Greatest Composers of All Time

Audiozen, your statement in your first post today is incorrect. Wagner is the most written about figure in classical music, by miles. In fact, at one point, he was the third most written about figure in the Western world, behind only Christ and Napoleon. This was true in the late 1980s, anyway, and I seriously doubt any other composer has passed him in the 45 years or so since.

If Beethoven was 16 he as not yet started (he lived another 50+ years) and Mozart was 32 and almost finished. Mozart was at the very front end of public concerts and publishing. These were far better established by the time Beethoven came of age (I think).

I have a friend who was a father at 17, grandfather at 34 and great-grandfather at 50. This was certainly not uncommon in the 18th century. I don't regard those two men as from the same generation. I don't regard someone 16 years older or younger than myself as the same generation.

Learsfool.."Wagner is the most written about"...My post state's on Beethoven that book's published on Composer's that he has the largest volume of published books in print. Having owned a Publishing company for over ten year's and having done a major research project on Beethoven in 1998, his record with published book's is a statistical fact. I said nothing about "most written about", just books in print.

Well Audiozen, if you are referring to Beethoven's Piano Concertos vs Mozarts' piano concertos I'm not too sure I'm with you on that one. Yes, Beethoven's 5 concertos are all masterpieces but are they readily acknowledged as besting Mozart's last 10 say? Not to my ears, they're all great and memorable pieces in their own right. Interestingly listening to Beethoven's first you might well believe you are listening to Mozart, so obvious is his influence.

Mozart's Concerto's up against Beethoven's Emperor Concerto? No Way. The Emperor Concerto is Mount Everest and Mount Olympus combined. Can't touch it's majestic power.