# Poll - Favourite Classical Composers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 29, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426 "2024-08-29T17:32:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/1 "2024-08-29T17:32:52Z")
You’ll find composers from every era, starting from the Renaissance and including three composers who are still alive and active as I write these lines. I had to make some really tough choices since polls are limited to 50 entries, and I chose to include only composers whose music I was familiar with. So, if your favourite composer isn’t here, it is either because they wrote in genres that I don’t really listen to much (religious, operas), or because I just didn’t know their music. _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/1))_ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/2 "2024-08-29T17:37:32Z")
As a teen, the favorite composer of many piano students was Beethoven, because his music sounds very difficult but is in fact quite easy to play. This is perfect for pressured and stressed high school students who need to impress the audience but have little time for practice or anything else. My favorite though would be Nikolai Kapustin, who is not on the list. I also like Dirait-On by Morten Lauridsen, but the composer himself seems rather pretentious/unlikable. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/3 "2024-08-29T17:39:08Z")
I forgot to mention that you get 20 votes… > [@Velocity](#): > > My favorite though would be Nikolai Kapustin, who is not on the list. I don’t know him. Any work of his that you’d recommend ? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/4 "2024-08-29T17:44:19Z")
I’ve been trying to learn [this Kapustin piece (Op 40 No 6)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFiJjYb82Gk) lately. Jinju Jeong is the only pianist on YouTube who plays it at a brisk-enough pace. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/5 "2024-08-29T18:07:55Z")
Rachmaninoff has always been my favorite. Dramatic melodies, intricate arrangements, lots of dynamic switches, and still accessible enough to catch the ear of a 13-year-old boy who was mainly into thrash metal at the time (that was me). I was listening through my parent’s music collection and dismissing most of it (they had a lot of 60s and 70s pop and rock that I was not yet mature enough to appreciate, and a bunch of classical music), but something about Rachmaninoff just grabbed me. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/6 "2024-08-29T18:18:03Z")
Nice to see you included Borodin. I love his C minor Piano Quintet (I love Brahms’ F minor Piano Quintet, too. And Dvorak’s A Major one. And Robert Schumann’s E-flat Major one). I made a point to visit Borodin’s grave when I was in St. Petersburg in 1999. Circa 1991, I won a CD from a radio station that had Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn’s piano trios. They’re both great, but I actually prefer Fanny’s (she was Felix’s sister). Thank you for including Clara, at least, as an option. It’s funny how the earliest and most recent composers on your list – Josquin and Pärt – actually compose similar-sounding music (until you pay closer attention to the tonal intervals and such). ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/7 "2024-08-29T18:30:21Z")
I was surprised to see Strauss missing from the poll, particularly given how well known his music is even to those who don’t consider themselves aficionados of classical music. If the OP is really not familiar with him, I’d recommend any of the various collections of his waltzes and polkas as performed by the Vienna Philharmonic or the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/8 "2024-08-29T18:34:28Z")
_Rachmaninoff! It shakes me! It quakes me! It makes me feel goose-pimply all over!_ (This post is a homage to **Eve,** who quoted this years ago in a similar thread) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/9 "2024-08-29T19:03:27Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Rachmaninoff has always been my favorite. Dramatic melodies, intricate arrangements, lots of dynamic switches, and still accessible enough to catch the ear of a 13-year-old boy who was mainly into thrash metal at the time (that was me). I was listening through my parent’s music collection and dismissing most of it (they had a lot of 60s and 70s pop and rock that I was not yet mature enough to appreciate, and a bunch of classical music), but something about Rachmaninoff just grabbed me. I was listening to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 at the time of the 9/11 attacks. Those two things are now linked in my mind. And 9/11 increased the moodiness/seriousness/sadness of that piece, while the concerto made the attacks feel even more emotional/significant. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/10 "2024-08-29T19:33:30Z")
I missed [Johann Sebastian Mastropiero](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Mastropiero) (link in Spanish, for reasons), but I guess only @Frodo knows about him on this board. And [Manuel de Falla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_de_Falla), but I guess that including him would be asking a bit much. Very Spanish. Apart from that I only voted by ear. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/11 "2024-08-29T20:25:20Z")
Glad to see you included Messiaen. I think I voted for 13 or 14. I see I missed voting for Shostakovich, that was unintentional. Names I would probably have included had they been there: Charles Ives; Benjamin Britten; Ralph Vaughan Williams (probably the most surprising omission); Modest Mussorgsky. eta: I see Richard Strauss mentioned as an omission - not a favorite, but he certainly should be on a list like this. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/12 "2024-08-29T20:27:43Z")
Anton Bruckner is also missing - he’d definitely be top twenty for me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/13 "2024-08-29T21:11:18Z")
Wilhelm Richard Wagner. I have the Solti Ring on a flash drive to listen in the car. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/14 "2024-08-29T21:16:16Z")
Such a tough question, answerable in so many different ways, so I picked the 4 whose music I enjoy playing most in our mediocre string quartet and a mediocre community orchestra. Bach, Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, and Mozart are pretty tough to beat. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/15 "2024-08-29T21:41:40Z")
The tough part was deciding where the threshold for “favorite” lies. There are quite a few that I like but that didn’t quite make it to “favorite” status, and at least a couple of these I’m still second-guessing myself about. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/16 "2024-08-30T00:46:46Z")
I like many of the choices, but as I define “Favorite” I chose three and wrote in two: #1: JS Bach (by a country mile. I favor his music on any of the keyboards.) #2: Alberto Ginastera (for orchestral, and solo piano compositions) #3: Stravinsky (orchestral, solo piano) #4: Aram Khachaturian (orchestral) #5: Shostakovich (orchestral) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/17 "2024-08-30T01:39:12Z")
Beethoven all the way for me. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/18 "2024-08-30T01:40:30Z")
No Holst? Pshaw. In that case, I vote Wagner, Dvorak, and Elgar. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/19 "2024-08-30T01:53:29Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > eta: I see Richard Strauss mentioned as an omission - not a favorite, but he certainly should be on a list like this. My post wasn’t about Richard, but Johann Jr., composer of “On the Beautiful Blue Danube”, “Tales from the Vienna Woods”, and “Emperor Waltz”. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426/20 "2024-08-30T02:38:37Z")
Bach just works for me, I love his Brandenburg Concertos, [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-favourite-classical-composers/1006426.md?page=2)