The supreme master, the pinnacle of Western music. Whether it's some of the longest melodies ever written, or complex fugues, his music satisfies the ear and the soul like no other. That makes it too hard to name favorites: some days it's organ music, on others it's cantatas, some days it's orchestral music, on yet others......

But in the Cantata BWV 82, "Ich habe genug", there is one change I would make and, with the CD player, do make: the aria "Schlummert ein" is such a long and beautiful, calm and peaceful, melody that I would much rather have the cantata end with that than to go on to the final recitative and aria.

Some time during the mid-'60s, Karl Richter brought his Munich Bach Choir and Orchestra to New York. During one fabulous week, I got to hear the St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, B-minor Mass, and Christmas Oratorio, all for the first time. What an indescribable experience! The original-instruments movement has made Karl Richter's style unfashionable, but I still listen fondly to his recordings.

Another incredible recording made before the lean original-instruments sound is the St. Matthew Passion by as conducted by Otto Klemperer with a stellar cast of soloists.

Then, a few years ago, I was able see the plaque that marks Bach's burial place inside the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, an event as stirring as any pilgrimage.

Historically linked with Schoenberg and Webern as a 12-tone composer, Berg wrote the most lyrical and human works of the three. The Violin Concerto has been my consistent vehicle, since the '60s, for trying to persuade others to the beauties of some 12-tone music.

Schoenberg has a key place in the history of music, but I find most of his music hard to digest and emotionally uninvolving, except for Pierrot Lunaire. It's one of the great masterpieces of the 20th century. In my favorite recording, with Jan DeGaetani on Nonesuch, she makes the music lyrical as no one else has.

A real personal favorite, a Swiss composer who is not as well known as he deserves to be. Wonderful use of the harpsichord as a 20th century instrument.

Der Cornet (actually "Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke") is based on poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke.

There's a fine web site devoted to the life and works of Frank Martin .

Imbued by strong Catholic religiosity and a love of birdsong, Messiaen wrote music in his own harmonic style, unaffected by musical fashion.

A hauntingly lovely work by a composer who died far too young.

Although too many baroque composers leave me uninterested, there is something about more substantial in Corelli's concerti.

The string quartets belong in the top rank of the genre

The string quartets in particular are soul-searing

The recording of the Resurrection Symphony by Otto Klemperer is absolutely outstanding.

Inventive modulation keeps his melodic inventiveness fresh in the ear and the mind.

A master of the lied, with song and piano as equal partners

A master of orchestration; the tone poems are wonderful.

An affecting portrait of the Scholl siblings, who were the leaders of a university movement against the Nazis, and who became martyrs to their cause.

Vexations is a bizarre piece which, by the composers instructions, is to be played 840 times successively. A single iteration consists of an eighteen-note theme, then the theme with two additional voices above it, then the theme again, and finally the theme with the two voices in inversion. A slow tempo makes it playable for the beginner, but the lack of a melodic pattern makes it difficult.

The piece has actually been performed from time to time, with the world premiere in 1963 in New York, organized by John Cage. A tag team of pianists played it in 18 hours and 40 minutes.

There is a Vexations site dedicated to the "First recording and performance analysis of the entire 28-hour performance". It has musical samples, the score and a number of relevant links. To hear their musical sample played continuously, click on Vexations Loop

There's more about Satie at a site that includes an image of the manuscript of Vexations.

On first hearing this piece at a NY Philharmonic concert in the 1960s, I realized that this was a composer to look into further.

After the quiet introduction, those intense rhythmic stabs in "Lerchenmusik" said that this was no ordinary composer. As for the Symphony No. 3, I was fortunate to listen to it and reach my own very favorable judgment before it became such a sensational bestseller; after that, snobs denigrated it on the basis that anything popular can't be any good.

A Finnish composer who specialized in Lieder, many to texts by German poets; wonderful music by someone not well known.

A different sonic world.

Another unique sonic world; the symphonies and quartets make heavy use of glissandi.

Prolific, without a clear identifiable style, but one who will take his place as one of the greats. Many works with significant (left-leaning) social commentary.

Besides being the answer to the trivia question "name another composer with the middle name of Amadeus", an influential yet neglected composer. His symphonies are intense and emotionally searing. One also has to admire the principles of his "inner emigration" during the Nazi era.

One of the "Alice" pieces (what else does he write?). There was a nice tune, repreated frequently, but without variation or modulation, so that it got very tiresome. One of the few records I got rid of.

Because of my interest in 20th-century harpsichord music, I picked up a disk which contained his 1959 Concerto pour clavecin. His music is altogether too light and insubstantial for my interest.

There's a recording of lovely choir songs to texts by Georg Heym. But another, later Ogermann CD contained no more than orchestral mood music.

Composes for a small circle of musically highly-knowledgeable cognescenti. In a famous article, he made the very good and valid argument that just as mathematicians make progress so that their work cannot be comprehended by the layman, composers will also necessarily make advances that the non-professional will not understand. I agree with that point, but insist that music is different, and should be appreciable at an emotional level as well. In short, his music will remain a closed book to me.

Apparently a darling of the present avant-garde. I've tried, but can find no coherence or appeal in his composing technique of stitching sounds together.

There's the early, almost romantic Schoenberg ("Gurrelieder", "Verklärte Nacht"), and the dodecaphonic but emotionally charged Schoenberg ("Pierrot Lunaire"), but also the academic and doctrinaire Schoenberg that may appeal to the musical intellect but not the heart. His place in musical history is monumental, but a lot of his music is hard going and just doesn't appeal to me.