# If you could have 1 hour with any composer, dead and alive, who would you choose?



## Guy Bacos (May 1, 2010)

Example: 

*Alive*: I would love to have an hour with John Williams.

*Dead*: (If you could go back in time) I would love to talk to Bartok for 1 hour.


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## nikolas (May 1, 2010)

Dead: Messiaen
Alive: Jonny Greenwood (honestly. I just love the things he's being doing and either way an hour will go by with things like "I love what you've done with...", and I really want to talk about Radiohead and his time as a resident composer and so on...


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 1, 2010)

Does Vanessa Williams count as a composer?


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## Angel (May 1, 2010)

Alive: John Williams
Dead: Leonard Bernstein


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## Guy Bacos (May 1, 2010)

Nick Batzdorf @ Sat May 01 said:


> Does Vanessa Williams count as a composer?



I guess so :shock:


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## Guy Bacos (May 1, 2010)

nikolas @ Sat May 01 said:


> Dead: Messiaen
> Alive: Jonny Greenwood (honestly. I just love the things he's being doing and either way an hour will go by with things like "I love what you've done with...", and I really want to talk about Radiohead and his time as a resident composer and so on...



Nikolas, were you hoping to go fishing with J Greenwood? :wink:


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## dcoscina (May 1, 2010)

Dead: Sergei Prokofiev
Alive: John Adams


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## Guy Bacos (May 1, 2010)

Dead: Chopin
Alive: Michel Legrand


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## choc0thrax (May 1, 2010)

*Alive*: *John Williams* - He's getting pretty old and I think I could physically intimidate him into coughing up some secret melodies I could steal.

*Dead*: *Graeme Revell* - I'd wait a few years for Graeme to die. Most of my questions would center around what it's like to be in hell.


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## DeactivatedAcc (May 1, 2010)

*Alive:* TJ


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## lux (May 1, 2010)

choc0thrax @ Sat May 01 said:


> *Alive*: *John Williams* - He's getting pretty old and I think I could physically intimidate him into coughing up some secret melodies I could steal.
> 
> *Dead*: *Graeme Revell* - I'd wait a few years for Graeme to die. Most of my questions would center around what it's like to be in hell.



:lol:


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## SergeD (May 1, 2010)

Guy Bacos @ Sat May 01 said:


> Nick Batzdorf @ Sat May 01 said:
> 
> 
> > Does Vanessa Williams count as a composer?
> ...



Well ok then

*Alive:* (If I could go back in time) Brigitte Bardot :mrgreen: 

or Morricone and Ravel 

SergeD


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## midphase (May 1, 2010)

Awesome Choco....awesome!

Alive: Danny Elfman. He's not the best around, but I think he's a cool guy and I bet he'd have some great stories to tell. (and actually this one is quite doable).

Dead: Bernard Herrmann...just so that he'd tell me to go f^&k myself. I think it'd be a great honor!


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## jlb (May 1, 2010)

Vangelis and Tchaikovsky


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## dfhagai (May 1, 2010)

*Alive:* Taking the risk of being mocked a copycat - John Williams indeed.
*Dead:* Mozart/Faure.


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## dadek (May 1, 2010)

Dead: Messiaen
Alive: Kyle Gann


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## nadeama (May 1, 2010)

> Well ok then
> 
> *Alive:* (If I could go back in time) Brigitte Bardot :mrgreen:
> 
> ...



I haven't had one hour with Morricone, but I've had 10 minutes and that was enough. Woudn't want to do that again...

As for my personal choices:

Alive: John Williams

Dead: Ravel


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## Christian Marcussen (May 1, 2010)

John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith.


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## Narval (May 1, 2010)

Mozart - just to thank him.

Hans Zimmer - to ask for his hairdresser's phone number.



nice thread btw


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## alphonse (May 2, 2010)

chostakovitch o/~ 

Boulez =o


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## Leon Willett (May 2, 2010)

Alive: John Powell
Dead: Bernard Hermann


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## Stephen Rees (May 2, 2010)

Christian Marcussen @ Sun May 02 said:


> John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith.



Me too.


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## Nathan Allen Pinard (May 2, 2010)

Alive: Hans (because you'd end up hanging out with 8 other composers too)
Dead: Goldsmith


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## Guy Bacos (May 2, 2010)

Doesn't anybody want to talk to the most innovative composer of all time, the greatest composer ever: Beethoven? :shock:
Without Beethoven there would be no Goldsmith, Herrmann, Vanngelis, Williams etc.

The 16th ostinato bass effect, Beethoven was doing it 200 years before Zimmer. I would think Beethoven would have much greater tips than anyone else.


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## Narval (May 2, 2010)

I can imagine a few words van Beethoven would tell Hans. In German. :mrgreen:


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## jlb (May 2, 2010)

I think after watching what Beethoven could do in an hour I would want to give up! Like you say one of the greatest geniuses ever.

I wouldn't mind spending an hour with Brian Wilson, also a genius, some of his stuff is up there with anyone

jlb


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## zareone (May 2, 2010)

Alive: John Williams (if he's too busy, then John Powell)
Dead: Sergei Rachmaninov


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## JohnG (May 2, 2010)

Beethoven; but Berg and Bartok would be tough to pass up.

Corigliano? Williams?

Choco's choices get first prize.


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## nikolas (May 2, 2010)

jlb @ Sun May 02 said:


> I think after watching what Beethoven could do in an hour I would want to give up! Like you say one of the greatest geniuses ever.


If he was in his 40s or 50s, one hour wouldn't be enough to even chat: His problematic hearing would be in the way.

Plus I get a feeling that Beethoven was rather slow at work (can't recall where I read this, but his 9th symhony took a LOOONG time to finish (in terms of the classical music world, right?))


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## Guy Bacos (May 2, 2010)

My 2 fav composers are Chopin and Tchaikofsky. I wanted to choose Tchaik as Jib did, but I have a feeling Tchaikovsky in his later years would of just stood in a corner and said nothing for the entire hour.


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## madbulk (May 2, 2010)

Nick Batzdorf @ Sat May 01 said:


> Does Vanessa Williams count as a composer?



I was working on this joke as I scanned the page and found yours. Very disappointed.


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## madbulk (May 2, 2010)

If I make this deal, do I get happy friendly Beethoven who can hear what I'm asking?


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## snowleopard (May 2, 2010)

Alive - Either Vangelis or Steve Reich

Dead - Jerry Goldsmith


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 3, 2010)

Shame on you for having such a totally inappropriate mind, Brian.


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## germancomponist (May 3, 2010)

Beethoven & John Williams, of course.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (May 3, 2010)

alive: Sean Callery
dead: Bernard Herrmann


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## Guy Bacos (May 3, 2010)

Of course meeting Schumann might be interesting, always a possibility of flirting with Clara.

Here is a rare picture of Clara Schumann.


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## Narval (May 3, 2010)

I don't think you want to upset Bob Schumann ...


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## Guy Bacos (May 3, 2010)

I better not take any chances and bring my friend Wagner along.


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## PasiP (May 4, 2010)

*Alive:* Danny Elfman
*Dead:* Jerry Goldsmith

I would also like to have an hour with Brian Tyler so that he could give me a private lesson on how to bang those percussion instruments..hehe


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## sleepy hollow (Jul 26, 2015)

Time to bring this thread back to the front page.

*Dead: Frédéric Chopin*
I'd ask for a ten minute piano lesson. They say he was a very patient and kind teacher. Rest of the time we could have coffee somewhere in Paris, talking about the city or music maybe.
*
Alive: Max Richter*
Seems to be an open-minded person. Surely has some great insight to share. Maybe I'd play him some tracks of a Chopin album I'm working on; seems impossible to get useful feedback for those kind of projects.


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## mverta (Jul 27, 2015)

Myself 20 years ago. I'd tell him to relax; that it'll be okay.


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## Uncle Peter (Jul 27, 2015)

JS Bach


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## Living Fossil (Jul 27, 2015)

JS Bach and Franz Schubert


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## Michael K. Bain (Jul 27, 2015)

In Heaven: JS Bach
On Earth: Benny Andersson


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## Michael K. Bain (Jul 27, 2015)

Wait, I just re-read the thread title. You asked for any composer dead _and_ alive. But I don't want to meet Keith Richards!


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## DHousden (Jul 27, 2015)

Oooh got to be Williams, for me.


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## JonFairhurst (Jul 27, 2015)

Bach for me as well. And since I don't speak German, I would just bring him some coffee, and ask him to compose something while I silently watch and listen.


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## fiestared (Jul 27, 2015)

Paul McCartney, George Martin, 
Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel,


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## muk (Jul 27, 2015)

A glimpse over Schubert's shoulder while he was composing one of his string quartets, or the string quintet. Or Brahms writing his first symphony. But that would have been more like 14 years instead of one hour... Beethoven composing would have been quite the spectacle too, it would seem. Him pacing through the room, stomping and howling. He wouldn't be my first choice though since we have a large amount of sketches, giving some great insights into his writing process.


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## dsmo (Jul 27, 2015)

Dead: Mozart. I want to know if he really had those amazing abilities, such as hearing a new Mass at the Vatican, then going home and writing it down; or composing a new piece in his head, _while_ transcribing his last one.

Alive: Paul Simon, the greatest songwriter alive.


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## Living Fossil (Jul 27, 2015)

mdiemer said:


> Dead: Mozart. I want to know if he really had those amazing abilities, such as hearing a new Mass at the Vatican, then going home and writing it down



Actually, it was not a new mass, but a Miserere by the famous composer Gregorio Allegri:


(The score - at Mozart's time kept in secret - is available on IMSLP)


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## chillbot (Jul 27, 2015)

I get the point of the question (great question) but the logistics in my mind have to wonder, for example if I chose Mozart, A) the language barrier would be an issue and B) the music language might be an issue too. That is, Mozart might have more to learn from my elementary grasp of 21st century music theory than I might learn from his mastery of 18th century music. I would worry that he would end up asking me all the questions and I would learn nothing.

That said, it would be a toss up for me between maybe Gershwin and Joplin, I would just love to find out what made them tick.


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## sleepy hollow (Jul 27, 2015)

chillbot, stop worrying so much. That's not chill at all.


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## Pingu (Aug 5, 2015)

Dead - toss up between Stravinsky, the actual greatest genius ever (Beethoven - pah!), and Ligeti.

Alive - if we have to talk composition, then Jan Sandstrom. If not I'm going with Marc Andre Hamelin, who can give me an hour's piano lesson.


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## Vin (Aug 5, 2015)

Can I choose 2 for each category?  

Dead - Mozart & Ravel

Alive - Williams & McCartney


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## Tanuj Tiku (Aug 5, 2015)

Wow! This is a little tough to answer but after some thinking...

*Dead - Ravel and Prokofiev* - Some of the most weird, beautiful, imaginative, quirky, magnificent and towering work from both of them. Of course, the only way I could be around them is to be a house keeper or something. And, I don't even want to ask anything. What could be worse than opening my mouth? I would just be ecstatic to observe....a little more than an hour though. I very much would want to see them with the musicians, working it out!

*Alive - John Williams and Hans Zimmer.* Odd combination some might think. But this group is different because they are primarily film composers. I would absolutely love to be there to witness the process. It is probably going to be polar opposite between them but that is the point. 

Actually, alive is a lot more fun and what the hell...I want to meet all these guys! 

My list:

John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, James Newton Howard, John Powell, Alan Silvestri, Thomas Newman, Alexandre Desplat and Elliot Goldenthal.


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## Zhao Shen (Aug 5, 2015)

*Alive: *Thomas Bergersen
*Dead: *Elmer Bernstein


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## Jacob Cadmus (Aug 5, 2015)

Alive - James Newton Howard
Dead - Gustav Holst


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## cc64 (Aug 5, 2015)

Michael K. Bain said:


> Wait, I just re-read the thread title. You asked for any composer dead _and_ alive. But I don't want to meet Keith Richards!


Ha i was going to say Rob Zombie but you beat me to it ;P

Claude


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## AR (Aug 5, 2015)

Alive: 1h jam session with Hans Zimmer. Simply just shredding the guitars together.

Dead: John Barry. (But that list could go on...Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner,...let's say everyone who starts with a "J" J.S.Bach, Johannes Brahms,...)


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## Rasmus Hartvig (Aug 6, 2015)

Wow - this thread is making me feel totaly generic. Got the same ones as everyone else 
Alive: John Adams, John Williams
Dead: Maurice Ravel, Stravinsky

*Edit - *One not mentioned yet: Howard Hanson. Such a clear precursor for Williams.


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## dgburns (Aug 6, 2015)

mverta said:


> Myself 20 years ago. I'd tell him to relax; that it'll be okay.



Myself,also twenty years ago,but I'd tell him to "fugget about it,they weren't the droids he was looking for".

...and still thinking alot about Vivaldi these days

wow,just realized this is my 900th post.didn't think I had all that much to say.


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## vinny (Aug 6, 2015)

Wonder why nobody hasn't mentioned Zappa.
"Manx needs women" is a great example of modern/Contemporary Classical


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## dsmo (Aug 6, 2015)

chillbot said:


> I get the point of the question (great question) but the logistics in my mind have to wonder, for example if I chose Mozart, A) the language barrier would be an issue and B) the music language might be an issue too. That is, Mozart might have more to learn from my elementary grasp of 21st century music theory than I might learn from his mastery of 18th century music. I would worry that he would end up asking me all the questions and I would learn nothing.
> 
> That said, it would be a toss up for me between maybe Gershwin and Joplin, I would just love to find out what made them tick.


Mozart wouldn't need to ask you any questions. Just play him some Debussy, Stravinsky and Schoenberg, and he would know everything there is to know about modern theory. Instantly.


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## David Donaldson (Aug 6, 2015)

Delia Derbyshire or Captain Beefheart if she wasn't available.


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## chimuelo (Aug 6, 2015)

Wagner and Wagner so I can have 2 hours.


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## tokatila (Aug 6, 2015)

Beethoven and TJ's Cubase template.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Aug 7, 2015)

Anyone who would agree to give me valuable lessons for a while, dead or alive!


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## SymphonicSamples (Aug 7, 2015)

Dead: I'm greedy . I want a big German party , Beethoven , Wagner , Mozart .

Alive : I don't want the present . I want to jump into the future 30-40 years from now !! The young 3 year old child who is destined to be the next great composer in 30 years time who innovates and changes music .


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## Soundhound (Aug 7, 2015)

Dead: Lennon
Alive: McCartney

Agenda: 30 mins about music, 30 about the other guy.


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## creativeforge (Aug 18, 2015)

*Asleep: 

Bach* - If I could understand German that is, or he could speak English of French. I'd loved to hear his thoughts on composing for liturgy, and about *Soli Deo Gloria*.

Or *King David *- listening to him describe his musical evolution, the writing of Psalms and the creation of new instruments and their use in worship.

=-=-=-=

*Alive: 

Vangelis* - Nemo Studio tour, hardware connections with central keyboard, and composing via improvisation rather than scripting. Coffee and croissants... 

Or *Hans Zimmer* - I'm always fascinated to hear him describe the creative process he goes through for certain movies, how he would ascribe character-to-sound, and the various team members he rallies for specific projects.


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## tiago (Aug 18, 2015)

Dead: Bernard Herrmann or Stravinsky
Alive: Hans Zimmer or Trent Reznor


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## gbar (Aug 18, 2015)

Who do you think would give me money for no good reason at all?


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## muk (Aug 18, 2015)

gbar said:


> Who do you think would give me money for no good reason at all?


That would definitely be Mozart. Lucky you.


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## SymphonicSamples (Aug 18, 2015)

SymphonicSamples said:


> Dead: I'm greedy . I want a big German party , Beethoven , Wagner , Mozart .
> 
> Alive : I don't want the present . I want to jump into the future 30-40 years from now !! The young 3 year old child who is destined to be the next great composer in 30 years time who innovates and changes music .



Ok , for a different approach from my first reply . 

Dead - Leonard Bernstein

Alive - Sir Simon Rattle

Between theses two truly incredible musical minds I'd be able to look deep into all the great composers past and present , and even better still , they both have a natural gift for teaching


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## Felipe Opazo (Aug 19, 2015)

Alive: John Williams 
Dead: Richard Strauss


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