# "Minor" works from great composers



## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Recently I was blew away listenting to Beethoven's ballet Prometheus. Reading about it I've found that this work is often considered 2nd hand Beethoven. I was surprised and I remembered his German dances as well, wich are delightful to my ears, but it seems have been overshadowed by other great works from this master. It happens, in my humble opinion, that sometimes minor works from great composers are indeed major compositions and important contributions to classical music, even if they were overshadowed for the magnificence of other works. So, in your opinion, what "minor" works from great composers are unpopular but worth hearing? 
Have a nice day people :tiphat:


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

The _entire _incidental music to Consecration of the House (The Ruins of Athens), not just the overture! (H 118/Opus 113)

I'll add Leonore Prohaska WoO 96, as well.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Numerous vocal works by Mozart, especially the Masonic cantatas (K429, K471, K619 and K623).

Some of the later, more introspective piano works by Liszt, such as _Am Grabe Richard Wagners_ (S202), _Receuillement - Bellini in Memoriam_ (S204) and the_ Historical Hungarian Pictures_ (S205).

Weill's cantata _'Der Tod im Wald'_ (1927) and the 'school-opera' _'Der Jasager'_ (1930).

Hindemith's music for the silent film about mountaineering _'Im Kampf mit dem Berge - In Sturm und Eis'_ (1921).


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## Bayreuth (Jan 20, 2015)

I like Rachmaninov's Trio Elegiac no. 1, which I believe is relatively unknown.

I'm deeply in love with Shostakovich's Suite for Two Pianos in F Sharp Minor (especially the one by Margarette Babinsky and Hoger Busch). Simply sublime.

Britten's Cello Suites are also exceptional and can be considered as a "Minor" work, I guess.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

There is a little Beethoven piano fugue that modulates through the entire circles of fifths. I can't remember the title -- I can look it up when I get home. It may be considered merely a stunt or a gimmick, but it's also quite beautiful to my ears.


Enescu's Orchestral Suite No. 3 'Villageoise' has a gloriously beautiful theme that sounds like something belonging in the standard repertoire, but I had not heard it until after decades of being classical music fan.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Weston said:


> There is a little Beethoven piano fugue that modulates through the entire circles of fifths. I can't remember the title...


Believe that is Opus 39: Two Preludes through all twelve major keys (1789).


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

Strauss's Duet Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon is delicious. Always a bit hard to tell what is "minor" but I wasn't aware of the Ravel 3 Mallarme poems or this until fairly recently:


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

First one that comes to my mind is Wagner's _Das Liebesmahl der Apostel._ I'm always deeply moved when I hear it.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I like Ravel's miniatures In the Manner of Borodin, In the Manner of Chabrier and Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn. Short and sweet - and thoroughly delightful.


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

Schubert's opera Fierrabras is great, a shame that there aren't many recordings of his other operas.
Ligeti's few organ works and Rameau's motets are good stuff.
Debussy's and Ravel's mélodies are great but I don't hear much about them.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Der Leiermann said:


> Debussy's and Ravel's mélodies are great but I don't hear much about them.


Yes and yes. Debussy's Ariette Oubliées, Fêtes Galantes, 5 Poèmes de Baudelaire, Trois Poèmes de Stèphane Mallarmé, all of it! I find myself coming back to them over and over again.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Totally agreed about Liszt. His late production is plenty of works not often recorded but quite interesting as they offer another point of view of Liszt's musicianship.
Maybe Mahler's Das klagende lied could be add to this list.
And Dvorak's piano concerto, overshadowed by his cello and violin concertos, but still beautiful.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

KenOC said:


> Believe that is Opus 39: Two Preludes through all twelve major keys (1789).


Ah, yes. Those are the ones.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Beethoven - Fantasia for Piano, Chorus & Orchestra
Tchaikovsky - Concert Fantasy
Berlioz - Messe Solennelle
Britten - Simple Symphony
Stravinsky - Scherzo a la Russe


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Tchaikovsky's concert fantasy is a beautiful piece. I 've just discovered it recently. Kind of chamber concerto. Worth hearing.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

A few more:

Richard Strauss: Aus Italien
Johannes Brahms: Tragic Overture
Robert Schumann: Requiem fur Mignon


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Or Rachmaninov' s Three Unaccompanied Choruses, written when young, published posthumously, utterly gorgeous.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Maybe not a minor work, but I've often thought Stravinsky's _Jeu de cartes_, a ballet in three deals, is a masterpiece of mischievous fun, but seldom mentioned next to Firebird, Petrushka and the ever popular Rite of Spring.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Weston said:


> Maybe not a minor work, but I've often thought Stravinsky's _Jeu de cartes_, a ballet in three deals, is a masterpiece of mischievous fun, but seldom mentioned next to Firebird, Petrushka and the ever popular Rite of Spring.


Absolutely ... and _Pulcinella_ and _Le baiser de la fée_


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## sam93 (Nov 9, 2015)

The first couple that come to mind are Haydn's Variations in F minor and Grieg's criminally under-rated Piano Sonata.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Nielsen's Commotio for organ.


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## Lyricus (Dec 11, 2015)

I don't know how minor they are in the classical music world, but I always found Mendelssohn's _Lieder ohne Worte_ to be underappreciated. I need to get my hands on Prosseda's collection to get the ones I have yet to hear.


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## Norse (May 10, 2010)

I'm not sure how "minor" of a composition this is considered, but I recently heard Tchaikovsky's _Souvenir de Florence_ (the full string orchestra version) at a concert, and found it strange that I'd never heard it before. The fact that it was very nicely played in a hall with nice, "powerful" acoustics probably didn't hurt.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

sam93 said:


> The first couple that come to mind are Haydn's Variations in F minor and Grieg's criminally under-rated Piano Sonata.


Oh yes, Greig's Piano Sonata is a very fine piece indeed. Good choice!


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Schoenberg's Christmas Music is a charming little gem that I post here every year. Unmistakably Schoenberg and still nothing to frighten even the most conservative ears:






Stravinsky's Duo Concertant is also a fine example of his neoclassical style, very lyrical and yet characterized by restraint:


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Russian Edition:

Rimsky-Korsakov: Fantasy on Serbian Themes
Mussorgsky: Symphonic Intermezzo in the Classic Style
Borodin: Symphony No. 3 (only 2 mvmts written)
Tchaikovsky: 6 Morceaux on a single theme, for piano, op. 21
Prokofiev: Le pas d'acier (The Steel Step), ballet
Shostakovich: Any of his films scores, except the Gadfly which is major


And these are all good pieces!


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Becca said:


> Absolutely ... and _Pulcinella_ and _Le baiser de la fée_


... and Orpheus and Apollo


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## Abraham Lincoln (Oct 3, 2015)

Pretty much anything written by Pachelbel that isn't the Canon in D major. Not sure if it's worth hearing though, I'm not really one to gauge quality of music but still it might be worth a try for poor Pachelbel's sake.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

From Stravinsky I'd choose _Renard_, a snappy little stage work (broadly speaking, a pocket opera with dancing) from 1916 based loosely on a Russian folk fable about an over-confident fox who meets both his match and his maker at the hands of the Cat and the Ram after terrorising the farmyard.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Mahlerian said:


> Schoenberg's Christmas Music is a charming little gem that I post here every year. Unmistakably Schoenberg and still nothing to frighten even the most conservative ears:


I didn't knew about the existence of this piece. Certainly a little gem. The most unexpected Schoenberg.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Two more:

1) Brahms serenades. This early works are seldom recorded but very Brahmsian in style and lovely but intense (Brahmsian I said) orchestral pieces, to my taste. Maybe Chailly's recent recording could bring more attention to them.
2) Cherubini's string quartets. He's no often considered one of the masters of the genre, but he really deserves one place among them. His string quartets are all 6 highly original "minor" masterpieces, imho.


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