If you could only listen to ONE composer...

[Thropplenoggin]

...for the rest of your life, who would it be? If, on that desert island, you were restricted to one composer but all of their works, who would you plump for?

I have been pondering this recently. Who would offer me the richest variety? Who could write well for voices, winds, strings, piano(s),...? Who could offer sublime beauty and heartrending pathos, joy and jubilee, terror, and anything else you might want from music?

Today I would not hesitate to say Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I would miss J.S. Bach's cello suites dearly, but Mozart offers everything else I need from music. Indeed, it's all I've been listening to for months now.

[Roehre]

Without any doubt Beethoven.

[MrGongGong]

These DID type questions are interesting
as why would one want to always listen to something familiar ?
On the R4 version people seem to choose music for mainly associative reasons

[Quarky]

The answer for me is equally simple - me, myself! :

http://www.bgfl.org/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/

But I wouldn't dream of foisting my own puny efforts on anyone else.

[Thropplenoggin]

These DID type questions are interesting
as why would one want to always listen to something familiar ?
On the R4 version people seem to choose music for mainly associative reasons

A very sound point. Perhaps the desert island would provide a chance to discover something new, though this presents plenty of risks.

For me, the defining quality for a selection is, Does it pass the Landowska test?

'There is something eternal in Bach’s music, something that makes us wish to hear again what has just been played. This renewal gives us a glimpse of eternity.'

Mozart passes this test for me.

[Hornspieler]

...for the rest of your life, who would it be? If, on that desert island, you were restricted to one composer but all of their works, who would you plump for?

I have been pondering this recently. Who would offer me the richest variety? Who could write well for voices, winds, strings, piano(s),...? Who could offer sublime beauty and heartrending pathos, joy and jubilee, terror, and anything else you might want from music?

Today I would not hesitate to say Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I would miss J.S. Bach's cello suites dearly, but Mozart offers everything else I need from music. Indeed, it's all I've been listening to for months now.

I agree completely.

Symphonies, overtures, choral music, chamber music, concertos, operas, arias, keyboard music, divertimenti, dance music.

What other composer can you name who has been totally successful in all of those disciplines?

HS

[amateur51]

I agree completely.

Symphonies, overtures, choral music, chamber music, concertos, operas, arias, keyboard music, divertimenti, dance music.

What other composer can you name who has been totally successful in all of those disciplines?

HS

With respect, why does a composer's range matter when assessing his/her music and its impact on you?

[Sir Velo]

I agree completely.

Symphonies, overtures, choral music, chamber music, concertos, operas, arias, keyboard music, divertimenti, dance music.

What other composer can you name who has been totally successful in all of those disciplines?

HS

There was me thinking you had to mean the great Ludwig Van.

Come to think of it Swap arias and divertimenti for violin, cello sonatas and piano trio and string quartets, and you do!

[Serial_Apologist]

Bela Bartok

[Thropplenoggin]

With respect, why does a composer's range matter when assessing his/her music and its impact on you?

With respect, I think range is of especial importance with regard to this thread's thesis statement.

[cloughie]

I would hate to think I could only listen to one composer - whoever it was and however good they were it is a tedious thought.

[VodkaDilc]

Bach

[Thropplenoggin]

I would hate to think I could only listen to one composer - whoever it was and however good they were it is a tedious thought.

Nice to see you getting into the spirit of things, cloughie.

[amateur51]

With respect, I think range is of especial importance with regard to this thread's thesis statement.

Surely no-one is saying that Mozart's output is uniformly great, with no second-rate, frankly tedious or even dross amongst his output?

I'm not terribly keen on concert arias as a form, and so Beethoven's low showing in this form suits me better than Mozart's.

And what about Mozart's music for organ, or prepared piano, trombone or zither, accordion or swanee-whistle? if these form part of your personal taste, then Mozart won't be high on your list.

[vinteuil]

Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély