holst is a pretty good modern classical composer. my favorite though is paganini.

Beethoven, Mozart and Bach of course. theyre legends. as far as modern day composers, i really like yoyo ma's work

Mozart is just one of my many fav composers,he was known to take familiar musical lines from one piece of music and insert them into another piece of music in fact...
also Bach another classic,who's virtuosity was self taught,i just love his music!

I like Vivaldi and Handel
 

I like Vivaldi and Handel--wrote wonderful stuff for oboes!:wavey:

Beethoven has to win handsdown. Moonlight sonata is a masterful piece. Pathetique is also very relaxing. His symphonies are very good. I particularly like the second movement of his 7th symphony. There is no other classical piece I enjoy so much. And let's not forget that piece no one can get away from...Fur Elise.

Beethoven and Mozart Definatley

who plays classical music on the piano?

for me, prokofiev

I've seen that film. Great film and yes, its quite frightening that Mozart could do that if its true. Some day I hope that genius of the same level will get involved in rock music somehow as I'm not convinced that its surfaced yet (maybe Buckley or Hendrix could have got there if they'd lived longer). That's not to say that Mozart is my all-time fave - Chopin and Tchaikovsky are my choices. The melodies were just amazing.

Chopin because I'm a pianist :)

i do! been playing for about 15 yrs now

Mozart :D

Chopin or Grieg.

true everything is labeled from Bach to Beethoven is labeled classical when there is Baroque, Classical (as in Mozart), Romantic, Impressionism, 12-tone, minimalist composers....whichever...

Bach.. What a genius..

Bach is slightly overrated in my opinion. Paganini, Brahms and Stravinsky kicks everybodys ass.

I'm not sure.
We have to listen to it in music & I play it on clarinet *how cool*
Hmm.
I was listening to classical music in a bus this morning.

very disappointed that nobody mentioned Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. but hes my favorite. i love "Pictures of an Exhibition" on piano. i have been looking for "Night on a bare Mountain" on only the piano, but no luck yet.

honestly, im a big fan of the modern composers like Hans zimmer. Don't get me wrong DeBussy's Clair de lune is incredible, and i still blast Pachelbel's canon in D major to wake me up in the morning sometimes, but I just loved what Zimmer did with the Gladiator album. I know you wont find it on your local classical radio station, but its time people acknowledge how good he is.

Yes another modern music lover!!!!! Gyorgy Ligeti is my fav.

Vivaldi

Chopin. Elegant and beautiful.

1. Bach
2. Mozart
3. Beethoven
4. Johann Strauss II

Music Man is probably the most accurate in my decision. JS Bach is a GENIUS!

Boo Boo: "Bach is slightly overrated in my opinion. Paganini, Brahms and Stravinsky kicks everybodys ass."

Pardon me Boo Boo, JS Bach is somewhat underrated, not overrated.

Samuel Barber.

Bach probably. His symphonies are so grand and epic.

Ludwig Von Beethoven
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Dmitri Shostakovich

Three of my favorites, I love some other composer's work too, but this is a good starting point.

Bach easily....Even though I haven't listened to any of this in ages :p

Brahms

Favorite composer
 

Well, I find myself listening to Rachmaninov piano concerto number 2 and 3 recently... and unable to pull myself from them. So for the time being, favorite composer is Rachmaninov (aka "Rachy" :) ).

Dvorak

His New World Symphony is possibly my favorite piece of music ever.

I used to think in terms of a single favorite composer. But I don't have any such thing now. But I would share these "groups":

TOP group: Beethoven, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Ravel, Hindemith, Menotti, Barber, Poulenc

SECONDARY group: Bach, Dvorak, R Strauss, Debussy, Faure, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ives, Gershwin, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Bernstein, Copland, John Adams

And another group, that I like because of ONE or two specific pieces: Boccherini, Bizet, Liszt, Leoncavallo, Mussorgsky, Kodaly, Dukas, Respighi, Borodin, Orff, Britten

Beethoven. Definately Beethoven.

Bach. Definately Bach!!!!;)

For me it is Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, I do like Mozart, but just not as much as I prefer Beethoven!

Chopin all the way. Listen to Scherzo #2 and you'll know what I mean. And Fantasie-Impromptu is one of the funnest songs to play on the piano, once you master it.

hello guys, but nothing compares to Beethoven do they?...Beethoven had a significant role in expanding the size of an orchestra.

hmmmm

Bach is considered the greatest composer of all time but.........

just to be rebellious i'mm gonna say either Mahler or Tchaikovsky.......

Rachmaninov or Mozart
depends on the mood

I have just recently started listening to classical music on a frequent basis, a great morning radio show I listen to. I had previously only really listened to most the famous ones previously mentioned, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Tchaikovsky. I have to say out of all of them Beethoven was the most impressive. I particularly enjoy Bach as well, but I don't prefer the Barque era's sound as much as the Classical's.