Who is the Greatest Musical Genius in History?

Thank you for your response. It's true I have not familar with the work of R.D. Burman, but recently we in England have had the opportunity of seeing Bollywood films, which have been shown at peak viewing time. I have watched several of these, and have found the music to be of considerable melodic and rythmic beauty. It is relatively unfamilar to me, but I find myself enjoying it immensely. I read about R.D. Burman on the superb Wikipedia site and was interested to discover that he was married to the legendary singer Asha Bhosle. As I say...relatively new to me...but I want to know more, and hear more. Thanks again. Warmest wishes. Carl

The Grteatest Musician 4 me ought to be the one 4 whom music was not bounden.A craftsmen of highest order who can be as at home with native music as he can be with world music. Experimentation must be his forte. Other criterion also include that he must have innoveted or must be a pioneer in his field. Well I'm not a very ardent fan of european classical formate (though I still find Mozart A Genius )but as far the recent masters are concerned two names automatically sprung to my mind and boy are they Genius? And they are Mark Knopfler and late R.D. Burman of Indian music fame. Both have prodigious talent coupled with unbeliveble sense of music. Both are relentless in their persuit of dulcet sound and eqully forthcoming as 4 as the experintation is concerned

Thank you Satya, you state your case well and convincingly. With regard to Knopfler, no one could deny that he is a very fine guitarist and songwriter; was it his work with Dire Straits that impresses you most?

I have not heard his music for a long time either, have to make a search and find some - Sibelius himself said his music was like clean water.. I think it describes the nature in the north. Thanks for BR!!

Good to see you Buenavida, long time no chat. I like Beethoven and Mozart of course, but Sibelius is out of this world...I loved him as a very young man, and listened to "Finlandia", "En Saga" "The Swan of Tuonela" &c. I'm revisiting them today via youtube. Thanks for reminding me to. Yes, I'd like to hear those songs...

For me, the early Beatles period was Lennon-dominated; I love it, it was naive, romantic, ebullient, while the later Beatles period from Eleanor Rigby onwards was when Macca really got into his stride. I prefer the early period by far, but Macca wrote some incredible songs, such as "Penny Lane", "Fool on the Hill", "Hey Jude". Lennon however, was evidently uncomfortable with the production excesses of the later era. Bacharach/David, again, songwriting geniuses; have you ever heard the soundtrack to the ill-fated '73 verions of "Lost Horizon"? Poor Burt and Hal had one of the few failures of their career with it, and yet even at that, some marvellous songs came about, such as "The World is a Circle". Leiber and Stoller were not really as much to my taste; and yet they gave Elvis some of his most celebrated songs. Good fun, but not in the same league as the aforementioned in my view. "Ruby Ruby" was one of theirs am I right? Donald Fagen did a great version of it; but he changed the chords a bit. It worked though. Thanks for an interesting contribution. Carl

Thanks sf5, many would agree with you. The diversity between Mozart's childlike almost maniacal personality and his profound musical genius, which has touched so many, including the most celebrally intellectual of people, is one of the most remarkable phenomena in the history of human art, is it not? Thanks again for your response.

Well this I will agree with you about her: She is one of the most charismatic stage performers of our times, and really knows how to put on a show in the purest and most traditional sense of the word, and there is no arguing with her incredible success. Furthermore, many of her songs have been exceptionally well-written and infectious, and her videos consistently superior: that said, I don't like all her videos, nor all her songs. I appreciate their merit. But I am selective as to which ones I like.

Yes, I'd say Prince is a genius, and if not quite, then very close. He writes all his own material; not all of it good, but much of it is superb musically (some of the lyrics don't conform to my tastes). And he's a multi-instrumentalist. Michael Jackson wrote most of "Bad" on his own, and there were some very fine songs on it, including "Liberian Girl" and "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", which is pretty impressive to me. He collaborated a lot, but when he wrote purely on his own, he could occasionally produce something extraordinary, such as "My Childhood" which is just stunning. Many of the best songs from "History" were solo compositions. Chopin...oh I didn't know he made music out of a strolling cat...!

...yet my all time favorite song is "Coyote" by Joni Mitchell, not that I'm all that partial to anything else I've heard her do.. Was Beethoven the one who was deaf? Now thAt's gotta be something!

I like the Clapton of the Cream era; very much. Dylan wrote some great words; he was Rock's first true poet and intellectual, I feel. "Coyote" is awesome; I love the opening riff; it sends chills down my spine. It's from "Hejira", which has some great songs. I love many of Joni's albums. But I agree "Coyote" is amazing. There is a version she did live with the young Pat Metheny on guitar, Lyle Mays on keyboards and Jaco Pastorius on bass; I think it was from the "Shadows and Light" tour; it's just ace. Even in such illustrious company she dominates the stage. The front line of Mitchell, Metheny and Pastorius (poor Jaco) is almost a masterclass in charisma!

Hi, thanks for responding. Yes, I love all those composers; you should listen to Vaughan Williams; I feel sure you'll like his music. Probably his best known piece is called "The Lark Ascending": it's just wonderful...take a listen to it on You Tube or Spotify, or whatever. I think you'll like it.