Chopin

Of course he is one of the Great Composers. Of that there can be no doubt. His use of the piano itself is one of his most significant contributions. When you factor in his innovative and brilliant advances in harmonic writing, his use of new tonal colors for the piano, his sometimes ambiguous keys - or momentary lack thereof, one must recognize genius. Not all of his works are to the same standard, to be sure, but at his best he is inimitable.

Was it not Debussy who proclaimed that it was Chopin who was in fact the first modern, and then commented on how he did it all with "just" a piano?

A unique mix of slavic and french romantism, and of male and female charm - at this stage, the instrument ends up being not that relevant. And if it's magnificent as he did it, what do you need more ?

Cheese

chopin: its hard for me to give a qualified view as i havent studied this genre in detail. but i now have a lot of chopin (as a result of recommendations from cheese, fred simon, and others i cant recall right now) -- and i love the music to bits. in fact, as my system has improved, i have grown to like piano music even more.

enjoy

ken