Michael De Sapio
It is Beethoven—not Bach or Mozart—who is the most universally popular composer in the classical canon. Why is this? Some authors have posited his democratic social beliefs or his personal story of victory over deafness. These are all certainly factors, but I prefer to look first at the aesthetic qualities of the music itself.
Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven: These three composers are commonly judged the greatest in Western classical music. Few people would argue with this judgment, least of all me. Growing up, as I took violin lessons and got to know the classical repertoire, this trinity of composers became my favorites, and they still seem to me the best baseline for exploring the classical canon. An interest in any one of the Big Three can branch out into many directions. In my own case, a love for Bach led to a focus on the Baroque, and I discovered many new favorites, including the great violinist-composer Biber. Stretching my ears (thanks to my violin teacher), I also became interested in certain 20th-century styles, especially the Stravinsky school.
I admit I’ve never been as enthusiastic about the next tier—Handel, Haydn, Schubert, and Brahms—as I have been about the Great Three. Perhaps they always struck me as lesser satellites: Handel more earthbound than Bach, Haydn lacking the depth of Mozart’s genius, Schubert a somewhat schmaltzier Beethoven. This is a totally subjective reaction, perhaps an eccentric one, and I don’t begrudge anyone who loves those composers. It’s simply that Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven have been my mainstay.
The mainstream concert repertoire essentially begins with Bach, although the Early Music Movement of recent years has revealed the glories of pre-Bach music—the sacred polyphony of Tallis and Palestrina, Monteverdi’s operas and madrigals, medieval chant and organum, not to mention the Baroque masters who preceded Bach, » Read More
https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2025/04/beethoven-250-popular-michael-de-sapio.html