# Five works you have never heard in concert but would love to



## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Please list 5 works you have never heard in concert but would love to. Please post just five to begin with but feel free to post another sets of five later on!

First coming to mind, I would love to hear live:

Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6, Pathétique
Mahler: Symphony no. 9
Brahms: any Piano Quartet or String Quintet
Beethoven: String Quartet no. 16 in F


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

It's my own fault as I am too lazy and too broke to travel for concerts otherwise I could probably have heard all of them (except maybe Mahler 8 that might have needed some serious travelling)

Beethoven: 9th symphony
Bruckner: 7th symphony
Mahler 2nd, 8th, 9th symphony


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Kreisler jr said:


> (Except maybe Mahler 8 that might have needed some serious travelling)


Too bad you weren't in Nashville about ten years ago. The symphony went through the Mahler symphonies, including the 8th.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Five works I would love to hear in concert:
Anything by Webern. Times five.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Kreisler jr said:


> It's my own fault as I am too lazy and too broke to travel for concerts otherwise I could probably have heard all of them (except maybe Mahler 8 that might have needed some serious travelling)
> 
> Beethoven: 9th symphony
> Bruckner: 7th symphony
> Mahler 2nd, 8th, 9th symphony


You have plenty of wonderful concerts all the time in the Central Europe! Central Europe is a true music treasure land.

We always go to concerts when we travel in Europe (3 times a year). Heard Mahler´s 3rd in Freiburg, Maurizio Pollini in Berlin, Andras Schiff in Vienna, Helene Grimaud in Bremen, Prokofiev balette in Dresden Opera House...

After corona lockdowns it has seemed hard for me to really restart looking for concerts in Helsinki. Which is exactly what I should do. And will do. Uusimaa/Nyland/Region in Southern Finland has many great ensembles and concerts. And it takes less than 2 hours to travel to Lahti, Turku or Tampere.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

You are right but if one lives in a rural area one has to be willing to travel an hour or more to a city. I am too lazy and too poor to do that nowadays. It's not important enough for me to bother.

But I am surprised that you have never heard Tchaikovsky 6th! It's performed quite frequently; even I have heard it at least once, probably twice (the other occasion might have been the 5th, I am not sure, it's been over 20 years ago).


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Too many to list!

Joan Tower - Concerto for Orchestra (1991)
Elliott Carter - Piano Concerto, Variations for Orchestra, Concerto for Orchestra
Alban Berg - Violin Concerto
Krzysztof Penderecki - Violin Concerto No. 2: _Metamorphosen_ 
Harrison Birtwistle - Earthdances
Charles Wuorinen - 4th Piano Concerto
Bartok - any of his piano concertos
Samuel Barber - Piano Concerto

I could go on for pages...


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## Xenophiliu (Jan 2, 2022)

West of the Atlantic, it is so rare to hear an Elgar oratorio; I know I probably won't hear them with a live orchestra in my lifetime, but would love to.

I hear an awful lot of Mahler, Bruckner, Sibelius, Brahms, and Beethoven symphonies in my area, but rarely Vaughan Williams, so it would be nice to hear more of VW's symphonies.

The big symphonic choral works are so rarely presented during a major symphony season, thus my list of five is mainly made up of symphonic choral music.

Vaughan Williams - Symphony 1 ‘A Sea Symphony’
Poulenc - Gloria
Janacek - Glagolitic Mass
Schmidt - Book of the Seven Seals
Dyson - Canterbury Pilgrims


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Kreisler jr said:


> You are right but if one lives in a rural area one has to be willing to travel an hour or more to a city. I am too lazy and too poor to do that nowadays. It's not important enough for me to bother.
> 
> But I am surprised that you have never heard Tchaikovsky 6th! It's performed quite frequently; even I have heard it at least once, probably twice (the other occasion might have been the 5th, I am not sure, it's been over 20 years ago).


I have heard the Tchaikovsky 1st and 5th in concert, though! 

It is understandable not to bother to travel for a concert. It does take some money, too. Most of my greatest musical experiences have been with CD´s, anyway...

For us our trips to Europe with the concerts are something we have always valued. We love history, art, culture and languages so we put our work and effort into getting to enjoy some.


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## Xenophiliu (Jan 2, 2022)

Simon Moon said:


> Too many to list!
> 
> Samuel Barber - Piano Concerto


I was very fortunate this year to have Garrick Ohlsson passing through to join a 'rather rural, local' orchestra to play Barber's Piano Concerto. That was another work I never really thought I would hear live.


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## Yabetz (Sep 6, 2021)

Bach's St Matthew and St John Passions, Bruckner 8th, Mahler 8th, Sibelius 5th


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Bartok 1st or 2nd pc or "music for strings etc." would also be great. I have heard Bartok 3 but it's the least spectacular. 

The only field where I have heard most major works in concert, often several times, is (sacred) choral music. This is done by lay choirs in Germany all the time and while they are sometimes overtaxed, many of these performances are quite decent and its both local and affordable (although they usually hire professional soloists and orchestras, the latter can also be mixed). I have heard both Bach passions, b minor mass, Messiah, Creation, Mozart Requiem and c minor Mass, Beethoven Missa solemnis, Brahms and Verdi Requiem and some more.
That's why I picked the three big choral symphonies above, I find this large scale music much more impressive in concert.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

I'm not an avid concert goer (lots of reasons:, not a crowd person, other people tend to irritate me, lack of relatives or friends who are into the same stuff...) but there are some works that I'd love to see and hear live.

1. Schmidt's 4th, one of the most emotionally gripping works I know. Experiencing his 2nd or 3rd would be great too.
2. Pettersson's 6th, 7th or 8th, for that same reason.
3. Elgar's 1st or 2nd. Still virtually absent on the play lists of non-English orchestras.
4. Wetz. One of his symphonies, the violin concerto or that stunning Requiem. One can dream, right?
5. Rheinberger's 2nd "Florentiner". It's one of my pet peeves that there's only one (lackluster) recording of this masterpiece and the chances to ever encounter it in real life are zero.


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Bach: Mass in B minor, SMP & SJP 
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem 
Fauré: Requiem

Not only sacred works but choral music in general gets almost no representation in the third world country I live in. In fact even as an avid concert goer I don`t think I`ve ever attended a choral concert here in Istanbul and I don`t blame myself very much for that.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Never got around to these below.....
Tippett 4 Symphonies
Britten's Spring Symphony


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Strauss -- Eine Alpensinfonie
Magnard -- Symphony No. 4
Glazunov -- Symphony No. 5
Szymanowski -- Violin Concerto No. 2
Roussel -- Symphony No. 2


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Lutoslawski: Symphony No.3 
Ligeti: Violin Concerto
Mahler: Symphony No.8
Wagner: Lohengrin
Stravinsky: Petroushka


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

RobertJTh said:


> I'm not an avid concert goer (lots of reasons:, not a crowd person, other people tend to irritate me, lack of relatives or friends who are into the same stuff...) but there are some works that I'd love to see and hear live.
> 
> 1. Schmidt's 4th, one of the most emotionally gripping works I know. Experiencing his 2nd or 3rd would be great too.
> 
> 3. Elgar's 1st or 2nd. Still virtually absent on the play lists of non-English orchestras.


The Schmidt 4th has been an obsession of mine since the Mehta recording came out nearly 50 years ago. I've made it a mission in life to hear it in person. So far I've racked up Detroit, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Dallas, Philadelphia, My next step is to get it performed locally - I've even told the music director that if he programs it, I'll write the check for the rental parts. So far no luck.

The 2nd is a fantastic work to hear live, but it's so difficult to play that it's no wonder it isn't programmed more often. First performance was one that Sawallisch did with Philadelphia in his last season as music director. Then Bychkov did it with Vienna at the London Proms. That one concert made the whole trip to England worth it.

Elgar. I love those symphonies, especially the 2nd. And you're right, they don't get played too often outside of England. But even there, they're less common than you would think. I've caught both of them live only once. The 2nd was so memorable that I went back to the second performance. What's funny is that the work has so much orchestral detail that is utterly lost in a live performance but careful microphone use makes them far more audible on recordings.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

I'd love to hear Mahler's second again in a better acoustic than my only previous time - Bavarian RSO, Mariss jansons at the Royal Albert Hall, BBC Proms 2013.
I suspect we had bad seats but I was somewhat disappointed by the sound - the concert got great reviews.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Any five as long that they were taken seriously by the musicians and played with excellence, and that they weren't bizarre avant-garde stuff.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

My five:

1. Korngold: symphony in F sharp. (Hope to rectify that this year with the Berlin Phil)
2. Bloch: Symphony in C sharp minor
3. Raff: Symphony no. 5
4. Balakirev: Symphony no. 1
5. Prokofieff: Symphony no.2 (then I would have heard them all live!)


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Xisten267 said:


> Any five as long that they were taken seriously by the musicians and played with excellence, and that they weren't* bizarre avant-garde stuff*.


Then almost nothing off of my list above (post #7), then.



Although, I don't find it bizarre at all.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2
Kalinnikov Symphony No. 1
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1
Lalo Cello Concerto
Bruch Violin Concerto No. 2
Borodin Symphony No. 2
Rimsky Korsakov Symphony No. 2 'Antar'
.......

Plus a few dozen other works, a good deal of them being masterpieces by the 19th century Russian Romantics. Their music has resonated with me more than most.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Xisten267 said:


> Any five as long that they were taken seriously by the musicians and played with excellence, and that they weren't bizarre avant-garde stuff.


Are the Beatles Bizarre?


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

mbhaub said:


> My five:
> 1. Korngold: symphony in F sharp. (Hope to rectify that this year with the Berlin Phil)


The Berlin Phil. playing Korngold's Symphony would be an historic event, no? A few years ago the Berlin critics didn't give Schmidt's Fourth Symphony an easy time of it. It was the first time in over 60 years that they had played the work and the newly contracted Kirill Petrenko was conducting. At the time I thought the negative reviews might be due to the old Berlin-Vienna rivalry or to some other political issue. Elsewhere (e.g. the Proms) it was a great success. It will be interesting to see what the Berlin critics think of the Korngold.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

My five:

Sibelius: Kullervo, Op. 7

Mahler 7th
Raff : Cello concerto
Weber: Clarinet Concertos
Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Quintet or Clarinet Quintet


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Les Troyens. 
Schmidt. #4
Dumky Trio 
Glass violin concerto #2
Nielsen #1


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

There are plenty of pieces I love that I haven't heard in concert. But maybe I'll list works that have a special reason to hear them live.

Stockhausen's Gruppen ideally has 3 orchestras arranged around the audience.

Tallis's Spem in alium. There was a special traveling exhibit with the 40 voices taped and played from speakers arranged in a circle so a listener could walk inside the circle and hear the music all around them.

Boulez's Anthemes II. The solo violin plays and is recorded with the recorded sounds manipulated and broadcast through speakers. 

Reich's Music for 18 Musicians. I saw a youtube video of the work and was completely mesmerized for the hour long performance. 

Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. There's nothing unusual about the performance other than the music is perfect.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Roger Knox said:


> The Berlin Phil. playing Korngold's Symphony would be an historic event, no? A few years ago the Berlin critics didn't give Schmidt's Fourth Symphony an easy time of it. It was the first time in over 60 years that they had played the work and the newly contracted Kirill Petrenko was conducting.


I would not be surprised if pieces like Korngold or Schmidt would be played with Petrenko in the future.
The most uncommon (major) piece* I heard in concert was probably the Hans Rott symphony with the Berlin Phil (N. Järvi) around 15 years ago in Berlin.

* I have probably heard shortish pieces by modern composers that were a small part of a program and I have totally forgotten about.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

mmsbls said:


> Stockhausen's Gruppen ideally has 3 orchestras arranged around the audience.
> 
> Tallis's Spem in alium. There was a special traveling exhibit with the 40 voices taped and played from speakers arranged in a circle so a listener could walk inside the circle and hear the music all around them.


Spem in alium would also use church space effects with real singers; such pieces will really work only in their space, not on recordings. I don't think I have been to a St Matthew where the double choir effect was strongly perceivable (the churches are probably too small and they save on musicians I guess) but I heard the Verdi Requiem with brass distributed through the hall for the Dies irae (and/or Tuba mirum) which is a great effect.



> Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. There's nothing unusual about the performance other than the music is perfect.


There can of course be differences in the effectiveness of the staging. In Europe (or at least Germany/Austrias/Switzerland) it is a very frequently performed opera (top 10) and would not require much effort to see on stage (For some reason (lazy, see above) I have never seen Cosi and Flute on stage but Idomeneo, Figaro, Abduction and Giovanni, the last two several times)


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Kreisler jr said:


> Spem in alium would also use church space effects with real singers; such pieces will really work only in their space, not on recordings. I don't think I have been to a St Matthew where the double choir effect was strongly perceivable (the churches are probably too small and they save on musicians I guess) but I heard the Verdi Requiem with brass distributed through the hall for the Dies irae (and/or Tuba mirum) which is a great effect.
> 
> 
> There can of course be differences in the effectiveness of the staging. In Europe (or at least Germany/Austrias/Switzerland) it is a very frequently performed opera (top 10) and would not require much effort to see on stage (For some reason (lazy, see above) I have never seen Cosi and Flute on stage but Idomeneo, Figaro, Abduction and Giovanni, the last two several times)


Spem in alium live! Yes! That would be something!


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## verandai (Dec 10, 2021)

On top of my list at the moment: Mahler 8th

As this work is not often performed due to the orchestra size, I guess I have to travel quite a bit to see it - but I'm optimistic that I'll find a suitable location! Maybe I can combine it with a city trip...


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Nice idea for a thread, Waehnen! Here's 5 assorted works I'd like to hear live... I missed two of them due to the distances I would have needed to travel, at the time...

*Prokofiev SQ1* (seen the 2nd live but never seen this programmed)
*Elgar op.83 SQ* (Brodskys were doing this years back but the nearest to me was Newcastle and it was midweek)
*Part Tabula Rasa 
Dvorak SQ10 'Slavonic' *(should have seen this a few years back but was cancelled due to illness)
*Mendelssohn Octet op.20* (had the chance once but was on holiday whilst it was on)

Ensemble that are top of my 'to-see' list are the *Quatuor Modigliani.*


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

mbhaub said:


> The 2nd is a fantastic work to hear live, but it's so difficult to play that it's no wonder it isn't programmed more often. First performance was one that Sawallisch did with Philadelphia in his last season as music director. Then Bychkov did it with Vienna at the London Proms. That one concert made the whole trip to England worth it.


I can imagine! What do you think of the recording Bychkov made with the VPO? it got a lot of negative reviews, but I enjoy it and can't see anything wrong with it, really.
How does it compare to Jarvi/CSO or the live Leinsdorf/VPO (my favorite because of the spirited and idiomatic performance, Jarvi having the better recording and orchestral playing).



mbhaub said:


> 5. Prokofieff: Symphony no.2 (then I would have heard them all live!)


It's my favorite Prokofiev symphony, such an exciting work and original conception (based on Beethoven's op. 111). Hearing it live would be a blast indeed . But it would still shock the audience because of its modernity, even after almost 100 years...


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Handel's Royal Fireworks music with a band of 50 woodwinds and timpani

Varese "Ameriques"

Sibelius Symphony No. 7

Ligeti "Atmospheres"

Eliasson Symphony No. 4


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Simon Moon said:


> Then almost nothing off of my list above (post #7), then. Although, I don't find it bizarre at all.


I meant music that is avant-garde _and_ (to me) bizarre, but not that _all_ avant-garde music is bizarre. Something like this:






By the way, I enjoy Górecki's symphonies nos. 2 and 3. But I can't stand this string quartet.



hammeredklavier said:


> Are the Beatles Bizarre?


Of course not (well, maybe _Revolution 9_?). But some contemporary classical is, at least in my opinion.



Xisten267 said:


> *Any five* as long that they were taken seriously by the musicians and played with excellence, and that they weren't bizarre avant-garde stuff.


"Any five" because I've been only to a few concerts in my whole life so far (only two as far as I can remember now), so I have never heard in concert almost any piece of classical music. No money, no car, few CM performances next to where I live and my fear from listening to great music bad played caused this.


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## Phredd (Jul 7, 2020)

"In concert." I presume a fully-staged opera counts? Because, if so, I'm going with:

1. Das Rheingold
2. Siegfried
3. Götterdämmerung*
4. Janáček Sinfonietta
5. Bach Brandenburg Concerti on period instruments

*Yes, I know where _Die Walküre_ goes in the cycle, but I've seen that as a one-off, so it doesn't count for the question. Still, if I'm going to watch the other three, I may as well just go somewhere for the whole cycle. The Janáček somehow has never been programed near where I've lived at the time (missed it by a season once), probably because of the extra brass it takes. I've heard the Brandenburgs, but I really want to hear them live on period instruments. The modern sound just doesn't work as well for those.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

RobertJTh said:


> I can imagine! What do you think of the recording Bychkov made with the VPO? it got a lot of negative reviews, but I enjoy it and can't see anything wrong with it, really.
> How does it compare to Jarvi/CSO or the live Leinsdorf/VPO (my favorite because of the spirited and idiomatic performance, Jarvi having the better recording and orchestral playing).
> 
> 
> It's my favorite Prokofiev symphony, such an exciting work and original conception (based on Beethoven's op. 111). Hearing it live would be a blast indeed . But it would still shock the audience because of its modernity, even after almost 100 years...


The Bychkov Schmidt 2 is really good, but I find the sound to be less than ideal. There's not enough weight. I've always thought that the VPO made that recording just to redeem themselves from the previous two recordings they made of it. The Mitropoulos is poorly played; the opening is terrible. The Leinsdorf is certainly better, the sound better, but still far from perfect (in fairness, it's a monstrously difficult work). The Jarvi/Chicago outing is stupendous in both playing and sound. The Fabio Luisi recording is really well conducted, but the sound is suffocating.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

verandai said:


> On top of my list at the moment: Mahler 8th
> 
> As this work is not often performed due to the orchestra size, I guess I have to travel quite a bit to see it - but I'm optimistic that I'll find a suitable location! Maybe I can combine it with a city trip...


You're in Munich? Come to Leipzig next Mai as part of the 2023 Mahler Festival - they're doing all 10 symphonies, Das Lied and Klagende Lied, too! Not sure who's conducting the 8th, but who cares! And Leipzig is a quick train ride away,


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## Bryangth (8 mo ago)

Mahler: Symphony no. 9
Brahms: any Piano Quartet or String Quintet
[/QUOTE said:


> Piano quartet 25 for sure in a good acoustically pleasant hall.
> 
> Mahler 9 OR 10, but surely I would also like 1 and 5.


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## Wigmar (8 mo ago)

Waehnen said:


> Please list 5 works you have never heard in concert but would love to. Please post just five to begin with but feel free to post another sets of five later on!
> 
> First coming to mind, I would love to hear live:
> 
> ...


Bach concerto for two violins BWV 1043
Mozart: piano concerto no 23
Haydn: string quartet op 77:1
Schubert : string quintet 
Brahms: cello sonata op 38


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I've been luck enough to see some of the noted works ... RVW 1st, Kullervo, Tippett 3rd & 4th, however...


The Mahler 8th is the only one of the numbered symphonies that I haven't seen truly live ... I say truly because I have seen a movie theater simulcast but that's not quite the same thing.
I have seen the Bruckner 7th, 8th & 9th courtesy of messrs Giulini, Rattle & Muti but, strangely enough, not the 4th.
I have seen the Elgar 2nd but not the 1st. Interesting note, the 2nd was A. Davis and BBCSO in a suburb town about 25 miles north of San Diego!

A few others...
Busoni - Piano Conerto
Janacek - Glagolitic Mass
Any of the Bantock symphonies.
RVW 4th -> 9th


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Kreisler jr said:


> Spem in alium would also use church space effects with real singers; such pieces will really work only in their space, not on recordings. ...


I'm not sure what "really work" means, but I believe I would love being able to walk inside the circle of speakers and hear the voices all around me. Unfortunately, I think the exhibit is no longer available.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I don't think one should necessarily be walking around in circles. But these pieces like Gruppen or Spem in alium are clearly designed for certain spatial distributions in the performance space and except maybe with some fancy surround recording and playback this doesn't really work on recordings. That's what I meant.


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## yojimboken01 (7 mo ago)

Waehnen said:


> Please list 5 works you have never heard in concert but would love to. Please post just five to begin with but feel free to post another sets of five later on!
> 
> First coming to mind, I would love to hear live:
> 
> ...





Waehnen said:


> Please list 5 works you have never heard in concert but would love to. Please post just five to begin with but feel free to post another sets of five later on!
> 
> First coming to mind, I would love to hear live:
> 
> ...


1. Louise Farrenc Symphony #1 (or #3) 
2. Wilhelm Stenhammar Symphony #2
3. Jean Cras String Trio
4. Anything by Boris Tchaikovsky 
5. Shchedrin Concerto for Orchestra #3


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## OCEANE (10 mo ago)

Malx said:


> I'd love to hear Mahler's second again in a better acoustic than my only previous time - Bavarian RSO, Mariss jansons at the Royal Albert Hall, BBC Proms 2013.
> I suspect we had bad seats but I was somewhat disappointed by the sound - the concert got great reviews.


Thanks for sharing and I envy you!!!
Proms is such a great event of music.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Kreisler jr said:


> I would not be surprised if pieces like Korngold or Schmidt would be played with Petrenko in the future.
> The most uncommon (major) piece* I heard in concert was probably the Hans Rott symphony with the Berlin Phil (N. Järvi) around 15 years ago in Berlin.
> 
> * I have probably heard shortish pieces by modern composers that were a small part of a program and I have totally forgotten about.


When the Berlin Phil (Rattle) played _Azrael _by Josef Suk some critics were put out that the eminent orchestra would play such a "minor" composer. The Rott Symphony is a special case because it is such a fine work, and because of Rott's connection to Mahler as well as his tragic end. But who cares about the critics if they're more interested in politics than music? The Berlin Phil broadcast of Schmidt's Fourth was tremendous and I'm sure the Korngold will be too.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

mmsbls said:


> I'm not sure what "really work" means, but I believe I would love being able to walk inside the circle of speakers and hear the voices all around me. Unfortunately, I think the exhibit is no longer available.


_Forty-Voice Motet_ by Janet Cardiff based on _Spem in alium_ is on again at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. I found it exciting live, but a quite different experience than Tallis's original.



https://www.gallery.ca/whats-on/exhibitions-and-galleries/janet-cardiff-forty-part-motet-2


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I don't know for certain if it was the first time the BPO did Suk's _Asrael_ but I do know that it was done by Petrenko in 2020, and he has followed it up by two other major Suk pieces, _Ripening_ and A _Summer's Tale_


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## jsparkyp (Apr 11, 2015)

A few from my "wishlist". It's mostly string quartet works, naturally for me. Some works that I _have_ seen live include Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, Alban Berg's Wozzeck, Morton Feldman's String Quartet No.2, Georg Friedrich Haas's String Quartet No.3 (well, present in the venue with the lights turned off), Gustav Mahler's Symphonies 5-9, and Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Phototopsis and Die Soldaten.

1. Kevin Volans, String Quartet No.7. I have heard all of Volans' other twelve quartets, at least in recorded form (even No.8 once, in Berkeley, CA by the Kronos Quartet and wished I had _some _sort of covert recording device) but No.7 has eluded me.
2. Paul Cooper, String Quartets 1-4. Paul Cooper (1926-1996) taught at Rice Univerisity in Houston, TX and many of works were recorded mostly by the New York label, Composers Recordings, Inc., including his fifth and sixth quartets (two of my favorites), but it would be nifty to see his other quartets in some sort of form.
3. Georg Friedrich Haas, String Quartets 3, 9 and/or 10. I did mention that I "saw" No.3 live, but I would love to experience either of those works deep in a cave, with the natural acoustics working its wonder...
4. Olivier Messiaen, St. Francis of Assisi and György Ligeti, Le Grande Macabre. These two works were performed by the San Francisco Opera in different seasons and I squandered chances for both. I want those chances back...
5. Witold Lutosławski, Symphony No.2. Esa-Pekka Salonen became musical director of the San Francisco Symphony in 2018 (or so), the plague screwed things up in 2020 and I left the Bay Area in late 2020, hampering any chance of seeing EPS conducting that work (if it ever gets programmed by them)


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## Georgieva (7 mo ago)

Here is my five for now on:

Mahler: Symphony No.8
Bruckner: 7th symphony
Borodin: Symphony No. 2
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2
Wagner: Also Sprach Zarathustra

I could add one pianist - Murray Perahia


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## verandai (Dec 10, 2021)

mbhaub said:


> You're in Munich? Come to Leipzig next Mai as part of the 2023 Mahler Festival - they're doing all 10 symphonies, Das Lied and Klagende Lied, too! Not sure who's conducting the 8th, but who cares! And Leipzig is a quick train ride away,


Thanks a lot for the info! I'll keep it in mind, in case I don't find another opportunity before that!


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## Philidor (11 mo ago)

1. Olivier Messiaen: La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ
2. Franz Schubert: String Quintet
3. Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber: Missa Salisburgensis
4. Alfred Schnittke: Concerto for Choir
5. Oliver Messiaen: Livre du Saint Sacrement


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## cjvinthechair (Aug 6, 2012)

De Meij(Johan)NED Symphony no. 4 'Sinfonie der Lieder'
Sydor(Pawel)POL Symphony no. 1 'Chrztu'
Schmitt(Florent)FRA Psalm 47
Alfeyev(Hilarion)RUS Stabat Mater
Shchedrin(Rodion)RUS 'The Sealed Angel'

Well - why pick anything short or for small forces ?!


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

mbhaub said:


> You're in Munich? Come to Leipzig next Mai as part of the 2023 Mahler Festival - they're doing all 10 symphonies, Das Lied and Klagende Lied, too! Not sure who's conducting the 8th, but who cares! And Leipzig is a quick train ride away,


We shall look into that as well! Thanks! Haven’t been to Leipzig for ages.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Philidor said:


> Franz Schubert: String Quintet


The Schubert Quintet is one of my favorite works in all music, but I once sat through a performance of it, and it did nothing for me. It was probably the fault of the circumstances and the organisation, it being the second half of a varied chamber music program with different, more popular stuff in the first half - and the audience that came for the pre-pause popcorn was visibly (and audibly!) bored by the long and difficult work. You could tell that it had some effect on the musicians too.
I hardly visit live concerts anymore for that reason, the audience is just too much of a distraction. In the ideal case one should experience a feeling of mutual understanding and enjoyment, but all I mostly feel is irritation.


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## Philidor (11 mo ago)

I understand your experience and your consequences ... I think it must be the right place and the right ensemble. The Pavel Haas Quartet did it at the Schubertiade, the ABQ in its time at the same place ... the audience knows what is going on and that they are possibly attending a unique hour in their life ...


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

RobertJTh said:


> I'm not an avid concert goer (lots of reasons:, not a crowd person, other people tend to irritate me, lack of relatives or friends who are into the same stuff...) but there are some works that I'd love to see and hear live.
> 
> 1. Schmidt's 4th, one of the most emotionally gripping works I know. Experiencing his 2nd or 3rd would be great too.
> 2. Pettersson's 6th, 7th or 8th, for that same reason.
> ...


a man after my own heart here. I heard Schmidt 4 in a routine performance given by a provincial orchestra. I'd love to hear it done properly or, even more, his wonderful 2nd. I've never heard a Pettersson symphony live although performances were not that infrequent when I lived in Sweden at the end of the 70's. It's the 6th - his masterpiece in my view -- which I'd love to hear above all. I'd no idea that Rheinberger (whose Eb Mass inspired my own one) had written any symphonies so I must try and find this.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

dko22 said:


> I'd no idea that Rheinberger (whose Eb Mass inspired my own one) had written any symphonies so I must try and find this.


Alun Francis is a good conductor who deserves praise for his pioneering work (for Pettersson too!), but that Rheinberger recording isn't one of his best efforts. He takes 53 minutes for a work that could (and should?) be done in 40 minutes or so. Played way too sluggishly for a symphony that should breathe Italianate springtime happiness. But check it out at youtube if you're interested.
It must be said that Rheinberger wasn't a gifted orchestrator, and there's only a handful of symphonic works, it should all fit on 2 cd's.
The first symphony "Wallenstein" fares better on record, surprisingly, there's at least 3 recordings to choose from. And it's a fine work too, but rather derivative (Schumann, Liszt) and it has some dead spots.


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## thorne (Aug 8, 2014)

Off the top of my head --

Turangalila
Daphnis et Chloe
Synfonia antarctica
Scheherazade
Rachmaninoff Symphony 2

I could think of five more in a New York minute. Bartok third piano concerto, Prokofiev third piano concert and first violin concerto... Concord sonata... Etc. Etc. Life is too short.


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## Thelonious 58 (6 mo ago)

Bartók piano concerto no 2
Mahler symphony no 9
Xenakis Syrmos
Sibelius symphony no 5
Debussy La mer


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## GraemeG (Jun 30, 2009)

Before marriage & kids, I would chase a lot more. Now, I'd make the effort for something really novel - Gurrelieder, perhaps - but most things I think I have 'collected', so to speak.
In a couple of cases there are works I've never 'heard' live as audience, but played in as violinist - Beethoven 2, Sibelius 3, for instance. If I include these, I've assembled symphonically all of Beethoven (+all concertos, Missa Sol), Brahms (all orchestral bar Serenade 2), Sibelius, Mahler, Bruckner 3-9, Shostakovich except 2,3,7. Other biggies too; Planets, Turangalila, Alpinesinfonie, Zarathustra, Damnation of Faust, requiems by Mozart, Brahms, Berlioz, Verdi, most of them more than once (Mahler 2 = 7 hearings, Bruckner 8 = 5!).

That all said, these are still missing, that I would still be prepared to chase:
Berlioz Te Deum
Brahms Bb Sextet
Busoni Piano Concerto
Stenhammar Symphony 2
plus Gurrelieder as above!


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Merl said:


> Nice idea for a thread, Waehnen! Here's 5 assorted works I'd like to hear live... I missed two of them due to the distances I would have needed to travel, at the time...
> 
> ... *Elgar op.83 SQ* (Brodskys were doing this years back but the nearest to me was Newcastle and it was midweek).


Looks like I'm finally gonna get to see this as the Resol Quartet are doing this in Dundee, the day after my birthday. 🥳


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## LKB (Jul 27, 2021)

mbhaub said:


> My five:
> 
> 1. Korngold: symphony in F sharp. (Hope to rectify that this year with the Berlin Phil)
> 2. Bloch: Symphony in C sharp minor
> ...


Mahler, Symphony No. 4
Bruckner, Symphony No. 5
Bruckner, Symphony No. 7
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8
Bruckner, Symphony No. 9 ( Some may possibly discern a pattern... )


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## HerbertNorman (Jan 9, 2020)

Shostakovich 10th Symphony
Borodin Symphony no.2
Schnittke Concerto Grosso no. 1
Glière Horn Concerto
Nielsen Symph. no. 1


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## Marcos (May 3, 2021)

1: Arvo Pärt - Credo

I can see that it's hard to program - orchestra, choir and piano for a 12 minute piece.
Plus, fans of Pärt's later work probably won't like it.

2: Malcolm Arnold - Guitar Concerto

...or any guitar concerto not by Rodrigo.

3: Kassia - Anything

A somewhat mysterious 9th century composer.

4: Lutoslawski - Concerto For Orchestra

5: Britten - Serenade For Tenor, Horn & Strings


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Kreisler jr said:


> I don't think one should necessarily be walking around in circles. But these pieces like Gruppen or Spem in alium are clearly designed for certain spatial distributions in the performance space and except maybe with some fancy surround recording and playback this doesn't really work on recordings. That's what I meant.


Ideal candidates for listening to in Dolby Atmos.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

mikeh375 said:


> Ideal candidates for listening to in Dolby Atmos.


Maybe 10 years ago in Stockholm there was Spem in Alium played from tens of speakers around the space. It was a multilple track recording and playback. You could walk around. It was gorgeous.

Must have been the same installation that was talked about earlier on this thread!


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Waehnen said:


> Maybe 10 years ago in Stockholm there was Spem in Alium played from tens of speakers around the space. It was a multilple track recording and playback. You could walk around. It was gorgeous.
> 
> Must have been the same installation that was talked about earlier on this thread!


I had a similar surround sound experience many years ago in Liverpool's massive gothic Anglican Cathedral. It was a live performance of Stockhausen's 'Stimmung'. The audience was seated in a circle which was surrounded by speakers with the singers squatting around a lamp in the middle. It was incredibly immersive and deeply meditative as the only light source in that vast cavern was the small lamp in the middle.
(I just googled the title to make sure I had the correct spelling and found that Wiki mentions the performance I was at).


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## verandai (Dec 10, 2021)

verandai said:


> Thanks a lot for the info! I'll keep it in mind, in case I don't find another opportunity before that!


Found another great opportunity to attend a concert of Mahler's 8th!

On October 1st, a concert is scheduled in the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest! I've already ordered tickets and hope, everything goes smoothly (regarding Covid etc). It's a 7 hours train ride from Munich, but that's ok - I'll combine it with a sightseeing tour of the city.


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## verandai (Dec 10, 2021)

It was really worth the trip! The performance was really good (besides some small hiccups and mistakes - but I guess that's normal for such a huge orchestration), and the athmosphere was fantastic!

Also the recently renovated state opera was the most beautiful concert location I've been to so far!

It definetly won't be the last time I'm going to a concert there!


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## Shoskofiev (5 mo ago)

thorne said:


> Off the top of my head --
> 
> Turangalila
> Daphnis et Chloe
> ...


I've heard the Rimsky-Korsakov and Rachmaninov in concert, even when in my country classical music is much less popular than in the US.


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## Shoskofiev (5 mo ago)

For me, a reason to go to a concert is to hear an exciting work or a less-performed piece that really makes the effort worthy, so...:

*Prokofiev: Cantata for the October Revolution
Strauss: An Alpine Symphony
Holst: The Planets
Lutoslawski: Concerto for orchestra
Rachmaninov: The Bells*


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## Tarneem (Jan 3, 2022)

Tchaikovsky's iolanta

Bach's mass in b minor

Beethoven's missa

Mahler's 8th

Mozart's requiem


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Ligeti Chamber Concerto or Part Tabula Rasa - some odd combinations of instruments in these pieces (e.g. harpsichord, organ in the former, prepared piano and two violins in the latter).

Beethoven Symphonies 3 or 8 - I've heard most of his other symphonies live, but neither of these which are my favourites.

Schoenberg Transfigured Night (especially the string orchestra version) - I remember it being programmed but the ensemble had a problem finding a venue, and couldn't reprogram it because they folded not long after. The sextet version has been occasionally performed.

Rachmaninov Symphony #3 - Although one of my favourite composers, I haven't heard much of his music live. I wouldn't knock back a chance to hear the concertos (only remember the second live) but this piece is special. It's nostalgic but also uplifting, there are some jazzy sonorities, a beautiful violin solo in the middle movement and a dramatic and colourful finale.

Carter String Quartet #1 - this is basically the high water mark in terms of atonal music which I to some extent understand (e.g. the way the themes course through the piece). It's a big ask, probably even in terms of contemporary music groups, due to its length and difficulty.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

I can understand 2, but not the other 3, Thorne.


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## PeterKC (Dec 30, 2016)

Only 5? Sheesh!

Ives 4th
Poulenc Concerto for two Pianos
Wolf-Ferrari, Il Gioielli della Madonna (Complete opera)
Nielsen, Maskarade (Complete Opera)
Barber, Cello Concerto


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