Top Ten Classical Musicians in the World

2b Beethoven

3c Mozart

4d debussy

5e Haydn

6f Mahler

7g Schubert

8h Shostakovich

9i sibelius.

10j Wagner

Anthony Tommasini, the "chief music critic" in The New York Times, published a series of "Top Ten Classical Music Composers in History" on 20 10, supplemented by blog articles and online videos, which received a lot of feedback from readers. Tomasini finally revealed his "Top Ten" in the serial article at the beginning of 20 1 1. This article is quite long, the following is an abridged translation, and finally the blogger's opinion:

"... half of the ten greatest classical composers in history were selected for intellectual games; However, as far as myself and others are concerned, the purpose is to explore what qualities make a composer different. Although this' game' seems absurd, when I consider whether to exclude Brahms and Haydn from the' Top Ten' list and replace them with Bartok and Monteverdi, I have to think about their respective achievements and' (greatness).

Speaking of "greatness", a reader wrote a letter earlier, expressing his doubts about the concept of "greatness" of music in a friendly way ... He thinks that the name "classical music" itself, although this energetic art form sounds lifeless. He even wrote that' greatness' and' seriousness' are not necessarily the unique qualities of classical music, but' classical music' may also be' stupid, vulgar and crazy'.

It's true. But from readers' feedback and my own articles and videos, we can see that for most of us, these composers are not standing idols, but vivid reality. When we build our own life, we form a network of people we love who support each other; So do the composers we rely on.

Many readers can't wait to tell me their favorite composer. There is no doubt that they think these composers are the greatest. I was deeply moved by this. Even those readers who don't think much of my selection activities will inevitably join the fray:' Of course, this selection is ridiculous. But I'll still make a list. Also, Mahler must choose! "Berger, Ligesi ... even a baroque music lover insisted that albinoni must be chosen.

I have always supported contemporary music, so I am very grateful to many readers for writing against my exclusion of living composers from this anthology. However, I have no other way. We are too close to the living composers to look at them from a historical perspective. Besides, when listening to an exciting or confusing new work, your mind may not have time to evaluate whether the work is great or not.

For readers with excellent taste, I now announce my list. Remember, the condition that my editor supports my choice is that I must list all composers of 10 in turn.

My first choice is Bach. This is due to the unparalleled perfect combination of his outstanding music construction ability and profound expressive force. ... Bach was considered an antique when he was alive. When/kloc-0 died in 750, Haydn 18 years old, and classical music was in the ascendant. Bach must be aware of the trend of the times, but his response is to dig deep in his own creative way. His unfinished fugue art has a kind of quiet beauty. In this work, Bach stripped the complex counterpoint technique to the most basic and simple core layer by layer, without even specifying what instrument the work should be played with.

Bach can be modern, but in his own way. Although he has never written an opera, he has shown superb dramatic skills in religious chorus works, such as the scene in Passion where the masses crucify Jesus with creepy fanaticism. His keyboard music works, such as chromatic fantasia and fugue, are the precursors of Liszt and even Rachmaninov's romantic works full of fantasy. Bach also explored the greatest possibility of tonality in his hymns.

Obviously, the contenders for the second and third place are Mozart and Beethoven. If only orchestral and instrumental works are compared, they are evenly matched. But Mozart is also an epoch-making opera writer, and this incredible comprehensiveness should put him ahead of his competitors.

However, I still think Beethoven should be ranked second. Beethoven's composition techniques are not as easy as Mozart's, and his creation is painstaking, which can sometimes be heard in his works. However, no matter how hard he racked his brains in the creative process, Beethoven's works are so bold, innovative and indestructible that even a poor interpretation can't hide their light.

One of my epiphany of Beethoven's works was listening to the concert of Harvard Chamber Orchestra conducted by composer Leon Kirchner in the 1980s. The first is a symphony written by walter piston in 1950s, which is a neoclassical work full of fresh breath and creativity. Then Debussy's The Sea. Kirchner once consulted Schoenberg and loved the Germanic style, so he interpreted this landmark masterpiece made by 1905 with Wagner's weight and strength. Debussy's works sound more modern than Piston's.

After the intermission, Kirchner and Peter Sergin played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.4. Their interpretation conveys the mystery, poetic dream and wildness of the works. It is so unfathomable and fascinating that this Beethoven piece sounds like the most radical work in the whole concert. So, I think Beethoven is second and Mozart is third.

The fourth is Schubert. You can't help falling in love with this composer who died of poverty due to illness at the age of 3 1. Except for a few friends who are fascinated by his genius, his works are almost unknown. Schubert's hundreds of songs are an indispensable part of our musical life. His unforgettable "winter trip" will never lose its appeal to singers and listeners. The baritone Sanford Sylvan once told me that hearing Schubert's last three piano sonatas at the concert of the outstanding pianist Stephen Drury was one of his most spiritual musical experiences. Schubert's symphonies are a process of continuous progress, but his eighth' unfinished' and ninth symphonies, especially the ninth symphony, are works that shake the past and shine on the present, paving the way for brukner and laying the groundwork for Mahler's works.

The fifth is Debussy. Hundreds of years after rhythmic Germanic music dominated, Debussy proved that tension can also exist in eternal stillness. His innovation in harmony, his sexy and beautiful voice and his incredible Freudian ability to touch people's subconscious make it a bridge for music to enter the turbulent 20th century.

The person who crossed the bridge later was Stravinsky, and he was also the sixth one in my mind. When his Firebird and Sacrifice to Spring caused a sensation in Paris, he communicated with Debussy, who was 20 years older than Stravinsky. However, until the 1960s, Stravinsky was still active and opened up a world for contemporary music. 197 1 one day, I came to the entrance of Yale university music building, and someone posted a card on the door, which read:' igor stravinsky passed away today.' The feeling at that time was that my music world collapsed: Stravinsky was like Beethoven among us.

There are fewer and fewer places in the top ten. In a sense, it is easier to list the "top five" or "top twenty" composers than the "top ten" composers. Only 10 places force you to exclude people like Gandel or Shostakovich and make room for others.

Some musicians I respect can easily find out Brahms' shortcomings. Indeed, he sometimes tries to explore new fields while inheriting classical traditions; However, his best works, such as symphony, piano concerto, violin concerto, chamber music with piano and piano solo works, especially the later interludes and capriccios that pointed out the way for Schoenberg, all have Beethoven's brilliance and whimsy. Brahms is my seventh place.

In an early series, I tried to avoid choosing romantic composers outside Brahms, on the grounds that originality and expression of personal feelings were the most important in that era. A genius like Chopin pays more attention to his unique style and the catharsis of his inspiration, rather than getting some measurable' greatness'.

However, Verdi and Wagner, two great opera masters in the19th century, were ambitious. As I have already revealed, they are all on my "Top Ten" list. Verdi's new opera works, such as La Traviata by Willie Dacker of metropolitan opera, still make the audience excited, which is the proof of Verdi's rich connotation.

Wagner's "The Ring" series has become a stepping stone for all opera houses trying to create a sensational effect. The last 20 minutes of Valkyria music may be the saddest and most beautiful music ever.

But which is the ranking of the two? As composers, they are neck and neck; As a person, not really. Although Verdi has his difficulties, he is an upright man and a patriot. He set up a nursing home for musicians working in Milan. Wagner, on the other hand, is an anti-Semitic perverted megalomaniac. Only in his music can he surpass himself. So Verdi is eighth and Wagner is ninth.

There is only one place left. I hope Haydn will forgive me, but one of the four outstanding figures in Vienna must be excluded. Haydn's great legacy was carried forward by his friend Mozart, his disciple Beethoven and the whole classical music school. I also want to apologize to Mahler's supporters, who have always been loyal to this visionary composer. If only I could include my favorite Puccini.

I am deeply gratified that there are so many readers who support 20th century composers, such as Ligethy, Mei Xian, Shostakovich, Ives, Schoenberg, prokofiev and Copland. These composers are an indispensable part of my music life. And Berg, who can be said to have composed two of the best operas of the 20th century. I think his violin concerto can be included in the top ten violin concertos. I'm a little disappointed that only a few readers support Britten. It seems that I need to do some promotion work.

The most powerful challenge to me comes from readers who think that composers before Bach must be selected, especially Monteverdi's supporters. Although Monteverdi is not the inventor of opera, he only needs to glance at Florence (music industry) around 1600 to understand how the genre of opera should develop. 1607 Oflo is the first masterpiece of opera. His Pastoral Collection has raised the art of combining language and music to a new height. Monteverdi's supporters may be right.

But if I have to choose the last composer, my choice is Bartok. He is a historian of national music, and his works inspired later composers to integrate folk music and classical traditions in their works; In addition to Schoenberg's dazzling music format, Bartok combined tonality, unorthodox scales and atonal music language, opening up a completely different path.

This is my list of "Top Ten Composers".

As a confession, I am going to listen to the records of composers such as Britten, Haydn, Chopin, Monteverdi and Ligethy continuously. I didn't put them on my list, but their music supported me through every day. "

I agree with this critic that the "Top Ten" is more difficult to rank than the "Top Five" and "Top Twenty". I think Bach, Beethoven and Mozart are the top three, and most classical music lovers may agree. After that, the difference will be considerable, because music appreciation is subjective in the final analysis. But now we are judging "the greatest composer" instead of "my favorite composer", so we still need to formulate objective standards. The above critic didn't express his standards, but I feel that the innovation of music genre and language, the influence on later generations, his era and music genre, and even his personality are all factors he considers. I think this makes his judgment standards somewhat inconsistent. Moreover, I think that the selection of "great composers" is actually a selection of the status of their works in the history of music and their influence on today's audience, which has no direct and inevitable connection with the composer's personality. If it is purely based on personality, Mozart and Schubert who died of syphilis are probably not flawless. What puzzles me even more is that Haydn was rejected because there are already three people on the list of Vienna classical music school: this is not to judge the top ten marshals. Is it necessary to take care of the factional balance between all parties and the field army? At least I personally think that Haydn is better than Bartok or even Stravinsky in terms of his position in the history of music (the founder of symphony and string quartet) and the popularity of his works. In terms of popularity, I'm afraid Tchaikovsky, dvorak and Mahler are also better than the above two. So tomasini's ranking, especially the six places after Schubert, can only be his personal opinion. It seems almost impossible to select the "Top Ten greatest composers". ...

Fill in the blank: At the risk that tomasini is listed in the same category as albinoni fans, and at the risk that you are all throwing bricks fiercely, I still dare to list my "Top Ten", or "Top Ten Classical Music Composers in my music world". I earnestly hope that my friends can share their "Top Ten":

Top three: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart (like tomasini)

4th to 10th place (in alphabetical order): Debussy, Haydn, Mahler, Schubert, Shostakovich, sibelius, Wagner.