your favorite turn of the century composer?

popagano · Post by **popagano** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:27 pm

The Generation born from (1855-1875) is all that applies to this pole.

For me, this is a close call, considering many of the composers on this list I greatly enjoy, but I must once again go with Mahler. Debussy was surely more important to this time period, as Mahler remained unpopular for many year after his death. It is for more of a personal liking that I choose him, but in effect, his music influenced the Second Vienna School, particularly Alban Berg. His music has also had a lasting impression on many contemporary film score composers, aswell as any composer wishing to display severity of emotion with a vast orchestra.

Joe Barron · Post by **Joe Barron** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:40 pm

Of the ones listed, I'd say Debussy, Mahler, and Sibelius, but one of my other real faves, Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), does not appear. He was an exact contemporary of Sibelius and every bit as good, imho. Like Sibelius, he carried on the abstract symphonic tradition into the 20th century. He was a master of counterpoint, and at his best, his music achives a compact power and logical force unrivaled in this generation.

And if Schoeberg belongs to this generation, then so does Ives, since he was born the same year. So I'll say Ives.

popagano · Post by **popagano** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:45 pm

I didn't have enough options, I thought about taking of Scriabin for Nielsen but didn't, perhaps I should have.

Lark Ascending · Post by **Lark Ascending** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:57 pm

I am a recent convert to classical music as a result of hearing some of Vaughan Williams' music last year on a TV documentary - prior to this classical music was a world of which I was in complete ignorance. My CD collection is ever expanding, and includes composers from the Classical, Romantic and 20th Century periods, but RVW is my firm favourite. Ravel and Debussy are also score highly with me.

paulb · Post by **paulb** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:10 pm

For me personally, it would be my oft mentioned favs, Debussy, Ravel, Schonberg, Vaughan Williams.

Debussy for his opera Pelleas, sq, piano, some orchestra, and other chamber

Ravel sq, trio, orchestra, piano, pc. and other chamber.

Schonberg piano sonata, chamber, orchestra, Gurrelieder, vocal, choral, did i miss anything?

Vaughan Williams, syms, his tuba concerto, his sacred choral is good as well.

paulb · Post by **paulb** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 3:36 pm

But to answer your question of who was the finest, most intergrative bridge of the 2 eras, the answer is very easy.
Schonberg. His sq's and Guerreleider along with Choral, and many other fine, stunning, unreal chamber works, is the biggest, longest most perfect bridge uniting the shores of the Land of The Romantics and the New land of The Moderns.
Its 2 different land masses if you did not know. But that should not make for battles and wars.
Lets bury the AX, throw down the swords and find peace amongst ourselves. Civil wars never amount to anything much. History has proven that.
How about it, what say ye, peace?

jbuck919 · Post by **jbuck919** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 4:41 pm

Pop, if you don't stop asking the wrong questions I am going to have a convulsion on the floor like Olivier in his interpretation of Othello.

You are bracing your composers all wrong. Debussy is clearly the greatest composer on the current list and I am sure he will "win," but he doesn't belong on a list with many of the others. Chronology is not everything.

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 5:17 pm

What happened to Verdi, who has to be greater than Puccini by any accounting?

I'd vote for Debussy if I had no other choices than what's on the list.

Bogey · Post by **Bogey** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:21 am

Sibelius.

RebLem · Post by **RebLem** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:28 am

I voted for Strauss. Mahler is close, too. And, btw, where the hell is Dvorak?

Brahms · Post by **Brahms** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:10 am

I guess Béla Bartók doesn't qualify. In any case, Mahler gets my vote. R. Strauss would be 2nd.

moldyoldie · Post by **moldyoldie** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:52 am

I've been on a significant Sibelius and Vaughan-Williams kick of late -- traversing all the symphonies and popular orchestral works. Since the Detroit Lions had a bye week, yesterday I splurged on Vaughan-Williams all day -- it tipped the scales in his favor.

Previn's Vaughan-Williams Symphony No. 3 "Pastoral" brought tears to my eyes.

Nothing does that! Bryden Thomson's rendition doesn't come close.

jbuck919 · Post by **jbuck919** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 8:15 am

NO, NONO

NOW STOP THIS!!

DavidRoss · Post by **DavidRoss** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 9:56 am

That's a good list that suggests the greatness of this generation--or was it simply the times, for several other greats who were not born in that span but whose music flourished during the early 20th Century could be included--most especially Stravinsky and Prokofiev. My favorite is Sibelius, not only of this generation but of all, for the simple reason that his music speaks more deeply and consistently to my soul than any other composer's.

greymouse · Post by **greymouse** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:29 am

I voted for Schoenberg, but this was a difficult one. It's really hard to categorize these composers in this way because there was such a profound cultural shift at the time that each composer sounds completely different.

praestant · Post by **praestant** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:15 pm

I chose Debussy, even if only for his wonderful preludes!
I like his approach in placing the titles at the end of each work, implying
that the listener/performer should form his own "impressions"!

Ravel is a close second for me. His Piano Concerto in G, with it's lovely
second movement and it's evocation of the Balinese Gamelan is
hauntingly beautiful to me.

I would also add the early 20th century's greatest, IMHO, composers
for organ:
Marcel Dupré and Olivier Messiaen.

In no way do I mean to imply that any compser is any greater than another. These are just my favorites for the time being

Länzchen · Post by **Länzchen** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:19 pm

For one, where's Stravinsky? I do believe he, Bartók, Schönberg, and Webern were the finest composers who did their best work in the first half of the 20th century. Ives, Ravel, and Berg deserve honourable mention. Debussy is certainly one of my favourite composers, but I personally cannot rank him as one of the greatest. In any case I voted for Schönberg, although it could go to any of those four as far as I'm concerned.

I admire the way in which he tackled musical problems so naturally, and I am always so pleased with the high craftsmanship of his works in all genres, and get such great satisfaction from hearing them, many of which are some of the best ever written as far as I'm concerned.

edit: I agree with you about Messiaen, who for me is another great composer, but wasn't srue whether or not he qualified as early 20th century

paulb · Post by **paulb** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:24 pm

Länzchen wrote:
edit: I agree with you about Messiaen, who for me is another great composer, but wasn't srue whether or not he qualified as early 20th century

I was into Messiaen past summer. Then in Aug, I read a comment by a reviewer on amazon, the opera St Francsis, and the guy made sense, something or other about Messiaen's ego. . I got to thinking about Messiaen's music, and what the guy said about the opera, , and after listening from a different angle, I decided it was best if Messiaen and I part ways.
Our relationshp lasted all but 6 months or so.

karlhenning · Post by **karlhenning** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:31 pm

Agreed, Länzchen: Messiaen is a great composer.

Cheers,
~Karl

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 9:54 pm

Where in Virginia are you from, praestant?

Post by **Lance** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:31 am

I ticked the box for MAHLER, though it was a 50/50 toss-up between him and Sibelius in first position. I then thought of all the symphonies written by each, and counted the number of symphonies that appealed to me most by both composers: Sibelius 1 and 2; Mahler 1-4. Sibelius wrote a stupendous violin concerto, Mahler didn't. But Mahler wrote two incredible song cycles (Kindertotenlieder and Songs of a Wayfarer). Sibelius wrote more solo piano music; Mahler wrote far less. They both wrote great songs. In the end, based on quantity of material that appealed to me, Mahler took the check mark. I wouldn't want to be without music by either one, though I could be without music from some of the others shown in the list, which might have been more "expansive," in my view, even including, as somone suggested, Giuseppe Verdi, which I would have selected over Puccini.

val · Post by **val** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:09 am

Since Stravinsky and Bartok are not on the list, my choice is Debussy and Schönberg. I cannot make a choice between both.

praestant · Post by **praestant** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:11 pm

[quote="Corlyss_D"]Where in Virginia are you from, praestant?[/quote]

Western Fairfax County, Corlyss, near Clifton.
We have a verygood community semi-pro orchestra here too:
The Fairfax Symphony, Wm. Hudson conductor

Wallingford · Post by **Wallingford** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:50 pm

'fya ask me......this poll's rigged.

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your favorite turn of the century composer?

Which of the following composers of the generation bridging Late-Romanticism and 20th century music, is your favorite and why?

your favorite turn of the century composer?

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