The online classical music aggregator InstantEncore.com has published its list of the most performed composers of 2010. What I immediately looked for, aside from who was No. 1 (Mozart), and who was No. 100 (Korngold), was who the currently living composers were who might populate such a list. Here’s what I discovered:
The top living composer on this list was, unsurprisingly, John Adams, whose works were performed 184 times (by ensembles and individuals that Instant Encore tracks) and his rank was 52, which placed him between Respighi and Hindemith. His standing as the current Dean Cash Machine of American Composers remains secure (with apologies to John Williams).
Speaking of which, America’s Richest Composer John Williams was the next living composer on the list, with his works performed (in the concert hall, not the cinemaplex) 157 times, giving him the rank of 157, right between Martinu and Purcell.
Next on the list, at No. 74, was Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, whose works were performed 107 times. He placed between Minkus and Ginastera.
Next down was Most Botoxed Composer John Corigiliano, whose works were performed 85 times, placing him betwixt Offenbach and Nielsen (which no doubt displeases him to no end) at No. 86.
Osvaldo Golijov comes in at No. 89, between Guitar Concerto Rodrigo and Carmina Burana Carl Orff, with his works being performed 79 times.
The first (and only) two female composers to appear in the Top 100 appear within two places of each other: Chen Yi at No. 91 and Jennifer Higdon at 93, with Philip Glass in at 94, followed by Pierre Boulez at 98.
Outside of the Top 100 appear other luminaries such as Elliot Carter (116, soon his age will catch up with his ranking), Thomas Adès (125), Arturo Márquez (127), William Bolcom (135), and John Harbison (137).
And who are the Top 10, you ask? Here they are:
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Ludvig van Beethoven
- Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky
- Johannes Brahms
- Robert Schumann
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Antonin Dvorak
- Franz Schubert
- Franz Joseph Haydn
- Sergei Prokofiev
At least there’s one 20th Century composer in the Top 10…
The Instant Encore list [link]
6 replies on “top composers revealed”
Interesting, and funny. I wonder what Philip Glass thinks of being number 94 on the list. If he’s not the actual ‘Cash Machine’, he definitely seems to be the wannabe. I had been to a talk of his at the art museum in the last year, and there was more mention of money in any artistic lecture I had seen…
meant to say, “money _than_ in any artistic”
i had my fill of glass the very first time i heard him.
Very well said 😉
Thanks for posting this list here — very interesting and informative.
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