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Hidden Gems

13K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  Ephemerid 
#1 ·
I am preparing a program for The Villages, Florida Classical Music Club (230 members) on hidden gems of classical music and would appreciate any suggestions you might have. Our club is a mix of inexperienced but appreciative listeners of classical music up to professional musicians. Perhaps a few examples from past presentations of music the majority of the group both liked and had not heard before will help calibrate you on their level of experience: Marco Enrico Bossi's Giga, Anton Rubinstein's Kamenoi Ostro, Phillip Glass's The Light from his 4th symphony.
Thanks
 
#2 ·
Sounds like a great idea Denny! :)

As far as "hidden gems" go, how about these?

Lou Harrison: Suite for Cello and Harp
John Cage: In a Landscape (for piano)
Erik Satie: Socrate (two version: soprano & orchestra or temor & piano)
Igor Stravinsky: Apollon musagetes (for string orchestra)
Igor Stravinsky: Eight Instrumental Miniatures
Toru Takemitsu: Tree-Line (for chamber orchestra)
Toru Takemitsu: Garden Rain (for brass ensemble)
Claude Debussy: Sonata for flute, viola and harp
Claude Debussy: Danse sacree et profane (for harp and strings)
Aaron Copland: Our Town Suite
Ingolf Dahl: Conertino a Tre (for clarinet, violin and cello)
Ralph Vaughan-Williams: Silent Noon (I prefer the version for baritone and piano)


Also, Stokowski did a nice orchestration of Debussy's The Engulfed Cathedral...

The Takemitsu pieces are the only rather "radical"sounding pieces, but its far from Schoenberg.

The Harrison piece is probably VERY hard to find. If you are interested in that piece, I can direct you to it (hopefully it is not out of print)-- just PM me. :)

~josh
 
#5 ·
Some years back, EMI had a whole "sub-label" dedicated to this concept- they called it "Matrix."
However, since examples of what was recorded included Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht and Hindemith's Trauermusik, I suppose that this isn't sufficiently obscure for your group of enthusiasts.
I'm most familiar with examples that might be described as "our grandparents liked them more than we do:" like Flotow, Spohr, Rubenstein (the 19th century one), Rezniček...
(By the way, your group is probably nowhere near old enough to be MY grandparents.)

The only thing I could add would be- I think it would be most interesting if you tried to sample from different eras, and not be too heavy in one particular time-span. Zelenka, anyone?:D
 
#7 ·
Well, I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for, but these were certainly "hidden" from me for a long time, and I highly recomend them as "gems". :)

Joaquin Turina, Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano in B minor.

Aram Khachaturian, Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano.

Camille Saint-Saens, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, op. 103 "The Egyptian".

Untill this week, I had never heard of these works, now, they are some of my favorites. :D
 
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#10 ·
#11 ·
Navigate TC. Interesting lists have already been delivered:

Hexameron said:
1. Tchaikovsky - Piano Sonata No. 3
2. Thalberg - Fantasia on Rossini's Moise
3. Thalberg - Grand fantasia on Beethoven's 7th
4. Henselt - Poem d'amour Op. 3
5. Brahms - Piano Quartet No. 1 Op. 26
6. Mendelssohn - Piano Sonata in E major Op. 6
7. Glazunov - The Forest symphonic poem
8. Balakirev - Tamara symphonic poem
9. Nicolai - The Merry Wives of Windsor overture
10. Lortzing - The Armorer of Worms overture
11. Reger - Fatherland overture
12. Mozart - String Quartet K. 464 (or is this by Luchesi? )
13. Busoni - Introduzione e Capriccio Paganini
14. Godowsky - Passacaglia based on the first eight bars of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony
15. Mosonyi - Funeral March for the Death of Istvan Szechenyi
16. Chopin - Marche funebre in C minor
17. Pixis - Fantasia dramattica on Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots
18. Franck - Pastorale Op. 19
19. Hummel - Piano Septet No. 1 in D minor
20. Berlioz - King Lear overture
21. Berlioz - Les francs-juges overture
22. Rossini - La charite
23. Liszt - Fantasy and Fugue on a theme of Meyerbeer
24. Beethoven - Romance for Violin and Orchestra No. 2
25. Alkan - Concerto for Solo Piano Op. 39
Robert Newman said:
1. Glazunov - 4th Symphony
2. Ralph Vaughan Williams - 'Serenade to Music' (for Solo Singers and Orchestra)
4. Virtually all works by Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745)
5. Prokofiev - Cantata on the 1917 Revolution
6. Virtually all works by Andre Medtner
7. 'Banks of Green Willow' and 'A Shropshire Lad' (orchestral) by George Butterworth
This guy refuting the previous suggestions:
Manuel said:
Ralph Vaughan Williams - 'Serenade to Music' (for Solo Singers and Orchestra)
Schumann - Violin Concerto - Come on, this is one of the most popular vc outhere
Brahms - Piano Quartet No. 1 Op. 26
Mozart - String Quartet K. 464 (or is this by Luchesi? )
Godowsky - Passacaglia based on the first eight bars of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony
Berlioz - King Lear overture
Berlioz - Les francs-juges overture
Beethoven - Romance for Violin and Orchestra No. 2
Alkan - Concerto for Solo Piano Op. 39
Brahms' string sextets - Really? They're a standard part in repertoire
Beethoven: Cello & Piano Sonata No 3; Archduke Piano Trio
Berlioz Roman Carnival
Brahms Piano Solo Op 119; Piano Quintet; Clarinet Quintet
Bruckner Symph 4 - One of the most famous symphonies, by a very well known composer
Glazunov Violin Concerto A min - A common piece in the repertoire
Liszt Piano Sonata B Min - - A common piece in the repertoire
8. Mozart Symp 39 - Mozart a rare thing?
Respighi Fountains of Rome - One of Respighi's most famous works
Rimsky-Korsakov Russian Easter Festival Overture - Nothin to say about this, too popular
Tchaikovsky Marche Slave - THE PROM QUEEN, probablt the most popular work ever.
Chopin - Polonaise in C minor - Come on...
2. Brahms - Piano Sonata no.3 (isn't it actually famous...?)
3. Enescu - Romanian Rhapsody no.1 - You play at almost every amateur orchestra
11. Brahms - Intermezzo no.1 - Opus number? ... It's a joke, they're part of the standard repertoire also
And providing his own list:
Manuel said:
symphonies by Peterson-Berger and Draeseke
Bacri's Une Priere
K. A. Hartmann's violin concerto
Bruckner chamber works (not rare, but also non standard)
Elgar's chamber work from his early stage.
Kabalevsky's Requiem Op72
violin sonatas by G. L. Catoire.
Khrennikov's violin concertos
Tubin - Requiem for fallen soldiers, and his violin concertos
J. O. af Sillen - 3rd symphony and violin concerto
Atterberg - Symphonies and concertos
Szymanowski - piano sonatas, and Metopes.
Andriessen's organ concerto
Kopylov - his marvelous symphony
a few symphonies by Alberich Magnard
Malipiero's violin concerto (even though it's a bit scratchy....)
mungopark said:
Anything by Saint-Georges
Pleyel: Concerto for Clarinet in B flat major
Krommer: Concerto for Oboe in F major, Op. 52
Fiala: Oboe Concerto
Mozart: Les petits riens, K Anh. 10 (299b)
Gretry: Le huron: Overture
Maldere: Symphony in G minor
Clementi: Symphony no 3 in G major, Wo 34 "Great National"
Georg Benda: Symphony in C major
Paisiello: Piano concertos nos 2 and 4
Andreas Jakob Romberg: Quintets (3) for Flute, Violin, 2 Violas and Cello, Op. 41
Some guy's list is very interesting.
Some Guy said:
Peter Dickinson, piano concerto
Robert Ashley, In Sara, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven There were Men and Women
Berlioz, Benvenuto Cellini
Janacek, Osud
Michele Bokanowski, L'etoile d'Absinthe
Ludger Bruemmer, Thrill
Stravinsky, L'histoire du soldat (complete ballet)
Gordon Mumma, Hornpipe
Prokofiev, Semyon Kotko
Alvin Lucier, I am sitting in a room
Piston, Incredible Flutist (complete ballet)
Oisfetz said:
Borodin's first SQ
Tchaikovsky Grand piano sonata
Dvorak's string sextet
Raff's string octet
Saint-Saëns first violin sonata
" " " " Suite Algerienne
Enescu's first violin sonata
Franck's SQ
Taktakishvili's first violin concerto
Rakov first violin concerto
Miaskovsky violin concerto
Medtner Epic violin sonata
Kodaly's solo cello sonata
Khatchaturian piano sonata
Suk's piano pieces op.17 violin and piano
" First SQ
Prokofieff's SQs.
Edouard Franck sring sextet
Lekeu violin sonata and SQ
Cherubini's the 6 SQs.
Chopin's piano trio
Rachmaninoff's cello sonata
Fridays for SQ
B-La-F SQ
Birthdays SQ
Rimsky Korsakoff's piano trio
 
#12 ·
(Originally Posted by Some Guy)

Alvin Lucier, I am sitting in a room

!! :eek: Wow, you're the only other person I know that piece-- I've heard a recording of it once last year and its a real trip!

~josh
 
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