In pure terms of innovation during a composer's time period, I would
order (from greatest to least) them as such: Bach, Beethoven, Wagner,
Mozart. I think greatness should be evaluated mostly on how much new
technique they foster that makes an impact for many years to come.
Mozart's mature works aren't as obviously mature as they follow the same
harmonic structure and normal Classical era form rules. It's hard to
put him last based on the amount of music he wrote, but it's all
similar.... Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Mozart.
Beethoven & Wagner are similar that they expanded and created grand
works of a genre. Beethoven combined the choir with the symphony more
than once (Fantasia for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, Op. 80... 9th
Symphony) and Wagner used leit-motif in his opera's that expanded to 4 &
5 hours. Both have definite differences between young works and mature
works.
Bach, IMHO, has not been surpassed in his counterpoint (many composers
have tried since and NONE have equaled even Bach's modest works, let
alone his greatest: "The Art of the Fugue") and his chromatic harmony.
Bach was alive during the transition from Meantone to Equal temperment
and had the luxury of an organ in his early years that was tuned
Equally, allowing him to explore chromatic harmony that many composers
didn't touch for over 100 years. Study his 150 Cantatas (as I did this
summer) and you will find many chromatic chord progressions that boggle
the mind. He also wrote a fugue based on his own name, using the notes
B-A-C-H (in modern terms B=B-flat & H=B-natural) that are 4 neighboring
half-steps.
L, Master of Music in progress...
Luther KB5QHU Oak Park, IL
'87 300SDL (312,xxx mi)
'91 Dodge Ram 150 (290,xxx mi)
On 7/28/2011 11:01 AM, Donald Snook wrote:
astrasfogel wrote: "So is Bach the greatest? I call it a dead heat with
Ludwig."
The greatest what? The greatest composer? The greatest composer in his style/era? The
term classical music is confusing because "Classical" is a style or period or
era. J.S. Bach and Beethoven are in different eras/styles. Bach is in the Baroque
era/period, it's pretty difficult to compare them. It would be like asking who is the
greatest Sports figure? When the question might be who is the greatest football player?
It's pretty hard to compare a football player and a tennis player. Likewise, it is
difficult to compare composers from different eras/periods.
So, Bach is arguably the greatest of the Baroque period/style. And arguably,
Beethoven the greatest of the Classical period. EXCEPT, ole Ludwig only wrote
9 symphonies. So, I think Mozart gets the nod. Some people would include
Beethoven in the Romantic period, but I think that is incorrect because his
symphonies followed most of the strict formalities of the classical periods.
He might be a transition between the two. For me, the greatest of the
Romantic period is Wagner.
Donald H. Snook
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