# Underrated Symphonists Who Are Worth a Listen



## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I've seen a lot of "overrated" and "underrated" threads lately. I prefer the latter because I'd rather add than subtract to the "canon."

Anyhow, I'll start off with Max Bruch. I just acquired the complete symphony set on Warner Classics, and it's delightful. Very Mendelssohnian to my ear, and the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln really delivers some luscious sound on this recording.






Any other suggestions for underrated symphonists?


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I suppose that it depends on your definition of 'underrated' (i.e. does that include the likes of Bantock, Lloyd, Rubbra, Tubin, etc.?) However here are 3...

Joly Braga Santos
William Mathias
Wilhelm Stenhammer

And if you really want an off-the-wall case...


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Becca said:


> I suppose that it depends on your definition of 'underrated' (i.e. does that include the likes of Bantock, Lloyd, Rubbra, Tubin, etc.?) However here are 3...
> 
> Joly Braga Santos
> William Mathias
> ...


This is quite pleasing. Is Brincken off the wall because he's alive?


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

I don't think "underrated" is the right word because he died young and his compositional skills never fully matured, but Hans Rott.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

MatthewWeflen said:


> This is quite pleasing. Is Brincken off the wall because he's alive?


Probably 'cause almost nobody's heard of him


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

I am not sure he would be considered underrated, or just obscure. I think Kalinnikov belongs with the greats. I for one would rate him well ahead of Mahler, who receives enormous adulation on this forum and generally. Sadly he died very tragically and very young of tuberculosis. We are lucky to have two great symphonies by Kalinnikov.

Another underrated symphonist is Alberic Magnard.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

The list of symphonists well worth our attention is enormous: but I won't say that they're underrated. Most of them haven't gotten the attention some think they deserve for good reason: they're nowhere as good as the best. And the the list of truly great symphonists is quite small.

But I spend an inordinate amount of time and money collecting and listening to the lesser-knowns. Some symphonists I've enjoyed a great deal, in no particular order.

Franz Schmidt
Arnold Bax
Malcolm Arnold
William Alwyn
Rued Langaard
Mily Balakirev
Felix Weingartner
Wilhelm Petersen-Berger
Charles Stanford
Christian Sinding
Eduard Tubin
Edmund Rubbra
Robert Simpson
Humphrey Searle
Marcel Poot
Braga Santos
George Chadwick
Zdenek Fibich
Tikhon Khrennikov
Joachim Raff


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Hungarian composer László Lajtha wrote nine symphonies. The last two may be his finest but give them all a listen if you're looking to explore. I'm pretty sure all nine were reissued on Naxos.


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## allaroundmusicenthusiast (Jun 3, 2020)

haziz said:


> I am not sure he would be considered underrated, or just obscure. I think Kalinnikov belongs with the greats. I for one would rate him well ahead of Mahler, who receives enormous adulation on this forum and generally. Sadly he died very tragically and very young of tuberculosis. We are lucky to have two great symphonies by Kalinnikov.


I will listen to this Kalinnikov and if he isn't well ahead of Mahler you will be hearing from my lawyers!!

As to OP's question, I agree with 3 of the names put forth by mbhaud: Langgaard, Arnold and Peterson-Berger. Also probably underrated Rautavaara, Norgard, Hartmann (as I've recently discovered), Stravinsky (yes, he's underrated as a symphonist), Weinberg (he's probably becoming accurately rated, like Rautavaara), Petersson, Berwald, Henze, Peter Maxwell Davies.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Weinberg is easily my favorite unheralded symphonist.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

allaroundmusicenthusiast said:


> I will listen to this Kalinnikov and if he isn't well ahead of Mahler you will be hearing from my lawyers!!
> 
> ......


I am a sucker for late 19th century Russian Romantic classical music, specially if you throw in some "Orientalism", which was all the rage with some Russian composers of that era, hence my infatuation with Kalinnikov. But yes, I do think his music has been very neglected and underrated. Another recommendation would be for his Incidental Music to Tsar Boris.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I've seen a lot of "overrated" and "underrated" threads lately. I prefer the latter because I'd rather add than subtract to the "canon."
> 
> Anyhow, I'll start off with Max Bruch. I just acquired the complete symphony set on Warner Classics, and it's delightful. Very Mendelssohnian to my ear, and the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln really delivers some luscious sound on this recording.
> 
> Any other suggestions for underrated symphonists?


I like Bruch's Third Symphony best -- beautiful slow movement. This recording conducted by Conlon and Dorati is great.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

allaroundmusicenthusiast said:


> I will listen to this Kalinnikov and if he isn't well ahead of Mahler you will be hearing from my lawyers!!


Contact them quickly - lawyers are very busy these days.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

haziz said:


> I am not sure he would be considered underrated, or just obscure. I think Kalinnikov belongs with the greats. I for one would rate him well ahead of Mahler, who receives enormous adulation on this forum and generally. Sadly he died very tragically and very young of tuberculosis. We are lucky to have two great symphonies by Kalinnikov.
> 
> Another underrated symphonist is Alberic Magnard.


I purchased this set of Magnard symphonies a few months ago from Presto (their download sales deplete my wallet quite regularly). Agreed, he is excellent!


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Bulldog said:


> Weinberg is easily my favorite unheralded symphonist.


Weinberg was my second purchase today (after Bruch) that prompted this thread!


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Furtwängler. His 2nd symphony is a piece that I keep returning to. The 1st and 3rd have their moments too, but the problem is that only the 2nd has been championed by the composer himself and got a brilliant modern recording with Barenboim/Chicago.
The 1st and 3rd linger in provincial territory (though there's a Sawallisch 3rd sans the finale, which i haven't heard).


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

RobertJTh said:


> Furtwängler. His 2nd symphony is a piece that I keep returning to. The 1st and 3rd have their moments too, but the problem is that only the 2nd has been championed by the composer himself and got a brilliant modern recording with Barenboim/Chicago.
> The 1st and 3rd linger in provincial territory (though there's a Sawallisch 3rd sans the finale, which i haven't heard).


As a Chicagoan, this album cover does it for me


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Charles Tournemire (Nos. 3-7)
Albert Roussel (Nos. 1, 2)
Florent Schmitt (No. 2)
Erki Melartin
Friedrich Gernsheim 
Paul Büttner
Marcel Tyberg (Nos. 2,3)
Roy Harris
Jacques Hétu


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## Shea82821 (Nov 19, 2021)

I back up mbhaub's list, but with the addition of a few others.

Kurt Atterberg
Vagn Holmboe
Nikolai Myaskovsky
Peter Mennin
David Diamond
Alan Hovhaness
Dmitri Kabalevsky
Charles Koechlin
Douglas Lilburn
Alexander Moyzes
Ernst Pepping
Karl Goldmark
Friedrich Gernsheim
Niels Gade
Benjamin Frankel
Alfred Hill
Frank Corcoran
Charles Gounod
Felix Draeseke
Karl Amadus Hartmann


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## Shea82821 (Nov 19, 2021)

Roger Knox said:


> Charles Tournemire (Nos. 3-7)
> Albert Roussel (Nos. 1, 2)
> Florent Schmitt (No. 2)
> Erki Melartin
> ...


Oh Roussel too, forgot about him. His Symphony no.3 is a pretty fine piece, same with Tournemire's 4th.


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## golfer72 (Jan 27, 2018)

English composer Parry wrote 5 symphonies. They are good. Especially #3 "The English"


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

Names which I think are worthy of inclusion but I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Egon Wellesz (9)
Alan Rawsthorne (3)
Ernst Krenek (8, but not all numbered)
Mikhail Nosyrev (4)
Paul Hindemith (6, all un-numbered)


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## Shea82821 (Nov 19, 2021)

golfer72 said:


> English composer Parry wrote 5 symphonies. They are good. Especially #3 "The English"


I prefer his Symphony no.5, the Symphony-Fantasia or Symphonic Fantasia - however he put it. No.3 is good too, though. They're all good really! But I don't know why; no.5 just clicks the best to my ear.


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## FrankinUsa (Aug 3, 2021)

A lot of esoteric names listed here. One thought. We think of Prokofiev as mainstream. Yet only two (1 +5) have gotten traction. Before we go way off into the esoteric maybe it’s time to look at the known but really unknown. How many of you have listened to all of Prokofiev’s symphonies?


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## Shea82821 (Nov 19, 2021)

FrankinUsa said:


> A lot of esoteric names listed here. One thought. We think of Prokofiev as mainstream. Yet only two (1 +5) have gotten traction. Before we go way off into the esoteric maybe it's time to look at the known but really unknown. How many of you have listened to all of Prokofiev's symphonies?


Nos. 1, 5, and _occasionally_ 7 in recent years. No. 6 was for a while, but dropped off around the 70's or so.

And for listening: I can recall hearing nos. 1, 4-7 (I was actually listening to no.7 last night, oddly enough) at some point. I distinctly remember no. 6 was the first one I heard, when I was about 11 or 12. But as of now, I have not heard the whole cycle, neither at once or at all.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Billy McBride...


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## waltcamp45 (Nov 23, 2021)

MatthewWeflen said:


> Anyhow, I'll start off with Max Bruch. I just acquired the complete symphony set on Warner Classics, and it's delightful. Very Mendelssohnian to my ear, and the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln really delivers some luscious sound on this recording.


Listening to this now via https://www.hoopladigital.com/

Haven't heard much Bruch, but I'm loving this so far; thanks for a winning recommendation!


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

A few off the top of my head: Martinů, Langgaard, Holmboe, Magnard, Myaskovsky, Roussel, K. A. Hartmann, Malipiero, Diamond, W. Schuman, Atterberg, Stenhammar, Pettersson, Popov, Weinberg, Rimsky-Korsakov, Villa-Lobos, Guarnieri, Chávez, Tansman, Szymanowski, Penderecki, Schmidt et. al.


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## GraemeG (Jun 30, 2009)

There's quite a distinction between the recording repertoire and the concert one, obviously.
As @mbhaub mentioned earlier, the concert repertoire at least is fairly narrow.

If you think of symphonists who are 'regularly performed live' it's a fairly small list. Especially with more than 1 or 2 works. There are the 9 Austro-Germans from Haydn to Mahler, plus Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Shostakovich. Then there are the patchy/single-hit guys: Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Saint-Saens, Nielsen, Vaughan Williams, Elgar... it gets a bit thin after that, you gotta admit. I've heard live a few other symphonies mentioned in this thread; Kalinnikov, Gorecki, Franck, Silvestrov (!), Part... but you've really got to hunt them down.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

starthrower said:


> Hungarian composer László Lajtha wrote nine symphonies. The last two may be his finest but give them all a listen if you're looking to explore. I'm pretty sure all nine were reissued on Naxos.


Also, there's a fine Ferencsik recording of 4+9, maybe the most attractive release of his symphonies.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

I mentioned Furtwängler, but in the category celebrated conductors annex frustrated composers, Weingartner deserves mentioning too. Or Bruno Walter, or Silvestri, or Klemperer... maybe it's material for another topic.

Weingartner strikes me as original, inspired and in touch with the times in his early symphonies (1-3) and symphonic poems. Then there's a slow descend into mediocrity and irrelevance, his music reverting to a bland Schumannesque idiom. The 4th symphony is still kind of acceptable, 5-7 are hard to digest.

My favorite piece of his must be the 2nd symphony. A wonderful, richly orchestrated pastoral idyll.


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## Shea82821 (Nov 19, 2021)

RobertJTh said:


> I mentioned Furtwängler, but in the category celebrated conductors annex frustrated composers, Weingartner deserves mentioning too. Or Bruno Walter, or Silvestri, or Klemperer... maybe it's material for another topic.
> 
> Weingartner strikes me as original, inspired and in touch with the times in his early symphonies (1-3) and symphonic poems. Then there's a slow descend into mediocrity and irrelevance, his music reverting to a bland Schumannesque idiom. The 4th symphony is still kind of acceptable, 5-7 are hard to digest.
> 
> My favorite piece of his must be the 2nd symphony. A wonderful, richly orchestrated pastoral idyll.


Or Kempff also, he composed a number of pieces. His pieces have had a much less fortunate recording legacy, though. Only a few chamber pieces and some piano miniatures. Oh and Schnabel too. Glenn Gould also a bit, but his oeuvre never got past a 30-odd minute string quartet, in terms of scale.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

There's at least one Schnabel symphony on CD. Other musian-composers represented by symphonies on CD include Klemperer, Svetlanov, Martinon, Bernstein, Broman, Dorati, Knussen, Segerstam, and Kletzki. Markevitch only has a Sinfonietta.

Speaking of the lesser known Germans around 1920, Tiessen and Erdmann are definitely worth hearing. And Danish Klenau.


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## Shea82821 (Nov 19, 2021)

joen_cph said:


> There's at least one Schnabel symphony on CD. Other musian-composers represented by symphonies on CD include Klemperer, Svetlanov, Martinon, Bernstein, Broman, Dorati, Knussen, Segerstam, and Kletzki. Markevitch only has a Sinfonietta.
> 
> Speaking of the lesser known Germans around 1920, Tiessen and Erdmann are definitely worth hearing. And Danish Klenau.


Two actually. One with his 1st and 3rd symphonies, and then no. 2 on another. But Klemperer actually hasn't been so well represented. Only two of his 6 or 7 symphonies have ever been recorded - I think he did one himself actually. I understand why only a couple dozen of Segerstam's have been, though. It's kinda hard recording that many as it is - let only nearly 350. The only time a conductor will become...well frankly insane enough to do such a thing, is if there's an equally insane market for it. And I'll be honest: God knows that I pray I don't live long enough to see that happen. His symphonies are...well...let's just say _not_ great out of politeness.

Course, all 3 of Bernstein's have been, and by the man himself. Same with Dorati's (though he may have done more than 2) and as for Knussen, or Martinon, haven't got a clue about their works.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Another vote for Kurt Atterberg, Karl Goldmark, and Niels Gade. I am not sure if Franz Adolf Berwald was already mentioned or not, but he certainly gets my vote.


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Hugo Alfvén - His symphonies are usually light in mood but I find all of them memorable and it`s a rare thing in the realm of symphonies.

Joonas Kokkonen - Hundreds of names have been mentioned but no sign of him, that means underrated in my dictionary. Alongside Melartin, he is my favourite Finnish symphonist after Sibelius.

Hilding Rosenberg - A precursor of Allan Pettersson who composed 8 serious symphonies.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Shea82821 said:


> Two actually. One with his 1st and 3rd symphonies, and then no. 2 on another. But Klemperer actually hasn't been so well represented. Only two of his 6 or 7 symphonies have ever been recorded - I think he did one himself actually. I understand why only a couple dozen of Segerstam's have been, though. It's kinda hard recording that many as it is - let only nearly 350. The only time a conductor will become...well frankly insane enough to do such a thing, is if there's an equally insane market for it. And I'll be honest: God knows that I pray I don't live long enough to see that happen. His symphonies are...well...let's just say _not_ great out of politeness.
> 
> Course, all 3 of Bernstein's have been, and by the man himself. Same with Dorati's (though he may have done more than 2) and as for Knussen, or Martinon, haven't got a clue about their works.


I think Segerstam - or Finnish authorities, or a billionaire fan - would probably have to finance the project, since commercially, it wouldn't work with say recording those 100 orchestral CDs. Yet, an outside expert could perhaps choose the 15-20 most interesting ones, or the like. But there are many more, sparsely recorded symphonists, that deserve it first - F.Glonti, Slonimsky, a complete, easily accessible Hovhaness cycle, Cowell, K.B.Jirak, the last Nørholm symphonies, etc.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Highwayman said:


> Hugo Alfvén - His symphonies are usually light in mood but I find all of them memorable and it`s a rare thing in the realm of symphonies.
> 
> Joonas Kokkonen - Hundreds of names have been mentioned but no sign of him, that means underrated in my dictionary. Alongside Melartin, he is my favourite Finnish symphonist after Sibelius.
> 
> Hilding Rosenberg - A precursor of Allan Pettersson who composed 8 serious symphonies.


All very good nominations. You have inspired me to listen to their symphonies today.


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## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

Henk Badings (1907-1987) 15 symphonies. All superb

Klaus Egge (1906-1979) 5 symphonies. Excellent. Neo romantic blended with neo classicism. Evokes nature. Touches of modernity.

Nikolai Karetnikov (1939-1994) Especially the 4th symphony. 12 tone.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

A.A. Saygun - all his work is worth listening to, and I confess to being a bigger fan of his concertos, but his five symphonies are wonderful. If you ever wish Bartok wrote a proper symphony, give him a listen.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

The harmonies (@ 1:56~2:10 , 2:26~2:40 , and so on):








also interesting are certain "resemblances" between the movements: 
-mov.1 seems to share this motif [2:43] with mov.2 [6:38], and mov.4 ("inverted" horizontally) [15:57].
-the contrapuntal passages of mov.1 [2:09 (2:27)] and mov.4 [19:17 (19:30)].
mov.3 ends with a coda (rather than a da capo), kind of like Beethoven's scherzos.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Ives, Honegger and Walton come to mind. There is a lone symphony by Bernard Herrmann very much worth listening to.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

`






Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra & Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir (among a list of many choruses) conducted by Ondrej Lénard.

Brian: Symphony No. 1 'Gothic' , not every day but as a especial,` what shell I spin now.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

joen_cph said:


> There's at least one Schnabel symphony on CD. Other musian-composers represented by symphonies on CD include Klemperer, Svetlanov, Martinon, Bernstein, Broman, Dorati, Knussen, Segerstam, and Kletzki. Markevitch only has a Sinfonietta.
> 
> Speaking of the lesser known Germans around 1920, Tiessen and Erdmann are definitely worth hearing. And Danish Klenau.


I appreciate this post and please don't take this as an attack or dismissal. Leonard Bernstein was a unique figure and it is hard to put him in perspective, even now. Seeing Bernstein listed in this company doesn't sit well with me, however, because I think his stature as a composer is at a higher level than the others.

The number of recordings of Leonard Bernstein's three symphonies in the current catalogue is: Jeremiah -- 22; The Age of Anxiety -- 33; Kaddish -- 23; a total of 78. My favorite is The Age of Anxiety and they are all quality works in my opinion. The elements of jazz and Broadway musical style in his music don't bother me because they are part of his era, are well done, and fit with the classical element in a way that few others could do. They also indicate his achievement as an innovator and risk-taker who succeeded repeatedly. I know that many people will disagree with me on these and other points. Fair enough.

But at least let's note that Bernstein demonstrated over and over in different genres his excellence as a classical composer coming from the "Harvard Stravinskian" line (studied with Piston). He is held in high esteem by other conductors, musicians, and the public in many parts of the world. I see him as one of the USA's top composers, period.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

My listing wasn't meant as an evaluation of quality at all ...


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

joen_cph said:


> My listing wasn't meant as an evaluation of quality at all ...


My apologies for the way I responded to your post. You were identifying recordings by conductor-composers, which was where the thread was at that point. They would possibly be Underrated Composers as described in the OP, but evaluation wasn't intended in your post. Fair enough.

I should have recognized that a hot button for me was touched when I saw the name of Bernstein. I believe he's been unfairly maligned by critics, academics, and avant-garde composers (underrated at least), over the 50 years since I began university. Nevertheless, he definitely isn't underrated by other conductors, musicians, and the record-buying public. A unique case. But I jumped the gun in bringing all of it up at that point.

Certainly I've valued your many interesting and valuable posts over the years and hope to continue to connect with you.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

I am glad to see Starthrower mentioning Laszlo Lajtha. Hungary probably lacks a proper symphonist among her many fine composers, and Lajtha is in many ways the missing piece to the jigsaw. He's not a Bartok, nor even a Kodaly, but he's a very good, serious composer.

There has not been - as far as I can make out - a mention yet of two fine Symphonists who deserve a mention. And we can thank enterprising record labels for bringing their works out into the open.....

The late-romantic Dutch (?) composer Julius Rontgen, whose 25 Symphonies have been coming out in dribs and drabs on CPO. There's a new CD of six works coming out next week, including some of the later Symphonies. I love his Violin Concerto, a real heavyweight piece!

The Norwegian Harald Saeverud. His nine Symphonies are available on BIS. 

These chaps are not necessarily my favourites, but I really do feel they deserve a heads-up.


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

Carl Reinecke:
Symphony No. 1 in A major, Op. 79 (1858, rev. 1863)
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 134 (1875, rev. 1888)
Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 227 (1894)

Zygmunt Noskowski:
Symphony No. 1 in A major (1875)
Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1879)
Symphony No. 3 in F major "From Spring to Spring" (1903)

Erkki Melartin:
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 30 (1902)
Symphony No. 5 "Sinfonia Brevis" in A minor, Op. 90 (1915)
Symphony No. 6, Op. 100 (1924)

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger:
Symphony No. 2 in E-flat major, "The Journey of Southerly Winds" (1910) 
Symphony No. 3 in F minor, "Lappland Symphony" (1915)
Symphony No. 5 in B major, "Solitude" (1933)


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)




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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Brian: Symphony No. 1 'Gothic'

Eva Jenisova (soprano), Peter Mikulas (bass), Vladimir Dolezal (tenor), Pavol Prochazka (choirmaster), Dagmar Peckova (alto)
Bratislava City Chorus, Slovak Philharmonic Choir, Slovak Folk Ensemble Chorus, Lucnica Chorus, Bratislava Children's Choir, Echo Youth Choir, Slovak Opera Chorus, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Ondrej Lenárd

This is a must hear CD, your life will never be the same .


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

FrankinUsa said:


> A lot of esoteric names listed here. One thought. We think of Prokofiev as mainstream. Yet only two (1 +5) have gotten traction. Before we go way off into the esoteric maybe it's time to look at the known but really unknown. How many of you have listened to all of Prokofiev's symphonies?


So many esoteric names, I don't know where to start.

I expect several of those who've posted to so far will have listened to all of SP's symphonies - they're completists! I have too. While 1 and 5 are my favourites, 4, 5, 6 and 7 all have memorable moments. It's only 3 I can't bring to mind.


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## Subutai (Feb 28, 2021)

Balakirev's 1st. Very underrated in my opinion. Full of wonderful Imperial Russian sounds. Better then Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov's 2nds! There, I've said it!


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Mine would be Berwald, Bax, Enescu, Roussel & C.P.E. Bach. Do Honegger and Martinu count as under-rated? If "yes", then add them too.


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

Subutai said:


> Balakirev's 1st. Very underrated in my opinion. Full of wonderful Imperial Russian sounds. Better then Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov's 2nds! There, I've said it!


I've remarked on numerous occasions that both of Balakirev's symphonies unfairly go under the radar compared to those of his _Moguchaya kuchka_ colleagues. I couldn't say if they are technically better as I don't have the academic smarts to measure them up, but the fact remains that I prefer Balakirev's symphonies by a fair distance to those by R-K and Borodin.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

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


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## RuggiràIntornoATe! (5 mo ago)

George Lloyd's symphonies are amazing, from the first one to the last one.


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## MJSymphonist (12 mo ago)




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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

50 unidentified passages from Haydn (M) symphonies


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

MJSymphonist said:


> View attachment 174068


Doggone it, these threads cost me more money... 

Edit: But it was worth it! The percussion sounds alone on the Hanson cycle were worth my 8.50. And Hanson offers lovely neo-romantic compositions with some modern flourishes.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Havergal Brian
Aubert Lemeland
Roger Sessions
Frankel
Josef Tal
Searle
Yun
Karkoff
Wallingford Riegger
Landowski
Szymanowski
Valen
Gerhard
Heininen
van Rossum
Enescu
Jolivet
Blomdahl
Bennett


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Prodromides said:


> Havergal Brian
> Aubert Lemeland
> Roger Sessions
> Frankel
> ...


Goodness, that's an interesting list. The only ones whose music I know at all are Szymanowski, Enescu, and Jolivet. Wow ...


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Roger Knox said:


> Goodness, that's an interesting list. The only ones whose music I know at all are Szymanowski, Enescu, and Jolivet. Wow ...


... plus there are many more that I (we) don't know than that which we are familiar with.
Only today did I revisit an album of music that I have on Alessandro Solbiati and - guess what? - therein resides a Symphony #2 that I had forgotten I owned & probably only listened to once before.

There are no doubt enough manuscripts in each publishing entity throughout the whole world whose combined music exceeds our time on Earth to listen to such.


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