User:Europus
This is the user page of Wikipedia user Europus.
Page history
This page was created on August 27,2006, the same date on which the user's account was created.
Who is Europus?
Europus is a male of eighteen years living in upstate New York, United States of America. (Since Europus is writing this article himself, he will henceforth write in the first person). As can be discerned from my username, I have an interest in Europe; its history, culture, affairs, et cetera. The name "Europus" purposefully bears some resemblance to the name "Europa". Europa was a mythic figure of ancient Greece, and since, coincidentally, a woman, could not lend her exact name to my usage. I therefore created a masculine equivalent to the feminine name "Europa". Of course, the actual Greek version would be "Europos", but I thought that the Latinate "Europus" had a somewhat mightier ring to it. I do not care to divulge any further information concerning my identity. Certain vagaries of language concerning things about me are due to this.
What I do
I compose "classical" music as well as the occasional poem and short story. I am also planning a trilogy of fantasy novels. The only area in which I have so far created several material examples, however, is the category of classical compositions (mostly orchestral). My own personal style is currently relatively modern, but with strong romantic leanings. I have been very influenced personally by Wagner, Mahler, Debussy and Skryabin (see below), but of course a myriad of others apply as well, from Purcell to Penderecki. I will be a senior in high school this coming year and am finishing a piece that will be performed by my local youth symphony orchestra. The "youth" part may appear to signal low quality, but we (I am a member) can rival local professional groups, and have a wide assortment of instruments (for me to use to my delight, of course). I also play the viola and have taught myself rudimentary keyboard skills.
The nine greatest composers of all time
This is a list of the nine composers of classical music which I personally consider to be the greatest. They are each on the list for various different reasons of their own, but the greatest determining factor (especially regarding the original seven) is that they each strike a special chord in me through their music, a felling which I cannot properly explain, but which is nonetheless the chief reason for my consideration of them. Most of them, however, also have very substantial technical/material aspects to their art as well which point to their being masters of the highest degree. The list in in two parts: the so-called "original seven" and the "added two". The original seven came to me more or less all at once, and I have listed them in chronological order so as not to give the impression of preference between them (as I consider each of them more or less equal to each other in greatness). The "added two" were admitted to the list after later discovery and a bit of deliberation. I try not to be stingy or exclusive with my list, but like it or not, I get less willing to allow newcomers as the years go by.
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Richard Wagner
- Modest Petrovich Musorgsky
- Gustav Mahler
- Achille-Claude Debussy
- Giuseppe Verdi
- Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky
Currently, the composers Johannes Brahms and Giacomo Puccini are being seriously considered for entry upon the list, and I very much admire the music of Alexander Skryabin as well. Also, it may interest some that Musorgsky entered the list before Tchaikovsky. As much as I now love Tchaikovsky, if one were to really pull my leg, I would have to say that I like Musorgsky just a bit more still. By the way, although the latter's name is most commonly spelled Mussorgsky, it translates directly from the Cyrillic to my spelling, with one s rather than the Anglicized two. As a rule, I detest Anglicization of names.
What makes them so great?
For some, such as Mozart or Beethoven, there is almost no point in asking this question. For some of the others, however, this is understandable. I could, of course, rattle on and on about why exacly each one is great, but I will let it suffice here to list those works by each composer that have mainly earned them a place on this list:
- Bach - St. Matthew Passion, Mass in B minor, Brandenburg Concerti and numerous other concerti which I have heard.
- Mozart - His operas (especially those after 1780, including Idomeneo), symphonies (especially the last six), concerti for piano, violin, violin and viola, horn, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon. Practically every piece this guy wrote is completely excellent, if not necessarily a masterpiece (solos for glass armonica? Sorry, not masterpieces).
- Beethoven - The opera Fidelio, symphonies 3 through 9 (of course), piano conerti (especially 3, 4 and 5), Missa Solemnis, violin concerto, triple concerto. Pretty much the same situation as Mozart concerning overall quality of work: an undistutable master (notwithstanding some comments by Debussy).
- Wagner - The operas (although I love Der Ring des Nibelungen, and see it as his magnum opus, I have a special regard for the trio of independent Handlungen, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger and Parsifal, as well as Tannhäuser.) The overtures and preludes are also quite good by themselves in the concert hall. The Wesendonck Lieder, Faust Overture and Siegfried Idyll are also good.
- Musorgsky - The opera Boris Godunov, Songs and Dances of Death, and Pictures at an Exhibition (preferably the Ravel orchestration). I would imagine that the operas Khovanshchina and maybe Sorochintsy Fair are good, but I have unfortunately not heard either of them.
- Mahler - All ten symphonies (yes, including the Deryck Cooke completion of No.10), the song-cycle Kindertotenlieder and the song-symphony Das Lied von der Erde. I cannot speak for the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen or Das klagende Lied, as I have not heard them.
- Debussy - The opera Pelléas et Mélisande, the orchestral pieces La Mer and Images. For amusing reasons, I cannot bring myself to think too highly of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, although it would probably be great as a ballet (done previously by Dyagilev).