World Music Ranking - Selcuk

Era cuestión de tiempo. Me dijeron que un tipo de Estambul había elaborado un ranking de la música del mundo con base en la influencia en los ritmos venideros (algo casi imposible de determinar). Me remitieron a la página correspondiente (de esto hace ya varios meses) y ahí estaba el World Music Ranking. Pasó el tiempo y ahora lo retomo.

Al principio me sorprendió, cautivó mi imaginación, a veces me enfurecía y hasta reí de algunos errores garrafales... En cualquiera de los casos, admiré la empresa: el primer intento (según mi corta vida) de enlistar la música del mundo.

Este joven llamado Selcuk (el nombre, para la lengua española, sobra y basta sin necesidad de precisar su apellido; es casi ficticio) se dio a la tarea de escuchar decenas de Gigas de su iPod y tal vez ensayar algunos idiomas con el traductor de Google. Es, si se me permite la expresión, una consecuencia del internet, un producto de la facilidad de acercar tradiciones y costumbres, una respuesta a los empleos que tienen como eje el "no ocio".

Algunas notas finales subjetivas: China debería estar un poco más adelante (con Tan Dun y Yo-Yo Ma basta), debería corregir su error en la música de fondo de Chile, Hungría y en otros más, como la nacionalidad de algunos músicos (Bregovic), los siete primeros lugares me parecen justos, incluso la mayoría de los sitios en que se ubica a los países de América (es claro, los ritmos americanos influyen en la concepción europeizante de la música), nuestro amigo turco se deja llevar por el rock en algunos casos y en otros más omite nombres (creo que Paganini, que influyó en Liszt, no aparece). México, en el lugar 23, tal vez debería incluir a Revueltas o algo así (obviamente no creo que haya escuchado los ritmos veracruzanos) y estar arriba de Japón (al igual que su Turquía). ¡Aunque, por los dioses de la música y la taxonomía, considera a Pedro Infante, Esquivel, José Alfredo Jiménez!

50. SENEGAL

Best Senegalese Band Ever: Orchestra Baobab
Greatest Senegalese Musicians: Baaba Maal, Thione Seck
Best Senegalese Voice and Most Famous African Singer Alive: Youssou NDour

49. ETHIOPIA

Father of Ethiopian Jazz: Mulatu Astatqe
Best Gurage Singer: Mahmoud Ahmed
Ethiopian James Brown: Alemayehu Eshete

48. CROATIA

Most Famous Croatian Singer Abroad: Helen Merrill
Greatest Croatian Composer: Goran Bregovic
Best Croatian Bands: Azra, Prljavo Kazaliste

47. NIGERIA

Best African Musician of All-Times: Fela Kuti
Most Famous Nigerian Singer: Seal
One of the Greatest Drummers has ever lived : Tony Allen

46. SERBIA

Greatest Serbian Bands: Zabranjeno Pusenje, VIS Idoli
Best Serbian Gypsy Musician: Saban Bajramovic
Best Serbian Singer/Songwriter: Djordje Balasevic

45. LEBANON

Academy Award Winning Composer: Gabriel Yared
One of the Best VoicesEver: Fairuz
Most Famous Lebanese Singer abroad: Paul Anka
UNESCO Artist for Peace: Marcel Khalife

44. PERU

Best Peruvian Voice Ever (over 4 octaves): Yma Sumac
Best Peruvian Musician: Chabuca Granda
Best Peruvian Rapper: Immortal Technique

43. ROMANIA

Best Romanian Musicians Ever: George Enescu, Dinu Lipatti
Best Gypsy Bands ever: Fanfarte Ciocarlia, Taraf de Haidouks
Master of the Pan-Flute: Gheorge Zamfir

42. ALGERIA
Best Algerian DJ: DJ Cheb i Sabbah
Best Algerian Jewish Singer: Enrico Macias
Best Rai Musicians: Khaled, Rachid Taha
Best Algerian Female Singers: Souad Massi, Warda

41. SOUTH AFRICA

Best South African Composer: Trevor Jones
Best South African Jazz Musicians: Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela
Grammy Award Winning Artist, Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba

40. EGYPT

Best Arabic Singer Ever: Umm Khultum
Best Modern Singers: Amr Diab, Natacha Atlas
Best Nubian Musicians: Hamza El Din, Ali Hassan Kuban
Arabian Elvis: Abdel Halim Hafez
Best Egyptian Composer Ever: Mohammed Abdel Wahab

39. CHILE

Best Chilean Musicians Ever: Violeta Parra, Victor Jara
Best Chilean Folk Band: Inti-Illimani
Best Chilean Rock Bands: Los Prisioneros, Los Jaivas, Los Tres

38. DENMARK

Best Danish Composer Ever: Carl Nielsen
Best Danish Bands: Mew, Mercyful Fate
Best Danish Electronic Musician: Trentemoller

37. MALI

One of the Top Three Greatest African Musician Ever (with Fela Kuti and Miriam Makeba): Ali Farka Toure
Golden Voice of Africa, Albino Singer: Salif Keita
Best African Music Duo ever (blind couple): Amadou & Mariam

36. CHINA

Multiple Grammy Awards Winner Cellist: Yo-Yo Ma
Grammy and Oscar Winner Contemporary Classical Composer: Tan Dun
Best Cantopop Singer Ever: Kelly Chen



5. UKRAINE

Composer of Swan Lake and Nutcracker Ballets: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Sound: Stan Getz
One of the Greatest Pianists of the 20th Century: Emil Gilels
Best Ukranian Bands: Fleur, Nokturnal Mortum, Drudkh

34. ARMENIA

Four time Grammy Award nominated Armenian Band: System of a Down
Best Armenian Classical Composer: Aram Khachaturian
Three times Oscar Winner Composer: Michel Legrand
Greatest Duduk Player Ever: Djivan Gasparyan
Most Famous Armenian Singers Abroad: Cher, Charles Aznavour

33. PORTUGAL

Queen of Fado, One of the Greatest European Singers ever: Amalia Rodrigues
Most Talented Portuguese Musician in the 20th century, Man with a 1000 fingers: Carlos Paredes
Most Famous Portuquese Singer abroad: Nelly Furtado

32. WALES

The Most Inventive and Influential Figure in Contemporary Electronic Music: Aphex Twins
One of the Most Powerful Singing Voices Ever: Tom Jones
Best Welsh Bands: Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, Young Marble Giants

31. PUERTO RICO

Godfather of Latin Jazz: Ray Barretto
Most Renowned Singer and Composer of Salsa Music: Ismael Rivera
King of Mambo Music: Tito Puente
Great Salsa Singer: Hector Lavoe
Most Successful Puerto Rican Musical Group Ever: El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico

30. ISRAEL

One of the Most Prodigally Talented and Successful Musicians, with his Formidable Piano Technique: Leonard Bernstein
Greatest Violinist of the 20th Century: Jascha Heifetz
Best Israelian Female Musician Ever: Chava Alberstein

29. TURKEY

Creators of Turkish Music, Classical and Sufi Music Composers: Dede Efendi, Tanburi Cemil Bey
Best Turkish Singing Voices Ever: Zeki Muren, Safiye Ayla, Muzeyyen Senar
Best Anatolian Rock Musicians: Erkin Koray, Baris Manco, Cem Karaca
Queen of Turkish Pop: Sezen Aksu
Greatest Turkish Minstrel: Asik Veysel

28. HUNGARY

Top Hungarian Classical Composers and Pianists: Franz Liszt, Bela Bartok
Best Film Score Composers: Gyorgy Ligeti, Miklos Rozsa
Best Hungarian Folk Music Band: Muzsikas

27. INDIA

Greatest Indian Musician Ever: Ravi Shankar
Sitar Maestro: Vilayat Khan
Most Famous Female Bollywood Playback Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle
One of the Most Versatile Singing Voice Ever: Mohammed Rafi

26. NETHERLAND

Most Famous Classical Composer of 16. Century: Josquin des Prez
Greatest Dutch Bands: The Gathering, Golden Earring, Focus
Top Djs of the World: Ferry Corsten, DJ Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren

25.GREECE

Greek Soprano, Best European Female Voice of the Twentieth Century: Maria Callas
One of the Greatest Composers of Electronic Music of All-Time: Vangelis
Modernist Composer: Iannis Xenakis
Academy Award Winner Film Composer: Manos Hadjidakis

24. FINLAND

Greatest Finnish Musician of All-Time: Jean Sibelius
Best Symphonic Power Metal Band Ever: Nightwish
Death Metal Band: Amorphis

23. MEXICO

A Rock and Roll Pioneer and a Forefather of the Chicano Rock Movement: Ritchie Valens
Most Famous Actor and Singer of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema: Pedro Infante
The King of Space Age Pop: Esquivel
Internationally Known Music Trio: Los Panchos
Best Ranchera Musician Ever: Jose Alfredo Jimenez

22. CZECH REPUBLIC

Composer of New World Symphony, One of The Greatest Romantic Music Composer: Antonin Dvorak
Most Famous Czech Composer just aftert Dvorak: Bedrich Smetana
Academy Award Winning Film Score Composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold

21. JAPAN

Best Japanese Film Score Composer: Joe Hisaishi
Video Game Composer, Composer of Final Fantasy Series: Nobuo Uematsu
Greatest Enka Singer: Meiko Kaji



20. NORWAY

Greatest Norwegian Musician Ever: Edvard Grieg
Electronic Music Duo: Royksopp
Famous New Wave Band of 80s: a-ha

19. CUBA

The Best Known and Most Influential Female Figure in the History of Cuban Music, Queen of Salsa: Celia Cruz
Greatest Guitarist and Composer of Cuban Trova Music: Compay Segundo
Popular Afro-Cuban Singer of Cuba: Ibrahim Ferrer
Leader of Nueva Trova Movement: Silvio Rodriguez

18. SCOTLAND

Greatest Electronic Music Duo Ever: Boards of Canada
Best Scottish Bands Ever: The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream
Best Known Scottish Band: Belle & Sebastian

17. BELGIUM

Most Famous and Influential Composer in Europe in the Mid-15th Century: Guillaume Dufay
One of the Most Renowned Jazz Guitarists due to His Innovative and Distinctive Playing: Django Reinhardt
Greatest Belgian Singer Ever: Jacques Brel

16. SPAIN

Blind Composer and Virtuoso Pianist: Joaquin Rodrigo
Greatest Classical Guitarist: Andres Segovia
Catalan Composer and Pianist: Isaac Albeniz
Most Famous Flamenco Guitarist of All-Time: Paco de Lucia

15. AUSTRALIA

One of the Greatest Hard Rock Bands Ever, Pioneers of Heavy Metal: AC/DC
Rock Band fronted by Nick Cave: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Greatest Ethereal Wave Band Ever: Dead Can Dance

14. ARGENTINA

Creator of Nuevo Tango, Excellent Bandoneon Player: Astor Piazzolla
The Most Prominent Figure in the History of Tango: Carlos Gardel
Composer of Mission Impossible Theme, Four Times Grammy Award Winner, with 21 times Nominations: Lalo Schifrin

13. SWEDEN

Greatest Pop Music Group of Scandinavia: ABBA
Two Times Grammy Awarded Swedish Pop-Rock Musician: Harry Nillson
Greatest Swedish Band Ever: Opeth

12. POLAND

One of the Greatest Classical Composers of All-Time: Frederic Chopin
One of the Greatest Pianist of 20th Century: Arthur Rubinstein
Best Sung Poetry Singer Ever: Marek Grechuta

11. IRELAND

Best Irish Band Ever: U2
Grammy Award Winning Singer, Songwriter: Van Morrison
Famous Hard Rock Band: Thin Lizzy

10. JAMAICA

Most Well-Known Reggae Artist of All-Time: Bob Marley
Ska and Reggae Vocal Group: Toots & the Maytals
Influential Dub and Reggae Singer: Lee Scratch Perry

9. BRAZIL

A Primary Force Behind the Creation of the Bossa Nova Style: Antonio Carlos Jobim
Creator of Bossa Nova Beat, Father of Bossa Nova: Joao Gilberto
Bob Dylan of Brazil: Caetano Veloso

8. CANADA

Greatest Canadian Musician Ever: Neil Young
Jewish Canadian Folk Rock Musician: Leonard Cohen
Best Canadian Female Singer and Songwriter: Joni Mitchell
Greatest Canadian Bands Ever: Rush, Arcade Fire, The Band

7. RUSSIA

Last Great Representative of Late Romanticism in Classical Music. Sergei Rachmaninoff
One of the Five Innovators of Russian Music: Modest Mussorgsky
Russian Composer of Soviet Period: Dmitri Shostakovich
Most Influential Composer of 20th Century: Igor Stravinsky
Best Russian Band Ever: Piknik

6.AUSTRIA

One of the Three Greatest Composers of All-Times: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Father of the Symphony: Joseph Haydn
Composer of Unfinished Symphony: Franz Schubert
The Waltz King: Johann Strauss II
Austrian Pop-Rock Star: Falco

5. FRANCE

One of the Two Key Figures of Impressionist Music Along with Ravel: Claude Debussy
Composer of Gymnopedies: Erik Satie
One of the Worlds most Influential Musicians: Serge Gainsbourg
Superstar of Minimalist and Avant-Garde Music: Yann Tiersen

4. ITALY

Greatest Italian Composer Ever: Antonio Vivaldi
One of the Most Famous Opera Composers Ever: Guiseppe Verdi
Composer of More Than 500 Film and Television Productions: Ennio Morricone

3. ENGLAND

Over One Billion Album Seller, Greatest Band of All-Time: The Beatles
Greatest Rock and Roll Band Ever: Rolling Stones
The Heaviest Band of All-Time: Led Zeppelin
Best Progressive Rock Band Ever: Pink Floyd

2. U.S.A

Greatest Contribution to Song-Writing: Bob Dylan
Greatest Guitarist of All-Time: Jimi Hendrix
Most Important American Musician of 20th Century: Louis Armstrong
King of Rock n Roll: Elvis Presley

1.GERMANY

Greatest Composers of All-Time: Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach
Most Influential Electronic Music Band of the History: Kraftwerk