Most Underplayed/Underrated Composers/Pieces

[weissenberg2]

In my opinion, he has some good music, but a lot of it isn't even good enough to gather dust.

what is that supposed to mean? can you give an example of some of his works that "isn't even good enough to gather dust"?  the only work by him that I have heard that was mediocre was the wind octet that was not even that bad.

[retrouvailles]

what is that supposed to mean? can you give an example of some of his works that "isn't even good enough to gather dust"?  the only work by him that I have heard that was mediocre was the wind octet that was not even that bad.

I've heard all of the piano concertos and some of the piano works. There were some nice moments in the first piano concertos, but the others seemed awfully generic and didn't make much of an impression on me. I felt the same way about the piano works that I've heard.

[imbetter]

I agree that reinecke had some very nice stuff but he wrote so much that it can't all be great.

[weissenberg2]

I've heard all of the piano concertos and some of the piano works. There were some nice moments in the first piano concertos, but the others seemed awfully generic and didn't make much of an impression on me. I felt the same way about the piano works that I've heard.

I've heard all of the piano concertos and some of the piano works. There were some nice moments in the first piano concertos, but the others seemed awfully generic and didn't make much of an impression on me. I felt the same way about the piano works that I've heard.

I have never heard any of the piano concerti and I have heard some of his piano works, his piano works I thought were decent. I think his chamber music is very original (what other piece sounds like the undine sonata?)

I think his music in general is very original. As far as I am aware of he was the first one to: write a piece for a single hand, first to use out of the way instrumentation (piano, horn, oboe) first to have a set of variations on a non-original theme in a sonata. He was also an important teacher, some of his notable students were Grieg, Albeniz and Janacek.

[retrouvailles]

As far as I am aware of he was the first one to: write a piece for a single hand, first to use out of the way instrumentation (piano, horn, oboe) first to have a set of variations on a non-original theme in a sonata. He was also an important teacher, some of his notable students were Grieg, Albeniz and Janacek.

Some of that stuff can be argued. Carl Czerny wrote a piece for a single hand before Reinecke, actually (an etude). Also, being an important teacher doesn't make you an important or a good composer. Just look at Paul Dukas (the sonata is probably his only great work).

[pk]

All those composers lived 100-200 years ago, but are still played.
I think modern contemporary composers are underplayed/underrated

[retrouvailles]

All those composers lived 100-200 years ago, but are still played.
I think modern contemporary composers are underplayed/underrated

Very very true. That applies to most of them, though. Composers like John Adams are grossly overplayed.

[pk]

Havent even heard of him, cant be that overplayed
All the most famous modern pianists travels with a repertoire of hundreds of years old music, Kissin Argerich Lang Lang ...
Does anyone have a contemporary sonata on the repertoire 

[weissenberg2]

Some of that stuff can be argued. Carl Czerny wrote a piece for a single hand before Reinecke, actually (an etude). Also, being an important teacher doesn't make you an important or a good composer. Just look at Paul Dukas (the sonata is probably his only great work).

Very true. But the Reinecke piano sonata for the left hand alone is the first serious musical work for a solo hand.

[weissenberg2]

I don't mean to keep spamming with underrated composer, but the Austrian composer Apostel deserves much more recognition.

[indutrial]

I don't mean to keep spamming with underrated composer, but the Austrian composer Apostel deserves much more recognition.

Another Austrian worth mentioning in this regard would be Ernst Krenek, who sorely deserves more performances. It looks like Phoenix Edition is overseeing a definitive 'Krenek Edition', which will hopefully clear some of the dust from his large oeuvre. Krenek's work is stylistically all over the place, much like Stravinsky's.

[edwardweiss]

 Yes, yes, weissenberg2 and indutrial-I wholly agree that Apostel and Krenek are clearly underrated and underplayed, also Hans Eisler. -I have been looking through Apostel's 'Kubiniana' recently [My God-how you have to count!] and Eisler's Sonata Op.1. The experience has told me that I have much to learn.