Classical composers. Who for you are the best?

If I was choosing for oratorio alone, I'd have to include Elgar for the Dream of Gerontius and for the wonderful aria The Sun Goeth Down, from the more obscure work, The Kingdom. I'd also have to include Mendelssohn for Elijah. Not sure that Walton's Belshazzar's Feast is an oratorio, but it really gets me going! Fauré's lovely Requiem - wonderful.

As pianist I love Beethoven's piano sonatas.

In no particular order my five are:

Beethoven.

Wagner.

Holst.

Janacek.

Vivaldi.

@isthisallthereis : "Can anyone suggest why I like Haydn more than Mozart?"

Possibly a matter of personality? He was known as 'Papa Haydn'... and he thought Mozart absolutely wonderful.

Mozart was more of a rule-breaker than Haydn, which may also have a bearing.

MOZART
Verdi
Handel
Early music-Dowland,Byrd

and another woman
Hildegard of Bingen

I'd forgotten Hildegard.

Also Lilli Boulanger.

isthisallthereis I'd noticed the lack of schoenberg et al - of course anyone who's listened to Hoffnung on the subject would understand why {smile} The trouble is that, just as I like poetry to have an occasional rhyme and a play to have a bit of a plot and be less than 90% improvisation, I do like some vestige of a melody in music.
I remember years ago I was at a Prom and they snuck a very modern piece in among the normal Holst, Elgar etc. It involved a lot of percussion and by the end of it the members of the orchestra who weren't involved were nearly falling off their seats laughing. I realised then that if professionals who were supposed to KNOW about music didn't get it there wasn't much hope for me.

crimson
I don't really go for Classic FM, just snippets of pieces. Try BBC Radio 3, they've gone down the Classic FM route at breakfast time which I think is a shame, but the rest of the time you do get whole works. Keep an eye on their "Composer of the Week" and sooner or later you see one come up you fancy. Then there's a programme of their music, with good commentary between the tracks.

Also listen out for their live concerts, in the evening or afternoon. I'm sure many people on here will agree there is something special about listening to a live concert, sometimes with roughnesses, rather than polished and perfect recordings. Is there any sort of classical music festival near you. Can be very good.

Visit a few local charity shops and buy a few CDs. Usually 50P or £1 each so mistakes aren't expensive. Buy 3 or 4 composers you like the idea of (perhaps from the lists above) and see how you get on!

Is there a CD library near you? I found that a great way to get into classical music. You will probably find the music librarian very helpful.

Then the one biggest help I found is the Rough Guide to Classical Music. I cannot recommend it too highly. Some brief biographical details on each composer, then some careful thoughts on preferred recordings to buy.

Hope to buy recordings. Not easy. If you have a local record shop, try them, they will be delighted to help you (probably). Otherwise I use www.amazon.co.uk.

Do you want to buy CDs or downloads. You can often buy second hand CDs in Amazon. Should be very cheap.

Don't order from their American site www.amazon.com but it has clips of most purchasable music. Which will usually enable you to decide if you like it or not.

There is a story that someone once asked Sir Thomas Beecham "Have you played any Schoenberg?" to which he is supposed to have replied "No, but I've stepped in it a few times". True? Who knows. I suppose at that in Beecham's time, 'modern' music was very avant garde. I try and give new pieces a hearing but I struggle and, like Deedaa, I like some vestige of a melody. I like the Ravel G Major piano concerto, the first and last movements of which are not to everyone's taste (DH hates it), but the middle, slow movement is so beautiful I defy anyone not to be moved by it. Agree about the Rough Guide to Classical Music. I have the Rough Guide to Opera - very interesting and useful.

Verdi
Beethoven
Gounod
Mozart
Liszt/Chopin

Mahler's 5th symphony is one of the loveliest [in my opinion] especially the adagietto, which moves me to tears.

julika Gounod! Now there's a one!

Is there any interest in a GN meetup to see Gounod's Faust (Opera North production) at Nottingham Theatre Royal on either Nov 20th or 23rd @ 7pm?? It's accessible by train for me, but I can get not a glimmer of interest even from my SO (who loves virtually all music .... except opera!) or from any of my usual mob who I go to things with.

If it helps, I get a disabled discount and would split that amongst any companions. That's in addition to the usual over 60 concessions. I only mention this as opera is usually so very expensive.

I love Gounod too-so corny and dramatic when you want a good cry!Wish I could come, but too far for me.

Heard that story, Arty, though when I heard it, the composer Beecham disparaged was Stockhausen - can you tell the difference? I doubt if I can or if I want to try. He probably used the same joke on several occasions!

crimson, when I eventually get the programme for next year's Buxton Festival, there might be something that grabs both of us. Would you be up for it? It's not till July.

crimson Looking back at my post last night, I meant to ask, do you buy CDs (as I still like to) or downloads? I like to have something in my hand to feel I've spent my hard-earned on something, but I think downloads are generally cheaper than buying CDs. I'm sure someone will confirm or counter!

Anno

I'm a complete technophobe and don't know how to download . I loved LP's; hated tapes [although they were good to keep in the car having taped an lp to listen to] but I now love cd's because you still get the artwork and sometimes a book of the lyrics. Alas, I go through phases of buying c**p cd's [I don't get out much and go mad in HMV when I do]. Spent nearly £100 last time and got a mixed bag of music. Don't like buying online either so I end up paying over the odds. Glancing at the 'hearing in colour' thread, part of the experience of listening to the music, to me, is having an image in my head. I used to love the artwork that Levellers did [still do]with their music. Perhaps that's lazy of me; classical music has no such visual aid so you have to work harder to 'get' it. Just about to switch off Classic FM and go back to Radio6 when Pavane's Opus somethingorother came on and I like that, so I'm sticking with it for a while [gap in my education etc etc]. A friend sometimes downloads folk stuff for me which saves me money. It's a bit like kindles and books; I like the possessing of it [very nosy in peoples houses and always look at their book and cd collection I'm afraid]. Off to see Ralph McTell tonight, never having seen him play live, so probably going back into a folky phase [Neil Young at the mo].

That sounds fantastic, crimson. You can tell us all about it tomorrow. The good thing about music is that one genre doesn't exclude another - something of which I have never yet managed to convince my DSs , though when I told my GD that I was treating myself to an opera (Don Giovanni) as a birthday treat, she said, 'Why aren't you taking me?' I never thought she'd be interested. Next time...

I love the influence that one lot of music has on another [and love to work out the influences from other bands when I hear new groups]. No one should even rule out any sort of music till you've at least given it a go. We've got a bit of a coup at our village hall, but I'm not 'going public' until I know that all the 'locals' have got their tickets. Watch this space, anyone in the East Midlands .

Zipoli
Bach
Haydn (I agree with isthisallthereis that he's much superior to Mozart )
Elgar
Vaughan Williams

I think Haydn has a better sense of humour than Mozart and is less predictable

I had to Google Zipoli, grannieannie66, because the name is new to me. I am now listening to this www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMTMAoRceJY. Thanks for the tip.

crimson, on the same subject, I recommend youtube for extracts from almost any composer you can think of. If you explore, you will soon find music you'd like to follow up. Good hunting! The Zipoli mentioned above is a good example.

I love utube; it was awful when my sound stopped working. Trouble is, you can disappear for days on utube..one thing leads to another. Music, old horse races [they did stop those for a while but they're creeping back on again, thank goodness].

crimson In what way "trouble is"?? Sounds educative bliss to me!