Is it possible to say who was a true revolutionary musician of his day?

Question

I have read in some past questions that Mozart or Beethoven or Stravinsky were revolutionary (or even "avant garde") composers in the time they lived. Is it possible to say who of the enormous list of composers since the medieval times to the present day were truly revolutionary musicians and who of them were just followers of a preexistent musical trend?

I am not expert in these themes although I have listened enough music to get the whole picture (or I think so) of the history of classical music.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

? · Accepted Answer

In general, composers aren't remembered for being conformists. All the big names were revolutionary in their own way.

Now that their themes are common enough to hear we don't think of them as revolutionary anymore.

del_icious_manager · Answer

You already have three good answers. However, I'm adding my bit because so many people forget about one of the greatest revolutionaries of all - Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi more or less 'invented' the Baroque style all by himself, thereby changing music forever. I would argue that the changes Monteverdi ushered in were actually more groundbreaking than Beethoven at the end of the Classical era.

I think the music I have pasted links to below goes a little way to showing just what an incredible composer Monteverdi was. Be prepared to have your heart torn out with the sheer tortured beauty of the 'Duo Seraphim' (3rd link).

Malcolm D · Answer

Yes, it certainly is possible. It is true that most composers are part of a continuous line through the history of classical music. It really depends on what your definition of "revolutionary" is.
To most people, revolutionary means that they added fundamental ideas or broke with tradition in some way in order to progress the development of the art.
Being a revolutionary and a follower of preexistent musical trends are not mutually exclusive.

Shawn W · Answer

many composers who worked during times of change are labeled "revolutionaries" even though this is not always true. when you take a closer look you will find that many werent that revolutionary at all. musical developments are always both highly traditional (students need teachers who teach what they were being taught) and revolutionary at the same time (every composer wants to be remembered for a landmark opus). this is inherent to music itself. the most important revolutionaries imao were the nameless composers of the dark ages whose unknown efforts eventually led to the notre dame school that popped up out of the clear blue sky around 1200. we hardly know anything (except for some chant-like scraps) about the decades or perhaps centuries of work of those who made it possible to notate and execute the organum and the development of genuine polyphonic thinking. js bach was perhaps the most important revolutionary regarding the practical availabilty of all 24 keys. to me mozart is the exact opposite of a revolutionary but this is my personal opinion. genuine musical revolutionaries always cause fundamental changes (eg well-tempered tuning, new forms) and dont just excel in their perhaps congenial personal development of schools and ideas that had been around for a long time (which is especially true for the so-called classical epoch and its immediate pedecessors crammed with long forgotten names). regarding monteverdi i hate to tell you that he himself was by no means a revolutionary. the early baroque started with the florence school before 1594. monteverdi was a highly traditional renaissance composer back then. count bardi and his friends "invented" monody, and jacopo peri and giulio caccini wrote what is known as the first "operas" ("dafne", c. 1594, lost; "euridice", extant, published 1600). some say that theryre not operas in the strict sense but rather accompanied plays (ger: singspiel). monteverdi realized that there was a chance for big cash and even bigger honors, hopped on, and staged his first opera seven (!) years later in 1607. compare "euridice" with "l'orfeo" regarding their form and youll be amazed. monteverdis role in the development of the so-called baroque (actually were talking monody, prima prattica and seconda prattica) is probably one of the greatest myths in musical history.

Alberich · Answer

Ludwig van Beethoven was one, for sure; he ushered in the Romantic era in music: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/beethoven/revolutionary.shtml

     And most certainly Richard Wagner. He changed the world of opera for ever: http://aeconomics.blogspot.com/2007/01/richard-wagner-revolution-in-music.html

     Igor Stravinsky as has already been mentioned, was another: http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/composer/stravinsky.html

                                                                                                     Alberich

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Is it possible to say who was a true revolutionary musician of his day?

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