Neglected masterworks

[Stanfordian]

Here is my list of those works both big and small that I love but feel don’t get the attention that they deserve. Neglected masterworks, well maybe some of them!

John Ireland Piano Concerto;
John Ireland ‘The Forgotten Rite’;
John Ireland Mai-Dun;
Boris Tchaikovsky Clarinet Concerto;
Boris Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto;
Bax Spring Fire;
Hovhaness Symphony No. 50 ‘Mount St. Helens’;
Rautavaara: Symphony No. 7 ‘Angel of Light’;
Griffes: Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan;
Stanley Bate Viola Concerto;
Stanley Bate: Symphony No. 3;
Adams: Harmonium;

These are the ones in my head at the moment but I'm sure that there are more that I will spring to mind later.

[Serial_Apologist]

Alexander von Zemlinsky's setting of Psalm 13, Op 24, comes most immediately to mind: a late work of towering inspiration and staggering power, imo, composed in 1935. It rarely seems to get an airing, compared with the also fine, but slighter Psalm 23 setting of 1910.

S-A

[Roehre]

Alexander von Zemlinsky's setting of Psalm 13, Op 24, comes most immediately to mind: a late work of towering inspiration and staggering power, imo, composed in 1935. It rarely seems to get an airing, compared with the also fine, but slighter Psalm 23 setting of 1910.

S-A

[Petrushka]

Shostakovich: The Execution of Stepan Razin.
I heard this for the first time on acquiring the Kondrashin recording. Perhaps it is the subject matter, the Russian text or the difficulty in slotting it into a programme but this is every bit as much the real voice of Shostakovich as any of the symphonies.

George Dyson: Violin Concerto
Premiered at the Proms during the Second World War, this is a gorgeous work, the equal of many more famous VC's and I can't understand it's neglect. It would go down very well at the Proms.

[Parry1912]

Alexander von Zemlinsky's setting of Psalm 13, Op 24, comes most immediately to mind: a late work of towering inspiration and staggering power, imo, composed in 1935. It rarely seems to get an airing, compared with the also fine, but slighter Psalm 23 setting of 1910.

S-A

I think that a lot of Zemlinsky's music deserves to heard more often. The string quartets, for example.

Can I also put in another plug for Parry's 5th Symphony.

[Norfolk Born]

Alan Rawsthorne's 'Pastoral' Symphony and Cello Concerto.
Edmund Rubbra's 6th Symphony.
Peter Sculthorpe's 'Port Essington'.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Oh, don't get me started!

[Panjandrum]

Simpson Symphony No. 5
Bliss Music for Strings
Moeran Cello Concerto
Finzi Cello Concerto
Bridge Oration
Respighi Metamorphoseon

[Panjandrum]

I'll add Ives' Universe symphony, in whichever completion you choose, although the Austin at 38 minutes is more approachable than the Reinhard at double the length.

[DublinJimbo]

Just one, the first that comes to mind — Schulhoff's String Sextet.

[teamsaint]

Shostakovich: The Execution of Stepan Razin.
I heard this for the first time on acquiring the Kondrashin recording. Perhaps it is the subject matter, the Russian text or the difficulty in slotting it into a programme but this is every bit as much the real voice of Shostakovich as any of the symphonies.

George Dyson: Violin Concerto
Premiered at the Proms during the Second World War, this is a gorgeous work, the equal of many more famous VC's and I can't understand it's neglect. It would go down very well at the Proms.

Stepan Razin is Magnificent. A deal better than some of the symphonies IMO.

[Bryn]

I'll add Ives' Universe symphony, in whichever completion you choose, although the Austin at 38 minutes is more approachable than the Reinhard at double the length.

It sounds like there is as much Austin as Ives in the former's completion. I do find the Jonny Reinhard a bit heavy going (in both the live and multi-tracked recordings) but it does also seem to be rather more in keeping with the composer's plans. I'm hoping that Naxos eventually record David Gray Porter's version, if and when it reaches completion. However, they have yet to issue a recording of Ives's Fourth.

[Pabmusic]

Simpson Symphony No. 5
Bliss Music for Strings
Moeran Cello Concerto
Finzi Cello Concerto
Bridge Oration
Respighi Metamorphoseon

I'd add the Rubbra 5th.

[Pabmusic]

Shostakovich: The Execution of Stepan Razin.
George Dyson: Violin Concerto

In fact, there's quite a bit of Dyson that should be heard more often - the Concerto da Chiesa, for instance.

Let me expand the topic very slightly. I'd like to hear George Butterworth's Suite for String Quartet more often - at least in a recording (there's none). It may or may not be a 'neglected masterpiece', but it's difficult to decide without being able to hear it. It's certainly the longest piece by a composer who wrote very little at all.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I would contribute but my list would probably go on for several pages. I've been noting some neglected symphonic masterworks during the little write ups of my symphonic journey on the 'What are you listening too now' thread since the beginning of January.