Composers famous for one work only.

[mjkFendrich]

While reading this topic a crazy question came upon me: who composed only one work?

... and here another proposal: Yefim Golyshev - according to several resources (including Wikipedia) there is only one surviving composition, his string trio.
(Well, he is known to have composed several other works ...)

[eschiss1]

Wikipedia describes that as the only work Decaux ever published. This suggests perhaps there are others in mss or that he mentioned having written at some other point? I seem to recall possibly () that there was someone I read about who in the middle of a long career in other fields (mapmaking etc.??) tried their hand at composition once or a few times too, but only finished one work, but am not sure- will see if I can remember...

(Hrm. I thought for a moment maybe Władysław Pachulski, but again at least according to Wikipedia-en, he is thought to have composed a few works- just none of it is known to have survived in any form.)

[eschiss1]

also: "Also, the statement that Decaux only composed Clairs de lune isn't entirely accurate, as somebody found a small organ fugue in a pedagogical collection, but it doesn't really count for our purposes."- from a blog post, but still, if true, removes Decaux from this tangent...

[TerraEpon]

Charles S. Belsterling, who wrote the March of the Steel Men

[Dave]

Other sole works composers are famous (or known for) to the average listener:

-Franz Lehar's "The Merry Widow" comes to mind (although he composed a number of very fine operettas).
-I think eschiss1 is right about Gliere; The "Russian Sailor" dance from the Red Poppy ballet is something the average listener would more readily identify as Gliere's work than any other of his oeuvres. It's nice to see, however, that his Third Symphony is becoming more of a familiar piece, with a new recording that's about to be released (featuring Maestro Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic under Naxos). 
-Mosolov's "The Iron Foundry" also springs to mind (not romantic by any stretch, but I had to put it out there).
-Myaskovsky's Cello Concerto (which sort of replaced the 21st Symphony as the sole work the composer is famous (or known) for). That may be up for a debate though.
-Kalinnikov's First Symphony.
-Arensky's Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky
-Glinka's overture for "Ruslan & Ludmila" (not the opera per se mind you).
-Anton Rubinstein's Melody in F (from his Deux Mélodies Op. 3)
-Bax's "Tintagel" (from what I can see - still).
-Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto (arguably, it's way overplayed compared to his other works).
-Stenhammar's Serenade (maybe)
-Stanford's Symphony no. III "Irish" (arguably)
-George Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody no. I
-Barber's Violin Concerto
-Hanson's Symphony no. II "Romantic"
-Massenet's Thais (meditation)

[eschiss1]

Stanford- hrm. first thing that came to mind for me - and I haven't even heard it, I think (well, maybe not in awhile)- is "The Bluebird".
Barber- I'd put "Adagio for Strings" (arranged from his string quartet) as the "sole work" he's known for (at least in the US, where it's used in movies, funerals, etc.) - or else he's known for at least two even to the average listener (or more) and doesn't belong in this category/thread
Hrm. As to Arensky, I wonder if his 1st piano trio is getting to be anywhere near as well-known as the variations as you say (again, from one of -his- string quartets...), or maybe some of his piano pieces or suites- maybe not. Ok.
Tend to agree about Myaskovsky though both that and the 2nd cello sonata (maybe the 3rd piano sonata, too) appear in about a dozen or so CD recordings (mostly reissues, and not, however, counting repackagings of the same recording) each...

[Dave]

You have a point re. Barber.
I myself never heard (or heard of) Stanford's "Bluebeard."

[eschiss1]

Sorry, I spelled it wrong. Ok, I edited it above. It's "The Blue Bird", no.3 of his set Op.119 (8 part-songs for mixed-choir or for soprano, alto, tenor, bass).

[Derek Hughes]

Other sole works composers are famous (or known for) to the average listener:

-Franz Lehar's "The Merry Widow" comes to mind (although he composed a number of very fine operettas). . . .
-Glinka's overture for "Ruslan & Ludmila" (not the opera per se mind you). . . .
-Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto (arguably, it's way overplayed compared to his other works). . . .
-Massenet's Thais (meditation)

'Dein ist mein ganzes Herz' is surely at least as famous as any other Lehar composition. (Ditto the 'Gold and Silver Waltz'?)

Given that Manon has recently been performed and toured by Scottish Opera, has been transmitted in a live screening from the Met, and is about to be performed at Covent Garden, I'm not sure  who is the average listener to whom it is unfamiliar. Someone completely ignorant of classical music?

As for Glinka, aren't we being a little Anglocentric? Is he a one-overture composer in Russia?

Rachmaninov: C# minor Prelude; the famous variation from the Paganini set; 2nd and 3rd symphonies.

[JimL]

...Barber- I'd put "Adagio for Strings" (arranged from his string quartet) as the "sole work" he's known for (at least in the US, where it's used in movies, funerals, etc.) - or else he's known for at least two even to the average listener (or more) and doesn't belong in this category/thread ...

As for Barber, I'm sure the overture The School for Scandal appears semi-regularly on concert programs, and even Vanessa pops up on an opera stage now and then.

[Dave]

Other sole works composers are famous (or known for) to the average listener:

-Franz Lehar's "The Merry Widow" comes to mind (although he composed a number of very fine operettas). . . .
-Glinka's overture for "Ruslan & Ludmila" (not the opera per se mind you). . . .
-Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto (arguably, it's way overplayed compared to his other works). . . .
-Massenet's Thais (meditation)

'Dein ist mein ganzes Herz' is surely at least as famous as any other Lehar composition. (Ditto the 'Gold and Silver Waltz'?)

Given that Manon has recently been performed and toured by Scottish Opera, has been transmitted in a live screening from the Met, and is about to be performed at Covent Garden, I'm not sure  who is the average listener to whom it is unfamiliar. Someone completely ignorant of classical music?

As for Glinka, aren't we being a little Anglocentric? Is he a one-overture composer in Russia?

Rachmaninov: C# minor Prelude; the famous variation from the Paganini set; 2nd and 3rd symphonies.

The "average listener" phrase/term is very relative. That said, "Manon" is probably the most popular of Massenet's operas (though Werther is quite up there). But even they are rarely performed in major opera houses. That may change as you'd alluded.

Glinka is much more than a one-overture composer in Russia. But how many people outside Russia know his operas and a slew of his other works especially for orchestra, like, for instance, Jota Aragonesa or his string quartets?

You may have a point re. Rachmaninoff. But his 2nd and 3rd Symphonies? The former is famous, the latter, popular, but for the average listener, likely known (or not, depending on whom you're asking), but either not something Rachmaninoff is most famous for from what I can see.

[scarpia]

Julius Conus for his violin concerto. I found this short bio of him:

Julius Conus (Juli Eduardowitsch Conyus or Konius) was a French violinist and composer born on February 1, 1869 (Brahms was 36 years old.) He was actually born in Moscow since his family had migrated to Russia in the early 1800s. Today, he is remembered for his violin concerto in e minor, although he wrote other music, though not much.

http://pronetoviolins.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html

[JimL]

Excuse me.  This is "one work".  The average listener, when it comes to Rachmaninoff, gets not only the 2nd PC but the 3rd, which was actually the focus of an Oscar-winning movie, thus popularizing it further.

[Dave]

Okay.