Greatest Composers of All Time

JSBach
Beethoven
Mahler
Haydn
Mozart
Schubert
Shostakovich
Brahms
Schutz
Wagner

I could almost have listed Bach as 1-9 with LvB #10. The breadth, depth, beauty, and genius, and profundity of his works that survive is astonishing. No one save LvB approaches.

Tosta, not nearly as much as I once was, though I still listen
to perhaps 2-3 a week and have full sets of my faves, namely
Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn, Bartok. Shostakovich, Bartok and Villa Lobis .

I'm 78 and started record collecting about 50 years ago and for several decades chamber music was my main interest. Followed by periods when choral and then opera was my mainstay, but in
the last decade or so I've listened to Symphony more than anything else.
From what I've read this seems to be a reversal of the usual route most follow. Go figure.

Brownsfan, I couldn't agree more. All composers have their strengths and weaknesses, save Bach, who had it ALL.
IMHO his Cantatas are the high-point of all music.

BTW, I received my Totem Model 1 Sigs yesterday, listening to Live from Met on them right now, will post my early thoughts
on this post Monday.

Schubert, I too place his cantatas at the pinnacle. What Bach did with his cantatas, especially the Leipzig work, is just superhuman. 54 cantatas a year for 3 years, in addition to his other duties as cantor. He wrote at least one new cantata a week on Monday and Tuesday, practiced with the choir the remainder of the week. How is that even possible? They are not formulaic tripe. They are masterworks. And lets not forget his choral preludes, cranked out at the same pace. The man was a gift from God, pure and simple. All this, while being a husband and father to double digit children, not to mention his teaching duties, and the constant frustrations of dealing with the blockheaded pietistic clergy in Liepzig, who regarded him as nothing but a third rate composer.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Sigs! I think you have probably made a great choice.

The Germans don't call him Allmachtige(Allmighty)Bach for nothing.
Common opinion among educated Germans is that Bach is the greatest artist of all time in ANY genre.
Even above Shakespeare, who the Germans are freaky about to the extent that more of his plays are staged in Berlin than London most years.Actually, he translates better into modern German than modern English.