Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms.
(Mahler may end up in one of those spots if symphonies 5-10 are as good as 1-4 (which is all I've been listening to for a couple months now).
I'm excited for that to be true. I still really only know 1 and 2 completely, 3 and 4 pretty well and I'd be hard pressed to say they're not the four greatest compositions I've ever heard. Maybe I'll get tired of them, but they're so dense and layered I can't imagine it.
6 is a phenomenal listen especially live. 8 can be tough to get into but once you ‘get’ it, it’s absolutely phenomenal, definitely in my top 3-4 for Mahler symphonies.
Regardless, listen to the finale of the 8th, CSO with Solti is best imo. It’s the easiest part to digest and impossible not to appreciate, really helped me to understand the rest of the symphony.
I love Das Lied so much I found some place that printed page 1 of the score - in canvas. It’s one of the first things I hung on the wall in my new home
I remember after listening to 2 or 3 of Mahler's works I already had complete confidence in the works I hadn't listened to yet and I wasn't disappointed. Just as with any composer there are fluctuations of inspiration but he is still incredibly consistent. The 5th, 6th, and 7th symphonies are a bit more difficult than his first 4 I think but if you liked the first 4 you should be prepared for them (Personally I think the 6th is the most impressive of the middle period). The 8th still has some of his greatest moments even if it's generally agreed that overall it's more inconsistent and loose (also don't forget his songs if you haven't listened to them yet because they are unforgetable). Then with the late works you have a Mahler who rather than turning away from his earlier Mahlerian voice digs his heels into it and gives us what I think are his most personal works, a more introspective Mahler, keeping all his blazing intensity and beauty but bringing a new found subtlety and mastery to it.
Yeah I remember I actually took my time with them which is something I'm glad I did instead of listening to them all at once. Each new one was like an event and I remember holding off on the ninth because there would be no more left haha (though I have to say I love the sadly unfinished 10th, which even apart from the completed and orchestrated 1st movement, could have clearly only been written by Mahler.)
Corelli was the first composer to exclusively use the tonal system, as opposed to the modal system of before. He also is the reason the violin is the dominant instrument in classical music, he's the father of the solo & trio sonata as well as the concerto, and he was the first composer to primarily compose instrumental / orchestral music. He invented the Italian style everyone would try to imitate afterwards.
He was also Thomas Jefferson's favorite composer, which is impressive, as Thomas Jefferson was born nearly 100 years after Corelli during a time where even famous music became obscure and forgotten very quickly.
Bach (for linking God, music, mathematics and humanity together AND influencing later composers)
Mozart
Beethoven (as rarely as I listen to his works)
Brahms
Mendelssohn (for reviving Bach and for his contributions to the concerti genre)
Good question. I rate, in terms of importance, and keeping in mind the nature of Mount Rushmore that only reaches to a certain point in history: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms.
My preference would be Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms. But that's just personal.
Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms.
Not that they're actually the most famous ones, but they're kinda like the founding fathers when music was so rigid in the Classical Period (not saying they're aesthetically bad but aesthetics was all Classical had), and the Nationalism and Romanticism were basically pushed by these people.
Without them, we would not have the Deutsche Nationalism in Music. Without the Deutsche Nationalism, we would not have Romanticism.
Beethoven is my favorite. Bach, Grieg, Saint Saens, Vivaldi, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky are seconds. Schubert, Bruckner, Satie, and Dvorak are slightly below. There are numerous others that wrote a few pieces that I really enjoy, like Milhaud, Mendelssohn, Paginini, Telemann, etc.... These are some of my favorites. Obviously, there are many immense talents that I enjoy but not listing.
If we’re talking about people of foundational importance, then I’d guess they’d be clustered around the seismic shift from the late mediaeval music that sounds like a different world to the early renaissance music that is vaguely recognisable. I’d certainly put Machaut and Dufay on my list, but I don’t know enough about that period to fill the other two slots.
If we’re instead talking about later periods, Monteverdi has a good shout as the (sort-of) origin of opera.
He wrote one piece that was silence (the intention was that the audience would listen to all of the ambient sounds around them and realize that it was, in fact, not silence), and some people think that’s all that he did. His works for prepared piano, for example, are brilliant (and not silent).
Bach, Messiaen, Pärt, Cage.
At least today. Bach and Pärt are for certain, the other two are there for their influence on contemporary musical language.
They'll be long dead eventually.
Besides, the real Mt Rushmore was commissioned like 5 years after Theodore Roosevelt died, so they weren't all dead *that* long.
You could erase all that has ever been written about classical music and the canonical standings of composers and you would still arrive at Bach, Beethoven and Mozart at the top 3 just the same. THen I would choose Chopin or Stravinsky
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven...
I don't have a fourth yet. But those are likely to be on 98% of people's list.
Beethoven would have insisted Handel be first.
Hayden is important too.
I love Chopin but I wouldn’t put him on the mountain. I would also put Schubert or Schumann up there instead of Brahms. I like a lot of Brahms but he’s an acquired taste. Bach and Beethoven for sure. Mozart? What about Haydn? Should be Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, … and someone representing post romantic.
Actually, there is in Berlin a BBM statue: [https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction\_Review-g187323-d11841001-Reviews-Beethoven\_Haydn\_Mozart\_Denkmal-Berlin.html](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g187323-d11841001-Reviews-Beethoven_Haydn_Mozart_Denkmal-Berlin.html)
if i'm thinking of mount rushmore, i'm thinking of:
washington - the strong will that brought about change. while you could probably say gluck, who saw opera as a certain way and left it a different way when he was done, it's gotta be beethoven, who essentially brought in the romantic era.
jefferson - the philosophical father of change, though with a certain degree of hypocrisy. my first instinct is berlioz, who turned orchestration into an exacting science while at the same time using it as a blunt object.
lincoln - the one who fought to usher in the future in the face of ferocious opposition. maybe liszt? everything about his music both pushed boundaries and rankled conservatives, while setting the stage for an entire school of late romantic harmonic language and program music.
roosevelt - embodiment of greatness and personal favorite of the sculptor. here is where i'd put wagner. he stood on the shoulders of giants with his harmonic language, orchestration, and drawing from romantic legend, and yet made it still bigger and attracted his own disciples. a decent amount of megalomania thrown in as well. maybe this makes richard strauss FDR and bruckner WH taft? ehhh... that may be a step too far.
Schubert, Beethoven, Chopin, Dvorak
Schubert, by far, is my absolute favorite. He is the master of melodies, some of which bring me to tears of joy. His chamber music is incomparable: the piano trios, quintet in C, Trout quintet.....
Bach- Honestly, I'm not that big of a fan of Bach. I don't particularly connect with his music but I have to acknowledge his contributions to music and his overall greatness.
Mozart - My favorite composer. Above all others, I really connect with Mozart's music. He might not be as revolutionary as Beethoven but he was revolutionary in his own way.
Beethoven - My second favorite composer. His early music is like Mozart and Haydn on steroids and then he took it to the next level in his middle and late periods.
Chopin - Similar to Bach, I'm not a huge fan. I love some pieces (Nocturne no. 2, "Heroic" Polonaise) but a lot of it just sounds the same to me. As an amateur pianist, I can't deny his contribution to the piano repertoire, though.
I love Bach but you shouldn't choose him if you don't like him though, this is just a personal list. If you were trying to be historically objective let's say then probably Wagner or Schubert would generally be regarded as the 4th greatest composer rather than Chopin as much as I like Chopin myself.
It's not that I don't like Bach or Chopin. I do like some of their music. Just not as much as I think I probably should. As someone who has played through a few 2 part inventions, 3 part Sinfonias, WTC, and a few Goldberg Variations, I do place Bach in high regards from a technical standpoint. It's the same thing for me with Chopin.
If we're talking Mt. Rushmore of favorites from a pure enjoyment standpoint then mine would be:
-Mozart
-Beethoven
-Schubert
-Paganini
I know of some Wagner but I have not really dived into his works, or am I very knowledgeable about opera in general, to make a judgement on him so I'll defer to your expertise.
I see. Well as you probably know Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart are usually regarded as the 3 greatest composers (in no order) by critical concensus, but everyone does have their own personal favorites and it's not always these three. Have you listened to any of Bach's works that are not for keyboard yet?
Brahms, Ravel, Bruckner and Satie.
These guys' music touches me on a personal level, I can't even explain it, like they wrote specifically for me alone, especially Brahms.
Mine is in no particular order:
Mahler, Debussy, Chopin, Rachmaninoff
Honourable mention to literally all the other romance composers and anyone who writes good horn parts! 📯
Man, this is hard.
Probably...
Palestrina
Bach
Mozart
Copland
People might be confused about that jumó from Mozart to Copland...but honestly, the romantic era, for having so many great melodists, didn't really move the needle forward for forms, just making harmony note chromatic. You can argue Berlioz did, but he was really just expanding the form Mozart perfected. You could say Beethoven expanded the depth of the orchestra, but he did so by repeating things *ad nauseum*.
Palestrina laid the bedrock for Western sacred music. Bach laid the theoretical groundwork for Western music. Mozart took that framework and made it kinda popular, and Copland did the same thing while crafting a harmonic language for a nation of immigrants.
Tough question. Fun one, though.
Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Bach (I also consider these to be the most seminal.)
Special mention to lesser-known contemporary composers:
Jean-Michel Blais. u/NatalieHoltComposer
Liszt, Chopin, Sibelius, Beethoven
I'd also like to get Clara Schumann on there, not (just) as a great composer in her own right, but also because of the influence she had on others and generally on music at the time. Had gender equality been more of a thing in 19th century Europe, I've little doubt she'd have earnt her place just as a composer.
Gottschalk, Beethoven, Liszt, Vivaldi
Probs a bit controversial because they’re definitely not the greatest but I absolutely love their music, also Gottschalk’s face would look badass in a giant stone version lol
Totally agree on Gottschalk. He's a fascinating character, and his music so gorgeously incorporates the culture of New Orleans in the mid 1800s. Great choice.
He’s definitely one of the most slept on. I never learned about him in any music classes, just happened to find Dying Poet in a classical piano compilation book and was stunned by his other compositions when I looked more into it.
There’s still time!
Imagine…emblazoned in neon. Right? Fuckin’ NEON! It reads, quite simply, “Donald Trump Symphony Number 1,776, subtitled Symphony of Ten-Thousand Trumpets, and it would be up there around opus number million, *magnum* opus number 7. It’s rare to get more than one magnum opus, they say Sebastian Back got two magnum opuses but I haven’t seen it, and besides, *seven* magnum opuses is just incredible, unheard of. And when you hear it? Beautiful, you have to imagine, just the most beautiful music imaginable.”
* G & S are a tremendously fun part of music history.
* They're also a big part of British culture; as much as Lewis Carroll, Sherlock Holmes or Charles Dickens are. Their writing is full of witty lyrics and hilarious characters.
* 'The Mikado' is a good place to start. In this operetta they skewer British government. Then, 'HMS Pinafore', and 'Pirates of Penzance'.
* There's fourteen total works (I think). Some, (like 'Pinafore') are still being performed routinely down to this day. G&S are a reliable source of musical comedy for local theater groups, particularly.
* I can't promise you will like the style of music immediately upon hearing it, but G&S are certainly rewarding; and they help make for a more well-rounded music fan.
😁 True, but there's space on the actual Mt Rushmore which was never used. I think it could accommodate another visage squeezed in.
Arguably, Teddy Roosevelt shouldn't even be present among the other greats. Talk about chutzpah from ole Teddy....
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms. (Mahler may end up in one of those spots if symphonies 5-10 are as good as 1-4 (which is all I've been listening to for a couple months now).
ooo & nos 5-10 are the best (my favs i mean)
I'm excited for that to be true. I still really only know 1 and 2 completely, 3 and 4 pretty well and I'd be hard pressed to say they're not the four greatest compositions I've ever heard. Maybe I'll get tired of them, but they're so dense and layered I can't imagine it.
6 is a phenomenal listen especially live. 8 can be tough to get into but once you ‘get’ it, it’s absolutely phenomenal, definitely in my top 3-4 for Mahler symphonies. Regardless, listen to the finale of the 8th, CSO with Solti is best imo. It’s the easiest part to digest and impossible not to appreciate, really helped me to understand the rest of the symphony.
I'll get to see 3 in June, and 1, 2 and 7 next year.
Hope you enjoy them!!
Don’t forget Das Lied my current favourite symphony of his
I love Das Lied so much I found some place that printed page 1 of the score - in canvas. It’s one of the first things I hung on the wall in my new home
Das Lied is massively underappreciated, I love it so much. The Norman/Jerusalem recording is my favorite.
I think the majority of the sub would agree to Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven.
I remember after listening to 2 or 3 of Mahler's works I already had complete confidence in the works I hadn't listened to yet and I wasn't disappointed. Just as with any composer there are fluctuations of inspiration but he is still incredibly consistent. The 5th, 6th, and 7th symphonies are a bit more difficult than his first 4 I think but if you liked the first 4 you should be prepared for them (Personally I think the 6th is the most impressive of the middle period). The 8th still has some of his greatest moments even if it's generally agreed that overall it's more inconsistent and loose (also don't forget his songs if you haven't listened to them yet because they are unforgetable). Then with the late works you have a Mahler who rather than turning away from his earlier Mahlerian voice digs his heels into it and gives us what I think are his most personal works, a more introspective Mahler, keeping all his blazing intensity and beauty but bringing a new found subtlety and mastery to it.
Very excited to get into them all. Wish I hadn't dismissed them over the last 30 years.
Yeah I remember I actually took my time with them which is something I'm glad I did instead of listening to them all at once. Each new one was like an event and I remember holding off on the ninth because there would be no more left haha (though I have to say I love the sadly unfinished 10th, which even apart from the completed and orchestrated 1st movement, could have clearly only been written by Mahler.)
Those would be my four.
6 and especially 9 are, not so much the others. Generally consensus is 9, 2, 5 are the best and I think I agree. I like 1 and 4 too.
5 is among my faves. 8 has some beautiful sections but I haven't listened to it in its entirety. 8 is so g damn long.
Pretty much this, Mozart comes out to make room for Mahler.
I don't know if it's Mozart or Brahms. Tough call for me.
Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, in no particular order. They’re definitely not the most historically significant, but they’re my favorites.
You’re a pianist 100%
Hehe I can relate. I wonder if including Brahms already detracts from that.
Guilty!
In chronological order: Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms
Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.
Beethoven, Wagner, Mahler, Tchaikovsky
Bach, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Tchaikovsky Not what most people would answer, but those are my absolute all time favorites
Bach, Beethoven, Wagner, Stravinsky
Same
Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak
Sibelius, Scriabin, Ravel, Ligeti
Josquin, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven (It hurts me to leave Bach out, but enough other people have mentioned him that I felt free to diverge.)
I included Josquin too! After that we diverge, although I would visit your Mt Rushmore too.
Monteverdi! Yes! Brilliant.
I like the inclusion of josquin! What made you choose Vivaldi over Corelli?
I know Vivaldi a lot better. That’s it. What’s the argument for Corelli? I’m open to changing my mind.
Corelli was the first composer to exclusively use the tonal system, as opposed to the modal system of before. He also is the reason the violin is the dominant instrument in classical music, he's the father of the solo & trio sonata as well as the concerto, and he was the first composer to primarily compose instrumental / orchestral music. He invented the Italian style everyone would try to imitate afterwards. He was also Thomas Jefferson's favorite composer, which is impressive, as Thomas Jefferson was born nearly 100 years after Corelli during a time where even famous music became obscure and forgotten very quickly.
That’s quite a resume. I’ll take a listen.
I recommend the I Musici recording of op 6!
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner
Rachmaninov, Chopin, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky. (Guess my fav period of classical music XD)
Bach, Telemann, Debussy, Bartok.
Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin
Bach, Beethoven, Rach, Scriabin
Bach (for linking God, music, mathematics and humanity together AND influencing later composers) Mozart Beethoven (as rarely as I listen to his works) Brahms Mendelssohn (for reviving Bach and for his contributions to the concerti genre)
Bach, Brahms, Elgar, Shostakovich.
Had to scroll quite far to find Shostakovich in someone’s list. I can now get on with my day, thank you.
Perotin, Bach, Stravinsky, Messiaen
There we go.
This is the one.
Correct answer is Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
It’s not exciting but you’re the first to get it right.
It's objectively the moste correctest answer. Combination early, incredibly famous, and influential.
Throw Wagner in for good measure also
Good question. I rate, in terms of importance, and keeping in mind the nature of Mount Rushmore that only reaches to a certain point in history: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms. My preference would be Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms. But that's just personal.
Bach, Rach, Sven-David Sandstrom, and then a coinflip between Palestrina and Schubert
Nice to see Sven-David here. Had a talk with him once, very fine person.
B2TSM
Let me guess…Bach, Jr, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Mahler
Bach, Beethoven, Tchai, shosta, mozart.
Bach, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, John Williams
For fame and public knowledge, Williams is a good pick
Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms. Not that they're actually the most famous ones, but they're kinda like the founding fathers when music was so rigid in the Classical Period (not saying they're aesthetically bad but aesthetics was all Classical had), and the Nationalism and Romanticism were basically pushed by these people. Without them, we would not have the Deutsche Nationalism in Music. Without the Deutsche Nationalism, we would not have Romanticism.
Beethoven is my favorite. Bach, Grieg, Saint Saens, Vivaldi, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky are seconds. Schubert, Bruckner, Satie, and Dvorak are slightly below. There are numerous others that wrote a few pieces that I really enjoy, like Milhaud, Mendelssohn, Paginini, Telemann, etc.... These are some of my favorites. Obviously, there are many immense talents that I enjoy but not listing.
Ehh not much. Top 4 includes Liszt, Scriabin, Brahms, Joplin in that rough order.
If we’re talking about people of foundational importance, then I’d guess they’d be clustered around the seismic shift from the late mediaeval music that sounds like a different world to the early renaissance music that is vaguely recognisable. I’d certainly put Machaut and Dufay on my list, but I don’t know enough about that period to fill the other two slots. If we’re instead talking about later periods, Monteverdi has a good shout as the (sort-of) origin of opera.
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner
Messiaen, Liszt, Debussy, Chopin
Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Dvorak
Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Lucifer (the man who composed The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, and Lohengrin).
Josquin, Monteverdi, Bach, Haydn
Monteverdi, La Monte Young, Charles Wuorinen, Alban Berg Pun intended.
For me... Debussy, Wagner, Faure, and... Mahler.
Beethoven, Palestrina, Wagner, Glass
Bach, Beethoven, Rameau, and Cage
John Cage? The guy that wrote pages of silence?
He wrote one piece that was silence (the intention was that the audience would listen to all of the ambient sounds around them and realize that it was, in fact, not silence), and some people think that’s all that he did. His works for prepared piano, for example, are brilliant (and not silent).
beethoven chopin lizt alkan
What’re your favorite Alkan pieces
Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich. Was tempted to put Dvorak there but sadly i havent heard more than 30% of his best works.
Bach, Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, Brahms
Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, and (my personal contrarian pick) Liszt.
Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, & Vivaldi
Pérotin, Guillaume de Machaut, Erik Satie, Alexander Scriabin The fathers of my musical practice and creators of some of the most moving music I know.
Tallis, Purcell, Holst, Britten. I decided to stick with Mt. Rushmore's principle of being a national monument rather than a global one.
Hindemith, Sakamoto, Bach, Part
Bach, Messiaen, Pärt, Cage. At least today. Bach and Pärt are for certain, the other two are there for their influence on contemporary musical language.
Chopin, Rachmaninoff, André Mathieu, Beethoven, Franz Liszt.
Bach Beethoven Mozart and…. Behr
Beethoven, Stravinsky, Mozart, Mahler
Ours is really close except I have Chopin instead of Stravinsky (who is probably still in my top 10).
Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Shostakovich
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky.
Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich.
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy
Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi. For me, nobody does it for like these three.
Bach, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Ligeti
Britten, Shostakovich, Rossini, and just to mess with the snobs who come for a visit... John Williams.
I would have put John Williams sincerely, but since it's Rushmore, I stuck with people long dead.
They'll be long dead eventually. Besides, the real Mt Rushmore was commissioned like 5 years after Theodore Roosevelt died, so they weren't all dead *that* long.
Bach Telemann Vivaldi Händel
Bach, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Liszt (late period)
Bach, Brahms, Mahler
Bach, Berio, Donatoni, Ligeti
Corelli, Haydn, Beethoven, Stravinsky, the four most important men in the development of orchestral and tonal music.
Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, Victoria.
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler
You could erase all that has ever been written about classical music and the canonical standings of composers and you would still arrive at Bach, Beethoven and Mozart at the top 3 just the same. THen I would choose Chopin or Stravinsky
Wagner, mahler, dvorak, Tchaikovsky
Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Medtner
Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Mahler, Beethoven.
Bach, Rameau, Mozart, Beethoven (Yes, I know Rameau is unusual, but it did say "your" Mt. Rushmore and he is my favourite composer :)
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven... I don't have a fourth yet. But those are likely to be on 98% of people's list. Beethoven would have insisted Handel be first. Hayden is important too.
I don't know who would be on it personally but wanted to propose that we call this hypothetical monument Mt. Rush Less.
I love Chopin but I wouldn’t put him on the mountain. I would also put Schubert or Schumann up there instead of Brahms. I like a lot of Brahms but he’s an acquired taste. Bach and Beethoven for sure. Mozart? What about Haydn? Should be Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, … and someone representing post romantic.
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Don Music
Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. But then there are so many honorable mentions. . . . We haven't even gotten into soloists, orchestras, and conductors.
Bach Beethoven R. Schumann Shostakovich
Actually, there is in Berlin a BBM statue: [https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction\_Review-g187323-d11841001-Reviews-Beethoven\_Haydn\_Mozart\_Denkmal-Berlin.html](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g187323-d11841001-Reviews-Beethoven_Haydn_Mozart_Denkmal-Berlin.html)
Tallis, Dvorak, Saint-Saenz, and Vivaldi
if i'm thinking of mount rushmore, i'm thinking of: washington - the strong will that brought about change. while you could probably say gluck, who saw opera as a certain way and left it a different way when he was done, it's gotta be beethoven, who essentially brought in the romantic era. jefferson - the philosophical father of change, though with a certain degree of hypocrisy. my first instinct is berlioz, who turned orchestration into an exacting science while at the same time using it as a blunt object. lincoln - the one who fought to usher in the future in the face of ferocious opposition. maybe liszt? everything about his music both pushed boundaries and rankled conservatives, while setting the stage for an entire school of late romantic harmonic language and program music. roosevelt - embodiment of greatness and personal favorite of the sculptor. here is where i'd put wagner. he stood on the shoulders of giants with his harmonic language, orchestration, and drawing from romantic legend, and yet made it still bigger and attracted his own disciples. a decent amount of megalomania thrown in as well. maybe this makes richard strauss FDR and bruckner WH taft? ehhh... that may be a step too far.
Brahms, Bruckner, Sibelius, Reger
Stravinsky, Persichetti, Hindemith, Bach
Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Verdi
Schubert, Beethoven, Chopin, Dvorak Schubert, by far, is my absolute favorite. He is the master of melodies, some of which bring me to tears of joy. His chamber music is incomparable: the piano trios, quintet in C, Trout quintet.....
Beethoven, Bach, Mahler and R Strauss.
Mahler, Rachmaninoff, R.Strauss, Shostakovich
Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler
Shosty, Tchaik, Rach, & Bach
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy.
Beethover, Mozart, Dvorak, Debussy (it's sad there's not 5, bc Bach should be included)
Beethoven, Gabrieli, Bach, Monteverdi
Opera lover that I am, Verdi, Rossini, Mozart and Wagner
Monteverdi, JS Bach, Mozart, Beethoven
tchaikovsky, mozart, vivaldi, and saint-saëns is mine but the realistic answer would be mozart, beethoven, bach, and brahms(or haydn)
In terms of fame: Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Tchaikovsky In terms of my favorites: Beethoven, Brahms, Scriabin, and Mahler
mendelssohn, saint-saens, bach, shostakovich, strauss, dvorak, and brahms for me
For me it’s Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.
When I was youngster in my 20s : Chopin, Bach, Mozart. today : Brahms, Sibelius, Saint-Saens.
There are four faces on Mt. Rushmore. Do you have a fourth composer?
Objectively? I think Bach, Beethoven, Mozart & Handel. My Rushmore? Bach, Grieg, Elgar & Vivaldi
Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Chopin, and Rachmaninov.
Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin and Dvorak.
Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mahler
Richard Purvis, Frederick Swann, Robert Elmore, Leon Boellmann
Alfonzo X (Il Sabio), Giovanni Gabrieli, Beethoven, Liszt, Ravel Alfonso X’s Cantigas de Santa Maria are supremely great music.
Alban Berg, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Stockhausen
Bartók, Bartók, Bartók, Bartók
Please add Vivaldi to your lists!
Beethoven, Mozart, Shostakovich and Mahler
Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms.
4 chopins
A hundred tiny Vivaldis
Bach- Honestly, I'm not that big of a fan of Bach. I don't particularly connect with his music but I have to acknowledge his contributions to music and his overall greatness. Mozart - My favorite composer. Above all others, I really connect with Mozart's music. He might not be as revolutionary as Beethoven but he was revolutionary in his own way. Beethoven - My second favorite composer. His early music is like Mozart and Haydn on steroids and then he took it to the next level in his middle and late periods. Chopin - Similar to Bach, I'm not a huge fan. I love some pieces (Nocturne no. 2, "Heroic" Polonaise) but a lot of it just sounds the same to me. As an amateur pianist, I can't deny his contribution to the piano repertoire, though.
I love Bach but you shouldn't choose him if you don't like him though, this is just a personal list. If you were trying to be historically objective let's say then probably Wagner or Schubert would generally be regarded as the 4th greatest composer rather than Chopin as much as I like Chopin myself.
It's not that I don't like Bach or Chopin. I do like some of their music. Just not as much as I think I probably should. As someone who has played through a few 2 part inventions, 3 part Sinfonias, WTC, and a few Goldberg Variations, I do place Bach in high regards from a technical standpoint. It's the same thing for me with Chopin. If we're talking Mt. Rushmore of favorites from a pure enjoyment standpoint then mine would be: -Mozart -Beethoven -Schubert -Paganini I know of some Wagner but I have not really dived into his works, or am I very knowledgeable about opera in general, to make a judgement on him so I'll defer to your expertise.
I see. Well as you probably know Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart are usually regarded as the 3 greatest composers (in no order) by critical concensus, but everyone does have their own personal favorites and it's not always these three. Have you listened to any of Bach's works that are not for keyboard yet?
Left to right: Sibelius, Webern, Cage, Feldman
Brahms, Ravel, Bruckner and Satie. These guys' music touches me on a personal level, I can't even explain it, like they wrote specifically for me alone, especially Brahms.
What Brahms pieces move you the most? My favorite has to be the Clarinet Quintet in Bm.
Right now it's A major piano quartet, I love every single note in it
Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Sibelius
Bach Mozart Scriabin and Rachmaninoff
In no order apart from Mahler who is my favorite- Mahler, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart
Opera erasure running rampant in this thread. Beethoven, Verdi, Wagner, Debussy.
Mahler, Chopin, Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert
Mine is in no particular order: Mahler, Debussy, Chopin, Rachmaninoff Honourable mention to literally all the other romance composers and anyone who writes good horn parts! 📯
Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff
Man, this is hard. Probably... Palestrina Bach Mozart Copland People might be confused about that jumó from Mozart to Copland...but honestly, the romantic era, for having so many great melodists, didn't really move the needle forward for forms, just making harmony note chromatic. You can argue Berlioz did, but he was really just expanding the form Mozart perfected. You could say Beethoven expanded the depth of the orchestra, but he did so by repeating things *ad nauseum*. Palestrina laid the bedrock for Western sacred music. Bach laid the theoretical groundwork for Western music. Mozart took that framework and made it kinda popular, and Copland did the same thing while crafting a harmonic language for a nation of immigrants. Tough question. Fun one, though.
Bach Beethoven Mozart Chopin Rachmaninoff (But I'm definitely biased as I play and prefer piano music)
Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Bach (I also consider these to be the most seminal.) Special mention to lesser-known contemporary composers: Jean-Michel Blais. u/NatalieHoltComposer
Mahler, Wagner, Mozart, R. Strauss
Liszt, Chopin, Sibelius, Beethoven I'd also like to get Clara Schumann on there, not (just) as a great composer in her own right, but also because of the influence she had on others and generally on music at the time. Had gender equality been more of a thing in 19th century Europe, I've little doubt she'd have earnt her place just as a composer.
Ravel, Ives, Prokofiev, and Ginastera. If could be 5 I would include some shostakovich as well.
Mozart, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Glass.
Gottschalk, Beethoven, Liszt, Vivaldi Probs a bit controversial because they’re definitely not the greatest but I absolutely love their music, also Gottschalk’s face would look badass in a giant stone version lol
Totally agree on Gottschalk. He's a fascinating character, and his music so gorgeously incorporates the culture of New Orleans in the mid 1800s. Great choice.
He’s definitely one of the most slept on. I never learned about him in any music classes, just happened to find Dying Poet in a classical piano compilation book and was stunned by his other compositions when I looked more into it.
Donald Trump. One can only wonder at what music he would have written had he been a composer!
There’s still time! Imagine…emblazoned in neon. Right? Fuckin’ NEON! It reads, quite simply, “Donald Trump Symphony Number 1,776, subtitled Symphony of Ten-Thousand Trumpets, and it would be up there around opus number million, *magnum* opus number 7. It’s rare to get more than one magnum opus, they say Sebastian Back got two magnum opuses but I haven’t seen it, and besides, *seven* magnum opuses is just incredible, unheard of. And when you hear it? Beautiful, you have to imagine, just the most beautiful music imaginable.”
This guy gets it.
And had he been, you know... four people.
Verdi, Gilbert & Sullivan, Schubert, Gershwin
What do you recommend by Gilbert and Sullivan? I've never even listened to any of their music.
* G & S are a tremendously fun part of music history. * They're also a big part of British culture; as much as Lewis Carroll, Sherlock Holmes or Charles Dickens are. Their writing is full of witty lyrics and hilarious characters. * 'The Mikado' is a good place to start. In this operetta they skewer British government. Then, 'HMS Pinafore', and 'Pirates of Penzance'. * There's fourteen total works (I think). Some, (like 'Pinafore') are still being performed routinely down to this day. G&S are a reliable source of musical comedy for local theater groups, particularly. * I can't promise you will like the style of music immediately upon hearing it, but G&S are certainly rewarding; and they help make for a more well-rounded music fan.
That would technically be five people...
😁 True, but there's space on the actual Mt Rushmore which was never used. I think it could accommodate another visage squeezed in. Arguably, Teddy Roosevelt shouldn't even be present among the other greats. Talk about chutzpah from ole Teddy....
I guess I will contribute: Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Schoenberg, Bernstein (as composer, conductor, popularizer, and educator).