I know I'm going to get beaten behind some dark, ominous alley for saying this, but I think Randy Edelman is overrated. Everytime I think about Dragonheart...

- A.

To the real topic, I don't think any film composers are overrated. Sure, there are plenty whose music I don't like, but I don't think its possible to say there's an overrated film composer because they have to compose for films. They can always compose when they want to, but chances are the only music that will be heard by human ears is that which they composed for films, and in this case they have to take what they are given. Thus I feel it is impossible to experience the full realm of any film composer's capabilities. Just listen to Eric Serra.

Now for classical/concert composers, that's entirely different. I think Beethoven is highly overrated. Granted, he was extremely talented, especially considering he was deaf, but I don't think he's near the same level as Saint-Saens, Stravinsky, Holst, or Mussorgsky (to name a few).

Ted,

Dragonheart is a good score. I mean it's not a classic, but the theme is classic and it catches people's ears.

James,

Beethoven overrated?? I don't think so! Well, first off you compare him to late 19th and 20th century composers. Beethoven was in a totally different time and period. Beethoven was a pioneer and an amazing composer. I could list tons of great composititions by Beethoven. I know it is an opinion, but back it up with a legitimate answer!

Aaron

That was probably one of the most poor paragraphs I have ever written in my life.

Beethoven IS an excellent composer, and pioneer, and if not for him we probably wouldn't even be talking about the film scores we talk about today. And I also don't mean to imply that he IS overrated, even though that is definitely the implication of what I wrote. If I had only read what I wrote before I posted it, I probably wouldn't be here trying to explain myself.

In the realm of the piano, I think Beethoven is undisputed. No one else has ever been able to, or I suspect will ever be able to compare with what he did with the piano. It is his symphonies which I'm not a big fan off, and I wish I could back myself up with a legitimate answer, but I can't. Maybe I have to hear more of it; maybe I have to listen more closely; I don't know, but it just doesn't strike me the way his piano pieces do, or the way other composers (Bach or Mozart for composers closer to his time) do.

Reading back on what I have just written, it sounds incredibly short-sighted, ignorant, and malicious, but I can't explain myself even to my own satisfaction. If it wasn't so late after my original posting, I would go back and edit it because it is morosely horrendous.

In closing, here's an excerpt from a conversation one night between Marcel Proust and Igor Stravinsky:

quote:

---

Proust: "Doubtless you admire Beethoven?"

Stravinsky: "I detest him."

Proust: "But surely those late sonatas and quartets-?"

Stravinsky: "Worse than the others!"

---

I read that Stravinsky changed that opinion later on, and perhaps I will, too.

James

Hey, we all make stupid statements. I am not a big fan of Beethoven's symphonies, myself(That's probably because I am a horn player and he wrote horns crappy parts). Although, I do respect for what he has done for music.

I did not know Stravinsky said that about Beethoven.

What's your favorite classical piece? Who's your favorite Classical composer?

Aaron

Yes, of course that was a joke!

That was a long time ago.

go back to that planet you came from. Herrmann overrated. Tz,tz, these extraterrestrials.

Scott

Thor, I will agree with you that Bernard Herrmann has created some scores that, shall we say, do not live up to his reputation...but other than a few wronge steps, all his scores are fricking MASTERPIECES!
And letīs just face it:
No other filmcomposer has had more influence on filmmusic, than Bernard Herrmann. Plain and simple.

SFT

Bah, you lot are like a pack of wolves. I don't likes an argument. Some probably know who I have on my mind anyways.

I adore Edelman's Dragonheart. And the fact that I do so despite the annoying use of synths as replacements for orchestral instruments (I hate it if somebody does this) is what makes the score so good.

As for Herrmann, I have to agree that his scores tend to get sort of boring on CD, mostly repeating the same motifs over and over. But I don't think he's overrated, because in the movie, his scores are masterpieces. Example: North by Northwest is one hell of a great score in the film, but I barely listen to the CD (although it's one of his more listenable scores aside from the movie).

Aaron, you should've heard the performance of Beethoven's 3rd symphony I heard in a concert some years ago (along with Herrman's "Psycho", which I hated at the time - can't believe it myself), and the horn players got that difficult horn part so entirely wrong, you must have heard it to believe it!

As for classical composers, I'd have to say Mozart. That's because of personal tastes, though, I simply don't like his works very much (except for his Requiem and operas, which are great).