Walter Meyer wrote:

>Bob Draper wrote praising Haydn, Brahms, Sibelius, Beethoven, VW, Bruckner,
>Mendelsohn, JS Bach, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Nielson, etc.
>
>You seem to be ranking only orchestral music and composers only according
>to their orchestral output.  (While some of the composers you list wrote
>music that wasn't orchestral, e.g., Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, when you
>list your favorite works, you list none that aren't orchestral.) Maybe,
>w/ few exceptions, that's the only music you really like.  It makes for
>a skewed ranking of composers, however.

Off the top of my head Haydn wrote 12 operas Beethoven 1, Tchaikovsky
1. Mendelsohnn wrote two oratorios. JS Bach wrote stacks of vocal
music. Schubert wrote loads of leider. Bruckner's motets are delicious
as is Brahms' German Requium and the Schumann mass.

However almost a good point, but if you noticed in my list of all
time favourite pieces I placed The Creation high up and that's
an oratorio.

I would not use the expression orchestral. I think non-vocal might be
better as I include many chamber works in my favourite works.

I am still exploring opera and have worked through around thirty so
far. I love most religious music. Vocal music like madrigals, lieder
etc I have only recently come to appreciate.

That said, I think we all have our own hierarchy of genre. For me the
highest forms are the symphony and the quartet. Opera comes somewhat
lower down the scale in my view.

You might correctly deduce that this tells you something about my
preference in composers but then I am sure the same could reasoning
could be applied to over posters. Don Satz for instance (sorry to
use you as an example again Don) says he has difficulty with romantic
music.

I reckon that in terms of form and period, whilst perhaps not all
embracing, my tastes are more catholic that most. But, I would refer
you to my recent posting under the title 'music tastes'.

Bob Draper
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