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But what you say in this post is not the same as what you originally wrote. The two conditionals I wrote in my previous post(what the OP said and what you said) are not logically equivalent. They don't mean the same thing although those not familiar with formal logic sometimes make this error.

On a separate note, your last sentence is your personal opinion only.

So piano pieces aren't music???? I suppose pianists aren't musicians.

To me, there are Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, and then everyone else. That's just my opinion, so it doesn't really matter to anyone who isn't me...

While the keyboard/piano music of these composers is undoubtedly great, it's only a small part of their respective collections of greatest masterpieces. OTOH I think Schumann's piano music is his greatest music, and likewise in the case of Ravel.

Each great artist has a different type of genius.

I don't really care if he's as great or not. Greatness of the composer is irrelevant when I play. If I happen to like a piece of music, that's all I care about.

PS - Listen to Chopin's 4th ballade and tell me he wasn't a great composer.

If A is greater than B, is A therefore also holier? .. and the people who consider him greater also holier as well?

Fine, but I think the real mistake is to assign inherent value to a given form. A symphony is not great because it is a symphony. A Beethoven symphony is great because it's a Beethoven symphony.

I've seen a few posts that basically say "they're great in their own way." That's not what I asked. Of course all the great composers are great in their own way, but most would probably say that Bach, Mozart and Beethoven occupy a space above the rest, or at least most of the rest. Does Chopin exist on the same plane as the holy trinity? A better question might be, which composers, if any, do you feel occupy the same space as the big three?

plain*

Handel, Haydn, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Debussy, Mahler, Stravinsky

That's not what I said. It was a tongue in cheek comment, intended to provoke a response like yours. Apparently I was successful.

An oak is a tree. Roses, hemp and grass are plants.
This doesn't mean that trees aren't plants.

In European classical music, or in music overall?

If it's only the former, then the big three are the big three. Others like Händel, Haydn or Schubert may come close. Chopin? I don't know.
And what about opera composers? Do Verdi, Puccini, Rossini or Wagner occupy the same sphere? Or Monteverdi? I don't know either.

If we're talking music in general, then Palestrina, Shostakovich and Lennon/McCartney come to mind. And probably others I am not mentioning here.

Actually I knew it was tongue in cheek - I was just playing along.

Touché. Well played.

I probably look on this website twice a year these days, and every time I see a thread by you like this regarding Chopin on the front page.

Anyway, regarding the question: I don't believe in comparing the very great composers. They all offer things that the others do not, sometimes radically so. Over the years on general classical forums, however, the names I've noticed that come up most as being among the 'very greats' are Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Brahms, Haydn, Debussy, Mahler, Bartok, Stravinsky. Pre-baroque and any atonal music are relatively neglected/more controversial, but many of those who don't neglect/recoil from this music would add guys like Machaut, Josquin, Monteverdi, Schoenberg, Webern, Messiaen, etc. Still others without as much of a Euro focus would add Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Frank Zappa.

Since you do not specify any particular century nor type of music nor criteria, there are multiple composers that can be classified greater than one of the big three like you call them, taking the appropriate criteria. Roland de Lassus was most influential in his time much more than Bach ever has been and more admired by all european musical world of his time, something Bach again never achieved. So was Frescobaldi who influenced Bach composition a century later.

As much as I like to play Bach for myself, I do not like to listen to most of his music (the least his instrumental concertos), except a few specific outstanding pieces (piano partitas, solo violon and cello for example).
So there has been other as great composers in the XIXth century, in the XXth and hopefully there will also be other great composers in the future. Music history did not stop in 1827.

Some composers weren't fully appreciated during their own lifetimes, but their compositions have stood the test of time. Bach is one of those. His works resonate with modern audiences whereas the works of de Lassus and Frescobaldi, good as they are, have more limited appeal.
What about the two Passions, the B Minor Mass, the Magnificat, his numerous cantatas and great works for organ? Let's hope not !!

+1

A few strong contenders would be Haydn, Schubert, and Chopin. Chopin was unique among the great composers in that he composed almost exclusively for one instrument, which is why pianists will likely count him among the greats, while orchestra performers or non pianists would likely disagree. Either way, to quote Teddy Roosevelt, "Comparison is the thief of all joy."

This same concept arises intermittently under different disguises: it might be greatest composer, greatest works or most technically challenging,... even.’best’ piano.

The Teddy Roosevelt quote is apropos to all scenerios. Our ‘best’ can be a personal preference without requiring justification

That depends on what the meaning of "is" is.