Inexplicably unfashionable orchestral works

[Fiddle Faddle]

As someone whose "listening repertoire" has been moulded not only via my music education but also through years of classical radio listening, concert attendances and of course collecting recordings, sometimes I have to wonder why so many wonderful works have simply appeared to vanish into virtual oblivion. It seems that like anything else, even classical music goes through "fashion trends". I don't know whether it is because more than ever the whole classical music industry has to be profit focussed (or at least sustainable) and they fear putting music onto programs that the layman listener will never have even heard of - let alone heard, but the situation to my way of thinking is quite sad. It's sad because there are gems out there - I am sure all of us could name several at the very least - that quite simply have been little-performed or under-performed.

On the recording side, there have been record companies out there who - whilst managing a core repertoire of the "popular classics", also tended to walk off the beaten path in a very welcome way. Examples that come to mind are many of the Mercury Living Presence recordings made in their stereo era - wonderful pieces that I had certainly never, ever heard of before buying the recordings and in the modern era companies such as Hyperion who tend to explore the lesser-known repertoire. Funny thing with the Mercuries is that I bought them as a matter of course as an audiophile and music lover. But I admit - more as an audiophile. If I had not bought them I am not sure I would ever have heard some of these works, because I've never heard them anywhere else!

I was discussing this some time back with a principal string player who had retired from the Detroit Symphony after several decades of service. Although he began in the orchestra after the Paray era, he still co-worked with many players from that era - infact he told me one cellist who retired at the same time he did had actually started under Paray! I was discussing with him the Chausson Symphony in B-flat (his Opus 20). Paray made a landmark recording of this work back in March 1958. Yet this acquaintance of mine never performed this work with the Detroit Symphony in the whole time he was with them! So we have a wonderful landmark recording made all the way back in 1958, then the work fades into oblivion. It's never been programmed into any orchestral concert here in Australia that I am aware of - at least in the near-40 years I've followed music performances in this country. I can't even recall it ever being broadcast on our radio networks either (not to say it hasn't either). You'll find some performances on Youtube, so it's not like the whole world has forgotton about it, but still...

Then there are a whole of other works that simply have faded into obscurity. Examples are the Goldmark and Tubin violin concertos. But at least you'll have little trouble finding some recordings...not necessarily by your favourite player and / or orchestra / conductor. And what about the Mercury gems I mentioned earlier? John Carpenter's Adventures in a Perambulator being something that immediately comes to mind. The symphonies of Howard Hanson are another. Another one that comes to mind from the RCA stable is Vincent D'Indy's Symphony on a French Mountain Air. Luckily I have the superb Classic Records 45 RPM vinyl LP reissue of that on RCA Living Stereo.

 

[Amphissa]

Thank you for raising this topic. As a new member of WBF, I suppose this is a good place for me to begin.

The vast realm of forgotten, neglected and marginalized composers continues to grow as orchestras constrict their programming more and more. One rarely hears anything beyond the Romantic era warhorses and a smattering of modernist/contemporary works in orchestral performance these days.

Luckily, there are now a number of labels that record lesser known works. CPO has offered up a veritable bounty of collections by composers whose fame has faded or whose music was shunned in time of war or racial disorder or changes in the tides of music fashion. Other labels filling out our catalog of masterful compositions by forgotten composers include Sterling and of course Naxos. Of special note is the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto series, which now totals more than 125 pieces for piano and orchestra that range from good to great. Hyperion's recordings of Romantic Violin Concertos continues to grow as well.

It is also quite interesting how many of these lesser played composers turn up on concert programs in Europe. Many of the European orchestras include works by their nation's composers, either in special recognition or that fit into a program. Since these orchestras are usually subsidized by public funds, many of the concerts are aired and even streamed on the Web. As a result, one can run across performances of music that would never be heard elsewhere.

Finally, let us not forget that some conductors, even today, champion the music of a composer they particularly like. For example, Muti has included Martucci's 2nd Piano Concerto on his concert programs several times. Dudamel often includes music by composers from Latin America. British conductors have endeavored to record the music of some of the lesser known British composers. And Neeme Jarvi has included the music of many near-forgotten composers, both in concert and on recordings.

Once again, thank you for raising this topic. Too often, we forget that there were hundreds of composers writing very good music over the past 200 years. Some have been forgotten for good reason, but many of them composed excellent music that has been neglected.

 

[marty]

I totally agree with both posts. It seems that to not be forgotten in the repertoire, one needs a champion, several of which Amphissa mentions by name. Lest we not forget that Mahler was virtually unplayed in the 20th century until Bernstein bought him to the attention of audiences in New York in the 50's. Let's at least be thankful for that! I also cannot do justice to the enjoyment I've gotten form the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto series. We need more of the same!

 

[astrotoy]

We also have to remember that until Mendelssohn revived Bach, his music was hardly played at all (although fortunately both Mozart and Beethoven had some exposure to him), for almost 100 years after his death. I have been going through the great Philips series of Haydn Operas, conducted by Dorati (who was in Detroit for many years). Those operas are almost never played and many are delightful. They could easily be done in concert performances by orchestras. Similarly Philips did a very nice series of Verdi "galley" operas, again almost never performed, conducted by Gardelli. One could say the same for many Rossini operas.

It does take both a music director willing to take some chances in the repertoire and audiences willing to hear things they haven't heard before. I haven't checked the many programs of major and minor orchestras but I don't think there are many performances of even some very famous composers, like Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, or any of his first three symphonies. The same goes for the early symphonies of Dvorak, or the first two symphonies of Mendelssohn.

We also hear the same piano concerti, over and over again. The Beethoven, especially 3,4,5, the Brahms, Schumann, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Rach 2,3, Paganini Var, (and not so much 1 and 4), Ravel G major, Prokofiev 3 (and more recently 2, but not 1,4,5).

And I could go on ...

Larry

 

[FrantzM]

We also have to remember that until Mendelssohn revived Bach, his music was hardly played at all (although fortunately both Mozart and Beethoven had some exposure to him), for almost 100 years after his death. I have been going through the great Philips series of Haydn Operas, conducted by Dorati (who was in Detroit for many years). Those operas are almost never played and many are delightful. They could easily be done in concert performances by orchestras. Similarly Philips did a very nice series of Verdi "galley" operas, again almost never performed, conducted by Gardelli. One could say the same for many Rossini operas.

It does take both a music director willing to take some chances in the repertoire and audiences willing to hear things they haven't heard before. I haven't checked the many programs of major and minor orchestras but I don't think there are many performances of even some very famous composers, like Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, or any of his first three symphonies. The same goes for the early symphonies of Dvorak, or the first two symphonies of Mendelssohn.

We also hear the same piano concerti, over and over again. The Beethoven, especially 3,4,5, the Brahms, Schumann, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Rach 2,3, Paganini Var, (and not so much 1 and 4), Ravel G major, Prokofiev 3 (and more recently 2, but not 1,4,5).

And I could go on ...

Larry

Spot On about Bach! I also agree with most of the rest. There seem to be a lack of originality in Classical recordings repertoire especially in concerts where they will always play pieces from the greats and sometime almost with embarrassment that of "lesser" composers. On that I have been listening for a while the oeuvres fo French composers and IMHO some of them deserves greater recognition : Francis Poulenc, Cesar Franck, Henri Dutilleux, Eric Satie... Camille Saint-Saens seems to be known for The Symphony #3 (The "Organ" Symphony) and the Carnaval des Animaux but his Violin Concerti and his Pianio Concerti are , IMO, superb .

I believe a list of suggestions of pieces WBF we deem of value. mines will come later ...

Happy Holidays!!

 

[Migo]

It's the economy......
One can only hope that now the Orchestras starts having their own label and seling or streaming direct to the consumer, that will help them having the financial means to take a chance on less popular repertoire.
i.e.;https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/home?utm_source=www.berliner-philharmoniker.de&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=brandbar

 

[Amphissa]

My collection of recordings and broadcast captures numbers more than 1,000 composers who would be considered neglected or forgotten, in the sense that one almost never hears them performed in concert and there are very few recordings of their music. This does not include many modernist composers, as there is little modernist music I like. I will forebear the urge to list them all.

I think we should keep in mind the reason for so many. First off, that was an age when there was no radio, television, or streaming music. Second, it was a period in which music education was common in the schools and formal education typically included music education. Even among the middle class, many people played an instrument, and playing music in the home was common. Finally, classical music was a very prevalent form of public entertainment. So, within that context, there was room for a lot of composers writing lots of music.

I tend to group the neglected and forgotten composers into four categories.

1. The inspired souls -- composers who wrote masterworks and great music that deserves to be in the current repertoire or heard by everyone
2. The fine craftsmen -- composers of exceptionally well written music that deserves occasional play and that most people would enjoy
3. The sad lot -- composers who died young or somehow lost traction, but who wrote some fine music
4. The best forgotten -- composers of excruciatingly derivative, boring, routine, aimless, charmless or trivial

Like anyone else, I have my favorite composers and favorite pieces of music. I also have my own taste, so there are composers I would put in last category that others would praise very highly.

I think we should also be aware that some composers who are unfamiliar to a lot of people are not really forgotten or neglected. For example, I would not include Saint-Saens or Franck among my forgotten and neglected composers. One need only look at the Amazon listing of recordings of music by Saint-Saens. Franck's Symphony was a mainstay on the concert programs until the last few decades and still gets played some. Chausson is more borderline for me. His Symphony is not performed much, but his Poeme for violin and orchestra is often played in concert and there are many recordings, and his surpassingly beautiful Poème de l'amour et de la mer is a mainstay on the European concert stage. Still, I tend to include him, because he is rarely heard in the U.S.

Migo, it's interesting that, if you look at the upcoming streaming concerts scheduled by the Berlin Philharmonic (the link you posted), they actually include music by composers who would fall into our realm of rarities and unfamiliar music.