Norm Geras has collated the results of the ‘five favourite composers’ poll he ran, and it won’t surprise you to know that number one, at 345 votes, is Beethoven, closely followed by Mozart at 340 votes and JS Bach at 335 votes. In fourth place is Schubert, at 119 votes, and Chopin is fifth at 59 votes.
Norm has put up the top 30. Of my own first five favourites, three–Mozart, Purcell and Vivaldi–got into the top 30, the other two–William Byrd and Arvo Part–didn’t get a guernsey at all. As I know Norm used the comments in my post on the poll, with people’s favourites listed, in his poll, Troppo Armadillians may be interested in going to have a look at
normblog
Enough with the Normblog, already.
Like Forster’s Lucy Honeychurch (tho’ for very different reasons), Beethoven always makes me peevish… But Norm (oh, and Bach) – never.
I love these polls. I remember the result of the best musician of the last millenium. It was won by Robbie Williams.
what about lennon/mccartney? (plus many others not in the ‘classical’ genre) or is this a poll of DEAD composers? and only 50% death doesn’t count? these polls are pointless.
what Zoe said. Sophie, if Troppo readers wanted to read Normblog, we’d read Normblog. would rather read something original here.
Maybe it’s escaped your attention, but the linking ‘thing’ is a major part of blogging.
You’re always free to skip the post, y’know.
I know, wen, but usually the link has some associated commentary or some thoughts that are stimulated by the link. this one’s really just a link to another post.
Kim, a number of regular Troppo readers contributed to the original post & poll here:
http://troppoarmadillo.ubersportingpundit.com/archives/008545.html
It’s just possible that a few of these commenters would be interested in hearing about the results (however predictably Beethoven-centric). I know I was.
Excuse me, Zoe and Kim, but I’ll do what I like with my posts and link to whatever I like. No-one is forcing you to read it. As I had originally mentioned Norm’s poll a fair way back (Five favourite composers and the world’s dullest authors)and as Wen pointed out, quite a few Troppo regulars voted for their favourite composers, I thought they might like to see the results.
Interesting, the Schubert thing. You’d think the Schubert lovers would also list Brahms, for example. But where is Monteverdi, for heaven’s sake? Do these people have any idea what they are missing out on? By the way, I like Arvo Part, too.
fair enough, Sophie, but I thought you might welcome feedback from regular readers. isn’t that the point of comments on a blog?
Overall, quite a good list, I thought. Agree with James though that the omission of Monteverdi is inexplicable if not inexcusable if not indeed actionable……
I would possibly question the inclusion of Dvorak even at no. 26. He wrote one great symphony (‘From the New World’), one great aria (Rusalka’s Song to the Moon) and some quite appealing chamber music. Oh and some good slavonic dances. That’s about it, really.
Dvorak’s Eighth is a fine symphony too. Twenty-six seems about right. Ravel should have been higher. French music in general got a raw deal: are Charpentier, Rameau, Saint-Saens and Massenet all inferior to, say, Elgar? And no Prokefiev.
No Berlioz, either, unless I missed it. Where did Mendelssohn write anything to rival Les Nuits d’Ete? Or Symphonie Fantastique (especially as conducted by Beecham).
(I think this is the Troppo thread to stick to tonight.)
Berlioz – exactly! Yes, Les Nuits d’Ete is ravishing, especially in my recording by Ellie Ammeling.
I’m not sure where I’d rank Mendellsohn’s oeuvre as a whole, but The Midsummer Night’s Dream overture was one of the handful of pieces that ‘did it for me’ as Marion Arnold once put it, at the age of about nine. And I can never get over the fact that he composed it at sixteen.
My favourite in Les Nuits d’Ete is Regine Crispin. Although Jose van Dam does a fabulous bass-baritone reading of it.