Anthony Tommasini the music critic of the New York Times has been driving music lovers to frustrated distraction by his endless quest for his very own list of “classical” music’s top 10 composers – in order of merit no less. Such compilations are basically frivolous, but they’re harmless. They can even yield some amusement.  While it took Mr Tommasini two weeks to arrive at his list I made my own in about a minute. Here is my list; it’s in chronological order (by year of each composer’s birth) as at this level of achievement there’s no point in ranking them by any other means. Of course limiting the list to ten results in distortions and major omissions, but it’s just a lark. I’m sure you can do better.

1. Johann Sebastian Bach
2. Franz Joseph Haydn
3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4. Ludwig Van Beethoven
5. Franz Schubert
6. Giuseppe Verdi
7. Johannes Brahms
8. Peter Illych Tchaikovsky
9. Gustav Mahler
10. Dimitri Shostakovich