The great composers, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, etc., had contemporaries (Ries, Mayr, Onslow, Dittersdorf, Pleyel, etc.) that were as technically skilled and knowledgeable as the masters, yet produced no lasting “hit” that the average classical music fan can easily hum today. Why is that?

Question

Almost everyone has heard Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D Minor somewhere or another, whether in a video game, cartoon, horror movie, or elsewhere. Is the gift of writing hits really that elusive or did some composers just prefer not being in the spotlight?

In: Other

Answer 1

The less popular composers didn’t bend or break the rules as much, if at all, so we find their music less interesting. It is predictable and doesn’t surprise us, so is less memorable