# Famous pieces/composers that you HAVEN'T heard



## RBrittain (Jan 24, 2011)

It occurred to me reading other people's posts and lists, that there are some composers I really ought to know more about. I'm sure there are others in the same boat. There is such a vast amount of classical music around. I'm 23 and have been listening to classical music regularly since I was 18. So, that's 5 years, which is probably small in comparison to some people's, though I have been listening to pieces _regularly_ for those 5 years, buying all sorts of CDs of composers I'd never heard. Still, there are a few pieces I just know I should have heard, but haven't got round to it yet. Here are some of them:

Brahms' First and Second Symphonies! (Shocking, I know. I have heard his Violin Concerto, Symphonies 3 & 4, Haydn Variations, Hungarian Dances, Lullaby, Trios, Academic Overture.. but not yet his first two symphonies.)

At least 2 of Tchaikovsky's symphonies. I know I've heard a few of them, possibly only 3, and I wasn't overly enthused by any of them. I have heard virtually everything else by Tchaikovsky and love most of it, and I really should get round to hearing all his symphonies properly.

Mendelssohn symphonies. I've only heard 2 of his 5 (I think?) symphonies. Again, I've loved most of his other works, which was enough to put him in the top 10 of my list. I have a bit of an aversion to hearing symphonies, basically because they take time to listen to and appreciate.

Sibelius Symphony 7! I have only heard his 2nd and 5th symphonies and like them both very much, and know I should hear his 7th because I only hear good things about it. I love most of his other works (Finlandia, Karelia Suite, Lemminkainen..)

Also, generally haven't heard anywhere near enough Schumann, and also Mahler. Also, pretty much all the modern composers (Schoenberg, Copland, Pendericki etc). Literally have heard nothing by some of them. Should really get round to it.

However, here are some things that I am proud of having listened to and know well:

8 of Bruckner's 9 symphonies. 2 through to 9.

Almost everything by Beethoven.

Almost everything by Wagner.

I suppose those are the only three that I feel I have a superb knowledge of. I have a _good_ knowledge of many composers but not a great knowledge of many.

How about you? If you've heard everything under the sun, stay out of this thread! :lol:


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I still also need to hear Brahms first 2 symphonies, I believe I've only heard his 3rd. I just havent gone through much of a Brahms phase, or Dvorak for that matter, those 2 composers just haven't really 'struck a chord with me' yet so to speak, yet I cant say I dislike them either.

I also have a ton of Verdi on my computer from a bunch of cds of his I found at the dollar store that I've only given a brief listen to, I need to give some attention to that stuff. 

As far as Sibelius, I have heard a whopping 2 of his pieces - Kuolema op 44 and karelia suite op 1. He is another one on my need to get around to list. 

But hey like yourself, Ive only been listening for around 4 to 5 years so Ive got a long way to go, and Im enjoying it.


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## RBrittain (Jan 24, 2011)

I would definitely recommend hearing more Sibelius. I had a glance at your Top 25 and notice you like Tchaikovsky and Wagner. IMO, anyone who likes the sort of powerful, emotive music of those two composers will also like Sibelius. He's brilliant.

Oh, and another, I forgot to add - Monteverdi. I'm not even sure if I can think of a piece by him! Pretty embarrassing.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Maybe some of those from the innumerable waltzes etc. by Johann Strauss II.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

If you haven't heard Tchaikovsky's symphonies 4-6, you don't know what you are missing! They are, without question, his greatest achievements.

I have a list of the top major works which I have NOT heard in full and need to get around to listening.. Most of these are opera/vocal works, since I normally only listen to instrumental music.

- The Creation (Haydn)
- Mass in B minor (Bach)
- Don Giovanni (Mozart)
- The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
- The entire Ring cycle
- Otello (Verdi)
- Aida (Verdi)
- Violin Concerto (Beethoven)
- Violin Concerto (Brahms)
- Pelleas et Melisande (Debussy)


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I haven't listened to Chamber Music of some of the great people, like Beethoven. But I don't want to, unless I can't help it.


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## Pieck (Jan 12, 2011)

Ravellian said:


> I have a list of the top major works which I have NOT heard in full and need to get around to listening.. Most of these are opera/vocal works, since I normally only listen to instrumental music.


Me either. I prefer instrumental music so I dont force myself to listening to operas, choral works. I dont see why I have to listen to genres I dont like even if there are some well known pieces in them (like Mozart's operas).

Anyway, it's hard to say all of the famous pieces I havent heard, because there are so many, and I'm pretty new to the classical world.
Some famous pieces I dont know and *want to know*:
most of Beethoven's chamber works (middle and late)
Tchaikovsky's quartets
Schubert quartets and quintets.
Mendelssohn octet and last 4 quartets.
Haydn and Mozart quartets.
Yes, I do like chamber music, how did you know?


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I need to get around to hearing something by Pierre Boulez and George Enescu. Also, one of these days I'll hear all of Brahms' Sextet instead of just the middle movement.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Haydn: I haven't heard all that much of his music, really, even though I've called him one of my favorites.

Handel: Almost anything.

Mozart: Operas... seeing as that's the only thing of Mozart's that interests me. And the Requiem.

Enescu: First two symphonies. Lately I've been focusing a bit more on his chamber music, so I need to go back to his symphonic stuff at some point.

Mahler: The song cycles (Ruckert-lieder and Kindertotenlieder, anyway; I've heard the Wayfarer) and Das Klagende Lied

Sibelius: Songs. I love what I've heard, I just need to hear the rest of them. A sort of pet project of mine is to listen to everything Sibelius ever wrote (that survives, obviously) before I turn 20. Not likely to happen at this rate, but one never knows.

Mussorgsky: The two operas. I ordered Boris awhile back, but it hasn't arrived yet.

Schubert: Everything except for what I've heard so far. I love his music, which is rather odd for some reason for me to say, at least to me. He's always been a sort of "back-seat" obsession; I crave his lieder at seemingly random times but I don't have any CDs.

Bruckner: Symphony No. 6

Bartok: The obvious and glaring omission from my collection is the string quartets. I haven't purposefully listened to any of them straight through (been to a performance of one), and I'm shockingly nonchalant about it. However, I intend to listen to them before this summer.

Janacek: About anything, really.

Boulez: Repons.

Aho: Anything apart from the 9th, 12th, and 14th symphonies, Cello Concerto, Viola Concerto, and The Book of Questions (Though I'd love to hear them again)

Oh, and

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

> Mahler: The song cycles (Ruckert-lieder and Kindertotenlieder, anyway; I've heard the Wayfarer) and Das Klagende Lied


Is DKL famous? It's even more obscure than piano quar... nah, maybe not that obscured. It's second from the bottom of the list. Not famous at all anyway. Personally I have Haitink's rec waiting for listening already but I consider it to be Mahler devoted's curiosity more than something that I should know because of it's general importance. Btw, the most curious thing is question "how shounds this piece that didn't make Brahms recognize Mahler's greatness and was it fault of immature work or Brahms's being mutt?"

--------------------------------------------------------

I never listened to Beethoven's 9th


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## RBrittain (Jan 24, 2011)

Aramis said:


> I never listened to Beethoven's 9th


Craziness!

Really, go hear it! The Ode to Joy is the bit that's overplayed, but the first two movements, purely orchestral, are quite brilliant.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Rather than music I haven't heard, music I haven't listened to nearly well enough:

- Beethoven's cello sonatas, string quartets, violin sonatas
- baroque opera 
- Mozart's chamber music
- Haydn's non-London symphonies
- Bach's cantatas
- Handel
- Mendelssohn, Schumann
- Brahms solo piano
- Shostakovich symphonies
- Bruckner, Strauss, Mahler
- Renaissance
- Lieder, madrigals, songs
- French music before Debussy


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## Botec (Jan 14, 2011)

So much.

Bach - St Matthew Passion. St John, for that matter
Brahms - the piano concertos
Beethoven - Missa Solemnis, and several of the Op 18 quartets
Debussy - La Mer, and much else
Handel - Messiah (though I own two versions  )
Haydn - the masses
Liszt - everything except the Piano Sonata in B minor
Mendelssohn - Octet
Prokofiev - notably, most of the symphonies
Ravel - almost everything
Schumann - solo piano works
Scriabin - everything, except the etudes
Sibelius - Kullervo, Tapiola, Voces Intimae
Smetana - Ma Vlast
Stravinsky - everything, beyond the early ballets and the symphonies
Vaughan Williams - A Sea Symphony

You can count the operas I've ever listened to on two hands with some fingers left over. I've heard only 4 of TC's top 100, and half of that is due to once being dragged along to 2/3 of Puccini's Trittico.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Im lacking in the renessaince department
Mozart and Haydn earlier music,
Britten operas
Mahler song-cycles

I also feel im missing some coverage in some of the best chamber music and operas.


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## RBrittain (Jan 24, 2011)

Mozart I didn't bother to include, because I think it's fair to assume that few people have even heard half of his symphonies, right? I mean, I've only heard about 5 of his 41, but I figured that's probably the norm. Anyone here heard loads of them?

(Same applies to Haydn. I'd be amazed if anyone here has heard anywhere near his 106 symphonies?)


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## Nix (Feb 20, 2010)

I like to think I've done a pretty good job filling in the gaps of standard rep in the last year and a half, but there's still some missing. Most notably:

The Creation- Haydn
The Passion- Bach
Verklarte Nacht- Schoenberg
and A LOT of operas. 

And then there are composers who I've only dabbled in a little bit- Wagner, Scriabin, Palestrina... and I'm sure some more.


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## zoziejemaar (Dec 15, 2010)

RBrittain said:


> Mozart I didn't bother to include, because I think it's fair to assume that few people have even heard half of his symphonies, right? I mean, I've only heard about 5 of his 41, but I figured that's probably the norm. Anyone here heard loads of them?


I sat through all of them. Not a torture, no, because it is obviously good music, but indeed, 80% of them are for me, well, just good, but not unforgettable. And some that count for the numbers are not his, in fact.

Apart from 25, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, which are, I suppose, the six "standard" ones, I would perhaps recommend 27 (KV 199), which has some very nice "Sturm und Drang". I would prefer it above 35 (the Haffner), for instance.
Apart from that, nr. 26 (KV 184) has a gorgeous first movement. Nr. 24 (KV 182) has a terrific slow movement. But on the whole, they're not masterworks.

I even consider nr. 31, the "Paris" one, which made it into the TC top 150, immensely boring. 

And now in response to the question: I haven't heard much of almost all music after 1744. Except for Mozart.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

I've not heard all the great operas, not all the way through anyway (other than Rusalka). I think I've heard everything else that could be described as great (at least once anyway).


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

Britten's Spring Symphony
Mahler's Resurrection Symphony
Prokofiev symphonies other than the first
Janacek's Glagolitic Mass
Tippett's symphonies 1 and 2

One gap I did plug this week was Moeran's G minor symphony. I found the Chandos recording in a charity shop. Anyone who has yet to hear this work do not hesitate, it is wonderful.


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

Without thinking too hard about it a few of the more obvious/famous gaps within my usual repertoire parameters are:

Gluck - heard no operas of his at all
Handel - do.
Massenet - do.
Gounoud - do.
Rossini - heard no operas except Barber of Seville
Bach - nearly all of his cantatas have passed me by and I've never heard the St. John Passion
Mendelssohn - never heard Elijah
Schumann - never heard Dichterliebe song cycle (although it is now on order)
Delibes - never heard any of his ballets
Grieg - Holberg Suite
Stravinsky - never heard his Symphony in C
Britten - never heard Billy Budd


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Chris said:


> One gap I did plug this week was Moeran's G minor symphony. I found the Chandos recording in a charity shop. Anyone who has yet to hear this work do not hesitate, it is wonderful.


Agree. I have been pushing this one in vain for the best symphonies list.


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## RBrittain (Jan 24, 2011)

elgars ghost said:


> Rossini - heard no operas except Barber of Seville


I bet you have heard William Tell!


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Even after more than 40 years of listening there are still a lot of supposedly indispensable pieces I'm sure I've never heard, or haven't heard enough to know anything about.

Brahms - Double Concerto

Debussy - String Qaurtet. I can't really imagine what this would be like. I think of Debussy more in terms of piano or orchestra.

Dvorak - most of the symphonies (except 9). Yes, I have a lot of them, but I burned out on the 9th so long ago I just have little interest in the rest. Dvorak may write very pleasant themes, but he also raves and crashes and carries on a bit too much for me, even more so than Beethoven. I have to be in the mood for it.

Mahler - all. I have most of the symphonies, and know I have listened to them, but they simply don't sink in. They are pleasant enough while I'm hearing them; they just go in one ear and out the other.

Prokofiev - Love for Three oranges. I have no idea what this is about though I've heard of it for many decades.

Richard Strauss - Four Last Songs / Symphonies. I seldom like solo vocal music and never bothered with songs, but these are supposed to be fantastic or something. As to the symphonies, I didn't even know Strauss wrote any until reading about them here.

Tchaikovsky - ballets. yes, I've heard much of the Nutcracker. Who hasn't? But I've heard a lot about Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, but can't say I've actually heard them. Maybe I'd know any famous excepts if I heard them. I don't know. 

Villa-Lobos - any. A very famous composer I know next to nothing about.

Wagner - operas besides The Ring Cycle. I don't really listen to operas. They are for watching. Someday I want to see Tristan, Lohengren, The Flying Dutchmen, etc.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Weston said:


> Tchaikovsky - ballets. yes, I've heard much of the Nutcracker. Who hasn't? But I've heard a lot about Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, but can't say I've actually heard them. Maybe I'd know any famous excepts if I heard them. I don't know.


Swan Lake is very good, I definitely suggest listening to a suite of the music, if not the whole ballet. Depends how much you like Russian music or ballet, but it's great anyhow.


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## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

Some of the works I really need to hear before the end of this year.

Beethoven - Missa solemnis. Fidelio (because I don't like opera). Early string quartets. About 10-12 piano sonatas I still don't have.
Schubert - Winterreise
Mahler - never heard symphony 10. Should I?
Sibelius - all symphonies except 1 and 2.
Shostakovich - all symphonies except 5 and 10. String quartets.
Bach - choral works
Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Dvorak - violin concerto

I never heard these composers - Berg, Weber, Rossini, Arnold, Arensky, Stenhammar, Ives, Bax, Boccherini, Franck..


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

Weston said:


> Villa-Lobos - any. A very famous composer I know next to nothing about.


I hope the suggestions I made here can be of some assistance to you. 

Now for my long and embarrassing list:

A ton of *Medieval/Renaissance* composers. It's my goal for this year to explore these pre-Baroque periods.
*Bach* - St. John Passion, entire Art of the Fugue (have heard only parts)
*Zelenka* - everything but a few select works
*Haydn *- The Creation, earlier symphonies, string quartets besides op. 76 (I don't blame myself too much, after all there's so many of them.)
*Beethoven* - Missa solemnis (A shame, really.), Fidelio (Mozart's operas have distracted me from Beethoven recently!)
*Schubert* - Die Schone Mullerin (I've been exploring Winterreise recently, will try to move on to the other Schubert song cycles this year.)
*Wagner* - The Ring (I love Wagner, it's just that I'm broke. Right now I'm saving up for a complete set and want to wait until I obtain it before I start listening.)
*Mussorgsky* - Boris Godunov (Yikes.)
*Rimsky-Korsakov* - operas (These are now famous due to the almost daily advocation of our good friend myaskovsky2002.)
*Mahler* - song cycles
*Puccini* - all operas (Haven't enjoyed the very little amount of Verismo opera that I've heard thus far.)
*Janacek* - From the House of the Dead, Jenufa (Since I'm relatively new to opera, there's just so much of it I haven't heard!)
*Schoenberg* - Violin/Piano Concerti (Andre has fired my interest in the former, and the latter doesn't seem like a slacker either.)
*Stravinsky* - choral works (Mass, Threni, etc.)
*Shostakovich* - Piano Quintet, Lady Macbeth, The Nose
*Britten* - Billy Budd, Turn of the Screw (Wasn't too enamored with Peter Grimes. I don't see why bother at the moment.)
*Messaien* - Quartet for the End of Time (I have heard it a couple times in the past, just wasn't able too get through the first couple minutes. Now that I'm more musically mature, I think my attempt will be more successful.)
*Stockhausen* - Licht (Not really famous, per se...)
*Carter* - String Quartets (Gotta pick up those Naxos discs soon!)

Well, as you see, I better stop typing and start listening...


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

RBrittain said:


> I would definitely recommend hearing more Sibelius. I had a glance at your Top 25 and notice you like Tchaikovsky and Wagner. IMO, anyone who likes the sort of powerful, emotive music of those two composers will also like Sibelius. He's brilliant.


Yes, Ive also heard a lot of great things about this composer from poster 'world violist', he's definetely high up on my list of composers I need to check out , Enescu, and Ives are also high up there right now.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

*Review...*

Haydn....so many symphonies.
Vivaldi so many annoying things....

Suggestions:

The Creation (Haydn)
nice...I listened to it once (it was more than enough)

- Mass in B minor (Bach)
I don't like Bach very much...maybe when I am dead and burried

- Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Nice...

- The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
a Master piece you have to...

- The entire Ring cycle
A Master piece...add Trisan und Isolde, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser

- Otello (Verdi)
I don't like pasta. Not good. Shakespeare kills everybody, Verdi kills the listener.

- Aida (Verdi)
Nice, once.

- Violin Concerto (Beethoven)
WOW!!!!!!!

- Violin Concerto (Brahms)
WOW!!!!!

- Pelleas et Melisande (Debussy) 
Great, better if you speak French


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## TresPicos (Mar 21, 2009)

Almost all operas.


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

RBrittain;139142 said:


> I bet you have heard William Tell!


I do have a two-disc set of Rossini overtures but I thought it would be cheating to claim I'd heard any more of his operas on the basis of that! I have been meaning to get La Cenerentola for ages but other choices always seem to put it lower down the pecking order.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

Chris said:


> Mahler's Resurrection Symphony


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## Vor Gott (Jan 26, 2011)

To be honest I have never gotten around to listening to more than about fifty pieces by Bach and far less by Handel. In fact, outside of _Messiah_, _Zadok, the Priest_ and various other Oratorios/Cantatas/Operas, I do not think that I can name any of Handel's works. Also, I can barely name ten pieces by Vivaldi. I enjoy Baroque music, but I have never been possessed by an urge go out and purchase significant quantities of it.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Some of my numerous omissions in the league of big names (things I mostly haven't heard but may want to later):

*Ravel's piano works* (except _Gaspard de la nuit & Valses nobles et sentimentales_) as well as his two *operas*.

*Handel *- everything except his greatest hits, eg. _Messiah_, Largo from _Xerxes_, Cuckoo & the Nightingale, Water, Fireworks, Zadok.

*J. S. Bach* - everything except his greatest hits, have yet to hear the _Mass in B minor_ in full.

*Mahler* - Like Weston, I have heard most of his symphonies (but not _The Song of the Earth_) but haven't fully absorbed most of them.

*Mozart's Requiem* - haven't heard it except from the famous _Dies Irae_ bit.

*Debussy* - _Pelleas & Melisande_.

*Schoenberg* - solo piano works & string quartets in particular. Haven't heard _Transfigured Night_ in yonks. Have never heard the _Gurrelieder_.

*Schubert* - have never owned _Wintereisse_, but have heard it once on radio.

*Monteverdi* - _Vesper_s - missed two concerts of it last year & have been kicking myself ever since, but money was tied up with other concerts I wanted to see more.

*Webern* - String Quartets, songs.
*
Berg* - songs.

*Beethoven* - late piano sonatas, except for _Hammerklavier_.

*Messiaen* - none of his organ works.

*Kurtag* - nothing yet.

*Stockhausen* - have only scratched the surface, have heard _Stimmung_ but not_ Gruppen_ or the piano pieces.

*Tippett* - none of his operas.

That kind of sums up the holes I want to fill...


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Andre said:


> Some of my numerous omissions in the league of big names (things I mostly haven't heard but may want to later):
> 
> *Ravel's piano works* (except _Gaspard de la nuit & Valses nobles et sentimentales_) as well as his two *operas*.
> 
> ...


I find it interesting that Handel was your #1 composer and you've never listened to his greatest hits!

You have a lot of great music ahead of you there!


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

*Guilty*

Fantastic symphony by Berlioz. I don't like him...His music I mean.

Martin


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

tdc said:


> I find it interesting that Handel was your #1 composer and you've never listened to his greatest hits!
> 
> You have a lot of great music ahead of you there!


Yeah, well a musician friend of mine recommended Handel's _Israel in Egypt _as the next step from the _Messiah_. Getting that work is on the backburner for me now, it's only a matter of time.

BTW: I was trying to say that I've only heard Handel's greatest hits, not the lesser known works...


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Andre said:


> Yeah, well a musician friend of mine recommended Handel's _Israel in Egypt _as the next step from the _Messiah_. Getting that work is on the backburner for me now, it's only a matter of time.
> 
> BTW: I was trying to say that I've only heard Handel's greatest hits, not the lesser known works...


Depends what it is you are seeking to explore of Handel's. _Israel in Egypt_ is atypical because it is the only oratorio of his that has many choral movements, far outnumbering the arias for soloist, unique in that the chorus was portraying the mood of nations and peoples. However, if you are seeking something more representative of Handel's, then you might need a steer to a different direction. You know who to ask.


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## Delicious Manager (Jul 16, 2008)

I have always had an insatiable hunger to track-down new music, both by composer I know and (especially) by composers I had never heard of before. I suppose this is why I am so impatient with those few 'lazy listeners' who just listen to the same few pieces over and over and...

When exploring 'new' music I do, of course encounter a few turkeys - music that is never heard and never SHOULD be heard, such as the truly awful Symphony by the 3rd-rate composer Carlo Garofalo ('discovered' relatively recently). As years passed, my exploring became more informed, more discerning and through this process of exploration I have discovered composers as diverse as Caldara, Kraus, Pandolfi, Ries, Serocki and Stradella.

My advice to everyone is 'listen to as much as you can - especially if you have no idea what it is'.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Andre said:


> *J. S. Bach* - everything except his greatest hits, have yet to hear the _Mass in B minor_ in full.


Out of interest, what have you heard? I mean, on CD, not just Youtube videos etc.


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## starry (Jun 2, 2009)

Delicious Manager said:


> I have always had an insatiable hunger to track-down new music, both by composer I know and (especially) by composers I had never heard of before.


I'm the same, probably to a greater extreme than you. And of course some pieces (in both classical and popular music) are little known and should be. But there is so much music than a significant amount is worthwhile. To me part of the fun is the exploration and picking out what I like. I don't ask for recommendations anywhere I just look and pick what I like myself. Because of that I suppose I expect others would do the same but people have different needs and not everyone is so obsessive about music. I don't really feel it's up to me to feed people music (promote something) that I like though, they should go out there and find music that *they* like. The more you listen to the more you can understand the music.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

> Depends what it is you are seeking to explore of Handel's. Israel in Egypt is atypical because it is the only oratorio of his that has many choral movements, far outnumbering the arias for soloist, unique in that the chorus was portraying the mood of nations and peoples. However, if you are seeking something more representative of Handel's, then you might need a steer to a different direction. You know who to ask.


Yes, that friend did say that _Israel in Egypt_ had more choral bits than soloistic ones. I'm ok with that. Another friend of mine, the one I have music listening sessions with, has another lesser known oratorio of Handel's (I think it's _Solomon_). I will undoubtedly get to hear his recording at some stage. It's good that you're a member of this site as well, good to have someone who knows Handel's output inside out. I won't hesitate to ask...



> Out of interest, what have you heard? I mean, on CD, not just Youtube videos etc.


Well, I had another collection in a former life, in which I did have some J. S. Bach cd's & tapes. I had two of the CBS "Bach's greatest hits" tapes, which included all of the usual suspects - Toccata & Fugue in D minor, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Sheep May Safely Graze, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring (this one I just almost loathe), Anna Magdalena Notebook, In Dulci Jublio, etc. I also had about 3 cd's of the Well-
Tempered Clavier on harpsichord. Also, the Naxos cd of the violin concertos. & a couple of discs of the Brandenburgs.

As for now, I have Casals playing the 1st solo cello suite & Brandenburgs 1-3. That's the sum total of my J.S. Bach collection. I have heard a fair amount of his music on radio. I don't really use youtube that often, but maybe I should to get to know works that I may possibly buy.

I am going to buy the _Mass in B minor _sometime this year, it's on the backburner. Maybe September or later. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a chance to see it live? That would be great...


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## ricardo_jvc6 (Dec 8, 2010)

I have heard Chopin "Études" Which I consider them the most beautiful Études.
Beethoven: Most of Sonatas and Symphonies, never heard other types of songs
Mozart: most of all K's.
Mahler: precisely none. "Very Long"
Schubert: Impromptu's, sonatas, military stuff. Very good and Impressive
Tchaikosvsky: All barcarolles, 1812 and Opera's. Swan Lake and Nutcraker Impressed me, as well!
Lizst: Most of his early compositions, Late composings not enough.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Andre said:


> I am going to buy the _Mass in B minor _sometime this year, it's on the backburner. Maybe September or later. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a chance to see it live? That would be great...


I'm not sure whether the _Mass in B minor_ is really the best place to start. You might want to try something simply less forbidding and difficult, like say, the _Partitas_ played on piano (by Perahia, Schiff).

Nor can I see a live performance of the _Mass_ helping very much. It's notoriously difficult to perform because of its complexity and the demands it makes on the human voice. A live performance could easily be underwhelming, especially if its played by a Baroque ensemble or a small modern ensemble, both of which - let's face it - benefit a lot from the recording studio.


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