Whats your top 10 of all time right now?

[hoodjem]

As for living composers, I am fond of Arvo Pärt.

Haydn is a recent infatuation of mine. I almost like it that everyone under-rates him. I can thus discover many hidden, overlooked treasures in the symphonies, piano sonatas, string quartets, and piano trios. His work is rather subtle--no wild swings of emotional range (therefore little popularity).

[kiki]

Originally Posted by BobbyOne

hoodjem, Thanks for your post. I think you are an intelligent man who offered great lists about tennis. So I only would be glad if you would be impressed by my four favourite composers, Schubert, Beethoven, Bach and Mozart.

Don Giovanni is one of only five or six operas which I am able to listen to. Most operas are too long for me and too superficial. The others are Fidelio, Die Zauberflöte, Carmen and Samson and Delilah.

I like that you accept Saint-Saens who is often blamed for eclecticism In fact S.-S. has proved that it's possible to write beautiful music also in 20th century (as also the Beatles have proved by the way).

Schubert can fit in as number 4.Bach,Beethoven and Mozart are the top three.for nº 4, there are others: List,Chopin,Mahler,Mendhelson,Ratchmaninoff and, of course, Tchaikovsky.

[Phoenix1983]

I would say that Mozart is the Borg of composers (both famous for achieving vast success and adulation at a young age), except that Mozart is renowned as being the most naturally talented/ingenious of composers, whereas Borg is renowned more for consistency not genius.

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by hoodjem

Surprisingly, we seem to share many of the same tastes. I would rank my composers:
1. Beethoven
2. Bach
3. Schubert
4. Des Prez
5. Machaut

I am a big fan of Sibelius, Bruckner, and Vaughan Williams also. I do appreciate some Mozart, but mostly only the late stuff--from K. 475 on. The earlier music seems immaculately composed but not very deep to me. Die Zauberflöte and Fidelio, and maybe Othello are about the only operas I can stand. Unfortunately, almost every time I go somewhere I can get tickets to a quality opera production, it is of La Boheme. So I have seen that maybe 20 times--unfortunately.

This summer I shall see Rossini's The Barber of Seville in Vienna. We shall see . . .

hoodjem,

I cannot say something about Des Prez and Machaut. Too long away...

I love Beethoven because of his positive attitude, his ability to give pure joy. And his versatility. He masters so many styles. He can compose like Bach, like Schubert, like Mozart. He has written more great works than any other composer.

Schubert has written so many first-class songs plus several perfect symphonies, sonatas, quartetts.

I love Vaughan Williams's Fantasy on Greensleeves. That song is possibly the most melancholic song at all and maybe the best melody ever written...

I like Bruckner's 4th and 7th symphony.

Sibelius is great: Karelia Suite, Violin Concerto, Symphonies...

I especially love the fourth movement of his second symphony: great and deeply felt music!

I accept Mozart mostly only from KV 300 onwards with a few exceptions: 136, 250,183...

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by hoodjem

As for living composers, I am fond of Arvo Pärt.

Haydn is a recent infatuation of mine. I almost like it that everyone under-rates him. I can thus discover many hidden, overlooked treasures in the symphonies, piano sonatas, string quartets, and piano trios. His work is rather subtle--no wild swings of emotional range (therefore little popularity).

hoodjem, "not wild swings of emotional range": That's excatly why I cannot like Haydn. Music is at his best when giving deepest felt emotions...

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by kiki

Schubert can fit in as number 4.Bach,Beethoven and Mozart are the top three.for nº 4, there are others: List,Chopin,Mahler,Mendhelson,Ratchmaninoff and, of course, Tchaikovsky.

kiki, You are right: In classical music there are many first-class composers, apart of those you have invented like Mendhelson, Ratchmaninoff...

In rock music there is much trash, alas.

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by Phoenix1983

I would say that Mozart is the Borg of composers (both famous for achieving vast success and adulation at a young age), except that Mozart is renowned as being the most naturally talented/ingenious of composers, whereas Borg is renowned more for consistency not genius.

Phoenix, In my opinion Mozart is a bit overrated in comparison to Schubert, f.i.

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by hoodjem

Surprisingly, we seem to share many of the same tastes. I would rank my composers:
1. Beethoven
2. Bach
3. Schubert
4. Des Prez
5. Machaut

I am a big fan of Sibelius, Bruckner, and Vaughan Williams also. I do appreciate some Mozart, but mostly only the late stuff--from K. 475 on. The earlier music seems immaculately composed but not very deep to me. Die Zauberflöte and Fidelio, and maybe Othello are about the only operas I can stand. Unfortunately, almost every time I go somewhere I can get tickets to a quality opera production, it is of La Boheme. So I have seen that maybe 20 times--unfortunately.

This summer I shall see Rossini's The Barber of Seville in Vienna. We shall see . . .

You might enjoy lesser known operas more.
When my wife and I went to Paris, we enjoyed the production of Le Roi Malgre Lui by Chabrier, at the Opera Comique, with the Orchestre de Paris in the pit, much more than the big budget production at the Bastille.
And at the Met in New York we enjoyed Nabucco more than Trovatore.
Expect the unexpected.
But in the end, Bach and Beethoven are the tops.

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

You might enjoy lesser known operas more.
When my wife and I went to Paris, we enjoyed the production of Le Roi Malgre Lui by Chabrier, at the Opera Comique, with the Orchestre de Paris in the pit, much more than the big budget production at the Bastille.
And at the Met in New York we enjoyed Nabucco more than Trovatore.
Expect the unexpected.
But in the end, Bach and Beethoven are the tops.

Dan, Your music ranking seems more reasonable than your tennis ranking...

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by BobbyOne

Dan, Your music ranking seems more reasonable than your tennis ranking...

You mean that Hoad and Gonzales are not the Bach and Beethoven of tennis?

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

You mean that Hoad and Gonzales are not the Bach and Beethoven of tennis?

I mean that Rosewall is the Schubert of tennis (both tops and underrated), Laver the Beethoven, Gonzalez the Bach and Tilden the Mozart. Just four giants in both fields.

Hoad could rank as Brahms or Mahler, still on a very high place....

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by BobbyOne

I mean that Rosewall is the Schubert of tennis (both tops and underrated), Laver the Beethoven, Gonzalez the Bach and Tilden the Mozart. Just four giants in both fields.

Hoad could rank as Brahms or Mahler, still on a very high place....

Let's try this;

Tennis Music

1) Hoad Bach
2) Gonzales Beethoven
3) Laver Mozart
4) Federer Wagner
5) Rosewall Handel
6) Budge Brahms
7) Vines Verdi
Kramer Debussy
9) Sampras Mahler
10) Borg Bartok
11) McEnroe Berlioz
12) Sedgman Stravinsky

There is no point-by-point similarity here, other than relative stature.
The music list is top-weighted with Germans and Austrians, the tennis list with Australians and Americans.
The composers belong to an older era.

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

Let's try this;

Tennis Music

1) Hoad Bach
2) Gonzales Beethoven
3) Laver Mozart
4) Federer Wagner
5) Rosewall Handel
6) Budge Brahms
7) Vines Verdi
Kramer Debussy
9) Sampras Mahler
10) Borg Bartok
11) McEnroe Berlioz
12) Sedgman Stravinsky

There is no point-by-point similarity here, other than relative stature.
The music list is top-weighted with Germans and Austrians, the tennis list with Australians and Americans.
The composers belong to an older era.

Dan, Interesting double list.

There are two big missing men in your lists: Tilden and Schubert!

I confess that I don't like Debussy.

Yes, it's a phenomenon that the top classic composers were from Austria and Germany. Stravinsky is the only classic composer of your list who lived long enough to reach the great Australians in tennis. He died in 1971.

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by BobbyOne

Dan, Interesting double list.

There are two big missing men in your lists: Tilden and Schubert!

I confess that I don't like Debussy.

Yes, it's a phenomenon that the top classic composers were from Austria and Germany. Stravinsky is the only classic composer of your list who lived long enough to reach the great Australians in tennis. He died in 1971.

Yes, many (including Philip Downs, author of Classical Music, who rates Wagner below Schubert) would put Schubert high.
I like his last four piano sonatas, the E flat Mass, and the String Quintet, but much of his music I find brooding and sad. Not my taste.
Debussy and Stravinsky were dominating influences, although I prefer Bartok, whose music has proven to have more staying power.

Tilden was brilliant, but I doubt that he was superior to Williams of 1914-16, and Allison Danzig claimed that Tilden played his absolute greatest match in the 1927 Forest Hills final against Lacoste, which he lost in straight sets.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by BobbyOne

kiki, You are right: In classical music there are many first-class composers, apart of those you have invented like Mendhelson, Ratchmaninoff...

In rock music there is much trash, alas.

there is much trash in any human activity, including all types of music.

Fortunately, I also enjoyed, not just the Golden Era of Tennis, but also the Golden Era of Music¡¡¡

[kiki]

There is 5 gmusical genious in the whole mankind history, that rank alone in the Olimpus:

Bach,Beethoven,Mozart,Miles Davis and Jimmy Page

Leonardo,Van Gogh,Picasso,Rembrandt and Buonarroti for painting...

[forzamilan90]

Originally Posted by kiki

There is 5 gmusical genious in the whole mankind history, that rank alone in the Olimpus:

Bach,Beethoven,Mozart,Miles Davis and Jimmy Page

Leonardo,Van Gogh,Picasso,Rembrandt and Buonarroti for painting...

is that an opinion or fact?

[kiki]

Originally Posted by forzamilan90

is that an opinion or fact?

of course, an opinion...based on facts and the level of artristry than one perceives.

What´s yours'

[forzamilan90]

Originally Posted by kiki

of course, an opinion...based on facts and the level of artristry than one perceives.

What´s yours'

oh when it comes to artistry it's all so subjective. There's no right answer there.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by forzamilan90

oh when it comes to artistry it's all so subjective. There's no right answer there.

One thing is artristry ( there haave been many extraordinary) and the other is genious: the ability to take things and leave them in another level before you took them.I talked about genious.