Best Composer Ever
Best Composer Ever
#0Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:20pmWho do u think is the best broadway composer of all time?
#1re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:21pmBeethoven
--Aristotle
#3re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:22pmI beleive its a tie between Larson and Sondeheim.
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#5re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:25pm
Oh, come on. Larson doesn't have a large enough body of work to qualify. He might have developed into one of the greats, but you can't compare him with Sondheim as is.
I'l like to submit Kander and Rodgers for consideration.
Updated On: 2/11/05 at 05:25 PM
#6re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:26pm
Sondheim
Bernstein
Kander
#7re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:26pmI think a Larson/Sondheim comparison is VERY fair. Jon never got to compose as much as Sondheim, but it's very clear that Jon had just as much talent. So I agree its a toss-up between those two.
#8re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:28pm
I wouldn't say Larson because although I adore his work, he was only able to really do 2 shows, so I wouldn't say that those two works qualify him to be the BEST composer ever - but I do adore his things.
I don't have one best composer EVER, that's a tough question. Although certainly I enjoy Sondheim's body of work the most, "best" also pertains so many others.
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Sondheim
Leonard Bernstein
Jule Styne, etc.
Jerry Herman
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Irving Berlin
Cole Porter
and on and on...
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#9re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:28pmYou can't give Larson credit for shows he never wrote, so no, the comparison is not valid. What ifs are nice for speculative purposes, but if you're talking about best Broadway composers ever, I think the candidates need to write more than one show that's been on Broadway.
#11re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:38pmno1 has mentioned Cy Coleman!? GAH!
#12re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:38pmBut you have to consider with Larson what he might have done for musical theater. HE had potential to the next sondeheim. And he wrote 3 shows. And one of his shows ahs been on broadway for what 9 years. thats not bad for 2 shows.
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#13re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:39pm
Potential doesn't equal achievement. You can say "what if" about any composer. It doesn't make them actually do it.
How the heck can you compare "show never written" and "show he could have written" to Chicago and Cabaret, for instance? You can't. He didn't write them. It's unfortunate, and probably a loss for Broadway, but it still didn't happen, and saying it could have doesn't make for valid comaprisons.
Updated On: 2/11/05 at 05:39 PM
#14re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:40pmhas any other compsoer had a following like Larson?
Albin
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#16re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:41pm
Stephen Sondheim-forever
Richard Rodgers-old
Leonard Bernstein-old
Stephen Flaherty-new
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#17re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:42pm
I'm pretty sure Sondheim has his own newsletter. I know he has groupies, since I'm one of them. And since when does having a big following make you the best Broadway composer ever?
Sondheim.com
Updated On: 2/11/05 at 05:42 PM
#18re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:43pm
But you have to consider with Larson what he might have done for musical theater.
No, I don't believe you have to consider it at all. As Plum said, you can give someone credit for work they never did. For all we know, if Larson had lived, all his subsequent musicals could have been awful bombs. You can't really call someone the "best composer ever" based on only one complete work.
That said, I'm going to see tick, tick...BOOM! tonight and I'm very excited. 
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#19re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:44pm
Oh, and I made a mistake. Sondheim actually has a quarterly magazine devoted to his work, called the Sondheim Review.
The Sondheim Review
#20re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:51pm
MOZART!!!
Sondheim
Schwartz
#21re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:51pm
this just occured to me
What about Menken?
#22re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 5:52pmSchwartz not so much Dickon
lvpblues
Broadway Star Joined: 2/18/04
#23re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 6:05pm
Richard Rodgers
Leonard Bernstein
Stephen Sondheim
Kurt Weill
#24re: Best Composer Ever
Posted: 2/11/05 at 6:39pm
The little work that Jonathan Larson was able to do is so monumental that it could and should hold up to anyone.
Just because someone does more of something dosen't make them better. it's the quality of the work!
and for that my vote without any hesitation goes to...
Jonathan Larson!!!!!!!!!
Updated On: 2/11/05 at 06:39 PM
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