I am curious to know who your favorite composers are.

the composer to have the most influence on my own music is Bach.

the composer who has most influenced my outlook on life through his music is Tchaikovski.

my favorite piece of music is Rachmaninov's 3rd piano concerto. it is romantically rich, with cascading piano scales that hit my heart in ways that I cannot explain to anyone. I have listened to this piece of music at least 300 times in the last 3 years. It never gets old and I am able to listen to it in my head when I have no means of an audio player.

Hmm, depends. I love the classicism of Sibelius, the method and calm rationality of Bach, the childishness of Mozart, the regality of Telemann and the passion of Beethovan. Who I would list as a favorite depends on my mood.
Right now I need Bach, and Bach has always seemed to be the perfect music for spring.

Rachmaninov? I could never get into him, but I do appreciate Tsikovsky (whose name I have just butchered - sorry)

I'm partial to Berlioz myself. Symphonie fantastique is phenomenol.

Bach is the heavy metal of classical music. He definetly rules.
Paganini and Vivaldi are also great.

Yay! Vivaldi!

I don't suppose Horowitz or Grieg would be considered classical, but they're my favorite pianists. As for classical, I'd have to say Bach.

At the moment I m totally enraptured with Rachmaninoff- Vespers is so sublime wheras Variations on a Theme by Paganini is so quirky and eclectic. I actually have the oppurtunity to perform that piece on Saturday so I am totally in love with him.

As for Bach, I think St. Matthew's Passion is amazing. It is controlled, as is most of Bach's work, yet near the end it blooms into almost a wild sort of pastoral...a very transcendant moment.

Yet in my opinion the most relevant composer today is John Adams, and I truly admire him more than probably any other. His music is technically mindblowing in some areas yet he is attuned to popular culture and his music is very fresh and experimental. In 'Naive and Sentimental Music' he uses electric guitars and synthesisers...any composer who can step beyond the bounds of tradition that far and still be respected as the greatest composer alive today is....um....truly a great composer.

Which all brings us back to Shostakovich (?) tee-hee. He will always be my favorite. I think he may be one the only composers whose music has a profound, compassionate social role. He works within an accepted text yet systematically rebels. The Chamber Symphony is a beautiful example, technically and artistically stunning, yet emotional on a truly direct level. The 3rd movement of the 5th is another example of that. To me it's sort of a Requiem, and it did, at its opening, make a hardened Soviet general break into violent sobs. I LUV Shostakovich!

Which brings me to Tchaikovsky. Tchai5 is certainly classical to rock out to.

!;)

Originally posted by Congrats
I actually have the oppurtunity to perform that piece on Saturday

Piano / violin / guitar / other?

I'd never say this is public (of fear from the white jackets), but yeah, Tchaikovsky is excellent rock out music! I also like a bit of Wagner--though his 'opinions' don't suit my taste.

Bach is great for any occasion.

And I'm not ashamed to say to say that I've rocked out to my good friend WOlfgang, too!

I would kill to see Beethoven's Apassionata played by his hands.

I think Beethoven is an amazing sonata composer.

Rowen

Wow. Somebody likes Wagner.
Are you "ok", Elbaz? :p

haha :(
Wagner; isn't that bad!. Give the fascist.... <a> chance!
:rolleyes: :mad: :cool: ;) :D :( :o / :) / :mad: /(my original post called for more smilies...)
hehe *skips away to sound of wagner*

I suppose his music isn't too bad, but between the over-romanticism of the plots, the bombastic orchestration and the yowling German arias, he's not my cup of tea.

I like the ez chewing grand symphonia like you'd find in Mickey Mouse as the Wizzards apprentice.

BloodSuckingGerbile- full orchestra. I'm a trombonist.

I actually just played some Wagner (Flying Dutchman) and found that while during rehersals it all seemed a bit over-wrought and tiring, the actual performance was quite moving to give. I think the emotion behind Wagner is quite simple; I tend to like him more in the morning after I've slept late. ;) He may have been a Nazi, but his music is beautiful to me.

But of all the romantics I think Brahms is my favorite. And I don't know how to spell his name. In any case, The German Requiem is, in my opinion, the wildest piece of music ever dreamt of.

Now tell me, did you forget about Fryderyk on purpose?

Oh, I must say my favorite Romantic is Chopin. And what else but the Etudes (Op. 25 No. 1, 2, 12 for instance)?
Amazing complexity yet the perfect sensitive simplicity of art.

Pardon me Mr. Wagner, and with much respect to the Valkyrie´s extreme chromaticism,

all I have to say is that the following voluntarily exiled friends of
music...make my day as well :)

Thanks very much Erik Satie, Michael Nynam and Glass. Thank you.

Wagner = brilliance

Plus whoever did the Conan the Barbarian score.

Rachmaninov and Warlock

You Killed Jesus - I think it was Basil Poledouris;)

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