A composer's notoriety: measurable today?

[Ouled Nails]

I have been playing an insignificant little game googling recent news about a variety of composers. Naturally, it helps if the composer's name is not a very common one! It also helps to compare cultural news in different languages, but my knowledge is limited to only two of those. Anyway, it has been intriguing to watch how vastly different is the number of "hits" between various composers, in recent news. Enter the name of someone like Mahler or Shostakovich and you'll be overwhelmed. But try individuals such as Poulenc, Milhaud and Honegger and hits drop to about three pages. Try somebody like Myaskovsky and you only get one or two hits.

Do you think that we have finally found a way to measure, pretty accurately, a composer's notoriety?

 

[Krummhorn]

Hi, ON,

Interesting to find another "surfer" who delves into the vastness of cyber information on an endless quest for knowledge.

I took your suggestion and input CPE Bach and found but 11 hits. One would think any of the "Bach boys" would warrant a higher reputation, but alas only JS was the victor having the most interest. Sad, but true.

I researched the word "notoriety" and found this def: "The quality of public reputation." So is ones "reputation" the same as ones "popularity"? They almost seem synonymous, but I tend to think that they are quite different. I mean, one can have a great reputation but not necessarily be popular ... people "know" about the composer but wouldn't make any special effort to go hear one of his works.

It will be interesting to read other's thoughts on this.

 

[Ouled Nails]

Hello Krummhorn!

Somebody, elsewhere, indicated that there's an easier way to proceed with this research "methodology." Perhaps a more expert surfer here would know. If one presses the right command, one can visualize a graph comparing two newsworthy individuals over a longer span of time. For instance, one could compare a skyrocketing J.S. Bach with a plummeting CPE Bach over several months or years, with all the variations thereof.

But I don't quite follow your distinction between popularity and notoriety. If a composer is popular then he (mostly, not she) is a big money maker and should thus yield a considerable number of notoriety "hits." :crazy:

 

[Ouled Nails]

I would have to doubt my own artistic judgment if I were a fan of:
August Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (nothing!)

 

[rojo]

:lol:

Actually, I heard something by him on the radio the other day (for harp and orchestra,) and it was very nice. Wouldn't go so far as to call myself a fan though. Just saying...

I assume you're searching their full names ON? I think you're on to something; I'm sure this all must say something about composers' fame, popularity and/or notoriety in today's global context. :up:

 

[Corno Dolce]

A composer's notoriey? Hmmm-------

A premonition that bothers me about this is that if one were to "google" composer notoriety, the result could probably be based on the findings of all the different "composer notoriety" polls florating on the web and therefore, ultimately misleading.

Just a random musing.......

CD