And we know of his opening new vistas.