The envelope please! I’ve run the numbers, and come up with the top 10 composers of all time.
As a reminder, I restricted the pool of eligible composers to those active roughly between 1650 – 1950, and set up four criteria for judging. The criteria, in brief, were 1) inherent quality of works; 2) scope of influence; 3) whether they wrote some widely recognized timeless classics; and 4) diversity of composing activity (diverse genres, forms, instruments). I rated the composers according to these criteria on a scale from 1 to 5.
And the winners (in alphabetical order) are:
Bach
Beethoven
Brahms
Debussy
Handel
Haydn
Mendelssohn
Mozart
Schubert
Tchaikovsky
Although I said I wouldn’t rank them, I feel compelled to reveal that Beethoven is at the top of the list, Mozart second and Bach third.
A word about the scoring. A perfect score would have been 20. I gave Beethoven fives in quality, influence and individual classics, but four in diversity of works (he only wrote one opera)—thus, he missed the perfect score by one point; Mozart had fives in quality and diversity, but only fours in influence and classics (he certainly played a major role in “what’s next” in music, but wasn’t as influential as Beethoven on the 19th Century; beyond “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” his individual works are not as well known in the popular mind as Beethoven’s.)
I was a little surprised that Tchaikovsky made the list; he did particularly well in quality and number of recognized classics; he scored low on influence (he was rather a dead end), but his high scores in other areas were enough to put him among the top 10.
In the immediate next tier (just one point below the cutoff for the top 10) were Dvorak, Schumann and Wagner. Sorry Vivaldi fans!
Hunter's Window 
I’ve got to admit, you make a compelling case. I’m also surprised to see Tchaikovsky coming in so high, but there seems to be a tide of (past?) popularity that carries along some composers.
Now how about the next ten? If you have a quantitative approach to stated criteria, you could get an equally nuanced grouping of 11 through 20. More surprises?
I could easily do the “second 10.” I have all the info I need to determine that list. I was searching for my next blog entry–now I have it. Thanks! -jh
I am not surprised that Beethoven was first on your list and almost a perfect score. Even someone like me who barely knows what I am listening to can feel the power of his music. It was a sad loss when distant record covers were no longer available to help me know what I was listening to…ah Music I… Years ago we walked along the fields and paths and by the grape vines where Beethoven also walked. I remember feeling his music in the air, the earth and the vibrancy of the growing plants. Experiencing even a little bit of where he lived helped me relate to the beauty and richness of his music. It was probably good he didn’t do another opera. It is never good to be perfect.
I didn’t know you liked Beethoven so much. Now that I know that, I will come up with some concerts we could go to. Maybe Fidelio–that lone opera. It’s about a strong woman who fights oppression. -jh