In all things, comparisons are inevitable. So is the dichotomy of opinion. For example, many consider Mozart to be the greatest composer who ever lived. They are wrong, of course, but my point is that it is inherently impossible to crown a “best” because everyone’s definition of “best” will be different. So let’s try to figure out who’s the best, okay?
Composer Cagematch! will pit two composers against each other in a battle for the reader vote. Sometimes it’ll be a fresh pair of composers who are, in some way, comparable. Sometimes it’ll be a winner against a strong new contender, sometimes winner against winner. When we start to run low on sets or I get bored or you get bored we may have an Ultimate Showdown to determine the overall victor, but I don’t see that happening any time soon so let’s get started, shall we?
It’s a battle royale in mother Russia! In this corner, that philandering alleged inducer of riots,
IGOOOOOOOOR STRAVINNNSKYYYYYYYY!
And in this corner, hailing to Stalin but not really meaning it,
SERRRGEEEEEEEI PROKOFIEVVVVVV!
On the one hand, Rite of Spring. On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet. Then again, the violin concerto. But looking at it another way, the piano concertos.
That’s it. That’s all you get. MAKE. YOUR. CHOICE.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Votes must be in the form of blog comments to be counted. Feel free to tweet about your opinions, but if we have votes coming in via two forums it’s going to be too difficult to keep track.
UPDATE: Okay, a lot of people seem to be having trouble with the above rule, so I’ve created a nifty poll for you to use instead. For this match, comment votes will also be counted, but for those of you who fear to comment, maybe a radio button will make you feel more comfortable. Enjoy.
If it ain't Baroque... 
Prokofiev gets my vote because he has more pieces on my ipod than Stravinsky.
Posted by Terry | January 12, 2011, 10:46 amLove the idea of a cage match- I think I’d like to see Debussy battle Ravel next.
Posted by TerpsMusic | January 12, 2011, 1:25 pmAh, excellent; that would be a logical matchup. No opinions on the Russkies, though, you Francophile you?
Posted by Jenn | January 12, 2011, 1:30 pmHELLO, Rite of Spring! Stravinsky it is! 🙂
Posted by VogueShoeGal | January 12, 2011, 4:30 pmIgor!
Posted by Sneaky | January 13, 2011, 12:04 amI already voted on the radio buttons, but I voted for Stravinsky on the merits of Rite of Spring as well as his works for woodwinds.
Posted by Michael | January 23, 2011, 5:22 pmI love Stravinsky, I reallyreally do. But my senior thesis was on the philosophy of film scoring of the Sergeis Prokofiev and Eisenstein and just can’t turn my back on my old friend.
Besides, where progeny are concerned, Gabriel Prokofiev is blowin’ my mind.
Posted by Eric | January 31, 2011, 11:05 pmCan you recommend some Gabriel Prokofiev?
Posted by Jenn | February 8, 2011, 5:33 pmHe started Nonclassical Records (distributed in the US by Naxos).
My introduction to G.P. was his concerto for turntables and orchestra, which I reviewed back in 2009. He also has a pair of string quartets recorded by the Elysian Quartet and a book of piano pieces he wrote for GéNIA, all of which are available from Nonclassical. I’m not sure if you hear the pieces in their entirety anywhere anymore, but you can at least sample them on the Nonclassical website.
Posted by Eric | February 8, 2011, 7:43 pmStravinsky is the Miles Davis of “classical” music. Prokofiev is great, but Stravinsky is an icon. No contest: Stravinsky wins.
Peace out,
Dr. Carney
Posted by Dr. Carney | February 1, 2011, 10:01 am