Your least favourite "classicalish" composer?

[Fëanor]

I happened to catch CBC Radio 2's whimiscal "Musical Cage Match" this morning.  It pitted Faure's Pie Jesu from his Requiem, Op.48 against Andrew Lloyd Webber's Pie Jesu.  Listening to this, it brought to mind that there are various popular composers on the fringe of classical music that serious seekers after the classical experience might as well pass up.

Without much though, a few that come to my mind are:

• Andrew Lloyd Webber
• John Ritter, (ed. yes, I meant 'Rutter')
• Howard Shore, (Oscar guy)
• John Williams, (most Oscar-nominated person in history)

Of this short list Williams is my least least favourite.  He has written a few serious works;  I rather like his Five Sacred Trees, a bassoon concerto.

Your "classicalish" composers to avoid??

[springrite]

"Classicalish" is way too broad, thus allowing Andy Weber and maybe Sir Beetle of Liverpool Oratorio to be in the running.

Of the names you mentioned, though, I have heard a couple of John Williams truly classical compositions (one is a tube concerto) and they are surprisingly good.

But generally speaking I do not spend time that I can spend better listening to better music on "classicalish" music. There may be some works worth my time, but the time spent on garbage while looking for the occasional gems are not necessarily worthy.

[Fëanor]

....
But generally speaking I do not spend time that I can spend better listening to better music on "classicalish" music. There may be some works worth my time, but the time spent on garbage while looking for the occasional gems are not necessarily worthy.

Exactly!! 

[Teresa]

I happened to catch CBC Radio 2's whimiscal "Musical Cage Match" this morning.  It pitted Faure's Pie Jesu from his Requiem, Op.48 against Andrew Lloyd Webber's Pie Jesu.  Listening to this, it brought to mind that there are various popular composers on the fringe of classical music that serious seekers after the classical experience might as well pass up.

Without much though, a few that come to my mind are:

• Andrew Lloyd Webfer
• John Ritter
• Howard Shore, (Oscar guy)
• John Williams, (most Oscar-nominated person in history)

Of this short list Williams is my least least favourite.  He has written a few serious works;  I rather like his Five Sacred Trees, a bassoon concerto.

Your "classicalish" composers to avoid??

I know of no "classicalish" composers to avoid.  In an off-hand way are you making fun of the music I love again?  I know of a few Classic composers to avoid but that is not under discussion here!!

I love John Williams!!! I see you have heard some of his authentic Classical works and even like one of them.  Have you ever heard his orchestral suite from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" or his music from "The Cowboys"?  Or how about all the "Star Wars" movies.

And you don't like Andrew Lloyd Webber either WOW!  Not even "The Phantom of the Opera"?  I don't like broadway singing any more than I like opera singing, but the orchestral only suites from his broadway shows are fantastic!  To each their own I guess.

Just because an orchestral piece is not written for the concert hall does not diminish my enjoyment of it.  What is really the difference if orchestral music is written for a ballet or opera instead of broadway or a movie?  The music is still written to accompany acting and/or dancing.

So let me be one voice saying a big gigantic yes to classicalish music in general!

[Morigan]

A. L. Webber is a festival of uninspired or stolen music... I find it pretty annoying... and it also has that annoying 70's and 80's feeling.

[71 dB]

What does classicalish mean? Totally new term for me. If it means lighter, simpler classical music, I use simply the term movie music. Simplicity in this music is important because it is only one part of the movie experience and has to give room for the visuals, dialoque and other sounds.

Anyway, John Williams is absolutely THE best movie composer ever in my opinion, and deserves imo every Oscar he was won. As a Star Wars nut I love his music for those movies but Williams has so many amazing scores (e.g. Spielberg's A.I.). As an serious classical composers John Williams seems lesser as far as I know. I have only his Violin and Flute Concertos and they are barely mediocre imo.   

[knight66]

I see John Ritter....should this be John Rutter? If so, I agree, he gets my Golden Raspberry.

Mike

[The new erato]

A. L. Webber is a festival of uninspired or stolen music... I find it pretty annoying... and it also has that annoying 70's and 80's feeling.

Definitely agree (with exceptions maybe from his first couple of works). Really disgusting stuff.

[Fëanor]

I see John Ritter....should this be John Rutter? If so, I agree, he gets my Golden Raspberry.

Mike

Yup, I meant 'Rutter'. 

[Norbeone]

Definitely agree (with exceptions maybe from his first couple of works). Really disgusting stuff.

Basically sums him up for me.

My composition teacher happens to be an ex-orchestrator of 'Andrew's beautiful music'. His and Webber's other orchestrators' jobs were not arranging his [Webber's] tunes for orchestra, because there were practically no tunes to begin with, except maybe for about 3 or 4 bars scribbled on a piece of paper. Nor did Webber ever give his orchestrators due credit for the amount of work they did for him.

Personally, I can't stand the little gremlin.

[Josquin des Prez]

The world would have been a better place if Andrew Lloyd Webber had failed his musical aspirations and turned into a despot instead.

[knight66]

I gather he is somewhat of a despot. I would therefore prefer that he sticks with the stage-musical; as against invading Poland.

Mike

[BachQ]

Elgar

[Wanderer]

Elgar

That's just mean. 

[Ephemerid]

John Williams (why listen to him when I can listen to Holst?)

Hans Zimmer (for blatantly ripping off Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War" in Gladiator)

Billy Joel 

As much as I love Robert Fripp's solo work & work with King Crimson, he wrote some godawful piece (sounded like a terrible student work) on the album Islands in 1972 (I forget the title, but it was really bad-- Mantovani wrote more interesting music than that).  Thankfully, Fripp stuck to what he generally does best. 

[Josquin des Prez]

As much as I love Robert Fripp's solo work & work with King Crimson, he wrote some godawful piece (sounded like a terrible student work) on the album Islands in 1972 (I forget the title, but it was really bad-- Mantovani wrote more interesting music than that).  Thankfully, Fripp stuck to what he generally does best. 

You are thinking of Song Of The Gulls. A banal little piece, to be sure. I give Fripp a pass since he was young, and ignorant, but i have to wonder what compels those efforts. Do rock musicians really have such a low respect (and understanding) for classical music that they can't even be bothered to learn a few things about it before fancying themselves as composers? 

[Lady Chatterley]

Billy Joel 

Yep!

[Ephemerid]

You are thinking of Song Of The Gulls. A banal little piece, to be sure. I give Fripp a pass since he was young, and ignorant, but i have to wonder what compels those efforts. Do rock musicians really have such a low respect (and understanding) for classical music that they can't even be bothered to learn a few things about it before fancying themselves as composers? 

Ah, yes, that's the one.  Thankfully he didn't do anything like it again. 

[Grazioso]

Hans Zimmer (for blatantly ripping off Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War" in Gladiator)

And the Ring for the main theme of Crimson Tide. And Horner for stealing the opening theme of Rach's 1st symphony for one of the two main themes of Enemy at the Gates. Etc.

[Florestan]

That's just mean. 

No, that's just Dm.