Neglected pieces/composers

[pianojems]

I have found that there are many beautiful and fun pieces by certain composers that are totally unnoticed and unplayed. They are also rarely recorded if ever, therefore making it hardpressed for me to find one.Most pianists play pieces by the greats such as Bach,Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and etc.
What about composers such as:
Schytte, Jensen, Schutt, Raff, Henselt, Sgambati,and many more?
Also there are many pieces by popular composers that are unnoticed.

Which pieces/composers do you think are neglected that you like( not including concertos and such...covered on other links).

[JK]

The early 20th century Romanian composer George Enescu wrote some really wonderful music.  

[DarkWind]

Rubinstein's work except for the Melody in F. And York Bowen.

[donjuan]

Rubinstein's work except for the Melody in F. And York Bowen.

yick. I hate the Melody in F.  You would think such an amazing pianist could write something better..yick

[sagenwc]

Godowsky and Busoni are neglected too.  As is Clementi (his gradus ad parnassum should replace hanon).  A lot of Rachmaninoff's vocal music and works without opuses are also neglected.

[ted]

Frank Bridge
John Ireland
Cecile Chaminade
David Thomas Roberts
Hal Isbitz
James Scott
James Johnson
Zez Confrey
.
.

[Clare]

Janacek!   Some lovely lovely pieces.

[pianojems]

also women composer's such as:
Clara Schumann
Marianne von Martinez
Maria Theresia Von Paradis
Maria Agata Szymanowska
Fanny mendelssohn
Teresa Careno
Lili Boulanger
Cecile Chaminade
Amy Beach
more...

I have some great pieces by these women composers, but they are rarely heard if ever. Its sad that classical music is still so discriminating to women....its still a man's world.

[f0bul0us]

HA, during my first year of piano lessons I thought Bela Bartok was a woman. It wasn't until I finished grade 10 that I saw an actual picture of him

Alberto Ginastera
Isaac Albeniz
Manuel de Falla
Enrique Granados
Rhene Jaque
Pierre Sancan
Philip Lambro

[pianojems]

Debussy Etudes!

[shasta]

Ives
Gottschalk

[janice]

HA, during my first year of piano lessons I thought Bela Bartok was a woman.

LOL!!  So did I !!

[sharon_f]

Villa-Lobos wrote a great deal of piano music that is seldom performed or recorded.

Carl Maria von Weber's piano works are also very underplayed. (His Konzertstuck is simply woderful!)

It seems like every pianist at one time or another has played one of the Tcherepnin Bagatelles. Believe it or not they have only been recorded once by Martha Braden on the CRI label.

Muczynski's wonderful Preludes have also only been recorded once by Muczynski himself for Laurel Records.

Even among the popular composers there is a lot of "neglected" repertoire. Haydn's piano sonatas are wonderful but only a handful are ever performed. Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words can also be added to this list. Schumann's Abegg Variations are wonderful and should be programmed much more than they are. Even some of the Beethoven piano sonatas seem to be "ignored": Op. 22, Op. 31, No. 2, the two movement sonatas Op. 54 & Op. 78.

[dlu]

Humell (piano concertos, sonatas, fantasies ect...)
Clara Schumann (all piano works)
Dvorak (piano concerto, and solo piano works, except for humoresque)
all works by:
Grenados, Albeniz, Soler, de Falla,  Turina, Faure, Chabrier
Medtner!!!!!!!!!!(sonatas, fairy tales!!!!!!! ;D)
Griffes
Gottschalk
Sibelius (sonatas, sonatinas, rondinos, character pieces)
MacDowell (piano concertos!!!!!!!!!!woodland sketches, sonatas ect...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Bartok (some pieces)
ect.................................................
That's all that comes to mind at the moment ;D
DLu

[Shagdac]

I feel one of the most underated composers is Louis Moreau Gottschalk! His music is wonderful!!! I have heard it described as "Out of it's time", Saloon Music, etc. For the most part, it is very difficult. An American composer in the 1800's, he was not taken as seriously as other composers, however many other more "well-known"  composers admired him. I think if you listen to his music, you see why. His music certainly was "on the jazzy" side for the times! From Louisana, he was infuenced greatly by the Creole flavour. I would recommend you listen to:

Bamboula
Le Banjo
The Union
Tremolo
La jota araengesa
The Dying Poet (probably his best known work)
Pasquinade

I sincerely hope you have an opportunity to listen/play these pieces. Would love to hear what you think if you hear them. One remarkable recording would be Cecile Licad (on Naxos)...Phillip Martin also has many CD's available with Gottschalk pieces!

S

[michelshestak]

absolutely anything by Janacek!

[bernhard]

Michele Esposito (1855 - 1929), Italian pianist and composer who spent most of his life in Ireland.

[goalevan]

I like melody in F

[Motrax]

Wow, someone mentioned Zez Confrey! Kitten on the Keys is one of my favorite pieces of music, period.

I'm going to go on a limlb and say that Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is not undeplayed, but much underappreciated in a purely musical, enjoyable sense. Very few people I know besides myself (just one, really) would be able to sit down and listen to a whole book of 24 preludes and fugues and remain happy with it the entire time. Many have the opinion that Bach's WTC I and II are purely pedantic work - very important in terms of being revolutionary for other composers to further develop their art, but rather dry and un-musical by themselves.

Or maybe all of you love listening to Bach, and I'm not contributing anything.  

[rohansahai]

The Bach Toccatas are very underplayed as well! The D-minor and E minor, in particular are very beautiful.

[DarkWind]

Villa-Lobos wrote a great deal of piano music that is seldom performed or recorded.

Carl Maria von Weber's piano works are also very underplayed. (His Konzertstuck is simply woderful!)

YES. Villa-Lobos has incredible and rich music. Modern, but nothing atonal. Weber's Rondo from his Sonata is difficult but beautiful.

[Nightscape]

What about much of Scriabin's music?
His Vers la flamme, for example, is very beautiful but rarely played.

Also his 8th piano sonata is very beautiful(although somewhat bitter) and hardly ever played or heard.