Hero or hype?

Are some of the 'great' composers simply overrated? We invite five of our writers to reveal those whose feted talents leave them seriously underwhelmed

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By and large, we like to fill the pages of BBC Music Magazine with our enthusiasm for composers and performers alike – it's a wonderful world out there, teeming with musical talent. However, perhaps we sometimes go over the top in our enthusiasm. Not every musician is beloved by every music lover, after all, and even the very greatest can split opinion as to the true level of their genius. So who are the composers that our writers secretly don’t believe deserve their place at the top table? Here, five come out and name their ‘most overrated’ – and please remember, it’s not meant to be taken personally.

Hector Berlioz (1803-69)

By Natasha Loges

My first encounter with Berlioz was singing his Grande Messe de Morts (Requiem) in a London choral society. Despite my decades of experience, it felt like pushing through a Tough Mudder obstacle course – and the music was definitely not worth it. I fled the choir, initially reproaching myself for my inadequacy – but was comforted when I learned that some of Berlioz’s own choristers had complained about singing the work and resigned, together with the choirmaster! Good composers write for musicians, not against them, unless the aim is to trigger a laryngitis epidemic.

My second encounter was teaching the five-act, five-hour behemoth-opera Les Troyens in a music survey course I inherited. I dutifully studied the massive score, recordings and literature year after year, yet my students were inevitably baffled and glazed-eyed. Apart from a solid plot (thanks, Virgil) and one decent love duet (thanks, Meyerbeer, who inspired it with his own duet from