Great topic! I'm assuming we're going for really lesser-known symphonies here, since you listed Martinu and Bax as "usual examples"! :lol: I'll start off with 10 I've discovered:

Volkmar Andreae - Symphony in C
Camargo Guarnieri - Symphony no. 3
Alf Hurum - Symphony in D minor
John Kinsella - Symphony no. 7
Erkki Melartin - Symphony no. 3 in F major
László Lajtha - Symphony no. 2
Boris Lyatoshinsky - Symphony no. 2 in B minor
Cláudio Santoro - Symphony no. 4 (Sinfonia Da Paz)
Erwin Schulhoff - Symphony no. 5
Takashi Yoshimatsu - Symphony no. 3

Among these, I'm pretty sure the Lyatoshinsky is the only one with more than one commercial recording.

 

Wondrous choices! I know all of them except Schulhoff and Kinsella. I'll have to get them.

 

Raff - 3rd and 5th symphonies
Schmidt - all four symphonies
Ernest Bloch - symphony in C # Minor
Gliere - Ilya Muromets
Silvestrov - Symphony 5
Humphrey Searle - all of the 6

 

I like them a lot, although I don't know those ones by Searle. The Glière, Raff (precisely my favorite ones of him) Schmidt and Bloch are superb.

 

I recommend the complete cycles of Hans Huber and Louis Glass for lovers of late romantic music.

 

Great to see CPO embarking on an L. Glass cycle, especially since the old Danacord cycle was reputedly subpar (I haven't actually heard it, though). The 3rd and 5th symphonies are very enjoyable works, but lacking the last ounce of drama and memorability that make the symphonies of, say, Atterberg, Melartin, Alfvén, and Peterson-Berger (to name other Nordic late-romantics) superior in my view. As for Huber's cycle, I've only heard the 8th, which was enjoyable, but it's probably not one of his best symphonies.

 

Anton Urspruch - Symphony
Wilhelm Furtwängler - Symphony 2
Siegmund von Hausegger - Nature Symphony
Ruth Gipps: Symphony no. 2
Kaljo Raid, Symphony No 1 in C minor

all are really good. Check them out!

 

A big thumbs up for the Raid and Hausegger! Spectacular works. I don't know the others, not even the Furtwängler which is his most famous work.

 

I recommend Ernst Krenek's symphony no.1, especially for those who likes Sibelius's 7th. Krenek's work predates the Sibelius by a year or two - he was only about 21 when he wrote it. Not saying it's as good as the Sibelius and it certainly isn't as cohesive, but the shared concept of continual change within a single-movement structure might have some appeal.

 

I agree with you. The symphonies by Krenek I like the most are the first ones, there are interesting ideas that show their details with every listen more and more.

 

Vittorio Giannini - Symphony #4. Composed in 1959, an outstanding specimen of American neoromanticism. If you like Barber you'll probably like this.

 

Interesting. It's the first time I hear this composer. I'll check it out.

 

Svendsen #1:

Hans Rott:

Noskowski #1

Gade #1

Gade #4

 

Other great examples! My favorite among them is the Rott, foreshadowing the Mahler's style. Gade is like a Danish Mendelssohn, his symphonies are certainly enjoyable. I've listened to that one by Noskowski but I don't remember it so well.

 

Not to be the thread killer but have a look here as well:
Some Great Lesser Known Symphonies You Should Hear

 

Thanks for bringing it. Although on that thread there are more both known composers and symphonies. I want on this thread to avoid the known composers as much as possible, and to have fresher examples.

 

One of my most unexpected experiences after listening to CM all these years is to come across so many 'unknown' symphonic works that -particularly the adagios for some reason- are close to or are top grade level. This has been made possible only in the digital/YouTube era because prior to that it would have been impossible to find or sample all these works. Ten years ago, I had no clue there were so many of them.

In addition to the symphonies I mentioned earlier, here's one by a composer who was not accepted by his peers because perhaps he was too traditional? It's hard to believe it was composed in 1912-14. I am presenting the Lento movement because it is one of those that grabs you immediately:

Rued Langgaard Symphony #2 (Awakening of Spring) II Lento:

 

I didn't include any of the Langgaard's symphonies in my list because he is relatively less unknown nowadays, but yes! Langgaard is amazing. My overall favorites are the 1, 4, 6 and 10, but I need to revisit this vivid and bucolic symphony again.

 

Christian Sinding Symphony no. 1 -- beautiful, dramatic, airy, extremely tuneful reminds me the most of Dvorak
Alfred Hill -- Symphony no. 2 "Joy of Life" an underappreciated composer, a fine symphonist
Cyril Scott - Symphony no. 1 -- OK so it's very unlike his later music, but how can anyone deny how wonderful those tunes are!
Leevi Madetoja -- Symphony No. 3 -- another pleasurable symphony with interesting harmonies
Malcolm Williamson -- Symphony no. 6 -- two Australian composers in one post! Incredibly engaging piece -- an unsung genius

 

Other great choices in here! I have the Hill but I haven't listened to it yet. The Williamson is utterly new to me. Madetoja is one of my favorite Finnish composers and his symphonies don't disappoint not even a bit. The Sinding is my favorite, the most passionate and epic among the 4. I'm not familiar with that one by Scott either.

 

Arnold's Symphony 7
Tubin Symphony 8
Henze Symphony 7
Diamond Symphony 4

 

Henze's 7th is great! A particular favourite of mine.

 

One of my favorite serial pieces, Karetnikov's 4th. Dark and expressive.

 

Serialist pieces are relatively tough to me, but I won't give up! I hope I like it.

 

One orchestral piece, which I would probably describe as a symphony of sorts, that I have grown very fond of recently is Bernhard Lang's Monadologie XIII "The Saucy Maid" for 2 orchestral groups mutually a quarter tone detuned (based on Anton Bruckner's "Linzer Sinfonie - Das Kecke Beserl") commissioned by Donaueschinger Musiktage 2013 (2011/12). It's an astonishing work! For those familiar with Lang's oeuvre, it's not exactly as repetitive as some of the Differenz/Wiederholung compositions, but his fascination with intricate sounds and variations on them is blown up to colossal proportions in this long orchestral score.

It's available as part of the Donaueschinger Musiktage 2013 box set of recordings from the festival, but I will post this video too for anyone wishing to sample the piece:

 

Your description sounds like it's a dense composition. It must be a very vanguardist work. I'll check it out.

 

I just played a CD I got in the mail yesterday with the fourth symphony "Orgelsymphonie" of Johann von Herbeck (Austria, 1831-1877), best remembered as a conductor (he conducted the premiere of Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony). A fascinating showpiece, one of the best works for organ and orchestra I've heard.

 

It sounds enticing. I like very much symphonies with an organ.

 

Some more suggestions:

Fritz Brun - Symphony no. 7 (an enjoyable if not overly memorable work with echoes of Mahler - the finale is wonderful)
Gordon Jacob - Symphony no. 1 (dedicated to his brother killed in WW1, a powerful work occasionally reminiscent of VW)
Alexei Machavariani - Symphony no. 1 (an exciting, enjoyable work in the vein of Khachaturian)
Aare Merikanto - Symphony no. 2 "War Symphony" (lyrical and passionate with an intense slow movement)
Saburō Moroi - Symphony no. 3 (a powerful and redemptive wartime work)
Lucijan Marija Škerjanc - Symphony no. 4 for string orchestra (an extraordinarily rich, lush work considering its medium - Škerjanc's music cries out for more attention)
Stjepan Šulek - Symphony no. 4 (a powerful, unique work which begins uncannily like Brahms' 1st)
Alexander Tansman - Symphony no. 4 (a nice synthesis of impressionist and neo-classical influences)
Alexander Tcherepnin - Symphony no. 3 "Chinese" (colorful and approachable with "exotic" influences)
Dag Wirén - Symphony no. 4 (a compact, monothematic work with an uncanny echo of the finale of VW's 6th at one point)

A few of these (Machavariani, Škerjanc, and Šulek) haven't been commercially recorded to my knowledge, but they're available on YouTube.

 

They seem appealing works and they are unknown to me (Jacob, Machavariani, Sulek, Skerjanc). I read a review about the Sulek's symphonies on MusicWeb and I thought they seemed powerful. I know the Tcherepnin, Wirén, Tansman, Moroi, Merikanto and Brun. I hope the audio quality of the symphonies on YouTube are good.

 

I am also thinking in other engaging symphonies:

Arnold Rosner - Symphony No. 5 Missa sine Cantoribus super Salve Regina: If you like Braga Santos or Respighi, then this is for you.

Tikhon Khrennikov - Any symphony (he wrote 3), let's say the No. 2: These works are mainly fun, energizing, but not very profound.

Julius Beliczay - Symphony No. 1 in D minor: Very traditional, romantic, with great tunes.

Natanael Berg - Symphony No. 2 The Seasons: He was a contemporary of Atterberg. This is a magical, fairy work with a great orchestration.

Lepo Sumera - Symphony No. 2: The work has a transcendent, moving and minimalistic quality quite impressive.

Josef Bohuslav Foerster - Symphony No. 4 in C minor Easter Eve: The best symphony he wrote, the most successful one. It's also very traditional, nothing challenging. The ending is majestic (with an organ). It brings some tears to my eyes.

 

The first that spring to mind:

Rubinstein's Ocean Symphony

Raff's "Lenore" no. 5, and "Im Walde" no. 3

Liszt's Faust Symphony - Perhaps Liszt's most important orchestral work

 

Hard to believe this was written in 1913. Particularly nice Andante at 12:50:

Joseph Ryelandt (Belgian composer 1870-1965) Symphony #4:

 

It's been a recent discovery. I fell in love with it instantly. There are some choral passages quite gorgeous.

 

Yoshimatsu's Symphony no. 5 is a great choice.

 

I'm a big fan of Yoshimatsu, I love all of his works I've listened to so far. His music is fresh, modern, somewhat minimalistic but very approachable and never boring.

 

The "Florentine" Symphony of Josef Rheinberger (Liechtenstein) is worth a listen. Full of beautiful melody. The second theme of the first movement, in particular, is burrowed into my brain. (Help! it's driving me sane! )

 

Can you tell me where that is? I hear something special at 4:15 and 5:30. It sometimes takes me a few listenings to pick out 2nd themes.

 

I hope I'm not cheating by suggesting Lalo's "Symphonie Espagnole". It inspired Tchaikovsky to write his violin concerto.

 

Well, actually, it's very well known

 

Franz Berwald -- "Sinfonie Singuliere"

 

I have not seen this "Symphony" mentioned anywhere on this thread yet.

KARL GOLDMARK (1830-1915)
Rustic Wedding Symphony,Op.26 (1875)

Whilst possibly well-known in these forums, this was new to me.

I like it, very much.

 

I have not seen this "Symphony" mentioned anywhere on this thread yet.

KARL GOLDMARK (1830-1915)
Rustic Wedding Symphony,Op.26 (1875)

I think it's pretty well known. I've even heard it on the radio occasionally.

 

(And just in case anyone was ready to write-off Sir Paul...)

PAUL MCCARTNEY (1942)
Working Classical (1999)
I listen to this album more than The Beatles or McCartney's subsequent popular output.

Whilst I do hear the familiar echoes of past masters in this work, I do believe Sir Paul has his own, unique orchestral voice.

I have chosen Track 2 "A Leaf", to introduce any newcomers.

 

^ no matter whether one likes this or not, it is not a symphony.