Well, ya know, whatever ... Braga Santos was no RVW. I mean, I like his music, but they aren't in the same tier as far as I'm concerned.
With respect, I am not sure that is the point. I think that is a legitimate exercise to identify and examine the influences of the music of composers on others but I find ranking composers against each other ultimately a somewhat futile enterprise. I enjoy the music of both RVW and of Braga Santos. Was RVW the greater composer? Yes, almost certainly he was; his range across so many musical forms, the depth and profoundity of his music has attracted and will continue to attract conductors, other musicians and listeners for generations to come. Braga Santos wrote some incredibly rich, romantic and beautiful music, particularly in his first four symphonies. I am happy to love both just as I am happy to love both Nielsen and Sibelius, both Prokofiev and Shostakovich.
....and I am happy to ignore Hugh Wood's sour observation that "the work of their (Vaughan Williams and Holst) imitators is already dead". With due respect to Mr.Wood (who is a composer of distinction), I suspect that more people listen to the music of those he calls "imitators" (but does not name) than to his.
