wanchoo
September 4th, 2007, 01:05 AM
Albert Einstein, the well known musicologist, has written a book titled "Greatness in Music". If anybody is interested in increasing his/her appreciation of classical music they should get hold of it from Amazon and read it.
In this book Einstein says that in 1890 when he was young the Great Odeon Hall in Munich displayed the plaster heads of Bach and Handel, Gluck and Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, Weber and Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn in a crescent - a choice which in those days most would have agreed were the ten greatest composers. Later this illustrious crescent was increased to twelve and the busts of Wagner and Liszt were added. Brahms and Verdi never figured anywhere.
He continues that what the collection is like today (1935) he knows not. But he suspects that Mendelssohn has vanished and Bruckner has moved in his place. I haven't seen the Great Odeon Hall in Munich myself but I suspect that today (2007) even Gluck, Liszt, Schumann and Weber are also gone and perhaps Chopin and Tchaikovsky included and the number again reduced to ten.
Einstein goes on to argue that most composers are not permanently great but only great in relation to the time of evaluation. But he does consider Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and Verdi to be great for all times to come.
Rather a long message but do you agree with Einstein's assessment?
In this book Einstein says that in 1890 when he was young the Great Odeon Hall in Munich displayed the plaster heads of Bach and Handel, Gluck and Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, Weber and Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn in a crescent - a choice which in those days most would have agreed were the ten greatest composers. Later this illustrious crescent was increased to twelve and the busts of Wagner and Liszt were added. Brahms and Verdi never figured anywhere.
He continues that what the collection is like today (1935) he knows not. But he suspects that Mendelssohn has vanished and Bruckner has moved in his place. I haven't seen the Great Odeon Hall in Munich myself but I suspect that today (2007) even Gluck, Liszt, Schumann and Weber are also gone and perhaps Chopin and Tchaikovsky included and the number again reduced to ten.
Einstein goes on to argue that most composers are not permanently great but only great in relation to the time of evaluation. But he does consider Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and Verdi to be great for all times to come.
Rather a long message but do you agree with Einstein's assessment?