"Safe bets" in unsung repertory

[Ilja]

Hi all,


To me, Terry93D's question in another thread raised the question what you would recommend to new enthusiasts. A colleague asked me for some suggestions the other day, and I found myself tackling the issue more or less psychologically. This is a person that likes grand gestures and is very extrovert, and I found myself giving him Parry's and Atterberg's symphonies, but also Fauré's piano quartets (as I consider virtually all chamber music as unsung for large swathes of the populace) and that went down very well. But I would perhaps not recommend Parry to just anyone.


But it begged the question: would you be able to formulate a "canon of unsungs" - works that you would unhesitatingly recommend to anyone if you wanted them to open their minds to the breadth of underappreciated music?


Perhaps a ground rule to avoid an onslaught of lists: one work (or set of works), and with motivation, per person.


To make a start, let me mention the last two symphonies by Franz Berwald. Not only are they melodically and rhythmically attractive, but they're also quite distinctive and show an individuality that may alert people that their is something beyond the usual fare. And they're just such fun.

[FBerwald]

I would add the Piano Concerto's of Herz as they are very immediately appealing and ..... well anyone with a sense of fun can really enjoy his music - not too taxing on the mind.

[Martin Eastick]

I have to wholeheartedly agree with using the Herz concertos in such a way. I would be the first to suggest that musically they are not amongst the greatest creations, but this is where so many miss the point. These concertos do exactly what they set out to do without any aspirations of being great music; namely to entertain and to engage with an eclectic audience mix. As I have mentioned before, surely this is exactly still relevant today - perhaps even more so than when they were written, and if they can today produce just one spark of interest, which hopefully can be expanded to encourage further exploration of "serious music" amongst an unsuspecting public, this has to be a good thing.

[eschiss1]

Tempted by the Berwald symphonies too, it's true. A (math) teacher of mine (who knew of my music interests) told me to keep the name in mind/an ear out for him several years before I heard a note of his, and I'm glad he did!
Though I discovered them at a time when I didn't really need much convincing about "unsung music", I was still immediately hooked by Wilhelm Stenhammar's last 4 string quartets back in college (especially nos. 3, 4 and maybe 6.) Complex yet quite appealing, sincere and distinctive.
(Was difficult to choose between Stenhammar's quartets and one or two other options- fortunately! I admit one of my criteria was, did a classical-music-loving (but not necessarily obscure music-"special-pleading" ) family member of mine enjoy the piece when I put my CD of them on the speakers at home ...)

[FBerwald]

I completely agree about the Berwald! [Many years ago] the 1st piece of classical music that I had ever heard was Berwald's Singulare on the Radio. From the opening bars I was hooked on to the composer and classical music for life!

[Jonathan]

I also agree with those who suggest Berwald, great stuff!  I would also put in Moszkowski's 2nd Piano Concerto (Op.59) and anything by Volkmann and Goetz - 2 composers who I only discovered due to the knowledgeable members of this forum!

OK, modifications to say why i think these works are easily accessible - all of them are stuffed with great and memorable tunes and, especially in the case of the Moszkowski, extremely cheerful!

[Gareth Vaughan]

I wholeheartedly endorse what Martin and FBerwald have to say about Herz.

[Alan Howe]

Could we please have reasons to accompany each suggestion? Otherwise we're into meaningless lists - which may be expunged for all eternity 

[Ilja]

What Alan said. Look at it this way: if we could come up with some motivated choices it might serve as an UnsungComposers list of recommendations for people that take their first look at the unsungs.

[der79sebas]

Joseph Marx: "Autumn Symphony". A hyperromantic, large, striking and ingenious work which will make a strong impression on anyone willing to spend some time on it.

[Double-A]

This whole idea of assembling a list for beginners in the field of unsung music strikes me as difficult to carry out--assuming it is not just another way of "tell me your favorite pieces".

Wouldn't you want such recommendations to be tailored to the person you make them to?  Their listening habits, their preferences within the standard repertoire, their attention span (if you know that much about them)?  Even their nationality?

Somebody who is comfortable with Chopin waltzes and Schubert songs should be directed to something equivalent in the unsung repertoire, not to a grand large scale orchestral work.  And vice versa.  Etc.  Maybe they'll explore from there on out, maybe not.

[FBerwald]

@der79sebas - Although I dearly love the Autumn Symphony and personally consider it a masterpiece, the point of this thread is suggestions for the classical music novice. "safebets". In that respect maybe Marx might be a bit too rich, as it takes repeated listening to fully grasp his grandiose ideas. My suggestion of Hertz was based on the fact that the work is short enough not to bore a beginner and maintains enough interesting material for it's length. Even Berwald's Piano Concerto can fit the bill [if the listener is a piano enthusiast.] I had initially wanted to include Flor Alpaert's Pallieter [a very fun late romantic romp!] but, I felt that it might be a bit too much for the 1st time [I could be wrong, of course ]

I have found that many of my [Indian] friends who listen to hard rock and pop and are open to new genres respond very well to crisp, classical and well-defined pieces eg, Beethoven Symphonies [I know .... not unsung.] For these people The works of Kalliwoda, Ries and likes might be suggested. Scharwenka - Piano Concerto No. 4 was a success among my friends, as was the Piano concerto of Raff. Ries's Symphony No. 5 was an instant hit [another Fun piece!].   

Then there were some [all from personal experience .... I consider myself a sort of musical "evangelist" ]; some friends who were not so crazy about metal, rock or pop, but had very eclectic tastes - Beethoven was not very favorable to them. They responded well to dreamy, drawn out pieces - Chausson  - Poem; the works of Bruch - especially the double concerto for Clarinet & Viola; The Symphonies of russian composers like Kalinnikov, Glazunov, Lyapunov - Piano concertos were very acceptable. Bortkiewicz was huge hit [even among the Beethoven lovers] - I believe it's the "screen-movie" quotient of his music.

There has been , however, one common stumbling block. OPERA. I have never been able to sell the classical vocals to anyone  [I have excluded my very few friends who listen to Jazz and are Fitzgerald fanatics, from this.] with the obvious exception of Cecilia Bartoli's spectacular coloratura performances.

[alberto]

I would suggest as a "safe bet" some of the (many) unsung works of a composer who survives in the brepertoire for a handful of works : Camille Saent-Saens.
I would suggest between his unsung works, always with the gift of rich melodic invention, concision and impeccable craftmanship:
The First Piano Concerto
The numbered Symphonies n.1 and n.2 (n.2 I would deem "semi sung", as I had the luck to attend, in many years, two performances of the second- one was in France).

[Alan Howe]

Raff, Raff and Raff again. By that I mean virtually anything of his. Why? Becuase he's a melodist of the first order, a craftsman of the front rank and, perhaps most of all, because he puts a smile on your face. And then there's his tremendous dynamism - his quick music dances, seethes, bounces along, whereas his slow stuff often aches with beauty. And he composed more earworms than virtually any other composer...

[Christopher]

I've never listened to any Raff, though I see his name repeatedly here and elsewhere.  So that I am not drawing at random from his list of works, could you suggest your top three of his "safe bets" for a Raff novice?