Who were the most liberal classical composers? Who were the least? Has anyone ever made a list like this? Its not really important, but I am curious.
I don’t know if I get this question, but Beethoven maybe? His 3rd and 9th symphonies may be in the “spirit of liberalism”.
Wagner may be the most or least liberal depending on how you take him.
Unfortunately most of what seems to me to be the best music ever was written with nationalism in mind. Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Smetana and nearly everyone else. Hard to find libertarianism in there. As for Ludwig, he wrote the fifth in honour of Napoleon, go figure.
After all, we could stick by Mozart. As a good Mason that he was, he did not seem to give a damn about anything. Live and let live.
As for Ludwig, he wrote the fifth in honour of Napoleon, go figure.
Nitpick: the 3rd was originally written for Napoleon, but recinded when Beethoven realized Napoleon was a wanker.
Also I consider Tchaikovsky, Smetana, and Mussorgsky too good to be considered “nationalists”, let’s just call them “cultural”. Verdi however…
The composers in those times tended to write operas on commission from aristocrats. That was the major source of art consumption.
I don’t think that composers’ political ideas ever really made it into their music. Even in operas involving political leaders such as emperors, the political aspect was merely incidental to the story. It seems that composers and their librettists are far more concerned with mushy stuff as well as philosophy (in the case of Wagner).
And with instrumental music, a lot of it is really interpretation.
I often forget that for many people politics and economics never even enters their peripheral view of life. They may on occasion say something brash, but usually out of ignorance.