Top 10 composers ever - number 6

[JScivlancer]

what do you have against the French???

[stewartvcm]

I also must apologise for my appalling punctuation in that lst post. At least the French do care about the grammer in their language.

[stewartvcm]

Is it irony here about the French or genuine disdain? I have a healthy dislike as an Englishman based on our history of mutual loathing but is it hypocritical to admit I couldn't live without some of those smelly cheeses. And a world without brioche?

I agree with the position of respect for Debussy and in the same league for me would have to be Faure, such elegant and controlled music yet hiding genuine emotion and feeling.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@stewartvcm I found the Parisians very snotty, but the ones I met in the countryside were ok.

[counterpoint35]

Sir, I both agree and disagree w/ your choices, but I do find you to be very skilled at supporting your opinions.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@counterpoint35 I don't expect everyone to agree with my opinions. My aim is to stimulate interest and discussion and hopefully entertain at the same time. I have no time for those pathetic idiots who take offense at my choices and make ugly personal remarks. Thankfully you are not one of them.

[ugottheblues]

prelude a'lapres midi d'un faune is just amazing. same with the nocturnes and his rhapsody for clarinet. i love the clarinet as an instrument. whether i hear it in a mozart serenade or from artie shaw its always one of the best instruments in my opinion. oh and btw golliwog's cakewalk wasnt composed the year before he died. it was part of childrens corner. i love this list though!great idea and great choices

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@ugottheblues I'm glad you liker the videos

[colafass]

best part "I dont give a DAMN"

Haha nice one.

[PaulThePuppetier]

Thank you sincerely for introducing me to Debussy

I am now a fan =)

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@PaulThePuppetier That's great to know. Thanks.

[mingtaonam8]

Totally ENJOYABLE SERIES!!!!

[paligap2012]

Hey grumpy old man, I like your videos and you are very funny. But above all, I have to say that your stuff is very valuable for non experts in classical music as I am. Sometimes classical music seems to be impossible to approach, appreciate and enjoy. It is very useful the information and the examples you bring to your videos. Could you tell me in your (not humble) opinion, who are the performers or orchestras that expressed Debussy´s music in the finest way. Thank you!

[MusicIsMyLife6991]

"La mer" - The sea.

I love learning languages. Even though i have not have started really :P

[AlfaLight]

Golliwogg's Cakewake reminds me of Schubert's Moment Musical no. 3.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Really? I'll have to listen

[Zamoth67]

I really like your videos, your top 10, but you're only talking about "clichés" on Frenchmen... It's pity. Ok you don't like frenchman but please respect us !!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Don't take me too seriously. The French have contributed a lot to western culture.

[mortson978]

well, the french do have better food than the english.

[LaNcEdApAnTz]

@mortson978 lol not trueee

german food trumps both :)

[AntipaladinPedigri]

He's the fourth guy in this ranking that either died or was born in March... weird.

[thisshirtisblacknot]

Agree with you on this one :)

[ulsbolde89]

I thought it was gonna be Georges Bizet, but I fully agree with Claude Debussy. He's one of my favorite composers, for he has composed music from which one can form pictures and expressions. Beautiful music!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Beautiful and original.

[LazlosPlane]

Why do so many homosexuals and women ADORE Debussy yet have little use for the far more muscular music of Chopin?

You would think it would be the other way round.

Curious.

[DarKool81]

Every man of genius is French whatever his nationality.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Yes of course. Have you seen a doctor about these strange delusions?

[DarKool81]

I was quoting Napoleon, an Italian.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

You had me worried there for a minute

[progressivas]

you are funny in your own way... i think you also have a talent in being snotty or pretending to be... and that's why i watch some of your videos... most of the thing you say i dissagree

[Lavalampoflava]

I LOVE DEBUSSY!

[henripche]

The French are the last people to have invaded England. They completed what the Romans began: the civilising of the essentially barbaric and uncultured British. Mind you the British have never bestowed the world with a very worthy composer, nor have they written much poetry besides the enless blank verse of Shakespeare and Milton, and that composed by few geniuses around 1800 (and I DON'T mean those tiresome Lake Poets). Scientifically too, they have given us little besides Newton and Darwin.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Poor Henri. I know how it must hurt you to languish in the giant cultural shadow of the British, but you need to come to terms with it. (And you really should do something about that garlic breath).

[henripche]

Corneille, Molière, Racine, Descartes, Rousseau, Voltaire, Rameau, Charpentier, Lully, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Debussy, Lavoisier, Lamarck, Cauchy, Legendre, Lagrange, Galois, Lebesgue, Poincaré, Chateaubriand, Hugo, Dumas, Baudelaire, Stendhal, Rimbaud, Balzac, Proust, Camus, etc etc. I'm not French by the way, I just admire their culture.

I greatly enjoyed your series nonetheless. Great first choice (I worship Mozart)!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Thanks. You obviously have redeeming qualities. I have tried reading Remembrance of Things Past but couldn't get into it without nodding off after a few pages.

[joeheadjoe1]

@henripche I think codifying the 'Scientific Method' might be another worthy contender for English contributions to science (Francis Bacon)

[saintconnnor]

id take snotty and protentious if i had half the talent debussy had

[egern22]

hey - where is the top 5??????

[paralelbarker]

nothing wrong with being snotty and pretentious!

[goodcommentguy]

= O you can't abide snotty people!?!?!? Me too!!!! But I'm Asian. Ah well I don't like snotty people either!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

It doesn't matter if you are Asian. Asians generally tend to be quite polite and friendly I have found

[3monkeysmomma]

Another enlightening lecture as always. I haven't been commenting much until recently but I have been watching, sometimes with my little 4 year old aspiring pianist, sometimes with my husband, the other old grumpy guy in my life. He say you're "a hoot" by the way.

(Since you are obviously not from Georgia, please let me assure you that's a compliment.)

God bless.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

God bless you too. "A "hoot" is the same in Britain.

[Ch3mic41]

Thanks for posting this sir, it's quite educational for those that have never listened to classical. Most of all, those that are only watching Debussy because of Twilight.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I think it's great that Twilight is opening up younger people to the music of the great classical composers

[Ch3mic41]

I do agree. The only problem I have is that they don't really care for it, but rather, they listen for a few days to it, because of Edward Cullen saying he really loved it.

I wish that people would turn to it because it personally speaks to them. =/

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Maybe, but I am sure there will be those who begin to love it independently from Twilight.

[gandersbill]

great video

[vacillateallday]

OGG - Very pleased that your standards are high - very good video, most enjoyable...Debussy had a cat - often referred to as Debussy's Pooosey! (spelling distorted to emphasize pronunciation)- this is a little known fact?

[OldGrumpyGuy]

As he is French, I wouldn't worry about it!

[Silver65Daddie]

What wit and charm with this new vid. And the humour is outstanding!! Your wife must be a saint to be with you and all your doings. How about introducing us to her on screen? I'm sure she knows a good man when she sees him.

And sounds like she's influential in your choices as well. And she's right about the pronounciation of Day-bu-SEA!! Loved it,OGG!!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I'm afraid I had to have my wife put down. She was interfering with my work too much. It was either that or a lobotomy and I couldn't bring myself to be so cruel.

[manyleaves]

Great work, Grumpy. Hope your family appreciates your wit and conviction. You are a joy to watch on YT.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Thanks, manyleaves. Yes, my family are very supportive (in spite of what I might say about my wife!)

[manyleaves]

I just showed this video to my 11 year old daughter who is in 6th grade band and choir. She plays the clarinet and piano and is receiving lessons for both after school. My daughter loved your sense of humor. Not surprising; I feel she's a 40 year old soul in an 11 year old body. You definitely got her attention. I plan to show her the rest of your music videos. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

That's great to hear. Merry Christmas to you too (and my other friends and subscribers).

[aggiemarsha]

I love the French! But I love OGG too!

[qwertytheeighth]

brilliant

[Coixxman]

what about Maurice Ravel?

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Ravel is mentioned in my vid on George Gershwin. The depth and range of his output, plus other factors, rule him out of the top ten.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

do you mean snotty in the way infants often are? Not me!!!

[buster81365]

grumpyoldguy at 5 that must have been in the year 1901 i bet he was snotty as heck at that age.

thanks for the laughs and the great music

[OldGrumpyGuy]

huh? Who was snotty at 5?

[OldGrumpyGuy]

and I am not THAT old!

[buster81365]

oldgrumpyguy

i know you are not that old but yes you like all children would have had a snotty nose then

it was a poor attempt at humor. i do not have the same gift of comedy that you do

[OldGrumpyGuy]

it's just that I'm a bit slow first thing in the morning

[buster81365]

i am a bit slow most of the time. surviving 2 massive strokes tends to slow a person down considerably

[OldGrumpyGuy]

hope you're okay now

[buster81365]

i am as ok as i can be grumpy i survive day by day i lost the use of my left arm and have only limited movement of my left leg. as long as i wake up in the morning i have a great day.

a person learns to love the simple things when you realize how close you are to losing everything at any given moment.

wishing you a happy christmas and a wonderful new year as you brits say.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Too many people today have lost sight of the things that are most important. Anyway, you should have a good Christmas with more composer vids to come and the start of an exciting new series soon (at least i think it's exciting!)

[buster81365]

old grumpyguy if you think your new series is exciting that is good enough reason to watch for me, you have my full attention and support.

yes way to many people have lost sight and appreciation of the simple important things in life

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Thanks Buster. It's a series called "Painting with Light and Music". You are the first to know!

[buster81365]

thank you grumpy i know i will enjoy the series. it will be a wonderful way to start the new year

[Raycheetah]

An excellent choice!

By the way, I think the French never forgave England for seducing away their viking-descended residents (by way of the so-called "Norman invasion"). It can't be helped if England held more appeal for the lords of Normandy than did France.

=^[.]~=

[OldGrumpyGuy]

maybe they didn't like snails and garlic and smelly cheese