Most underrated "classical" composer

[0rganism]

Similar to the "overrated" poll, "classical" means serious, orchestral, high-brow, or whatever else you happen to think it is, rather than the Classical period.

This could be the composer who hardly ever gets radio time, but everything you hear by him/her is superb.

[TreasonousBastard]

1. P.D.Q. Bach

[Coventina]

46. Damn! You stole my reply!!

:D

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. I went with Sibelius - one should add Crumb, Zappa, and Durufle

Beautiful symphonies from Sibelius, though I have to admit to not knowing anything else by him, sadly. Love his symphonies, though.

Crumb - amazing. Zappa - way underrated, and far more serious than he gets credit for. Durufle - beautiful, and wrote much more than a requiem, people.

Faure does get some amount of attention, though he could also get more. But as a church person, I do hear a fair amount of Faure. outside church, though, about all you ever get on the radio is the pie jesu from the requiem, maybe one or two other pieces.

Rimksy-Korsakov, Orff, and Bizet get about what they deserve, IMO. i don't find them exciting enough to think of them as underrated.

Barber should get more attention beyond his adagio. Bartok and Webern deserve more attention for everything - love both.

[0rganism]

3. If you like Sibelius, be sure to see "Allegro non troppo" sometime

It's a parody of Disney's "Fantasia", and some of the animation is amazing. It has a devastating treatment of Sibelius' "Valse Triste", among other things (like the infamous "evolution of life from discarded cola bottle" set to Ravel's "Bolero").

I do have to put in a plug for ol' Faure', tho. His chamber music is excellent -- definitely on a par with Ravel and Debussy, but getting very little public play by comparison. Thus, he's my choice for most underrated.

Webern is my favorite 2nd Vienna composer and very underrated, but since all of them are underrated, it's hard for me to think of him as particularly underrated. Collectively, 2nd Vienna is probably the most underrated group of composers.

It's funny to crank the Bartok up around neophytes -- he SCARES people! He Destroys their Preconceptions and leaves them bereft of tonality in the midst of a transylvanian folk song! hehe, Bartok definitely wins the freakout contest.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Yes, Bartok is good to play for people who "don't like" classical music

Also Varese, whom I should have mentioned as also vastly underrated, but didn't even think of him before.

Ionisation is a great way to introduce people to the other world of classical music. "Hey - is that a siren?" "Yes, the piece is scored for siren" "Cool. Didn't know you could do that. Turn it up."

They're good composers for showing, especially to people who like heavy metal, that classical isn't all boring oboe concerti and Vivaldi's "Summer" and fat people singing, but can actually be really exciting and cranking.

Faure's chamber music is great.

[Dancing_Dave]

40. Bartok is my favorite for jamming on

I can really spin out some variations on his wild Eastern European Gypsy flavored tunes...and actually Bartok did jazz with Benny Goodman for a while!

[phaseolus]

5. I haven't seen that in years... but it's wonderful

I don't think it's in print anymore. Blockbuster and Hollywood certainly don't carry it. And Milwaukee Public Library's copy has gone missing.

Wasn't "Valse Triste" the abandoned cat living in the bombed out shell of a building where he used to live with a happy family?? That part was very moving.

That brilliant and funny animation of that Dvorak Slavonic Dance, with the tinhorn dictator trying to get his subjects to do increasingly stupid things, is pretty cool, too.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. p.s. - allegro non troppo is great!

Have much enjoyed it over the years.

[Iverson]

6. William Byrd

This poll has a bias toward Romantic-era composers. My most underrated choice is English Renaissance era. If the name isn't familiar, think of Henry Purcell, only a little better.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

38. As a choral singer, I love William Byrd

and Monteverdi, although I've sung much too little of either.

[Iverson]

59. I am glad to read that!

That's one more reason to have a good impression of you, LL.

[Snow]

64. Waddya think? Is Thomas Tallis underrated?

I've got a lot of Tallis, but I don't think I hear him performed that often. On the other hand, he does seem appreciated by "ancient music" buffs/

[Character Assassin]

70. His 'Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah" is the shiznatch!

I've had the ECM version with the Hilliard Singers for almost 15 years and never get tired of it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

74. Tallis was very highly regarded in his own time

Somebody well-known (Byrd? Gibbons?) wrote a lament after he died, with words that went something like, "Tallis is dead, and music dies."

(A "Byebye Miss American Pie" for the 16th century)

The choir I sing in is learning Tallis "O Nata Lux" and Byrd's "Laetentur Caeli," among other wonderful stuff, for the church's special First Sunday in Advent Evensong. :7

[bbernardini]

8. Anbody think Danny Elfman is a Sibelius fan?

There's elements of "Insanity" that are dead-on imitations of Sibelius.

[alwynsw]

31. No doubt in my mind!

[lpbk2713]

9. Richard Wagner

He is unfairly and unjustly associated with Hitler.

[JVS]

14. He is considered one of the greats, He is one of the greats.

So I don't think he is underrated. I love his work.

[Robb]

16. Is Dvorak "one of the greats"?

I'm a fan. :shrug:

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. I would say so - he gets a lot of play

Though realistically he might need to be called a tier 1b great, after the tier 1a grouping of the truly popular Mozart/Bach/Beethoven/Brahms, since they get played/performed far more of a percentage than anyone else.

[RandomKoolzip]

10. Ahem!

<<<<<<look right here.


Michael Finnissy comes to mind, plus Harry Partch, but Zappa's classical works get derided by lots of people for the wrong reasons. I never would have gotten into 20th century "classical" composers had it not been for Uncle Frank.

Oh, and George Antheil's "Ballet Mechanique" is the greatest piece of composed music ever. You must see it performed live by a large group to get the full effect.

Yes, I know these guys aren't "classical" enough; I'm just not very fond of pre-Stravinsky composers...most are too "genteel." I like dissonance and odd metics.

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. Darn right!

I mentioned him earlier - good to see another supporter.

I also like Partch - very interesting works he composed! Went to a great discussion/perforamnce of Partch's work at manhattan school of music a number of years ago. It was given by one of Partch's proteges who maintains partch's instruments, so we had a good lecture on the tuning system, the construction of the instruments and the music, what Partch was trying to do, and also had three or four pieces performed. It was a very cool afternoon. And free!

it was through Frank that I heard about Varese. The otehr composers Frank liked I knew, but I had never heard of Varese.

[RandomKoolzip]

12. Partch was a muthaf*cka! Imagine devising an entire musical language

to be played on instuments you yourself have built. Amamzing.

I forgot to mention Penderecki and Anthony Braxton....

[chenGOD]

13. Erik Satie.

Beautiful beautiful piano compostitions.

[Dancing_Dave]

41. Satie is COOL.

;)

[Kanary]

15. Dmitri Kabalevsky

Russian composer, 1904-1987. His Overture to Colas Breugnon is a wonderful piece.

Kanary

[HuckleB]

18. As the results of this poll clearly show...

it's Bartok by a mile.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

19. Saint-Saens

His "Noonday Witch" is tre-cool

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. And his organ symphony!

Wonderful!

[alwynsw]

21. I went for Bartok on the poll

but if I'd had my druthers, I'd vote for Hovhannes (sp?)

[Ratty]

22. Federico Mompou, Alberto Ginastera

Federico Mompou: Cataloninan. Died in 1987 but he was a marvellous composer. He wrote mostly for the piano, mostly very small pieces, his pieces are tonal, some very traditional with modern flavors, others quite modern and less accessible. My favorites are his "Variations on a Theme of Chopin," "Cançó i Danses," and the "Preludes." Most everything else he wrote is a little avant garde for my taste but those three pieces are more traditional and quite accessible. I wish I could recommend a recording but there aren't any good ones.

Alberto Ginastera: Argentinian. Died 1983. Very modern, very percussive style, yet still accessible. My favorite piece, and his best known, is "Danzas Argentinas." The middle movement is simply one of the most sweet and lovely pieces in all of music. The last movement will leave you breathless. There's another piano piece I like a lot but unfortunately the name escapes me.

I voted for Faure in the poll. He's often a very shallow composer but many of his works have great depth. I like especially his Ballade for Piano and Orchestra, and a few of his Nocturnes and Preludes.

[Zomby Woof]

23. Penderecki

An influence on Zappa, but overlooked because of the great Varese and also Webern.

[carpetbagger]

24. Alan Hovhaness.

American composer, 1911-2000. His trick, repeated several hundred times, was to use relatively simple, pretty harmonic structures over classical forms, representing various themes of Armenian and far-eastern mysticism and tone poems of mountains.

Here's a typical passage, from a harp concerto:

http://www.ykharp.com/music/hovhaness2.wav

[Rabrrrrrr]

27. Damn!!

Didn't know he died.

Sad indeed. I love his "And then there were whales". That was my introduction to Hovhannes. i think his music has too much of a similarity for my tastes, but at least it's a very interesting and serious similarity, anyway. Gotta love a guy who's definitely 20th century, but also wasn't afraid to use beautiful melodies.

Very sad to hear he died.

[regnaD kciN]

33. Yes. After a long and productive life.

He lived in the Seattle area, and his death was announced on KING-FM by Gerard Schwartz (the music director of the Seattle Symphony), who had just come from the hospital.

I was at a concert of the SSO about seven years ago, where the opening work was his "Mysterious Mountain" Symphony. At its conclusion, Hovhannes himself appeared in the auditorium to congratulate the conductor. A very tall and distinguished presence.

[ALago1]

25. Charles Ives

Actually, I really don't know if he is "underrated", but certainly I don't think he is as well known or popular as many other composers.

[Tikki]

26. Henry Purcell...

eom

[joeybee12]

28. Antonin Dvorak--up there with Mozart and Beethoven

Hasn't gotten his fair share yet.

[noonwitch]

63. Dvorak is my favorite, too

I love pretty much everything of his that I've heard. I would love to see a production of "Russalka", but that doesn't happen in the US very often, as most singers don't sing in czeck (although Renee Fleming does).
Much of his music is so romantic-my favorite is the Romance for Violin, but I also love the Prague Waltzes, the Nocturne and the Ninth Symphony (From the New World). My screen name is from one of the symphonic poems.

[pippin]

29. Anton Bruckner,

Johannes Brahms. More recent times: Ralph Vaughn Williams, Olivier Messiaen.

[Rabrrrrrr]

32. Ooooh, Bruckner is too long winded

And I say that as someone who's STOOD for the Ring Cycle. Twice. I don't mind long, but Bruckner hammers and hammers and hammers his point home. Good music, and I like it, but he needs an editor. :-)

[alwynsw]

30. I have to add Percy Aldridge Grainger

Lincolnshire Posey and Enigma Variations (based upon his dog's antics) are treasures.

My favorite Zappa quote: "Kids today wouldn't know real music if it bit them in the ass."

Still have my Phi Zappa Crappa poster.

[regnaD kciN]

34. I chose Bizet...

...mainly because most people know him only by Carmen, and haven't heard wonderful works like his Symphony in C. But, in truth, I don't think anyone on that list qualifies as "underrated" except for Schnittke -- and I've never heard any of his work, so I can't render a judgement. All of the others are standard members of "the classical pantheon," if not in the Bach/Mozart/Beethoven category of prominence.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

35. Stravinsky

especially for me, the ballets. But I guess they're pretty popular.

[0rganism]

42. Since when is Stravinsky *underrated*?

Sweet Jebus, he's probably the most popular 20th-century composer. I've never heard anyone complain about his music, altho legend has it that Debussy's comment to the young composer after seeing the Paris premiere of "Firebird" was, "Well, it's okay..."

His ballet "Rites of Spring" caused rioting. What the hell more could a composer ask for?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

50. Hey, what do I know?

But the original poster said:
"This could be the composer who hardly ever gets radio time, but everything you hear by him/her is superb."

and I don't think I've ever heard Stravinsky on the radio. Of course, I don't listen to the radio very much and there is no all-classical station here anyway...

[CanuckAmok]

36. From your list: Barber, but my first choice would be Stravinsky. n/t

[George_Bonanza]

73. Stravinsky is VERY well respected

Some of his stuff is a tad jarring to be lyrically beautiful, but his Firebird Suite is a supremely popular work and encompasses beautiful melodies with triumphant brass and some frenetic panicky segments.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

37. I voted for Schnittke

I'd never heard of him until the Oregon Symphony played some of his music, and I really liked it, so I sought out recordings.

I like Samuel Barber a lot, too, even pieces that AREN'T Adagio for Strings :-) , but poor Alfred didn't have any votes, so I decided that he was more underrated.

[0rganism]

43. Poor Alfie, he perfected postmodernism and no one even cares

No one was supposed to be able to perfect postmodernism, by definition, so maybe that's why he gets blown off? I dunno. He was one of those guys who could say, "Orchestral music is dead, the symphonic form is exhausted," and you had to take him seriously.

I dig Schnittke.

[foo_bar]

39. Leroy Andersen

*crickets chirping*

The local highbrow station does Faure marathons, or at least it feels like a marathon.

[ironflange]

44. Alkan

Composer of fiendishly difficult yet fantastically original and clever piano (mostly) works. As a bonus, suffered a very strange death.

[MaineDem]

45. Mascagni

I just love Cavalleria Rusticana (would be nice if I could spell it.)

Orff, too. Didn't he write "Carmina Burana"? That's powerful.

[Rabrrrrrr]

48. Yes, he did Carmina Burana

Did mostly educational kind of music for students. Good composer, though I wouldn't go so far as to call him under-rated - I'd say he's rated right about where ne deserves to be.

But then again, I've not listened to his entire oeuvre, so I am speaking partly from blindness.

Burana, though, really rocks. Amazing piece, and hilarious good fun to sing.

[rucky]

47. Hector Berlioz

symphonie fantistique is what he says it is.

[economic justice]

49. Edward Elgar !!!!!

Violin concerton in B minor.

A CLASSIC!

[Rabrrrrrr]

51. Elgar is in the "over-rated" thread

Sorry, but that's how it ended up.

[Speck Tater]

52. Not Gabriel Faure' because...

... well known and highly respected.

I voted "pther" for Carl Neilson.

[mitchtv]

53. Rimsky korsakov

I never get enough , such brilliant orchestration

[TrogL]

54. Karlheitz Stockhausen

His later work gets really strange (7 cellos in helicopters???) but his early stuff is ground breaking.

[Gato Moteado]

55. how about mahler?

and, i also agree that dvorak is underrated.

one of my favorite composers, who's great but not well known, is domenic scarlotti.

[TrogL]

61. Mahler gets plenty of airtime

He's a bit bombastic for modern taste.

[foo_bar]

56. Rameau, Jean-Phillippe

harpsichords are also underrated.

[Rooktoven]

57. Frank Zappa --nt

[ChoralScholar]

58. hrmm

I'm gonna have to go with Philip Glass here. Even for a minimalist composer, his stuff is pretty cool. If you doubt, checkout 'Einstein on the Beach'.

[Snow]

65. "Facades"

also the violin concerto, with Bobby McDuffy playing it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

68. Music in 12 parts

Seminal!

Also, of course, Einstein. And Akhnaten and Satyagraha. Itaipu - great one. Music in Changing Parts. Koyaanisqatsi.

I've been disappointed with some of his later stuff, though, including the Symphony No. 5 that was supposed to be so awesome. he's really starting to sound the same.

Oh, and the Voyage was fantastic! I wish they'd release a recording of it.

[terrya]

60. Vaughn Williams. n/t

[myrna minx]

67. I agree. Fantasia

is so haunting and beautiful.

[grannylib]

62. Niccolo Paganini

[GoddessOfGuinness]

66. Johann Svendsen (1840-1911)

He wrote a couple of beautifully orchestrated symphonies, some lovely pieces for violin and orchestra (his Romance being the only one I've heard performed here), and a number of chamber works.

Working in Grieg's shadow at a time when few Scandinavian composers were taken seriously limited his fame to the local spotlight. I'd never heard of him until I was asked to perform his Romance at an event honoring the author of a book about Svendsen.

I've since listened to his symphonies (his 2nd is the better of the two), his octet, and two of his quartets. This is a composer who needs more American airtime...

[Aristus]

69. Gustav Holst.

His 'The Planets' suite is incredible, especially 'Jupiter'. And he wrote a number of pieces for the undervalued concert band that were true masterworks.

[dreissig]

78. They're Playing It To Death

Yes, I like Gustav Holst. But the New York classical station is playing it to death.

[Betty]

71. I love Ravel

and Debussy. Also Berg. (Lulu and Woeck ROCK)

[Wednesdays]

72. When I took some composition courses

back in my undergrad days, the prof said in effect that Tchaikovsky "didn't know how to develop a theme." And the composition students had a "Bash Tchaikovsky" attitude for the better part of a year, parroting the prof's contention that Tchaikovsky couldn't develop a theme.

Personally, I thought it was all unfair--I think Tchaikovsky was a wonderful composer...despite the Nutcracker stuff being played to death at Christmastime.

[dreissig]

79. Peter and the Wolf

Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" is played so often that I root for the wolf.

[ironflange]

75. Havergal Brian

Wrote some amazing, absolute top-drawer stuff (eg Symphonies 3, 7, 8, 16). However, also came out with plenty of really dull stuff. Has a lot of interesting things to say, though.

[Malikshah]

76. Sibelius, yes--but Rossini as well

Rossini gets a major bum rap--has for years--he deserves much more praise these days than he's been given.

His ballet music, Stabat Mater, the operas (not just il barbiere--but Turco in Italia, Italiani in Algieri, Viaggio a Rheims, William Tell-not just the overture, La Donna del Lago, Bianca i Fallieri, etc)

He has a way about him--plus he knew how to live. No Chopin was he...

Of course this comes from someone who greatly appreciates Arthur Sullivan's music as well.

[dreissig]

80. I Forgot Ernesto Lecuona

Lecuona was among the leading composers in early sound films, writing scores for numerous American and Latin American movies, including:

"Under Cuban Skies," MGM (1931)
"Free Soul," MGM (1931)
"Susana Lenox," MGM (1931)
"Pearl Harbor," MGM (unknown year)
"La Cruz y La Espada" (The Cross and The Sword), MGM (unknown year)
"Always in My Heart," Warner Bros. (1942)
Title song was Oscar nominee for Best Song
"One More Tomorrow," Warner Bros. (1946)
"Carnival in Costa Rica," 20th Century Fox (1947)
"Maria La O" (Mexican film, unknown year)
"Adios, Buenos Aires" (Argentine film, unknown year)
"La Ultima Melodia" (Cuban film, unknown year)

http://www.spaceagepop.com/lecuona.htm

[dreissig]

77. Grieg

And not just the Piano Concerto in A Minor.

Chopin's less accessible stuff is underappreciated. I'm in and out of Beethoven, although I like the Violin Concerto. I appreciate it more if the violinist doesn't go mad like it's all about him ... but they all do.

I don't care if I ever hear Handel again. Give it a moratorium of about 5 years. And 10 years for the Hallelujah Chorus.

Bach is overplayed, too.