¿Who was the best composer of all time? - Beethoven

All the People in the 'No' Column are Idiots! I have been listening to Beethoven for 24 years (my whole life). My exposure to him began at birth, when I was born 12 weeks prematurely. Attached to my isolet was a little radio, and the first piece I heard was 'Fur Elise,' (not one of LvB's best works, but for a newborn, who cares!). Since then, my love for Beethoven grew. At the age of 12 I acquired my first complete set of the Nine Symphonies, and over the years built up my collection with the Piano Concertos, Sonatas, String Quartets, etc. In 2006, when a junior in high school, I gave a 75 minute speech on the life, times, and music of Beethoven from memory. No notes were needed, just my love for the man and his music. It is too bad the class hated my speech; they found it boring. I have also had a dozen surgeries over a 17 year period, and Beethoven's story stirs my soul, and has helped me recover. I celebrate Beethoven's Birthday every year.

Another funny story occured in 2007. With all my fanaticism for Beethoven, I would play his works as I studied for tests. This annoyed the other guys on the floor, who only listened to rap, country, and other nonsense. They found me to be be "boring," because of the fact that I listened to "Beefoven" a hideous pun on their part that I later learned was slang for a disgusting sexual act. But they did not faze me, and I kept listening and loving the Master.

It offends me that some people do not consider Beethoven to be so great. I respond like Schroeder: "What do you MEAN Beethoven wasn't so GREAT!?" When I listen to any music by any other composer (and I have heard A LOT!) be it Gregorian Chant, Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474), Dietrich Becker (c. 1623-1679), Leopold Hofmann (1738-1793), Cesar Franck (1822-1890), or Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), I get so very BORED! Their music does not move me like Beethoven's does. Music before Beethoven was purely for entertainment; music after Beethoven was purely atonal nonsense. So it is safe to say that Beethoven is the greatest composer who ever lived. I respect J.S. Bach and Mozart, but they don't move me like LvB does!