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Know Your Composers - A Top 40 Lizst (sorry, couldn’t help it)

Dudamel

My parents bestowed upon me a gift that keeps on giving. No, I’m not referring to an inherited midwestern Catholic neuroses. I speak of my abiding love of classical music. From the moment my mother sat me at the fusty upright grand at four and taught me to plunk my way through Ode to Joy they instilled in me a devoted appreciation of the greatest music the world has ever known.

That last statement is not open for debate. Perhaps you are moved more by Hendrix’s axe shredding, or Coltrane’s improvisational colorations, or the lyricism of Drake’s musings on the public solitary confinement of being nouveau riche in a media saturated society (Ed. note: holy christ has hip hop ever turned into soft teacup Chihuahua puppy crap). Occasionally I prefer those MP3s too. But consider the resources that comprise the woof and warp of classical music’s master works:

It begins with the birth of a genius. That genius is likely the progeny of two other extremely talented musicians. As such he or she is exhaustively tutored from birth within a musical curriculum. They develop their innate nature with tireless nurture and then develop into a musical superhero - a composer. That composer then writes pieces to be performed by sometimes one, sometimes hundreds of other only slightly less brilliant individuals who have ALSO spent their entire lives devoted to the noble cause of making music. Frequently, the resources of a kingdom are devoted toward achieving this cause on a grand scale as a king or prince or duke devotes copious treasure to the patronage of the composer, his orchestra, and the building of concert halls and opera houses. So, as the conductor’s baton clacks against his stand to silence the soft chaos of the warmup, what you are about to hear is the result of literally thousands of perfections - biological, devotional, economic, and inspirational - braided together into a single creative work.

The following is a clickable list of a true top 40: 40 youtube videos offering you a brief gleaming insight into the timeless passion, intellect, complexity, virtuosity, rage, jocularity, and sublimity that classical music’s most notable composers have gifted the world. So go ahead and put Drake on pause. Take care to start lovin’ this crew.

1. Mozart

2. Beethoven

3. Bach

4. Brahms

5. Rachmaninoff

6. Chopin

7. Lizst

8. Puccini

9. Wagner

10. Mahler

11. Mendelssohn

12. Schubert