# Underrated piano works by composers



## Beebert (Jan 3, 2019)

So what do you consider to be some of the most underrated piano works by some of the major composers? Here are some that I can think of:

Beethoven: Op 10 No 3 in D major, No 13 Op 27 No 1 in E flat, No 16 Op 31 No 1 in G major. 
Brahms: Fantasien Op 116(Compared to Op 117-119)
Chopin: The late Nocturnes and Mazurkas. For example Op 55 No 2 and Op 62 No 1 for the Nocturnes. Op 59 for the Mazurkas... But also I need to mention his Polonaise-Fantaisie Op 61...
Debussy: Etudes
Mozart: K 280 in F major, K 281 in Bb, K 533 in F...
Ravel: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales 
Schubert: D 845 in a minor, D 850 in D major, and Drei Klavierstucke D 946... 
Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze Op 6, Humoreske Op 20, Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op 26... 

What do you guys think?


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

_What do you guys think?_

I think everything listed is very famous; how can they be underrated?

One not often played or recorded is Mendelssohn *Piano Sonata Op. 6*


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## chu42 (Aug 14, 2018)

Along with the other Schumann pieces you've named? the 3rd Sonata ought to be played much more.

Chopin's Rondo is rather unfairly neglected.

Saint-Saen's etudes are also very well written and should be a staple of the repertoire.

Alkan's 49 Esquisses are underrated.

MacDowell's Piano Concerto No.2 is underrated.

The Piano Sonatas of Mendelssohn, Clementi, and Weber ought to be played more often.

Granados' Goyescas is a masterpiece.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

I find Faure's piano music pretty unjustly neglected - he wrote a lot of great, tuneful Romantic miniatures even if they are not as profound as his choral and chamber music. Very few high-profile pianists have thought them worthwhile to record. Others include:

Brahms - Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel (IMO a major piano work of the 19th century, but his late miniatures get all the attention - somewhat similar situation with his 3rd sonata)
Janacek - On an Overgrown Path
Poulenc - Soirees de Nazelles
Strauss and Grieg - Piano sonatas


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

Samuel Barber's solo piano music. Recommendation:









Information about this disc: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=212125

An aside: I almost never listen to CDs in the car -- I listen to WFMT radio -- but when I do, it's solo piano music. For some reason this disc has been a driving favorite of mine for many years. When I first acquired the disc, I lived in Washington, DC, and now every time I hear "Adagio for Jeanne" I flash on an image of the intersection of New York Ave and Florida Ave NE. Weird.


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## Caryatid (Mar 28, 2020)

Liszt's _Norma _fantasy. But then even Liszt himself underrated it, seemingly regarding it as a mere parody of Thalberg. But what a work! It's so relentlessly inventive and propulsive, and at such length.

I recommend Hamelin's performance.


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

Although not totally obscure, Prokofiev's early-ish piano pieces are overshadowed by the nine sonatas but I think most are interesting enough to stand on their own merits.

_Toccata_ in D-minor op.11 (1912):
_Ten Small Pieces_ op.12 (1906-13):
_(5) Sarcasms_ op.17 (1912-14):
_(20)Visions fugitives_ op.22 (1915-17):


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

From spending time discussing with people at classical piano forums, I think Chopin's Op.60, 61 are pretty well known. At one time I was driving with my dad, and played 14 Polish Songs Op.74 on the audio. He said "I didn't know Chopin wrote songs this good". Not exactly "piano works", but I have to agree they're lesser-known, fine works. The D flat major from Trois Nouvelles Etudes is very clever (in ways of exploring piano technique). There are also lesser known miscellaneous piano pieces like Bolero and Prelude in C sharp minor Op.45, I'm not particularly fond of Op.45 as it reminds me too much of Scriabin, but I guess anyone could make an argument that it is underrated or underappreciated.





Liszt Valse Impromptu





Mozart's Prelude & Fugue in C K394, an interesting work in exploring dissonances of major seconds. For example, the ending (at 8:55) gives so much euphoria, -it would have been interesting to see him write 24 preludes and fugues under commission by someone like van Swieten. Even composers as late as Shostakovich wrote a set, so why not.








hammeredklavier said:


> Measure 163 (8:00) of Mozart's Rondo K511 is when I feel time suddenly "stops". Like his many other ideas, This seems to have been derived from his operatic thinking. And by the way, Measure 100 (5:10) is a 'variant' of his 'proto-Tristanesque technique':





hammeredklavier said:


> The creeping dissonances at 3:55 and 6:00 are striking, and the B major ending - a bizzare way to end tragedy - like the C major ending of Maurerische Trauermusik.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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