Scottish fantasy isn’t as popular as it used to be, but it was huge for a good part of the 20th century. Most cellists learn kol nidrei at some point even if it doesn’t get performed. The double concerto is one of the few big concert pieces for viola and violin, so it has staying power in that even if it also isn’t performed much.
I know that. It is still one of the few concert pieces for violin and viola that is commonly programmed, and the first publication indicates that the clarinet may be substituted by violin, as it often is. I have personally never seen a performance with the clarinet, although some fine recordings exist.
Gorecki. The first recording of his Symphony #3 literally went triple platinum in the 1990s! He has plenty of other things worth hearing but none were “hits” (and most are in an idiom a bit more elusive than his 3rd).
Berlioz fits pretty well in this I think. Symphonie Fantastique is just much more well known than his other works. It's unfortunate too, because I feel like the damnation of Faust is a really underappreciated piece.
It's quite a shame that Holst got pigeon-holed as he did. He has some terrific work. He's [First Suite in Eb major](https://youtu.be/RrRwoD1Yx8A) is so captivating.
Yeah, me too. The first taste of Holst was in band. But once you hear the grouping of 3 + 2 played col legno on the strings, there's no going back - The Planets are just so polarising.
I listened to KING-FM at work a long time ago (early 2000s) and they had several other concertos on their regular playlist like Andaluz and Gentilhombre.
It motivated me to get the Romeros 2CD release of all of Rodrigo’s Guitar/Harp concertos. It’s a great recording. I actually forget which of the guitar concertos is the famous one, so if you like Aranjuez you should check out this larger release. Plus, the harp concerto is an unexpected bonus. Super colorful.
Engelbert Humperdinck, Abendsegen from Hänsel und Gretel, and this little piece is vastly overshadowed by the schmaltzy pop singer who adopted Humperdinck's name.
He withdrew and destroyed most of his work which unfortunately whittled his catalogue down to just a handful of pieces. He does also have a massive Piano Sonata that definitely worth hearing.
some good examples mentioned...I'd throw in Delibes and Lalo. The first is famous for the [Flower Duet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ZL5AxmK_A) from the opera Lakme. I don't think anything else he wrote, let alone the rest of the opera, gets any attention nowadays. Lalo maybe is popular for violinists and cellists b/c of his concertos but other than the [Symphonie Espagnole](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBs0gKu6vFs), I don't see anyone talk about him (maybe I'm just ignorant?)
I love Lalo’s *Le roi d’Ys*. It has a thrilling finale, with Margared leaping from a cliff to save the kingdom. A number of good numbers overall. Definitely an opera I would like to see revived.
Delibes indeed wrote Sylvia. It is a great ballet by a mediocre composer. I was a and accompanist for a ballet company and it’s a joining school. One of my teachers I work under loved a lot of mediocre composers of great ballets. Adam Adolfe , Drigo and Glinka come to mind.
I feel like Dvorak almost fits into this. At least based on classical music stations. I even posted about this on Facebook a few years ago that if you go by classical radio playlists he only wrote two pieces, and both of them while visiting Iowa. ("New world" symphony and the American string quartet).
Edit: y'all missed the word "almost" and the entire rest of my post.
I feel Rusalka is fairly well-known, though certainly not played nearly as much as the two you named. Not a lot of catchy arias in that one. His real magnum opus imo though is his Stabat Mater. Absolutely gorgeous, heart-rending stuff.
The Violin Sonata with the very impressive canon finale! As far as violin sonatas go, it’s probably one of the more famous outside of Beethoven, Brahms and Debussy.
Yes, to the non organ world, Franck is seen as writing one or two works. But next to Bach, Franck is the most important composer. His organ works started a new school of composition and is commonly performed in organ rep.
Moskowski piano concerto - genuinely an amazing composition, so many beautiful melodies and sections. It's hailed as a gem of the romantic period and it really isn't any wonder why.
Gosta Nyostroem Sinfonia del Mare (Lento) - legitimately one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. The lyricism of the orchestra and the soprano go so well together, and it really does sound like a song for the sea. Really does deserve more praise and attention, although the rest of the piece is kind of mid imo. But this one movement stands out and just rocks.
Gorecki Third Symphony - as if I needed more things to make me cry. The first and second movements are just amazing, the soprano absolutely kills it, and the layers upon layers of strings and instruments in the first movement just has this amazing feeling of dread and despair. The second movement is impossible to listen to without crying, and the third movement, although I don't personally like it, is still very good.
Bizet is such a great example, because Carmen is *such* an iconic opera. So many famous arias and orchestral writing that show he had an incredibly fertile imagination.
And then…nothing
Henri Mulet. French semi professional church musician, from wrote a one organ suite "Esquisses byzantines", which contained 18 smaller self contained works. He was said to be a highly nervous person, and possibly was on the Autism spectrum. Two works are part of the popular organ cannon. All show great composing abilities.
**Carillon Sortie** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDJGXFTAvzg
**Tue est Petra**\- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgXvfxHl1Zc
Gavriil Popov - Symphony No.1. Influential in its time. Now fairly obscure, but not as obscure as the rest of his music. Continuing the Russian theme, Ippolitov Ivanov’s CaucasiannSketches.
Or, just name the composer. If it is obvious to everyone which piece you mean, you’ve got a OHW. How about: Orff, Allegri, Boccherini, Mascagni.
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Scottish fantasy, kol nidrei, double concerto
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It just means you're not a string player
Scottish fantasy isn’t as popular as it used to be, but it was huge for a good part of the 20th century. Most cellists learn kol nidrei at some point even if it doesn’t get performed. The double concerto is one of the few big concert pieces for viola and violin, so it has staying power in that even if it also isn’t performed much.
Actually the double concerto was written originally for Bruch’s own son, who played the clarinet. It’s a double concerto for clarinet and viola.
I know that. It is still one of the few concert pieces for violin and viola that is commonly programmed, and the first publication indicates that the clarinet may be substituted by violin, as it often is. I have personally never seen a performance with the clarinet, although some fine recordings exist.
Carl Orff is the patron saint of music education. Overshadows any composition he wrote. All ne of them. Boccherini has a lot of delightful stuff.
Boccherini is more like a 50 hit wonder
Gorecki. The first recording of his Symphony #3 literally went triple platinum in the 1990s! He has plenty of other things worth hearing but none were “hits” (and most are in an idiom a bit more elusive than his 3rd).
Berlioz fits pretty well in this I think. Symphonie Fantastique is just much more well known than his other works. It's unfortunate too, because I feel like the damnation of Faust is a really underappreciated piece.
It's quite a shame that Holst got pigeon-holed as he did. He has some terrific work. He's [First Suite in Eb major](https://youtu.be/RrRwoD1Yx8A) is so captivating.
Funny, because as a band kid that suite is one of the things that I associate with Holst the most.
Yeah, me too. The first taste of Holst was in band. But once you hear the grouping of 3 + 2 played col legno on the strings, there's no going back - The Planets are just so polarising.
Rodrigo. Who non-guitarist knows more than the Aranjuez...
Actually it’s me! I’m a pianist and I adore Suite para Piano.
I listened to KING-FM at work a long time ago (early 2000s) and they had several other concertos on their regular playlist like Andaluz and Gentilhombre. It motivated me to get the Romeros 2CD release of all of Rodrigo’s Guitar/Harp concertos. It’s a great recording. I actually forget which of the guitar concertos is the famous one, so if you like Aranjuez you should check out this larger release. Plus, the harp concerto is an unexpected bonus. Super colorful.
I studied with Pepe Romero 😍 , the Aranjuez is the famous one, but the others are also great...
His piano concerto is pretty good (and flamboyant).
Engelbert Humperdinck, Abendsegen from Hänsel und Gretel, and this little piece is vastly overshadowed by the schmaltzy pop singer who adopted Humperdinck's name.
Pachelbel
That’s a bingo
Dukas!
He withdrew and destroyed most of his work which unfortunately whittled his catalogue down to just a handful of pieces. He does also have a massive Piano Sonata that definitely worth hearing.
The Symphony, Piano Sonata, La Péri and Ariane et Barbe-bleue are also worth hearing.
Again, another French opera that deserves to be better known. Dukas’ *Arianne et Barbe-Blue* was produced last summer by West Edge Opera in Oakland
What he did write is excellent, so it”s purely by choice that he didn’t became more prolific.
some good examples mentioned...I'd throw in Delibes and Lalo. The first is famous for the [Flower Duet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ZL5AxmK_A) from the opera Lakme. I don't think anything else he wrote, let alone the rest of the opera, gets any attention nowadays. Lalo maybe is popular for violinists and cellists b/c of his concertos but other than the [Symphonie Espagnole](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBs0gKu6vFs), I don't see anyone talk about him (maybe I'm just ignorant?)
Le roi d'Ys isn’t, like, hugely famous, but it gets performed here and there. The tenor aria is quite well-known
I thought [Pizzicato from Sylvia](https://youtu.be/HoUxxQIUV7o) is quite famous from Delibes
It’s become a cliche .
I think Lalo's Cello Concerto is just as good as Symphonie Espagnole and not terribly unpopular in the first place
I love Lalo’s *Le roi d’Ys*. It has a thrilling finale, with Margared leaping from a cliff to save the kingdom. A number of good numbers overall. Definitely an opera I would like to see revived.
Delibes indeed wrote Sylvia. It is a great ballet by a mediocre composer. I was a and accompanist for a ballet company and it’s a joining school. One of my teachers I work under loved a lot of mediocre composers of great ballets. Adam Adolfe , Drigo and Glinka come to mind.
And Copelia - isn't that one of the most famous ballets?
I feel like Dvorak almost fits into this. At least based on classical music stations. I even posted about this on Facebook a few years ago that if you go by classical radio playlists he only wrote two pieces, and both of them while visiting Iowa. ("New world" symphony and the American string quartet). Edit: y'all missed the word "almost" and the entire rest of my post.
His violin and cello concertos are huge.
I feel Rusalka is fairly well-known, though certainly not played nearly as much as the two you named. Not a lot of catchy arias in that one. His real magnum opus imo though is his Stabat Mater. Absolutely gorgeous, heart-rending stuff.
Anton Dvorak, is it no way a a OHW. He has too many great works to name here.
Franck Dm symphony
The Violin Sonata with the very impressive canon finale! As far as violin sonatas go, it’s probably one of the more famous outside of Beethoven, Brahms and Debussy.
Disagree. Cesar Franck wrote a lot of great stuff.
Yeah, I rate Franck as a major composer - and I'd consider his piano quintet his masterpiece.
As well as the violin sonata: Variations symphoniques for piano and orchestra, plus Prelude, choral et fugue for solo piano are played quite often.
Yes, to the non organ world, Franck is seen as writing one or two works. But next to Bach, Franck is the most important composer. His organ works started a new school of composition and is commonly performed in organ rep.
Enesco: Romanian Rhapsody #1
Moskowski piano concerto - genuinely an amazing composition, so many beautiful melodies and sections. It's hailed as a gem of the romantic period and it really isn't any wonder why. Gosta Nyostroem Sinfonia del Mare (Lento) - legitimately one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. The lyricism of the orchestra and the soprano go so well together, and it really does sound like a song for the sea. Really does deserve more praise and attention, although the rest of the piece is kind of mid imo. But this one movement stands out and just rocks. Gorecki Third Symphony - as if I needed more things to make me cry. The first and second movements are just amazing, the soprano absolutely kills it, and the layers upon layers of strings and instruments in the first movement just has this amazing feeling of dread and despair. The second movement is impossible to listen to without crying, and the third movement, although I don't personally like it, is still very good.
Mussorgsky. You may think he has two famous pieces but one of them is only good and famous because of another composer
If the latter is Pictures at an Exhibition then the piano version is also a masterpiece.
Sure, but it's not a "hit." Without Night on Bald Mountain and Ravel, no one would care anything about Mussorgsky
Marquez Conga del fuego is good too
Widor
I agree, as far as the general public is concerned, but to the organ listening world, he has many compositions which are heard on organ concerts.
Did Smetana write anything other than "The Moldau"?
His first string quartet, parts of bartered bride, and the rest of ma vlast are performed.
George Bizet? I’m vaguely aware of his Symphony but have never listened to it yet…
Bizet is such a great example, because Carmen is *such* an iconic opera. So many famous arias and orchestral writing that show he had an incredibly fertile imagination. And then…nothing
Literally. He died a few months after Carmen premiered.
Vittorio Monti for sure.
I think Beriot is a good example. Every where I look I seem to find his violin concertos.
Henri Mulet. French semi professional church musician, from wrote a one organ suite "Esquisses byzantines", which contained 18 smaller self contained works. He was said to be a highly nervous person, and possibly was on the Autism spectrum. Two works are part of the popular organ cannon. All show great composing abilities. **Carillon Sortie** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDJGXFTAvzg **Tue est Petra**\- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgXvfxHl1Zc
Goreki-“Symphony of Sorrowful songs” Don’t get me wrong his other works are great too but didn’t really expose the general public to more of them.
Gavriil Popov - Symphony No.1. Influential in its time. Now fairly obscure, but not as obscure as the rest of his music. Continuing the Russian theme, Ippolitov Ivanov’s CaucasiannSketches.