# Composers with small output



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I was just thinking, there must be many composers with relatively small output whose works are passionately liked & listened to by people like us.

Three of my favourites were Varese (most of his early works destroyed in a warehouse fire), Durufle (too self-critical) & Berg (died quite young at 50).

But, as you know, quality is just as important as quantity, and composers like this made an immense contribution to music. Take Varese's use of taped material in _Deserts_ (early 1950's), Durufle's use of the modes of ancient Christian church music in his choral works (i.e. the _Requiem_), or Berg's exploration of the 12 tone serial system of composition (the _Violin Concerto 'To the memory of an angel'_ comes to mind, probably one of the best of the C20th).

So who are some of the less prolific composers people like?


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

Webern, Corelli, Mahler (not in length, but in size). I think Webern is in the same category as Durufle. Regarding Corelli - weren't many of his works destroyed? 

Mahler can be forgiven though! 

Probably the "smallest" example of this is Bellini, who wrote 10 operas and nothing else... oh, never mind. He apparently wrote a few vocal works and one concerto for the oboe. Not a very big output, but I wonder if there's a reason we never hear about his non-operatic works (not even listed in Wikipedia)...


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## muxamed (Feb 20, 2010)

Henri Dutilleux is one of the composers who has had an immense influence on the music of the 20th century, and still has (at 94). His output is relatively small.


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## JSK (Dec 31, 2008)

My favorite of these composers is definitely Borodin. He wrote only a few hours of music, but a remarkable percentage of his music is great and in the standard rep - quite an acheivement for a less than "major" composer.

Including his early, tonal works Webern only wrote something like 6 hours of music. Definitely a composer with a unique and original musical voice.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Chopin. His mature works are very few. Two sonatas, few ballades and two-three longer one-movement pieces. Rest are miniatures. 

Two piano concertos are works of youth, the 1st is probably his first mastepiece but it is still not mature piece. 

Many people don't realise that he was one of most wasted talents in history of music. Died aged 39, if he would live ten years longer with good health, I belive he would write much more pieces like 3rd piano sonata - works that would be without any doubt first grade piano music. Maybe another piano concertos with much better orchestration.


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

Dukas is another one. He was a perfectionist and destroyed a lot of his music.


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## JSK (Dec 31, 2008)

If we are including composers who tied way too young to reach maturity but could have become "great" had they lived, I'd like to mention Griffes, Arriaga, and Lili Boulanger.


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## schubert_1797 (Feb 1, 2010)

I would add to the list Zoltán Kodály and Ernst von Dohnányi.

I can’t remember the exact quote any more, but Kodály once said that before writing anything down, he always considered whether what he was hearing in his head was truly worth committing to paper. He wrote quite a lot of short choral works, but few big works. What he did write down, however, are true gems!


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

*Henri Duparc:*

_Duparc is best known for his seventeen mélodies ("art songs") with texts by poets such as Baudelaire, Gautier, Leconte de Lisle, and Goethe. These pieces are considered by many to be among the greatest compositions by any composer in this form.

A mental illness, called "neurasthenia", caused him to abruptly cease composing at age 37, in 1885. He devoted himself to his family and his other passions, drawing and painting. However, he began losing his vision after the turn of the century, which eventually led to complete blindness. He destroyed most of his music, leaving fewer than 40 works to posterity_

-from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Duparc_%28composer%29


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Chopin. His mature works are very few.

 And yet his collected oeuvre easily fills more than 12 discs... not even counting his rarely recorded Krakowiak for piano and orchestra; Fantasia on themes from Polish songs with accompanying orchestra, Trio for violin, cello and piano; Sonata for cello and piano, Grand Duo in E major for cello and piano, and 19 Polish songs for voice and accompanying piano.

Many people don't realise that he was one of most wasted talents in history of music. Died aged 39, if he would live ten years longer with good health, I belive he would write much more pieces like 3rd piano sonata - works that would be without any doubt first grade piano music. Maybe another piano concertos with much better orchestration.

Yes... and what might Mozart or Schubert or even Bach have achieved with another 10 years. I'd take another 10 years of them any day. But then I don't consider Chopin to be a minor composer by any measure. The fact that his oeuvre is predominantly composed of miniatures does not make him a minor composer any more than the fact that Keats and Baudelaire wrote "only" lyric poems makes them minor poets. Certainly Schubert's reputation owes more to his lieder than to anything else... as much as I love his symphonies. Chopin's Nocturnes are enough to have assured his place in history.

And Mahler?? Nine completed and very large (in scale and length) and all the rest of the works to be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Gustav_Mahler

I suppose in comparison to Bach or Haydn he was a slacker... but seriously... a "small output"?

I would never even think of Chopin or Mahler as composers of a small oeuvre.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Holst comes to mind, although he did write quite a few obscure works -- or rather they have been obscured by his big hit.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

> And yet his collected oeuvre easily fills more than 12 discs... not even counting his rarely recorded Krakowiak for piano and orchestra; Fantasia on themes from Polish songs with accompanying orchestra, Trio for violin, cello and piano; Sonata for cello and piano, Grand Duo in E major for cello and piano, and 19 Polish songs for voice and accompanying piano.


Trio you mention was written even before the concertos AFAIR. It is very immature, even if enjoyable. The problem is that most of his works are those little waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises many of which are also early ones.

The serious works: sonatas, concertos, any longer pieces that you can sit and listen to for some satysfying amount of time are really, really few.


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## TresPicos (Mar 21, 2009)

Manuel de Falla didn't exactly focus on quantity either, but he managed to produce a few masterpieces:


The Three-Cornered Hat
Love, The Magician
Nights in the gardens of Spain
La vida breve
Harpsichord concerto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Manuel_de_Falla


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I also like those other Frenchmen mentioned, Duparc, Dukas & Dutilleux.

Duparc's songs are probably some of the few that I can listen to & get something out of emotionally, even though I don't know French, they seem to grab me more than others for some reason (although I also like the vocal works of other French composers like Berlioz & Messiaen).

Dukas, I only know his famous _Sorcerer_ & _La Peri_, but I enjoy his music immensely, even though I tend not to enjoy most "impressionist" works, other than Debussy (but I don't like the term, I'd rather use "modernist," but anyway...)

& Dutilleux is one of my favourite composers of the C20th. Much like Messiaen, he trod his own path, not getting involved in the "tonal" vs. "atonal" wars (which were meaningless anyway). His works are quite post-modern in the way they deal with literary themes, like the disintegration/maintenance of memory (I'm getting a bit arty farty here).

I suppose Chopin & Mahler both died pretty young, so their output is not as great as it could have been. But I suppose the question is that is an avid listener of these "satisfied" with their output as it exists? I think 12 discs of Chopin is more "satisfying" than only 3 discs of Varese. I am very dissapointed that all of Varese's early symphonic poems are gone, for example. Is that disappointment greater than someone contemplating the fact that Chopin died in his 30's or Mahler at about 50? I don't know, it depends on the individual, and how big a fan of a particular composer you are. One thing's for sure, most of the composers mentioned above wrote relatively little (some like Duparc not much at all), but the overall quality of their works are top-notch, & that's why they have not been forgotten after such a long time...


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## bplary (Sep 13, 2009)

Ravel had a somewhat small output..


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## Sorin Eushayson (May 10, 2009)

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga. Probably the first notable Spanish composer, sometimes referred to as "The Spanish Mozart," but unfortunately he died at age twenty. I have some recordings of his three string quartets and his symphony in D (both major and minor)...






Apparently he wrote some sacred and vocal music as well, but I haven't found any recordings of it.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

I guess many of us have works by lesser known composers who appreared to compose little because many of their works are lost. In particualr, these are usually early music composers. For example, I picked up a recording recently by a composer whom I never heard of before: Francesco Antonio de Almeida (1722 - 1752), died young; _La Giuditta_, oratorio (Rome, 1726). Performed by Concerto Koln, directed by Rene Jacobs (on period instruments).

Early music, Renaissance and Baroque are full of such examples.


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## Romantic Geek (Dec 25, 2009)

JSK said:


> If we are including composers who tied way too young to reach maturity but could have become "great" had they lived, I'd like to mention Griffes, Arriaga, and Lili Boulanger.


I'd second Griffes. He could have easily become one of America's most famous composers along with Gershwin and Copland if he didn't die too early. His works are of extreme high quality though despite the small output.


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## starry (Jun 2, 2009)

Abel-Marie Decaux, one work.

Beat that.


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## TresPicos (Mar 21, 2009)

starry said:


> Abel-Marie Decaux, one work.
> 
> Beat that.




A good work, though.


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## TWhite (Feb 23, 2010)

I'd definitely go with Tres Picos on deFalla: A relatively small output--I've heard he destroyed more works than he completed--but the ones that merited publication in his opinion are pretty much all masterpieces, at least in my opinion. I would very much liked to have seen what his epic work "Atlantida" might have been like had he lived to complete it. 

Again, Borodin. Music was his Avocation, his profession was in science. Many of his works had to be finished by other composers (mainly Rimsky-Korsakov) but of his completed works, he left us with a marvelous string quartet, a very flavorful tone-poem ("Steppes of Central Asia") and one symphony (his Second in b minor) that is probably one of the best Russian symphonies of the 19th Century. And his opera "Prince Igor", though it was completed by Rimsky, ain't too shabby, either. And I don't just mean the "Polovstian Dances." The rest of it has some awfully good things going for it.

Though Ravel's output is not as small as the other two mentioned composers, it might have been fascinating to see where he would have gone in his progress had an injury not stifled his creativity in the last six years of his life. His last great work--the D-Major piano concerto (for left hand) is, at least in my opinion, one of the true masterpieces of 20th Century piano concerto literature. 

Tom


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Berg, Mahler, Webern... I've nothing really new to add.

Ravel and Debussy didn't really seem to have an overly huge output...


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## violadamore2 (Mar 6, 2010)

*French and brevity*

Chauson and his Poeme for violin, a handfull of songs, Concert for violin, piano and stg quartet. and one wonderful symphony.

The Magnard has four symphonies that aren't bad.

What is it about the French and brevity?


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

Carl Ruggles (1876-1971) Ten works according to Wikipedia. _Sun-treader _was released on DG in the 70s and is very dramatic and wholly assured.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

This Carl Ruggles interests me, I've just read the wikipedia entry, which said he was in the same circle as Varese. I'll have to hear something by him soon, maybe _Sun-treader_...


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## scytheavatar (Aug 27, 2009)

Air said:


> Probably the "smallest" example of this is Bellini, who wrote 10 operas and nothing else... oh, never mind. He apparently wrote a few vocal works and one concerto for the oboe. Not a very big output, but I wonder if there's a reason we never hear about his non-operatic works (not even listed in Wikipedia)...


Probably the same reason why we never heard of Donizetti's non-operatic works, despite him apparently written 16 symphonies, 19 string quartets, 193 songs, 45 duets, 3 oratorios, 28 cantatas, instrumental concertos, sonatas, and other chamber pieces: they probably weren't good enough.


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## starry (Jun 2, 2009)

scytheavatar said:


> Probably the same reason why we never heard of Donizetti's non-operatic works, despite him apparently written 16 symphonies, 19 string quartets, 193 songs, 45 duets, 3 oratorios, 28 cantatas, instrumental concertos, sonatas, and other chamber pieces: they probably weren't good enough.


Maybe, but some music just doesn't get heard because it hasn't been fashionable.


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## Ian Elliott (Nov 15, 2010)

Dukas because he became too self-critical and stopped composing. His later stuff is very interesting.
Chabrier because he began composing late in life (but Godard, according to him, began too early!).
Debussy should have lived twenty years longer and written ten times as much. His output is small because I can't get enough of it!
Ravel, of course. If only he had kept his health, we would have a Jeanne d'Arc by him!


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I all you know by Dukas is the Sorceror's Apprentice , you should get a recording of his wonderful symphony in C major, one of the finest French symphonies. It's a much more serious and substantial work the the S.A., and filled with great themes and is very gutsy and passionate. 
You'll wonder where it's been all your life! The Jean Martinon EMI recording is considered to be the number one choice by many, but I first got to know it from a Decca recording from the 70s which I don't believe has been issued on CD yet,which is a pity,because it's a terrific performance.
There's a Chandos recording with Yan Pacal Tortelier (son of the renowned cellist Paul Tortelier )but I haven't heard it. But based on what I've heard from this conductor and knowing his authoritative handling of French music, it's proabaly excellent.
I can't understand why this marvelous symphony is performed so rarely.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

superhorn said:


> I all you know by Dukas is the Sorceror's Apprentice , you should get a recording of his wonderful symphony in C major, one of the finest French symphonies. It's a much more serious and substantial work the the S.A., and filled with great themes and is very gutsy and passionate.
> You'll wonder where it's been all your life! The Jean Martinon EMI recording is considered to be the number one choice by many, but I first got to know it from a Decca recording from the 70s which I don't believe has been issued on CD yet,which is a pity,because it's a terrific performance.
> There's a Chandos recording with Yan Pacal Tortelier (son of the renowned cellist Paul Tortelier )but I haven't heard it. But based on what I've heard from this conductor and knowing his authoritative handling of French music, it's proabaly excellent.
> I can't understand why this marvelous symphony is performed so rarely.


Dukas' ballet, La Peri, is also marvelous. Apparently the last work he ever wrote. There's a recording by Boulez that I have from Sony that is really great.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I wish Ockeghem in the 1400s would have committed more works to paper (10 masses, 10 motets, 20 chansons).


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

No Mahler opera.

When he was young, Mahler fought with a conservatory friend (I think it was Krzyzanowski, who later went crazy, poor guy) about who would adapt a favorite fairy tale into an opera. Mahler wrested it from him, but never got past the sketches, which we don't have.

People speculate that all the time Mahler spent conducting opera and dealing with opera issues discouraged him from writing one of his own.


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

Moussorgsky - but that was largely due to bouts of alcoholism often leaving him unable to finish what he started. He also had an overambitious tendancy to work on opera projects simultaneously leading to lack of focus and probably also the motivation to complete at least one of them once he he got bogged down.

Taking into account the respective timespans of their creativity the output of both William Walton and Samuel Barber were relatively small.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Mahler made I believe,two abortive attempts at an opera when he was about 20, and completed Carl Maria Von Weber's unfinished opera "Die Drei Pintos" from the skethces.
There was an RCA recording conducted by the late Gary Bertini from the 70s which may or may not be available, and a more recent recording,I believe on the Dynamic label which I have not heard. 
It's an entertaining opera,well worth hearing.


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

Yes, *Mussorgsky* and *Borodin*.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

elgars ghost said:


> Taking into account the respective timespans of their creativity the output of both William Walton and Samuel Barber were relatively small.


It's interesting you say that, because it sounds to be true & I hadn't thought of it like that. Both of them worked in a wide range of styles, most notably neo-romanticism but also experimenting with atonality in a number of key works. It seems that they might have been discouraged from composing not only because of their earlier successes, but also perhaps because by the time of their old age, other 'young Turks' - like Stockhausen, Boulez, Xenakis, etc. - had begun to write experimental music which they (maybe) felt they couldn't compete with to grab the public's attention. I know that both heavily invested their efforts after WW2 in operatic projects - Walton with _Troilus & Cressida_, Barber with _Antony & Cleopatra_ - which the critics said were in an outdated idiom (so, cause for further discouragement?)...


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

Hi, Andre. I can't comment about Walton's reasons but I know Barber was deeply hurt by the negative response to Antony & Cleopatra to the degree that it may have affected his health for the rest of his life. As regards raging against the dying of the light when faced with competition from the ultra-moderns, it didn't seem to worry Britten who remained comparatively prolific, as did others such as Stravinsky, Copland, Tippett and Arnold. DSCH never seemed to let up much either but whether he felt the need to be 'threatened' by the Western avant-garde being a Soviet composer I wouldn't like to say. I would guess his priorities were elsewhere and had more to say about other things that had happened in his own country (and to him).


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## Romantic Geek (Dec 25, 2009)

One would wonder how incredibly large Ives' output would have been after his death scare in 1918. If he kept writing, he could have ended up as one of America's most prolific composers (and really, not be a composer by profession!)


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Russian composer Vasily Kalinnikov! He only got to write a few tone poems and 2 symphonies. But his symphonies are excellent, he could have been like the next Tchaikovsky if he hadn't died so young.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I agree with Borodin and maybe Cui...Borodin was a Chemical engineer...music for him was a "part-time" leisure...Nontheless, Prince Igor is a master piece...of course completed by the greatest Rimsky-Korsakov. Cui composed many operas but a few arrived to us: The feast in time of plague (Пир во время чумы ).

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

That's right he died so young...

Another who died very young...at 11 years old? was Julian Scriabin, Alexandre Scriabin's son...

A nice one or two compositions....

http://www.amazon.com/Scriabin-Prel...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1290900582&sr=1-1

He was found drawn in the river...A misterious death in the Dnipro (Dniepr in Russian)

Martin Pitchon


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## Ian Elliott (Nov 15, 2010)

*Scriabin's Survivors*

Yes, but his nephew, who adopted the revolutionary name of Vyatcheslav Molotov, went on to become the famous 'Nyet' man at the Kremlin. He finally fell from favor under Krushchev and was appointed in charge of hydroelectric dams in outer Mongolia. I don't know if he composed any music between inspecting sluices.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Webern, obviously. I'd also go with Bizet, and some of the Baroque and Renaissance composers many of whose works have been lost.


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## Creibold (Nov 30, 2010)

Alkan. - It's so unfortunate that such a great man died in obscurity. I would have liked to see works larger than the chamber concertos Op.10.

Karl Marx - His "Romantic" piano concerto really shows that the man _knew _ how to write music.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

*Adorno and Berg*

are in this category also...Adorno a few pieces...Berg a few but two munumental operas.

Adorno was also a philosopher and a writer and wrote a book about Alban Berg (the smallest link)...Awesome!

Martin Pitchon


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Enescu had only 33 opus numbers to his name. He wrote not terribly much more; he had to have a performing career to support himself financially, and he was so in demand and generous that he couldn't put everything onto paper that he would have liked. After his crippling stroke, he said that he had so many finished compositions in his mind, with the realization that he would never be able to set them down.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

> Karl Marx - His "Romantic" piano concerto really shows that the man knew how to write music.


Agree, it´s a Capital work, which pays off a listening, and good value, should be circulated much more among the masses ... but it must be mentioned that it´s by Joseph Marx, not Karl ...


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Theodor Adorno has the smallest output I know, he also was a philosopher and a writer...so a very busy man, he wrote about Alban Berg (the smallest link).

Martin Pitchon


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## Ian Elliott (Nov 15, 2010)

Right. Now that he is dead, we will never again hear his 2nd piano Sonata.


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

I apologize if this is a duplicate, but I didn't feel like reading all the responses. Gershwin's "classical" output was tiny. But he wrote the most popular American opera, the most popular American piano concerto, and the most popular American tone poem (_An American in Paris_), all of which deserve their popularity.


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

spradlig said:


> I apologize if this is a duplicate, but I didn't feel like reading all the responses. Gershwin's "classical" output was tiny. But he wrote the most popular American opera, the most popular American piano concerto, and the most popular American tone poem (_An American in Paris_), all of which deserve their popularity.


They are deservedly popular, and there probably would have been more from where they came from had Gershwin lived longer. He was relatively affluent thanks to his stage works and songs so maybe this financial independence would have drawn him away from Broadway and towards classical more often.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Aramis said:


> Chopin. His mature works are very few. Two sonatas, few ballades and two-three longer one-movement pieces. Rest are miniatures.
> 
> Two piano concertos are works of youth, the 1st is probably his first mastepiece but it is still not mature piece.
> 
> Many people don't realise that he was one of most wasted talents in history of music. Died aged 39, if he would live ten years longer with good health, I belive he would write much more pieces like 3rd piano sonata - works that would be without any doubt first grade piano music. Maybe another piano concertos with much better orchestration.





Aramis said:


> Trio you mention was written even before the concertos AFAIR. It is very immature, even if enjoyable. The problem is that most of his works are those little waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises many of which are also early ones.
> 
> The serious works: sonatas, concertos, any longer pieces that you can sit and listen to for some satysfying amount of time are really, really few.


I strongly disagree with this. Chopin doesn't deserve the label "wasted talent". He didn't write a ton of music but a big majority of his miniatures are brilliant and definitely "first-grade piano music". In regards to his "little waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises", most of these are from after the age of 20 and are wonderful works. Right from one of the very first mazurkas, Op 6. No 1(1830), the mazurkas are a treasure-trove. And I haven't even mentioned the masterful nocturnes.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

Aramis said:


> Chopin. His mature works are very few. Two sonatas, few ballades and two-three longer one-movement pieces. Rest are miniatures.
> 
> Two piano concertos are works of youth, the 1st is probably his first mastepiece but it is still not mature piece.
> 
> Many people don't realise that he was one of most wasted talents in history of music. Died aged 39, if he would live ten years longer with good health, I belive he would write much more pieces like 3rd piano sonata - works that would be without any doubt first grade piano music. Maybe another piano concertos with much better orchestration.


But on the other hand, if Chopin was healthy, he might not have written music which was this emotional or individualistic. Not that a composer has to be 'unhealthy' to write great music, but Chopin was a romantic composer and was therefore subjective, hence would incorporate a lot of his personality and feelings into the music.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

STOP DIGGING OUT MY THREE-YEARS OLD POSTS

I wouldn't write the same thing again today, but *to some extent* I still feel that way. It is known that Chopin wanted to extend the range of his oevure with more chamber works and started to sketch the violin sonata. And I'm just not so fond of miniatures - the preludes are great, but I can hardly lay down and listen to parade of one-two minute pieces and don't long for something more continuous.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Aramis said:


> ...the preludes are great, but I can hardly lay down and listen to parade of one-two minute pieces and don't long for something more continuous.


I have exactly the same problem with Chopin's preludes. They are good, but they end so soon, it's like they want to go back into their houses and hide.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

I don't see the problem. They are brief self-contained musical worlds. If I like a short piece I simply listen to it 5 times in a row.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

DeepR said:


> I don't see the problem. They are brief self-contained musical worlds


So you don't see any problem in jumping between 24 diffrent worlds in the matter of seconds? Congratulations - I won't hesitate to tell Captain Galactica that we have found perfect candidate for our new space warrior.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

shangoyal said:


> I have exactly the same problem with Chopin's preludes. They are good, but they end so soon, it's like they want to go back into their houses and hide.


I´m not sure I agree, but that was beautifully put ...


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## isridgewell (Jul 2, 2013)

For me,

Dukas
Hans Rott
Mossolov
Scriabin
Thomas Linley Jnr
Van Gilse


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

I expect that composers from cooler climates would experience some _shrinkage._


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Aramis said:


> STOP DIGGING OUT MY THREE-YEARS OLD POSTS
> 
> I wouldn't write the same thing again today, but *to some extent* I still feel that way. It is known that Chopin wanted to extend the range of his oevure with more chamber works and started to sketch the violin sonata. And I'm just not so fond of miniatures - the preludes are great, but I can hardly lay down and listen to parade of one-two minute pieces and don't long for something more continuous.


Ha! Sorry I didn't realize your post was from so long ago.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Aramis said:


> STOP DIGGING OUT MY THREE-YEARS OLD POSTS
> 
> I wouldn't write the same thing again today, but *to some extent* I still feel that way. It is known that Chopin wanted to extend the range of his oevure with more chamber works and started to sketch the violin sonata. And I'm just not so fond of miniatures - the preludes are great, but I can hardly lay down and listen to parade of one-two minute pieces and don't long for something more continuous.


That is one big trouble people don't think of when they post. With the "right" phasing in a google search, someone could be reading that three or more years old post of yours, or mine, with your name on it, so to speak. SCARY :-O

And, FYI, the preludes are definitely intended as a play-through contiguous cycle, where the collected Nocturnes, Etudes, Mazurkas, etc, are not. The preludes are his longest contiguous work outside the big sonatas, and if performed well are "One Work" and not heard as a string of tiny pieces.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Irving Fine: "Boston-school" composer, teaching for a full living, composing as and when he could, and died young, (December 3, 1914 - August 23, 1962).

His is very finely crafted music, intelligent and with an extraordinary "melodic gift." I recall a Youtube comment under one of his pieces, something very like, "My God, could this man really compose."

From Wiki, and I believe this list is complete or very nearly complete....

Orchestra
Toccata concertante, 1947
Serious Song: a Lament, strings, 1955
Blue Towers, 1959
Diversions, 1959-60
Symphony, 1962

Chorus
3 Choruses from Alice in Wonderland, 3-4 voices, piano, 1942; arrangement with orchestra, 1949
The Choral New Yorker, S, A, Bar, 3-4 voices, piano, 1944
A Short Alleluia, SSA, 1945
In gratio jubilo, hymn, small orchestra, 1949
The Hour Glass (B. Jonson), song cycle, SATB, 1949
Old American Songs (trad.), 2-4 voices, piano, 1952
An Old Song (Yehoash, trans. M. Syrkin), SATB, 1953
3 Choruses from Alice in Wonderland (L. Carroll), 2nd ser., SSA, piano, 1953
McCord's Menagerie (McCord), TTB, 1957

Songs
Mutability (I. Orgel), cycle, Mez, piano, 1952
Childhood Fables for Grown-ups (G. Norman), Mez/Bar, piano/orchestra, 1954-5

Chamber and solo instrument

Sonata, violin, piano, 1946
Music for Piano, 1947
Partita, wind quintet, 1948 _[[ now a staple of the literature for this ensemble ]]_
Notturno, strings, harp, 1950-51 _[[ a personal favorite of mine ]]_
String Quartet, 1952
Children's Piano Pieces, 1956
Fantasia, string trio, 1956
Hommage à Mozart, piano, 1956
Romanza, wind quintet, 1958


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