The Resume

(June 11, 1864-September 8, 1949)
Wrote 'Also sprach Zarathustra (1895),' 'Salome (1905),' 'Elektra (1909),' 'Der Rosenkavalier (1911),' 'Ariadne auf Naxos (1912),' 'Die Frau ohne Schatten (1919),' 'Arabella (1933),' 'Capriccio (1942),' and 'Four Last Songs (1948)'

Why he might be annoying:

He was losing his hair by age 20.
He stayed in Germany during World War II.
When asked why, he said: 'Germany had 56 opera houses. The United States had two.'
The Third Reich named him President of the Reichsmusikkammer--Germany's official composer.
The international music community turned their backs on him for his supposed Nazi sympathies.

Why he might not be annoying:

He only accepted the official Nazi title because he was threatened.
He and his family were discriminated against because his son's wife was Jewish.
He stood up to Hitler and Goebbels when they wanted the names of Jewish artists removed from his opera programs.
He died penniless.
He referred to himself as a 'first class second-rate composer.'
Stanley Kubrick used his music for the soundtrack to '2001: A Space Odyssey.'
He was one of the most brilliant 19th and 20th century composers.

Credit: Wieland Kalligaro

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20 Most Requested Pieces of Music on 'Desert Island Discs' (Ranked: 5)
• 20 Most Requested Pieces of Music on 'Desert Island Discs' (Ranked: 10)
• BBC Radio 4’s Saddest Classical Works [2004] (Ranked: 5)
• Captain Howdy's Least Annoying (Ranked: 22)
• Carnegie Hall Concerts
• Classical Top 100 (Ranked: 9)
• Cole Porter's 'You're the Top' References
• Dicks and Johnsons
• I am a Nazi
• I Died in 1949 (Ranked: 85)
• I Died in Debt
• I Have Dyslexia
• I Perform WWE Wrestling Entrance Music
• Opera Singers and Composers
• People with Tom, Dick or Harry in their Names
• Profiles 11001-11250 (Ranked: 11022)
• Stanley Kubrick Films
• Wacky Eyes
• Walruses
• Wieland Kalligaro's Profiles [Series 1]

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 30 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 23 Votes: 52.17% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 24 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 23 Votes: 78.26% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 137 Votes: 59.85% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 125 Votes: 50.40% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 28 Votes: 60.71% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 28 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 28 Votes: 67.86% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 75 Votes: 61.33% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 69 Votes: 56.52% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 45 Votes: 57.78% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 147 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 160 Votes: 61.25% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 398 Votes: 50.75% Annoying
In 2004, Out of 246 Votes: 44.31% Annoying