Before answering this question, we have to unpack what ‘natural talent’ means. While there is no question that some people have more aptitude for particular tasks than others, I don’t think there is any evidence for true natural gift. Certainly if you read the work of the Swedish psychologist Anders-Ericsson, you would be hard pressed … Continue reading Is it fair to say Mozart had more natural talent than Bach?

I think this is a great question. It is really a question about what the value of art is as a whole - the things that make contemporary composers important are also what make every living artist important. As with many of these questions, I think we have to define exactly what you mean by … Continue reading What makes contemporary composers so important? What do they contribute?

This is an interesting question. ‘Complete’ is often used as a synonym for ‘best’ - for me, though, I think it more properly should include a sense of how all-encompassing a composer is. Haydn, for example, could be considered one of the most complete composers because he wrote in pretty much every genre available to … Continue reading Who is considered the most complete opera composer?