# Underrated Concertos?



## Chopinist (3 mo ago)

Every day, I listen to many concertos at school, Chopin 1/2, Rachmaninoff 3, and Tchaikovsky 1 (piano) I know my top three favourite concertos at the moment. Though I know many more concertos, I wanted to see if there are any hidden gems that people barely listen to.


----------



## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

There are a LOT of them in Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series: (link). Mozart's 25th is my favorite of his, but I think the 9th is one that more people should hear, and I like to think it presages the Emperor Concerto (being in the same key, and with the immediate piano entrance, for example, as well as its revolutionary/heroic spirit). Max Reger's piano concerto isn't my favorite but it is worth hearing and I do still like it; there's a good recording with Serkin and Ormandy.


----------



## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Monsalvat said:


> There are a LOT of them in Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series: (link). Mozart's 25th is my favorite of his, but I think the 9th is one that more people should hear, and I like to think it presages the Emperor Concerto (being in the same key, and with the immediate piano entrance, for example, as well as its revolutionary/heroic spirit). Max Reger's piano concerto isn't my favorite but it is worth hearing and I do still like it; there's a good recording with Serkin and Ormandy.


In the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto Series, the CD with Xavier Scharwenka's Piano Concerto No. 4 and Emil von Sauer's No. 2 played by Steven Hough is especially good. Otherwise, I like the Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Egyptian"), Vincent D'Indy "Symphony on a French Mountain Air," Roussel Concerto, Scriabin Concerto, Joseph Marx "Romantic" Concerto, Da Falla "Nights in the Gardens of Spain."


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

There are three underrated violin concertos that really need to be played and heard:

1. Mieczysław Karłowicz. 
2. Julius Conus
3. Karl Goldmark

The last two used to be much better known but the generation that played them died off and the younger players don't seem interested. Too bad, because they are very worthwhile. All three are much more substantial than the trashy concertos of Paganini, Wieniawski, Viotti and others.

Piano concertos: as mentioned, the Hyperion series is astonishing in its depth. There have been some real gems. For me, there are two concertos that should be in the repertoire and they should have never left it: the 4th and 5th of Anton Rubinstein. Bombastic, vulgar...but oh, so exciting and goosebump raising.

For reasons unknown I just don't gravitate to concertos for other instruments; neither did a lot of composers. I'll give them a listen, but concertos for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trombone, horn, double bass, viola don't do much for me. Concertos for cello abound, and there are some good ones that are not so well known, such as the ones by Raff and Victor Herbert. The Gliere concerto for soprano and orchestra should be much better known; it's a beautiful work that doesn't overstay its welcome. I cannot stand concertos for percussion, timpani, harmonica...


----------



## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

mbhaub said:


> ... I cannot stand concertos for percussion, timpani, harmonica...


Harmonica, accordion ... I'll have to agree to disagree. Then there are Béla Fleck's concertos for banjo and orchestra.


----------



## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Hindemith's Piano Concerto and Four Temperaments (another piano concerto) are some of his best work


----------



## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I've always thought that Hummel's Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 is underrated.


----------



## Anooj (Dec 5, 2021)

Fikret Amirov - Piano Concerto After Arabian Themes


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I know Anton Rubinstein is sometimes considered a second or even third tier composer, but I still love some of the themes of his Piano Concerto No. 5 -- when he stops noodling and gets around to the themes, that is.


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

For me, one of the most underrated PCs that I know well is Braunfels. Thankfully, there have been two recordings of it on Dutton and Hyperion. I don't own the Hyperion one, but this Dutton recording is quite fine --- the slow movement is gorgeous:


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Bwv 1080 said:


> Hindemith's Piano Concerto and Four Temperaments (another piano concerto) are some of his best work


Two fine works, but he wrote a lot of fine works. He's another one of those composers that I think people who know his more well-known works like the _Mathis der Maler Symphony_, _Trauermusik_ or _Nobilissima Visione_ should do a deeper dive into his oeuvre. He wrote a lot of great music.


----------



## NÆTE (2 mo ago)

I am not sure if this piece is UNDERRATED per se, but I feel in this day and age Weber's Konzerstück doesn't get the appraisal it deserves and seems to fall to the wayside in favor of later 19th century virtuoso displays.


----------



## level82rat (Jun 20, 2019)

Weston said:


> I know Anton Rubinstein is sometimes considered a second or even third tier composer, but I still love some of the themes of his Piano Concerto No. 5 -- when he stops noodling and gets around to the themes, that is.


His 4th PC is one of my favorites. The energy in the first movement will hit you like a truck


----------



## PaulFranz (May 7, 2019)

Piano: Every Rautavaara, every Scharwenka, every Moszkowski. Dvorak, Ireland, Atterberg, Zilinskis.

Harp: Rautavaara.

Horn: Atterberg.

Violin: Zilinskis

Violin + cello: Atterberg.

Cello: Atterberg, Rautavaara 2, Kalnins

Birds: Rautavaara.


I think these are all relatively unknown/underperformed--correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## NÆTE (2 mo ago)

Oh also, Hovhaness' Guitar + Harp Concerto is literally sonic heaven on earth and deserves WAY more programming (well all of Hovhaness does, but I digress)


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Mozart: Piano Concertos 13 and 16
Dohnanyi: Piano Concerto no.1
Lyapunov: Ukrainian Fantasy for piano and orchestra
Busoni: Piano Concerto
Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Concerto in C sharp minor.

That should keep anyone going for a while!


----------



## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

NÆTE said:


> I am not sure if this piece is UNDERRATED per se, but I feel in this day and age Weber's Konzerstück doesn't get the appraisal it deserves and seems to fall to the wayside in favor of later 19th century virtuoso displays.


Yes, it was apparently more popular until the 1950s/60s although there are still good recentish recordings (hyperion, Oppitz, Pletnev...) A similar case of a shorter piece is Franck's Symphonic variations. The two "real" piano concertos by Weber are not as good but still worth checking out.
I also think Mendelssohn's are slightly underrated, very nice and entertaining.

In the Hyperion series I liked Medtner 1, Scharwenka/Rubinstein (but admittedly not enough to seek out more concertos from these composers), didn't much care for Moscheles and Dohanyi.


----------



## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)

*Debussy*: _Fantaisie_






*Montsalvatge*: Concerto breve






*Poulenc*: Piano concerto






*Szymanowski*: Sinfonia concertante


----------



## Coyoteman (9 mo ago)

Mozart's piano concerto 17 is under-rated in my book- it is one of his 3 best and among the greatest of all concertos by any composer.


----------



## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Barber and A.A. Saygun's concerti are really, really excellent piano concertos for 20th century stuff.

For Barber, get the Columbia recording with Browning/Szell, for the Saygun, get the CPO discs (they're part of a Saygun edition they did)


----------



## Enthalpy (Apr 15, 2020)

*Kabalevsky*'s violin concerto N°1 is seriously underrated and far too rarely played




maybe because it's technically easy, so pupils play it, and professionals disdain it.

Among the well-known violinists, it seems only Oistrakh recorded it, and I feel he wasn't interested. He just exaggerated the tempi put a few crescendi here and there over 20 bars, job done. But there is much more in that concerto, where the mood changes very quickly, and the interpretation should be much more detailed. In other words, *Kabalevsky 1 still needs the right violinist* who will create it for good. Karin Hendel, Patricia Kopatchinskaja?


----------



## PaulFranz (May 7, 2019)

NÆTE said:


> Oh also, Hovhaness' Guitar + Harp Concerto is literally sonic heaven on earth and deserves WAY more programming (well all of Hovhaness does, but I digress)


Do you mean his harp concerto AND his guitar concerto, or do you mean his sonata for harp and guitar? Because the sonata is definitely not a concerto.


----------



## Enthalpy (Apr 15, 2020)

*Eichberg's Qilaatersorneq*




It's a violin concerto despite comprising one single piece, just like some sonatas do.

I simply like it for being varied, full of action and nice sounds. I hope most audiences can enjoy it, it's nothing arid or esoteric. Technically, it doesn't demand an Alina Pogotskina. So just program it!


----------



## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Not that I care for the piece enough to compare with Oistrakh but Gil Shaham recorded the Kabalevsky with Pletnev conducting on DG, it hardly gets more prominent.


----------



## feierlich (3 mo ago)

Janáček's Violin Concerto _The Wandering of a Little Soul_. It's more overlooked than underrated I think.




Also Schulhoff's Piano Concerto, one of my favourites.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n3269-bWbzQIMmpCKgJfc9l8pAdKxpXIY


----------



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Neo Romanza said:


> For me, one of the most underrated PCs that I know well is Braunfels. Thankfully, there have been two recordings of it on Dutton and Hyperion. I don't own the Hyperion one, but this Dutton recording is quite fine --- the slow movement is gorgeous:


The slow movement from this 1912 work, marked Adagio, is intriguing though it is more a brooding andante than adagio. Also, in the Adagio, the piano accompanies the orchestra rather than the reverse -the piano never gets to play the melodic line. Very much worth hearing (at 13:05):


----------



## ibrahim (Apr 29, 2017)

Viotti # 22


----------



## NÆTE (2 mo ago)

PaulFranz said:


> Do you mean his harp concerto AND his guitar concerto, or do you mean his sonata for harp and guitar? Because the sonata is definitely not a concerto.


My mistake I meant "Conerto for Harp + Strings"


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Here are 13 lesser known, underrated violin concertos, IMO (which I've listed in no particular order):

--Fartein Valen--Violin Concerto:




--Frank Martin--Violin Concerto:




--Philip Glass--Violin Concerto No. 1:




--Einojuhani Rautavaara--Violin Concerto:




--Per Nørgård--Violin Concerto No. 1 "Helle Nacht" or "Light Night" or "Bright Night":




Nørgård: Violin Concerto "Helle Nacht", I: Allegro moderato
Nørgård: Violin Concerto "Helle Nacht", II: Adagio
Nørgård: Violin Concerto "Helle Nacht", III: Allegretto leggiero
Nørgård: Violin Concerto "Helle Nacht", IV: Poco allegro
--Oliver Knussen--Violin Concerto:
Violin Concerto, Op. 30: I. Recitative
Violin Concerto, Op. 30: II. Aria
Violin Concerto, Op. 30: III. Gigue
--Esa-Pekka Salonen--Violin Concerto:
Salonen: Violin Concerto - Movement One: Mirage
--Magnus Lindberg--Violin Concerto No. 1:
Violin Concerto: I. ?
Magnus Lindberg violin concerto
--Poul Ruders--Violin Concerto:
Poul Ruders: Violin Concerto (Erik Heide)
--Allan Pettersson--Violin Concerto No. 2:
Violin Concerto No. 2
--Norbert Moret--En reve:
Norbert MORET, "En rêve", Concerto pour violon et orchestre de chambre (1988). 1/2
Norbert MORET, "En rêve", Concerto pour violon et orchestre de chambre (1988). 2/2
--Robin Holloway--Violin Concerto:
Violin Concerto: Opening -
-- Pēteris Vasks--Violin Concerto "Tala gaisma" or “Distant Light”: Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra "Tala gaisma"

& two better known, favorite violin concertos of mine that I nevertheless consider to be underrated,

1. Samuel Barber--Violin Concerto:
Barber: I. Allegro
Barber: II. Andante
Violin Concerto Op. 14: III. Presto in moto perpetuo

2. Serge Prokofiev--Violin Concerto No. 1:

--Shlomo Mintz:

Mintz plays Prokofiev Concerto 1 (1/3)
Mintz plays Prokofiev Concerto 1 (2/3)
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 In D, Op. 19 - 3. Moderato

--David Oistrakh:

Prokofiev - Violin concerto n°1 - Oistrakh / LSO / Matacic


----------



## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

mbhaub said:


> There are three underrated violin concertos that really need to be played and heard:
> 
> 1. Mieczysław Karłowicz.
> 2. Julius Conus
> ...



Thanks for pointing out Julius Conus' concerto. I was familiar with, and love, the concertos by Goldmark and Karlowicz, but the Conus concerto is new to me. I listened yesterday to the recordings by Perlman and David Garrett. A beautiful composition!

BTW on a side note, if anybody is unfamiliar with the gorgeous concerto by Goldmark, may I recommend the superb recording by Nai-Yuan Hu with the Seattle Symphony and Gerard Schwarz. A superb recording of the Goldmark concerto together with the very underappreciated Bruch second concerto. The recording certainly deserves the "rosette" it earned in the old Penguin guide. And don't let the cheesy cover art deter you. Highly recommended!


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Albinoni Op. 9


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Was listening to those shortly before I saw the post above. They are indeed delightful - Albinoni's my favourite composer of the Italian Baroque, classier and more tuneful (IMHO of course) than Vivaldi.


----------



## Shoskofiev (5 mo ago)

If you (or others) are into unabashedly romantic and intense piano concertos, then these ones will be a real treat for you:

André Mathieu (a Canadian composer): Nos. 3 and 4. If you like Rachmaninov, you'll love them.
William Alwyn: No. 2
Vittorio Giannini's


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I just ordered Rautavaara's 12 Concertos box on Ondine so I'm looking forward to these works.

Magnus Lindberg's clarinet concerto sounds terrific to my ears. I also like Malcolm Arnold's clarinet concerto. Cello concertos by Schnittke, and the 2nd cello concerto by Ginastera on Naxos is excellent.


----------



## HansZimmer (11 mo ago)

Chopinist said:


> Every day, I listen to many concertos at school, Chopin 1/2, Rachmaninoff 3, and Tchaikovsky 1 (piano) I know my top three favourite concertos at the moment. Though I know many more concertos, I wanted to see if there are any hidden gems that people barely listen to.


The concerto no. 5 of Mozart is underrated...







... as well as the three concertos in KV 107.

















... as well as the piano concerto no. 1.







Basically, the early pieces of Mozart are in general underrated. I don't understand why, since he was already very much skilled in his young age.


----------



## wormcycle (Oct 14, 2020)

*Schumann Violin Concerto in D minor *
I am not a fan of orchestral music but this concerto is so different so surprising in every aspect that i was instantly hooked.
Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim did not want to publish this concerto, huge error in judgement. 
Here is pretty good recording


----------



## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

*Perosi - Piano Concerto in A minor (1916)












*


----------



## steven1855 (Oct 27, 2021)

As noted above by mbhaub and haziz, the Goldmark violin concerto is worth a listen. So good.


----------



## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

A couple of Piano Concertos from two of the members of the New England six.

Edward MacDowell's Second.






Amy Beach's Piano Concerto.


----------



## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

*Castelnuovo-Tedesco - Violin Concerto No. 2 'I Profeti', Op. 66 (1931)*


----------



## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

I feel like Hummel's piano concerto in A minor op. 85 is really underrated and I like it so much, especially the first movement. The orchestral introduction of the first movement is one of my favourite orchestral introductions of any concerto. And then the breathtakingly beautiful piano introduction. I find this concerto to be the piece closest to resembling Beethoven's style. I actually prefer Didian Talpain's HIP-recording to Stephen Hough's recording, the first HIP recording I have ever preferred over a recording using modern instruments


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

EvaBaron said:


> I feel like Hummel's piano concerto in A minor op. 85 is really underrated and I like it so much, especially the first movement.


Aside from that, I've found his Op.89 (No.3, B minor), Op.113 (No.5, A flat major) to be valuable.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

_"Haydn’s music has a thorough competence of technique as well a real sense of theatre (in the broadest sense) that is reflected in Mozart’s music." _-Prof. D.W. Jones









MH207 www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNMu_D8Fv3s&list=OLAK5uy_m-G7aSmyjf1a6Xm9la2-Mrshw8G54tfyM&index=9


----------



## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

hammeredklavier said:


> Aside from that, I've found his Op.89 (No.3, B minor), Op.113 (No.5, A flat major) to be valuable.


I’ll listen to them too


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Any of Milhaud's or Malipiero's piano concerti. Oh and Britten's _Diversions_.


----------



## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Just about any concerto by _Paul Hindemith_ who wrote expertly for almost every instrument. My favorite among his under the radar works:

*Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Clarient, Bassoon, Harp and Orchestra*

Others I play often that don't otherwise get much love:

Bohuslav Martinu *Double Concerto for Two String Orchestra, Piano and Timpani*

Francois Adrien Boieldieu *Concerto for Harp and Orchestra*

Offenbach* Concerto Militaire in G major for Cello and Orchestra*

Paul Martin* Concerto for 7 Wind Instruments, Percussion and Strings*

Ennio Morricone* Concerto for Orchestra (*aka* Concerto No. 1)*

Luigi Gianella* Concerto No. 3 (Militaire) in C major for Flute and Orchestra*


----------



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

EvaBaron said:


> I feel like Hummel's piano concerto in A minor op. 85 is really underrated and I like it so much, especially the first movement. The orchestral introduction of the first movement is one of my favourite orchestral introductions of any concerto. And then the breathtakingly beautiful piano introduction. I find this concerto to be the piece closest to resembling Beethoven's style. I actually prefer Didian Talpain's HIP-recording to Stephen Hough's recording, the first HIP recording I have ever preferred over a recording using modern instruments


It and the Op89 are two unfairly underrated piano concertos. While one might have thought that Hummel would carry on in the manner of Mozart since, as a child prodigy, he was ‘housed and taught’ by Mozart for 2 years, his latter works such as the above 2 concertos were closer to the middle to later romantic style of Beethoven. The Op85 was composed in 1815. For reference, Beethoven’s PC #5 was composed in 1809-1811 so Hummel would have been familiar with all of the Beethoven piano concertos. The impressive thing about Hummel is that while these concertos might generally remind of Beethoven, they have their own distinct style that is unique to Hummel.

The Hummel Op85 is not an easy concerto pianistically. This an excellent live version, very well recorded and has video of the keyboard that shows how difficult the fingering is. (Fwiw, the pianist, Dmitry Shishkin, reminds me a bit of Glenn Gould’s manner of playing.)


----------



## PeterKC (Dec 30, 2016)

The two Piano Concertos of Lee Hoiby
The Violin Concerto of Machavariani
The Cello Concerto of Peter Mennin
The Organ Concerto of Malcom Arnold
The two Cello Concertos by Nino Rota
Moszkowski's op. 5 Piano Concerto
The two violin concertos of Respighi
Copland's Piano Concerto
Seis Valses for Piano and Orchestra by Nepomuceno
Barber's Cello concerto
Cello Concerto by Virgil Thomson
Organ Concerto by Horatio Parker
Piano concerto by William Bolcom
Wedding Cake by St. Saens


----------



## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 11
Beethoven: Triple Concerto
Brahms: Double Concerto


----------

