> Even the late great Jerry Goldsmith was often predictable, as are John
> Williams, John Barry, James Horner, Patrick Doyle, etc. With the exception
> of true geniuses who push the envelope with works the likes of which no
> one, including them, had ever done before (examples: Wagner, Beetoven,
> Vangelis, Goldsmith on occasion) if a composer isn't predictible, it
> usually means he or she hasn't found an identity.

Predictable from a strictly musical point of view. Every composer has a style of their own, from Josquin to Debussy. You can identify them by listening to the music they made. Haydn or Bach have predictable styles. Yet, they can be profoundly original inside their own style. They can be fresh, complex and surprising. And they were constantly evolving .