Pick a single composer (sans-Bach) to listen to for the rest of your life.

I believe this is a different question to "Who is your favorite composer?".

You may not want to listen solely to your favorite composer, especially if they often act to provide a strong contrast to preceding conventions. E.g. You may love Schoenberg, but could you listen to just Schoenberg?

J.S. Bach is strictly out of bounds for obvious reasons.

Justify your answer by all means, but don't qualify your response by breaking the rules.

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I pick Robert Schumann.

I only discovered him recently (a year or so ago) through his op. 73 "Fantasiestücke" arranged for cello and piano (originally clarinet and piano). A month or so ago I heard his lieder cycle "Dichterliebe" and I was convinced :-)

Philip Glass! The reason is simple... He is my favourite composer no 2.

Stravinsky. A genius in his diferent periods, very eclectic.

Richard Strauss. Without a doubt.

It was a tough choice for me between Beethoven and Shostakovich, but in the end I had to go with Shosty. He has a huge variety of work, some is very powerful (e.g., many of his symphonies) and some is rather fun and whimsical (e.g., his film music and jazz suites). He also has a beautiful catalog of solo piano music and chamber music.