Your favourite "not widely appreciated" piece

[stormx]

Hi !!

There are a lot of very well known piano pieces that almost everyone like.

What about the opposite?
Are there any pieces you really adore and nobody seems to care about it? 

In my case, it seems i have a completely standard taste, because those pieces i particulary like are usually widely appreciated as well   

[BoliverAllmon]

Hi !!

There are a lot of very well known piano pieces that almost everyone like.

What about the opposite?
Are there any pieces you really adore and nobody seems to care about it? 

In my case, it seems i have a completely standard taste, because those pieces i particulary like are usually widely appreciated as well   

shostakovich P&F. all of them.

[greyrune]

i don't know how widely appreciated it is but i love prokofiev's 3rd concerto.

In my case, it seems i have a completely standard taste, because those pieces i particulary like are usually widely appreciated as well

That's becuase if lots of people like them they are generally good peices, nothing to be ashamed of.

[decadent]

judging from what I have read on this forum, liszt's b minor isnt so widely appreciated here...

[shasta]

Joplin's rags.  Many of them are quite devilish.

[nicko124]

Joplin's rags.  Many of them are quite devilish.

The rags are well known though. Ok there might be some that are less well known or not appreciated but on the whole they are well known.
By 'devilish' you mean they are difficult: i agree they are difficult compared to how they sound. I think that the novice versions that people play have established them as being easy when the real versions are tricky.

[Kassaa]

Grande Solo de Concert-Liszt

[rob47]

Mozart - 10 variations on that "unser dummer.." by Gluck. (It's not really wideley appreciated anymore i don' think)

Liszt's Ballades

Rossini's Sins Of Old Age pieces

[viking]

I just heard a performance of Liszts premier ballade, and it is amazing.  I had never heard this before, but check it out, its awesome.
SAM

[musicsdarkangel]

Even though it isn't unpopular, I think that Chopin's Scherzo no 1 needs some more good recordings...and appreciation.

I would also add Franck - Symphonic Variations to this list.

[ted]

The piano music of David Thomas Roberts
The piano music of Ferdinand Morton
The piano music of Tom Waller
The piano music of James Johnson
The piano music of James Scott

I've come to the conclusion that good players avoid this music because, while it is easy enough to play the notes, to play them with real life and meaning is extremely difficult for those trained in orthodox ways - especially with regard to rhythm.

[Derek]

Rustle of Spring by Christian Sinding! My teacher called it a "piece of fluff." I disagree. It totally r0x.

[Nightscape]

I like the Barber Excursions op. 20.  I also like the Chopin Mazurkas (which aren't played often) and the Debussy Etudes.

[thalbergmad]

I absolutely adore Souvenirs D'Andalousie by Gottschalk.

Nothing profound but delightful to the ear.

[steinwayguy]

Boulez's 1st sonata


All in all, I consider myself a really standard-repertoire kind of guy, unfortunately.

[Lance Morrison]

I find myself disliking many classical pieces which are considered so great and are not from the modern era (and in a modern idiom). I try to listen to pieces which people always rave about on here, and am consistantly dissappointed. Examples---most of the Beethoven sonatas, much Mozart, Brahms' Handel Variations, Goldberg Variations, Diabelli Variations, Liszt Bm Sonata, etc....

I still like modern pieces which are well known, by composers such as Stravinsky, Bartok, Debussy, Ravel, etc......but prefer composers who are just a little less popular. Okay, so Schönberg is well known, but he is mostly treated with contempt. I also love Ives, and quite like Berg and Webern. I am trying to move past the early 20th century and learn about others, but havn't gotten much further than Boulez, Berio, Nono, and Ligeti......and I am also trying to find composers from the 20th century who were much more obscure. With all that in mind, currently the people who I am interested in listening to include Finnessy, Flynn, Krenck, Lachenmann, Grisey, Murail, Vishnegradsky, Crumb, Isherwood, Eaton, Stockhausen (of course quite well-known is he!), Ferneyhough, Lutoslawski, Lindberg, Hespos, Barrett, Simpson, Skalkottas, Hába, Carter, Takemitsu, Wolpe, Dallapiccola, Schnittke, etc...

So.....I guess most of my favourite pieces are not so widely appreciated.

P.S.---All of the great & popular composers have pieces that i like, I just often can't like some of the ones that i'm SUPPOSED to! Actually, a major difficulty I have is liking the entirity of many works. Often I will find myself like half of a piece, or 1/4.

[Rach3]

Beethoven op. 2/1 - especially the last two movements.

Prokofiev 9th sonata.

Paul Schoenfeld, Cafe Music (piano trio).

[apion]

I would also add Franck - Symphonic Variations to this list.

Agreed.  I would also add Strauss' Burleske in d minor for piano and orchestra.  Both are simply marvelous. 

[Pumpkinhead]

Mendelssohn's Variations Serieuses. Definately one of my favorite Romantic works. Difficult and highly underrated.

[JamesS]

James Macmillan's Piano sonata.

I don't how well Macmillan is known on this forum but he is very widely known in the UK. He's Scotish born and draws a lot of his ispiration from the Scotish landscape as well as Folk traditions. He is possibly considered by many who know his music to be one of the very finest composers of his generation. He is about 50 now I think. His music is very human and draws on a lot of different influences, it is also very beautiful as well. I don't know how else to describe his music, except I would really recommend listening to some.

As well as that pretty much anything by Debussy. Also the music of the Romainian composer George Enescu. And Sibelius, for some reason his music is still somewhat neglected, with the exception of his better known works.

J.

[Glyptodont]

Alexander Tcherepnin, "Bagatelles"

[ramseytheii]

James Macmillan's Piano sonata.

I don't how well Macmillan is known on this forum but he is very widely known in the UK. He's Scotish born and draws a lot of his ispiration from the Scotish landscape as well as Folk traditions. He is possibly considered by many who know his music to be one of the very finest composers of his generation. He is about 50 now I think. His music is very human and draws on a lot of different influences, it is also very beautiful as well. I don't know how else to describe his music, except I would really recommend listening to some.

.

[quantum]

Scriabin, espeially the later stuff. 

I once heard Andre Jovilet's Sonata No.1 live.  I especially remember the 2 mvt. which the performer described as a sort of "tropical nocturne" with all the sounds you may hear in a rainforest.  I still haven't been able to find a recording of this piece. 

[sharon_f]

...I also like the Chopin Mazurkas (which aren't played often)....

I couldn't agree more. They are some of the most beautiful music Chopin wrote.

I also ditto the Franck Symphonic Variations and Tcherepnin Bagatelles and I would add the Saint Saens 1st Piano Concerto, the Mendelssohn Songs Without Words, Mompou's Cancions y Danzas and Haydn's Piano Sonatas.

[JamesS]

Interesting, I didn't think I would see another reference to this piece.  My friend and former teacher Nathan Carterette played the sonata for MacMillan in a fascinating masterclass.  I was in attendance, and indeed MacMillan paralleled his poetic conception of the piece with his romantic view of Scottish history.  It sounded complex and difficult, but there were many beautiful moments making original use of the piano's sonority.  Nathan showed me the score afterwards and it looked incredibly unpianistic, especially the long second movement, also with insane metronome markings (which MacMillan, I recall with satisfaction, said to ignore.)

Walter Ramsey

It's great to find someone else who knows this piece! I am playing it in a recital in about a month, as part of my end of year assessed recital. It is a complex piece but it has a number of thematic ideas, most notably a very long sustained melodic line which underpins the whole work. It's actually quite pianistic although there are some very aukward moments and certainly it is not your usual sort of piano writing. His metronome marks are rediculous at times and it's good to hear that he said not to take too much notice of them! Another interesting thing about the sonata is that Macmillan's second symphony is more or less an orchestration and expantion of the sonata, it is a very beautiful work and shows Macmillan's skill at producing imaginative orchestral colours.

J.

[Toivot]

R.Schumann - "The Bird as Prophet"

J.Gungl (quite unknown composer) - "Dreams on the Ocean"

[stormx]

..., the Mendelssohn Songs Without Words,...

Sharon:
IMO, Mendelssohn's "Songs Without Words" are indeed widely appreciated.
Wonderfull pieces 

[raffyplayspiano]

I think VIlla-Lobos, the Three Maries are a not appreciated as much as they should. They are short and not too difficult, but I think they are quite charming. 

Raffy

[musicsdarkangel]

Agreed.  I would also add Strauss' Burleske in d minor for piano and orchestra.  Both are simply marvelous. 

ahh wonderful concerto.

A friend of mine at Wesleyan did a great job of that performance this year.

[hodi]

mendelssohn fantasy in f# minor
schumann sonata in g minor

[ramseytheii]

It's great to find someone else who knows this piece! I am playing it in a recital in about a month, as part of my end of year assessed recital. It is a complex piece but it has a number of thematic ideas, most notably a very long sustained melodic line which underpins the whole work. It's actually quite pianistic although there are some very aukward moments and certainly it is not your usual sort of piano writing. His metronome marks are rediculous at times and it's good to hear that he said not to take too much notice of them! Another interesting thing about the sonata is that Macmillan's second symphony is more or less an orchestration and expantion of the sonata, it is a very beautiful work and shows Macmillan's skill at producing imaginative orchestral colours.

J.

.
Walter Ramsey

[shoenberg3]

I am disappointed to find out that no one mentioned CV Alkan yet.

He, in my opinion, is the most creative composer in the Romantic Era. His Concerto for piano solo always blows me away. 

[Dazzer]

hindemith. particular hooked on the 2nd mvt of the 3rd sonate.

and last mvt of barber sonata.

boliver: all the shostakovich prelude and fugues? freak!!!!!!!:P:P:P

[chromatickler]

I am disappointed to find out that no one mentioned CV Alkan yet.

He, in my opinion, is the most creative composer in the Romantic Era. His Concerto for piano solo always blows me away. 

MUCH respect. da 39/7 is also a neglected FURY CLAZZIC

[odsum25]

I would say Barber's Excursions, almost all of the Chopin Mazurkas, Alkan's Le Festin d'Esope, Mendelssohn's Variations serieuses, the Liszt Ballades, much Scriabin, and pretty much all of Janacek's few solo piano works.  I also think the Copland Piano Sonata and Variations are quite underappreciated.

[00range]

Rameau's Gavotte and variations in A minor.

[daral]

Haydn fantasia in c major, franck prelude fugue and variation in d major, schubert military march in d major (IIRC).

[Bouter Boogie]

Suggestion Diabolique - Prokofiev 

[MaryBox]

Barber's Nocturne, G-Flat Excursion, and Ginastera's Piano Sonata

[dancingfingers]

I know they're not obscure, but nobody seems to give much notice to the Bach partitas, as though they're overshadowed by the WTC. But they're really wonderful-- I especially love nos. 2 and 4.

Also, nobody mentions the Chopin Barcarolle around here; in my opinion, this is one of the most poetic Chopin works.

Oh, and what about Beethoven op. 101? It's deep and beautiful, but somehow gets much less exposure than the last four.

[pianoguy]

I am a fan of Nobuo Uematsu, the composer of the soundtracks to many of the games in the Final Fantasy series. I really like his "To Zanarkand" (from final fantasy 10) for piano.

[rachmaninoff_969]

All of Ligeti's etudes and Saint-Saens Africa Fantasy for piano and orchestra

[zemos]

I am a fan of Nobuo Uematsu, the composer of the soundtracks to many of the games in the Final Fantasy series. I really like his "To Zanarkand" (from final fantasy 10) for piano.

I'm with you, he's great! I love the music of each Final Fantasy... (well, I also played them all (almost) 1-10)

[chopintod]

...I also like the Chopin Mazurkas (which aren't played often)....

I couldn't agree more. They are some of the most beautiful music Chopin wrote.

Ditto! Perhaps you could tell from my screen name...Chopin is my fav.  The mazurkas are beautiful, but the nocturnes, preludes, and etudes sometimes overshadow them, methinks.

Terry

[C-A]

My favorite not widely appreciated piece (Top 5)
#5:
Chopin's Polonaise Op.44 in F# minor
Very energetic (but kinda repetative), long, nice to hear(only the middle part).
#4:
Beethoven's Sonata 14/1 in E Major
Very playful 1st movement, kinda spooky 2nd movement, and a mozart-like 3rd movement.
#3:
Chopin's Nocturne Op.9, no.3 in B Major
I think this might be the least famous nocturne- the theme is kinda out of tune when heard, but after that, comes the 2nd part that is pleasing to the ears. The agitato doesn't suit the nocturne very well, especially in a Major like this one, but an Agitato part suits a minor nocturne, like the Famous C#minor Nocturne.
#2:
Shostakovich's Piano Concerto no.2 in F Major
Energetic, Quirky and Odd 1st & 3rd movements, with a peaceful and serene 2nd movement. I like the 2nd and 3rd movements, the 2nd makes me relax from stress and other problems, while the 3rd is quite addictive since it's very energetic and odd (This movement has parts in 7/8 time signature).
#1:
Chopin's Nocturne in B-flat minor Op.9, no.1
This is my most favorite nocturne and "not widely appreciated" piece.
It's more relaxing than the famous Op.9, no.2(theme is too repetative, with minor adjustments the notes on each recap).
This one is one of the nocturnes that is seldomly played.

[Nightscape]

Actually, it is the music of Final Fantasy that I attribute to starting my love for classical music.  I especially like the music of Final Fantasy VIII and Tactics.  (I have the orchestral arrangement CD of VIII, very very nice.)  Also another good composer is the writer of Chrono Trigger's soundtrack, Yasunori Mitsuda (who completed the soundtrack when he was 22).  Chrono Cross has an excellent score too, as does the creepy game Vagrant Story (notice that these are all Squaresoft games!).  If you ever get a chance, just listen to the theme from Magus's Castle, it doesn't get much creepier than that!

[steinwayguy]

For starters, Beethoven's 2nd sonata in the Opus 10 set, F Major. Fascinating piece.

Also, recently I have been turned on to the Ligeti Etudes, particularly "Disorder".

[mlsmithz]

Despite being a once avid video RPGamer (I don't seem to have the time for it now), I never could listen to the soundtracks outside the games, even if I thought they were very good.  I won a CD of the FF10 OST in a music competition at a website once and it's still in the plastic wrap.  Same goes for film soundtracks; I love Bernard Herrmann's film work, especially for Alfred Hitchcock, but I can't listen to it on its own without feeling there's something missing.

Anyway, first and foremost: the Lyapunov Transcendental Etudes.  A wonderful complement to the Liszt set and yet they've only been recorded three times (Kentner, Binns, Scherbakov).  I'm not an Alkan connoisseur per se but I do love most of the major key and minor key etudes (I must admit to not much caring for Festin d'Esope - my favourite is 'En rhythme molossique') and the Grande sonate and Sonatine.  Hm.... Beethoven, Op.10 No.3 is one of his breakthrough early works, I've often thought, but it doesn't get much attention (nor, it seems, do many of Beethoven's sonatas without titles except for the last three).  Chopin's Scherzo No.4 and Impromptu No.3 are two of my favourites and some of his best late work but they are not nearly as widely appreciated as the other scherzi and impromptus (though it must be said all three Impromptus are not widely appreciated - the Fantasie-Impromptu, on the other hand....).  Liszt's Grand Solo de Concert and Fantasy on 'Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen' (which are on the same CD in Leslie Howard's complete collection of Liszt piano works).  The Brahms B minor rhapsody rather lives in the shadow of the G minor rhapsody, but I much prefer the former (the secondary theme in D minor is one of my favourite moments in all of Brahms).  The second book of Images and the Estampes by Debussy, and the first two Impromptus by Faure (the first seems to be more obscure than the second).  Rachmaninov's Trio elegiaque in D minor, especially the second movement variations.  The last Chopin-Godowsky etude, combining two of my favourite Chopin etudes, Op.10 No.11 and Op.25 No.3, doesn't seem to receive as much attention as others in the set.  And some, if not necessarily all, of the Shostakovich Op.34 (the last six especially) and Op.87 (I actually don't like the last prelude and fugue from Op.87 very much; my favourite is No.18, in F minor), and the F major piano concerto (it's a nice change of pace to hear Shostakovich writing something upbeat in a non-ironic way!).

If I had to choose a favourite from that list, I probably couldn't!

[pianojems]

Beethoven Sonata Op.7 in E major (rarely played)
Gluck/Sgambati Melodie
Prokofiev sonata No. 5

[lulubird]

For starters, Beethoven's 2nd sonata in the Opus 10 set, F Major. Fascinating piece.

YES!!! a very good friend of mine has been studying this piece, it's an amazing work!!

I'm currently working on 2 wonderful/addictive and underrated pieces: Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze (*droooollll*) and the 2nd Mendelssohn concerto, in d minor. The 1st is SO overplayed, but the 2nd is fact far better!

ps - this was my very entry