Mozart vs. Beethoven (1 Viewer)

[Rob Tomlin]

I was doing some "critical" listening on my stereo last night. I was listening to the "Concert Classics" station on Dish Network (which is great btw) and heard some great music from two of the best composers of all time....Mozart and Beethoven.
This made me start to compare these composers against each other...who is the better composer overall? Beethoven composed some fantastic, incredibly emotional music. But Mozart made consistently great music as well. I did not reach a conclusion to this question.
So, I am asking for the infinite wisdom of this forum! Which Composer do you prefer and why?
[Edited last by Rob Tomlin on November 14, 2001 at 10:09 PM]

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

You really don't want to go here.....

IMveryHO,
Beethoven was the greatest composer of all time, and in addition was a great human being. Mozart was a kid who wrote lots of technically brilliant "tinkley" stuff.
Caveat: Beethoven really didn't start composing in earnest until he was the age that Mozart died. In some respects you can treat them as a single individual. Near the very end of his life Mozart really started to sound like Beethoven (e.g. Don Giovanni, the Requiem, the Prague symphony).
When Mozart was my age he was already dead 13 years....
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[Brian Perry]

My opinion only...
Hall of Fame Inner Circle
1. Beethoven
2. Bach
3. Mozart
Hall of Fame Second Tier
4. Tchaikovsky
5. Chopin
6. Schubert
7. Brahms
8. Dvorak
9. Haydn
Overrated
Mahler
Shostakovich
Vivaldi
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[John Stone]

Beethoven was the greatest composer of all time, and in addition was a great human being. Mozart was a kid who wrote lots of technically brilliant "tinkley" stuff.

Must. Remain. Calm.
You're right, we shouldn't go here.
We can agree on Beethoven.
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[RicP]

I love Mozarts work, but Ludwig Van takes the prize.
Has there been a better piece written than the glorious 9th? and he was completely deaf when he composed it.
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[Dennis Nicholls]

Must. Remain. Calm.

Hard to do that listening to Beethoven.....

 

[DonaldB]

I certainly like Mozart, but Beethoven's compositions were more intricate, sophisticated and tend to actually move me, whereas Mozart usually just entertains.
However, neither was as sublime as the mighty J.S. Bach. Or John Coltrane.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I certainly like Mozart, but Beethoven's compositions were more intricate, sophisticated and tend to actually move me, whereas Mozart usually just entertains.

I think that my reaction to these great composer's music is the same as yours Donald. Of course, sometimes I am in the mood to be entertained, and at other times I want to be moved! Of course your statement above is a bit generalized, as Mozart certainly did write some intricate sophisticated compositions. Conversely, Beethoven certainly composed some fairly simple music that merely "entertains".

 

[SteveGon]

Alex and Schroeder can't be wrong! Beethoven it is!
[Edited last by SteveGon on November 14, 2001 at 10:32 PM]

 

[Chuck C]

Back when I played the violin in orchestra, I preferred Mozart over Beethoven for a while. Pieces like Eine Kline and The Jupiter Symphony really hit hard. However, we played Beethoven's Egmont Overture, and I was floored! What a great and fun arrangement to play with an entire orchestra! Then we dared to try pieces from Tchaikovsky and Holst. We ended up playing Marche Slave, Jupiter, and Mars, and boy, I still wish I played having studied, in depth, such great pieces!
Conclusion: When I think Mozart, I think light, allegro, staccato; it's easy to recognize his work. When I hear Beethoven, I think post-baroque, varying emotions. When it comes to Tchaikovsky and Holst, I feel the grandeur of movie scores, and that's why I like those big symphony hacks the most.
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[Rob Tomlin]

Actually, if I had it to do over again, I would have changed my original post to "Mozart vs. Beethoven vs. Tchaikovksy" as he is certainly one of the best composers of all time as well!
Hell, I should have just titled the post "Best Composers of All Time". But I was listening specifically to Mozart and Beethoven last night, which is what precipitated the post in the first place!
[Edited last by Rob Tomlin on November 14, 2001 at 10:56 PM]

 

[John Thomas]

Overrated: Vivaldi

I agree. Vivaldi seems to simply be 'rated' because of his Four Seasons, which sounds to me like
"brilliant 'tinkley' stuff". Of course, I'm biased because for the most part I don't care for that genre. Baroque doesn't do much for me. Admittedly, Bach is the man and supercedes that label on his music. Beethoven is my overall favorite composer, with his 6th Symphony "Pastorale" being my favorite piece of his.
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[JonZ]

Mozart is the greatest composer ever IMHO. Even if he did have too many notes

I definitely dont agree about the Mozart for entertainment thing - for the most part I get more emotional listening to Mozart than most other composers.
Other favorites
Tchaikovksy
Beethoven
Johann Strauss II
Bach
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[Edited last by JonZ on November 15, 2001 at 07:44 AM]

 

[nousername]

This comparison is flawed. It's like comparing boxers from different eras and/or different weight classes. But it's an interesting question nonetheless.
Both composers were great. Both advanced the state and art of music in his own time and in his own way. Bach and Haydn influenced Mozart, and Mozart in turn greatly influenced Beethoven. Beethoven probably wouldn't have been as great without Mozart, and Mozart probably wouldn't have been as great without Bach.
Remember also that Mozart was just starting to get better and more advanced before he unexpectedly died. He was what, 35 or 36 when he died? Imagine if he had lived twice as long. He and Beethoven would have influenced each other to produce even greater, even more sublime music than we now have from them.
In terms of prodigiousness and prolificness, no question, Mozart was the greatest. He composed complete works that were already fully formed in his head; all he had to do was write it down like he was taking dictation. He did this time and time again. The sheer volume of great music he composed is mind-boggling. He also rarely made corrections to his compositions, whereas other composers would erase, scratch out, modify, etc., over and over again.
Beethoven was awesome, too. I mean, composing such advanced, incredible music while deaf and depressed--pure genius.
To conclude, each man was equally great. I love both their works equally for different reasons. All the other composers mentioned here were also great in their own way. But none compare to the triumvirate of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven for sheer volume and quality of work.
Just my humble opinion...

 

[Kevin M]

Beethoven, I love bombastic yet at the same time tempered music. A hard mix to attain and he did it better than anyone.
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[Tommy G]

I think Beethoven's 7th Symphony was the best piece of music ever written and his Pathetique for piano is incomparable. That being said, I think it is a difference of quantity vs. quality. While Mozart was amazing in that he had an uncanny ability to pump out a symphony in no time at all, Beethoven's work was truly amazing. Greatest writer of all time (IMHO)

 

[JonZ]

".....quantity vs. quality....." ?????????????????

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"....With that in mind,I humbly add my own prophecy of
what the dawn of the new millennium shall bring forth-
one thousand more years of the same old crap" Jose Chung

 

[Tommy G]

Jon, I knew that comment would ruffle some feathers.

Come on now, I love Mozart and I did give him his due!

 

[george kaplan]

I think Beethoven's 7th Symphony was the best piece of music ever written

I think it's the best thing Beethoven wrote, almost certainly the best symphony ever written, and quite possibly the best piece of classical music.
But as far as the best music ever written, that, IMHO, was done by a couple of guys named John and Paul about 150 years later.
To answer the question, as good as Mozart is, Beethoven is better.
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[John Kilduff]

John Lennon!
Sorry, not much of a classical man

Sincerely,
John Kilduff
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