In my freshman year in college I went down to the campus record store to buy an album with the hit single, "When a Little While from Now" (at least that was the recurring line) by some jackass. It causes me immense embarrassment to admit this, that I even liked that song, much less went so far as to attempt to purchase it but, be a jackass, listen to a jackass.

When I walked into the record store I was surrounded by the sound of something I had never heard before, nor anything like it. I asked the register person what music was playing and who it was by. "It's the Brandenburg Concerto by Bach." After a little while of listening more I ditched "When a Little While from Now" and bought the Brandenburgs.

Anthony Tommasini, the great music critic of The New York Times, has been writing a fun series of articles on the "Top Ten" composers of all time (Americans are addicted to "Top Ten's" of anything). He concluded yesterday and this is his list:

1. Johann Sebastian Bach.
2. Ludwig van Beethoven.
3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
4. Franz Schubert.
5. Claude Debussy.
6. Igor Stravinsky.
7. Johannes Brahms.
8. Giuseppe Verdi.
9. Richard Wagner.
10. Bela Bartok.


I hope Mr. Tommasini had as much fun writing his series as his readers did reading it. Yesterday's article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/arts/music/23composers.html?_r=1&src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB