Who stands out for you, in terms of classical composers....?

Answer 1

It's personal for each of us, for sure.

Johann Christian Bach, the brother of J.S. Bach, has a wealth of underrated treasures. They have the same vibe as Sebastian Bach, not as deep and complex, but happy and thoughtful.

And I love the work of Antonio Vivaldi -- everyone knows his "Four Seasons" which is cheery.

Ultimately, a composer who is an instrument of the Lord, is sending us His thoughts.

Answer 2

Without mentioning the obvious ones from the past, I would mention John Williams who gives me chills with wathever he composes, and Danny Elfman who is very creative and colored in his compositions. Why these two cause they are the ones that struck me the most while listening to their music in a movie theater.

Answer 3

Beethoven especially for the emotion of his 9th symphony, the choral. The soaring voices are amazing. How anyone can write music like that is incredible.

Answer 4

Beyond doubt..Beethoven (especially the Ninth Symphony). Its a marvel that is revered even after so many years. He's been a genius.

Answer 5

For me, definately Wagner. Ride of the Valkyries is one of my favourite pieces of classical music.

Answer 6

Beethoven or Wagner

Answer 7

Hmm..it's hard to comprehend.....

Bach, Johann Sebastian Without doubt, one of the true greats. Just awesome, man. Beethoven didn’t write as much as Mozart or Schubert, but what he produced is all worth listening to......

Brahms, JohannesA prominent Romantic composer, (in)famous in his day for looking back to earlier musical styles (such as those of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach) rather than following the trend towards the styles of Wagner and Liszt. This is not a criticism in my eyes, but then I am a Brahms fan. I definitely approve of the fact that Cambridge University gave Brahms an honorary degree......

Chopin, Frederic (Fryderyk)
A composer famed for his ability at the piano, who in turn wrote the vast majority of his music for that instrument. Many of his pieces are quite short (being Rondos, Mazurkas and the like) but they are all beautiful. Not being a piano player myself, it is difficult to appreciate their comparative difficulty, but I am assured that most of Chopin’s music is very difficult to play....

Elgar, Sir Edward William, Probably the most famous English composer (although Purcell and Vaughan-Williams are well up there as well). Elgar’s most famous pieces are the Pomp and Circumstance marches (one of which became the hymn, Land of Hope and Glory), and the Enigma Variations, a set of variations that depict a circle of his friends in a sympathetic and very listener-friendly way. While still in New Zealand, I also had access to a recording of his second symphony, which was a far harder nut to crack. I should probably try and listen to it again.....

Handel, George Frederic , Handel, though born in Germany, probably made most of his name for himself in London, England where he came to dominate the English music-making “scene”. He composed a large number of operas (including Xerxes, which I only mention because I’ve seen and enjoyed it), but these did not tend to do so well, prompting a shift to the oratorio form........

Holst, Gustav (Theodore) , Gustav Holst was an English composer of the same era as Elgar, but, like Pachelbel, is really only famous for one piece, his Planets’ Suite. This is a series of seven "movements", one for each of the non-Earth planets known in Holst’s day (i.e., all of the planets but Earth and Pluto). The basic inspiration for the characterisation of the planets is their astrological nature, not necessarily the Graeco-Roman gods. For example, Neptune is Neptune, the Mystic, nothing to do with Neptune/Poseidon, god of the sea...............


Mahler, Gustav, Much of Mahler’s early career was dominated by his job as conductor of the Vienna Opera. He wrote much of his music while on summer holiday. I’ve recently started to know some of his work. The second and fifth symphonies are brilliant, and the fourth symphony is also pretty good. The first symphony seems a little light, though the third movement sounds surprisingly like the theme from the Godfather movies, and thus rather menacing.....................

Mendelssohn, (Jacob Ludwig) Felix , Another composer who was famous as something of a child prodigy, Mendelssohn didn’t manage to achieve the fame of composers such as Mozart or Beethoven. He wrote five symphonies (the last of which, the Reformation symphony, I particularly recommend), a famous violin concerto and some famous theme music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (the Wedding March from this is often used at real weddings). Mendelssohn also wrote a number of religious works, including the St. Paul oratorio....................

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus , Along with Haydn, one of the first classical composers. Wrote music of many different genres. Major works would include his Requiem, the operas Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflöte, the clarinet concerto, the string quartets, the later piano concerti (nos. 20 onwards) and the later symphonies (numbers 36, 38, 39, 40 and 41)...................


Scarlatti, (Giuseppe) Domenico , A Baroque composer most famous for his harpsichord sonatas. The majority of these were composed in Spain where Scarlatti had employment with a royal Spanish woman (a princess who later became queen I believe). His sonatas don’t seem to have the purity of development that one finds in Bach, but they do conjure up images of beautiful, elegant dance in a way that Bach does not. I find it very easy to imagine the rhythms and gracefulness of the music in some Renaissance court................

Schubert, Franz Peter , Famous song composer. :-) But seriously, Schubert also wrote a number of symphonies (the so-called Great is in fact very good, if not great), piano sonatas, chamber music in general, including the famous Trout Quintet, operas (26 of them!), masses and much else. He was probably even more prolific than Mozart................

Schumann, Robert Alexander , A contemporary, friend and mentor of Brahms, Schumann wrote a great deal of music, including a piano concerto (one of the strangest phenomena of music publishing today is the way in which his piano concerto is almost invariably coupled with Grieg’s), four symphonies, song cyles, and a variety of chamber music.

Shostakovich, Dimitri , One of my current favourite composers, Shostakovich would certainly lay claim to my Greatest of the 20th century crown. All of his music that I have heard is full of feeling, though the feeling expressed is often bitterness, sadness, or sardonic "humour"........

Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyitch, Tchaikovsky is probably most famous for ballet music (The Nutcracker Suite, Swan Lake and the like) and the 1812 Overture. However, his work in the standard forms is definitely worth a listen. I have heard the violin concerto and the Pathétique symphony live, and these are both great works. The first piano concerto with its initial crashing chords is also very famous.........

Vivaldi, Antonio Lucio, A Very prolific Baroque composer. Composed a large number of concerti, inspiring Bach to the same form. He composed much of his work for the orchestra at the girl’s orphanage in Venice where he was music master.....

So it depends because, ever composer has something different to offer, because every body personal life is different which influence their work.

Take care

Answer 8

Beethoven. his work is moving.

Answer 9

BEETHOVEN, ENERGETIC MUSIC, DESPITE HIS INFIRMITY, HE WAS A GENIUS