# Forgotten figures



## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Who are some of the most interesting and talented forgotten figures in classical music?
Musicians, teachers, composers, conductors... once relevant, perhaps quite well known, influential even, possibly with a direct connection to a famous composer we all know today, but largely forgotten and fallen into obscurity. Which ones deserve our attention?


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

CPE Bach


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Phil loves classical said:


> CPE Bach


Papa's cast a big shadow.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Too many to mention, that's for sure.

The conductor Charles Munch was excellent in conducting Saint-Saens, Ravel, Beethoven and Brahms, as music director of the Boston Symphony, yet his name rarely comes up on TC.

The American composer William Schuman's Symphonies #'s 3,4,6,7,8,9 and 10 are among the best ever composed by an American, yet his music is sadly neglected today.

I could go on and on and on, but I will leave it to others to add their input.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I'm rather fond of Ludwig Thuille, close friend from boyhood of Richard Strauss, distinguished professor of music and author of a much-used textbook on composition, and composer of some rather luscious post-Brahmsian chamber works:


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## arnerich (Aug 19, 2016)

Quadrilaterals... I always forget about them.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Phil loves classical said:


> CPE Bach


CPE might be a little underrated, but he isn't obscure. There are over 500 CPE entries on ArkivMusic - that beats out Buxtehude and Bruch.


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

DeepR said:


> Who are some of the most interesting and talented forgotten figures in classical music?
> Musicians, teachers, composers, conductors... once relevant, perhaps quite well known, influential even, possibly with a direct connection to a famous composer we all know today, but largely forgotten and fallen into obscurity. Which ones deserve our attention?


I have been working in this subject since this is a love of mine to make such kind of research, 
and some of "my works" are already published as CDs.
So I add here the names some introduction and links for the CDs info and recording samples:

*Carl Tausig* {aka Charles, Karl, Karol} *(1841-1871)*

CD - Complete Original Piano Works

The favorite Liszt's student of all times, *great friend of both Wagner and Brahms at the same time! and the responsible by their meeting!!!*
He was the best pianist of his times. As composer he had 3 periods: an early romantic style, the Lisztian "Sturm und Drang" period, and something I would call a "pré-Scriabin/Rachmaninoff".
Unfortunately mostly of the information available on internet is incomplete and sometimes wrong. Some of his letters were first copied and accessed by myself according to the libraries and collection owners, that means a lot of information about his life is still unknown to the scholars who usually speak about him. And his music is often misread by the interpreters because of this lack of study around him and On the other hand. A "more complete" book about him is on its way right now and 12 more Cds too! 

Listen to one track:





*Aleksander Michałowski (1851-1938)*

CD - Piano Works CD 1

One of the most influential teachers from his time and an authority on Chopin's works interpretation according to Franz Liszt,
He studied under Tausig, Moscheles, Coccius and Reinecke. Michałowski became friend of Mikuli (Chopin's student) and they had several discussions about Chopin and his music.
His compositions are "Chopinesque" - needless to say much more.
Michałowski's famous students were Wanda Landowska, Vladimir Sofronitsky, Heinrich Neuhaus, Mischa Levitzki, Ludomir Różycki, Henryk Pachulski, Jerzy Żurawlew (founder of the International Chopin Piano Competition), Władysław Szpilman (upon which the movie 'The Pianist' was based), among others.

Listen to one track:





*Géza Zichy (1849-1924)*

CD - Complete Piano Works

CD - Complete Piano Transcriptions

Virtuoso Hungarian Liszt's student who lost his right arm in a hunting accident when he was 14 years old.
Liszt introduced Zichy to Wagner saying he (Zichy) was his best friend and they played together in several soirées and also improvised together at the piano.
Zichy developed the left hand alone playing repertoire long before Paul Wittgenstein, but Wittgenstein didn't liked Zichy because of politic/personal views, so Zichy's music became unknown specially after Wittgenstein saying the pieces were not good (one of these terrible mistakes in art from time to time - one opinion who try to "rule" the art) 
Unfortunately most of Zichy's piano compositions were lost when his house was destroyed in the World War II. All the remaining piano solo works were recorded in these two CDs.

Listen to one track from each CD:










*Tivadar Szántó* {aka Theodore or Theodor} *(1877-1934)*

CD - Complete Piano Works CD 1

CD - Complete Piano Works CD 2

Another virtuoso composer/pianist, this time a Busoni's pupil. He was the responsible to promote the music of Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky, Delius, Bartok, and other great contemporaries an friends. Ravel helped him to have his opera "Taifun" performed in the 20's. 
As composer, Szántó works are very influenced by Busoni, late Liszt, Debussy and Ravel. He had great interest in the music of Japan and composed with
this influence several times.
His four Etudes Op.1 are works of the highest technical difficulty - two dedicated to Ferruccio Busoni, one to Leopold Godowsky, and one to Isidor Philipp!

Listen to one track from each CD:





Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 
All the best
Artur Cimirro


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

The 2nd Szántó track (only 5 links allowed per message! sorry)


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (1736-1809), composer, theorist, and pedagogue. He was one of Beethoven's counterpoint teachers (in fact, some accounts suggest that Beethoven learned more from Albrechtsberger than from Haydn).

Albrechtsberger was also a fine composer in his own right--here's a sampling of his contrapuntal work:


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

Phil loves classical said:


> CPE Bach


Miles from forgotten! Virtually every one of CPE Bach's exceedingly numerous works is available in modern recordings and within a click on youtube. There has been a major revival of interest over the last few decades.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Too many to mention but we have some members like cimirro, who helping with new discoveries.


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