# Obscure classical composer composition recommendation request



## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

It is time to buy some more music, and for entertainment I would like some help.

So please tell me one piece that I should purchase from an obscure composer, and why.

I am happy for the music to be from any era. It can be similar to a more famous contemporary composer, or completely unique - or any where in between.

For this thread, please do not post excerpts from You Tube. I like to hear all of my new music fresh on my stereo for the first time. I never try before I buy. I hardly ever buy something unsatisfactory.

I will purchase the piece I fancy most based on the replies received!



TIA


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Moeran: Violin Concerto; Lonely Waters; Whythorne's Shadow; Cello Concerto (Chandos).

Moeran's cello concerto is in my opinion the best ever composed. The violin concerto is a substantial work as well, and the two fillers are well worth while. Excellent playing.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

If you like Liszt, I would try Joseph Joachim Raff. For many years he was Liszt's personal secretary. On occasion he would orchestrate some of Liszt's works.

Sample:


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## MJongo (Aug 6, 2011)

Conlon Nancarrow: Studies for Player Piano
http://www.amazon.com/Nancarrow-Studies-Player-Piano-Conlon/dp/B0015P2FN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361885780&sr=8-1&keywords=conlon+nancarrow


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

This is a game I can play!

*Stage one*, I'll list a dozen relatively unknown composers of merit (at least according to me), then You tell me which of them You have never heard of before, in stage two, I'll suggest a record of one or more of them that I think You should try, ok?

Gösta Nystroem (Se)
Gavril Popov (Ru)
Boris Tchaikovsky (Ru)
Tan Dun (Ch)
David Briggs (Uk)
Peteris Vasks (Li)

Egon Wellesz (Au)
Oskar Merikanto (Fi)
Peter Eötvös (Hu)
Galina Ustvolskaya (Ru)
Ingolf Dahl (De/Us)
Naji Hakim (Fr)

/ptr


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## Chrythes (Oct 13, 2011)

Pizzetti - both string quartets. 








Both are very romantic and poetic. Here's the second one - 





I am not sure how much is Myaskovsky considered obscure, but if you are not familiar with his Violin and Cello concertos you should give them a listen. Both are very fine works, and on this CD - 






you also get Vainberg's Violin concerto which is an enjoyable work as well.

This recording - 








Has some works for the violin and cello duo (which in itself is a rather rare combination) by various composers (most I would call obscure), most are in the impressionism realm but with their own distinct style. The piece by Bach makes this recording even more versatile.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

ptr said:


> This is a game I can play!
> 
> *Stage one*, I'll list a dozen relatively unknown composers of merit (at least according to me), then You tell me which of them You have never heard of before, in stage two, I'll suggest a record of one or more of them that I think You should try, ok?
> 
> ...


Sounds good to me!

I have deleted those that I am aware of.

Over to you.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

> Art Rock said:
> 
> 
> > Moeran: Violin Concerto; Lonely Waters; Whythorne's Shadow; Cello Concerto (Chandos).
> ...


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## Andolink (Oct 29, 2012)

The very best (IMO) instrumental music from 17th Century England:

William Lawes Consort Suites








Lawes was a proto-Romantic way ahead of his time, harmonically rich and sophisticated. This 2-disc recording is killer!


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Good, I'll link each name to a CD of their music I think is a good introduction! (I'm using Arkiv Musik and Amazon as reference Database as they both have a very good selection!)

*Tan Dun* (Ch) .. Contemporary, Chinas most prolific living composer, wrote the music for Ang Lee's master piece film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", often utilize Chinese Classical instruments in an amalgam with Westerbn classical instruments.

*Peteris Vasks* (Li) .. Contemporary, Latvia's answer to Arvo Pärt, minimalistic but very accessible..

*Egon Wellesz* (Au/Uk) .. Late romantic, studied with Arnold Schoenberg, but is more traditional

*Oskar Merikanto* (Fi) ... romantic, forerunner to Sibelius, a great vocal composer!!

*Peter Eötvös* (Hu) .. Contemporary, a bit fusion between Bartok/Kodaly/Messiaen and the Darmstadt school.. For me, THE greatest living composer!!! (And a wonderful conductor at that!)

*Ingolf Dahl *(De/Us) .. Late romantic, a bit Hollywoodish, similar to Kurt Weill

*Naji Hakim* (Fr) ... Contemporary, most known for his Organ Compositions, quite exstaitc in a Messieanic way..

The reason You should sample one, a few or all of these is that the write or wrote very rewarding music! I suggest that You start with Peter Eötvös (Eotvos for those of you that still use languages that are behind in incorporating umlauts...  )

/ptr


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Not sure what is obscure. If any of this isn't obscure, forgive me! 

Takemitsu: From Me Flow What You Call Time 

Rzewski: Variations on The People United Will Never Be Defeated! 

Rebel: Les Elemens

Martinu: Field Mass

Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne 

Biber: Rosary Sonatas (also called Mystery Sonatas)

Pergolesi: Stabat Mater

Szymanowski: Stabat Mater

Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri 

Enescu: Oedipe (if you don't like opera, then Violin Sonata #3)

Shchedrin: Carmen Suite

Zelenka: Sub Olea Pacis

Cherubini: Requiem in C minor

Taneyev: Piano Quintet

Feldman: Rothko Chapel

Victoria: Missa pro defunctis (~Requiem) 

Busoni: Piano Concerto 

Arensky: Piano Trio

Chausson: Concerto for Piano, Violin, and String Quartet

Cardew: The Great Learning

Caldera: Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo

Schutz: The Christmas Story (Historia der Geburt Jesu Christi)

Crumb: Black Anglels (if you know this already, then Ge Gan-Ru: String Quartet #5 'Fall of Baghdad')

Charpetier: Te Deum

Allegri: Miserere

Gesualdo: Tenebrae Responsories

Brumel: Earthquake Mass

I'll also second the Vasks and Berio.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

*The long list*

Thank you for your recommendations. It is quite overwhelming.

I have eliminated all those composers that I was aware of & am left with the following to select from:

Biber: Rosary Sonatas (also called Mystery Sonatas)
Brumel: Earthquake Mass
Crumb: Black Anglels (if you know this already, then Ge Gan-Ru: String Quartet #5 'Fall of Baghdad')
Egon Wellesz*(Au/Uk) .. Late romantic, studied with Arnold Schoenberg, but is more traditional
Feldman: Rothko Chapel
Ingolf Dahl*(De/Us) .. Late romantic, a bit Hollywoodish, similar to Kurt Weill
Joseph Joachim Raff 
Matthias Pintscher
Moeran 
Naji Hakim*(Fr) ... Contemporary, most known for his Organ Compositions, quite exstaitc in a Messieanic way..
Oskar Merikanto*(Fi) ... romantic, forerunner to Sibelius, a great vocal composer!!
Peter Eötvös*(Hu) .. Contemporary, a bit fusion between Bartok/Kodaly/Messiaen and the Darmstadt school.. For me, THE greatest living composer!!! (And a wonderful conductor at that!)
Peteris Vasks*(Li) .. Contemporary, Latvia's answer to Arvo Pärt, minimalistic but very accessible..
Pizzetti
Rebel: Les Elemens
Rzewski: Variations on The People United Will Never Be Defeated!*
Tan Dun*(Ch) .. Contemporary, Chinas most prolific living composer, wrote the music for Ang Lee's master piece film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", often utilize Chinese Classical instruments in an amalgam with Westerbn classical instruments.
Vainberg

To my knowledge, I haven't heard a note of any of these or even had any awareness of their existence before today.

Now I have the not inconsiderable task of picking one to buy....


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## Chrythes (Oct 13, 2011)

hayd said:


> Now I have the not inconsiderable task of picking one to buy....


That's why they should start selling obscure-composers box sets.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

Not sure what your taste in musical format is, but I can highly recommend this disc:


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

Having superficially reviewed all of the above, I can see no reason not to try them all. Unsurprisingly it was not possible to narrow down my selection to one CD, so I have just acquired four.

I was very tempted to cheat and get the recommended Lawes, but I already have some. I settled on the following:

1. Biber's Mystery Sonatas - Holloway: these would appear to be a slightly quirky baroque set.
2. Moeran: I like English music of the period and Art Rock's recommendation was strong.
3. Peter Eötvös: Complete with umlauts (!) I like his influences & noted the passionate recommendation.
4. Tan Dun: This one for its unique sound world & Chinese music influences.

The remainder are on my wish list.

This was an enjoyable process and preferable to my normal method of selecting with a random number generator from a Wikipedia composer list!


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Zdenek Fibich - symphonies 1-3. 
Nikolai Myaskovsky . Symphony no 8 . Cello concerto .
Havergal Brian . Gothic symphony . 
Josef Suk. The Ripening ( symphonic poem ).
Vitezslav Novak . The Storm (Cantata ).
Arthur Bliss . A Color symphony . Piano concerto .
Charles Koechlin . The Jungle Book, based on Kipling .
Anton Rubinstein . Symphony no 2, "Ocean".
Granville Bantock . Hebridean symphony .
John Foulds . A World Requiem .
Johan Svendsen . Symphonies 1,2 .
Hans Pfitzner. Violin concerto .
Bernd Alois Zimmermann. Photoptosis, for orchestra .
Nicholas Maw . Odyssey, for orchestra .
Unno Klami . Kalevala suite.
Franz Schmidt . The Book of the Seven Seals .
(Oratorio).
Hans Pfitzner. Oratorio, "Of the German Soul".
Einojuhani Rautavaara . Cantus Arcticus .
Arnold Bax. Tintagel. Syphony no 3. 
Wilhelm Stenhammar. Serenade in F for orchestra . symphonies 1,2. Piano concertos 1,2.
Vasily Kallinikov . Symphonies 1,2.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Chrythes said:


> That's why they should start selling obscure-composers box sets.


I guess you know about the Golden Age of the Romantic Piano Concerto box set? It's sort of what you're asking for. D'Albert, Sauer, Scharwenka, Beach, Hiller, Hummel, Lalo, MacDowell, Mayr, Medtner, Moszkowksi, Mononyi, and so on. All recorded back in the 1970s, I think.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Also the big "Contemporaries of Mozart" box set. No longer available in toto I fear! But I've got it.


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## Chrythes (Oct 13, 2011)

science said:


> I guess you know about the Golden Age of the Romantic Piano Concerto box set? It's sort of what you're asking for. D'Albert, Sauer, Scharwenka, Beach, Hiller, Hummel, Lalo, MacDowell, Mayr, Medtner, Moszkowksi, Mononyi, and so on. All recorded back in the 1970s, I think.


Never heard about it! Seems pretty interesting, though I still need to get into the Piano Concerto genre, can't seem to enjoy it as much as the other concertos.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Brett Dean!!! Just to show how amazing he is, he has won a Grawemeyer award! The best music you'll get from an Australian composer. I suppose he is rather more accessible than a lot of other composers today even if his music is largely atonal.






One of his earlier works, "Ariel's Music" which is a concerto for violin and orchestra, is available on a recording played by his brother Paul Dean and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Mills (another composer worth checking out) and is one of the most exciting things you will ever hear.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> The best music you'll get from an Australian composer.


Don't underestimate Grainger.










I realize he's not cool, but he has a pretty good claim to be Australia's best composer.

And Peter Sculthorpe, of course.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

Leevi Madetoja -a contemporary of Sibelius (1887-1947). If you like Sibelius you might like him. 
Erkki Melartin also (1875-1937)
And Armas Jarnefelt (1869 -1958). 
Selim Palmgren (1878- 1951) 
Väinö Raitio (1891 -1945) 
Robert Kajanus (1856- 1933 ) composer as well as conductor.
Toivo Kuula (1883 -1918)


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

science said:


> I guess you know about the Golden Age of the Romantic Piano Concerto box set? It's sort of what you're asking for. D'Albert, Sauer, Scharwenka, Beach, Hiller, Hummel, Lalo, MacDowell, Mayr, Medtner, Moszkowksi, Mononyi, and so on. All recorded back in the 1970s, I think.


The old vox boxes. Yes - I have those. I love the Ukranian Rhapsody by Lyapunov.


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> Moeran: Violin Concerto; Lonely Waters; Whythorne's Shadow; Cello Concerto (Chandos).
> 
> Moeran's cello concerto is in my opinion the best ever composed. The violin concerto is a substantial work as well, and the two fillers are well worth while. Excellent playing.


Thanks for the tip!:tiphat:


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> violin


Whoops I meant clarinet.


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## Yojimboken (Mar 20, 2013)

Just found this forum, and the discussion is right up my alley 

Here are some recommendations:

Hans Rott, Symphony in E. He completed very little because he had a complete mental breakdown at the age of 20, and died at 25, but the symphony is very good indeed. (Brahms didn't like it, but Bruckner and Mahler certainly did).

Norbert Burgmuller - any of his four string quartets or two symphonies. Schumann finished the scherzo of his second symphony after he drowned at the age of 26. He was clearly a teriffic talent.

Vagn Holmboe - Symphony #2 (Synfonia Rustica), and Symphony #8 (Synfonia Borealis). Holmboe is beginning to be known. Generally considered the finest Danish composer since Neilsen.

Alberic Magnard - String Quartet and Symphony #3. Magnard is more often remembered for having been killed in WW1 trying to singlehandedly defend his villa from German troops. In the fight his house was burned and with it many of his manuscripts. Sometimes referred to as a "French Bruckner" but really he was more of a Franck follower.

Joseph Guy Ropartz - Another Franck-ian. I prefer his chamber music, in particular the quartets and the cello sonatas, but he also wrote five symphonies. 

Jean Cras - one more forgotten Frenchman. His string trio is one of the finest of the 20th century. Very small output, since he spent his entire career in the navy, retiring as an Admiral.

Charles Villiers Stanford - he got left behind, writing Romantic music when tastes had moved to Modern, but I really like his 3rd and 4th symphonies and his string quartets.

EJ Moeran - I agree that his cello concerto is a great piece - it should be standard repertoire. Also, his first string quartet, cello sonata, and first symphony are excellent. He was a drinking buddy of Phillip Heseltine (aka Peter Warlock), and they were apparently "two wild and crazy guys." 

Vissarion Shebalin - String quartets, orchestral music, violin concerto. Shebalin was a friend of Shostakovich who had his own share of battles with Stalin. 

Boris Tchaikovsky - (no relation to Peter). I only know his string quartets and piano quintet, but they are very witty and interesting.

Wilhelm Stenhammar - shamefully underplayed Swede. Two fine symphonys, two excellent piano concerti, a set of six important string quartets and other stuff. Check out his "Midvinter" for chorus and orchestra.

That's enough for now, but I have more.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I'm very bad at obscure composers, but I can give you two works:

Hans Rott: Symphony (still not widely known)
Wilhelm Furtwängler: Symphony #2 (as a composer he's relatively obscure, I think)


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

I've recently bought a few discs of symphonies by composers not really in the standard repertoire (yet). *Penderecki's* Symphony No. 7, *Villa-Lobos'* 3rd and 4th Symphonies, and *Havergal Brian's* 3rd, 4th and 12th Symphonies.

*Reinhold Gliére's* 3rd Symphony is a massive 75-minute programme work in B minor.

*Alfredo Casella's* 2nd Symphony owes a massive debt to Mahler's Resurrection Symphony (No. 2), with which it shares the same key.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

Yojimboken said:


> Just found this forum, and the discussion is right up my alley
> 
> Here are some recommendations:
> 
> ...


That is great. More for my list of future purchases. The brief bios were interesting too.
Feel free to add some more at your convenience.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Greetings, hayd.

Most of my favorite composers would no doubt be deemed "obscure" even though a lot of albums by such have been played by me on a regular basis for 20 years (I commenced collecting classical discs in 1993).

Here's a partial listing of composer names whose music I cherish very much:


Aarre Merikanto
Andre Jolivet
Maurice Ohana
Andre Caplet
Meyer Kupferman
Arne Nordheim
+
Jean Prodromides (my TC namesake)

Many albums of music by the above names are out of print, so my suggestions are not exactly to be taken as items for an online shopping cart (unless you don't mind acquiring used copies via the secondary marketplace).

Any recommendations from me are likely to be more for informational purposes than purchasing.

I have posted quite a bit of "obscurity" in threads here @ TC, and, if you are so inclined, you can consult my contributions to several laundry-list type topics like http://www.talkclassical.com/20850-challenge-question-your-100-a.html or http://www.talkclassical.com/21414-my-110-favorite-composers.html.

Happy hunting.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

Prodromides said:


> Greetings, hayd.
> 
> Most of my favorite composers would no doubt be deemed "obscure" even though a lot of albums by such have been played by me on a regular basis for 20 years (I commenced collecting classical discs in 1993).
> 
> ...


Hello Prodromides

You win the prize for obscurity on this thread. 

I've checked out their brief wiki entries & they all seem interesting, and worth a try.

Thank you for the links too. So much to listen to. 20th century music is so varied and intriguing that I suppose the initial aim must be to listen to as many different composers as possible.

(I like your top 20 films too. :tiphat: )


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## PavelC (Oct 6, 2012)

Johann Baptist Cramer for his sublime Piano Concertos and Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz mostly because of his preludes for harp.
In Opera- Alexey Verstovsky's "Askold's Grave".

Others, less impressive, but also great: Pietro Locatelli, Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller.


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