[Mark from HFR]

Another occurs to me for this thread: Sir Granville Bantock's "Celtic Symphony" for string orchestra + six harps. Very evocative and compelling.

 

[Bunnyears]

Swap sounds good! If you like choral pieces, then you should definitely start with Ancient Voices of Children for the Crumb. It's based on the poetry of Garcia Llorca, but don't expect to understand the words from just the singing.

 

[Bill Ward]

Is anybody buying any of Hyperion's The Romantic Piano Concerto series? I just picked up two of the three volumes on Ignaz Moscheles, Concertos 2 - 5. The orchestra is the Tasmanian Symphony (?) and the pianist is Howard Shelly, who also conducts. Sound quality is typical Hyperion -- superb, and the music is charming in its early Romantic idiom.

While I was at it, I also bought an MDG recording of Moscheles' chamber music, the Grand Septet, op. 88, Grand Sextet, op. 35, and Fantasie, Variations and Finale, op. 46. Claudius Tanski is the pianist in all three, with the Consortium Classicum. The recorded sound is warm and close, with excellent staging of the instruments.

Hadn't head anything by this composer before, but I would like to hear more.

BW

 

[scottder]

Recently aquired Symphonies 2 & 4 by Erkki Melartin, wondeful stuff. Will proabbly pick up the entire set of 6 symphonies. If you like the Nordic type composers, then check these out!

Scott

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I don't think I've mentioned Schubert's Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat in several hours, so I have to pipe up and suggest that it could quite possibly be the single most under-rated piece of classical music. Ever.

Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2 should also be more popular than it is. I recommend the version with Andre' Watts on the piano.

 

[Bunnyears]

Here's a composer we don't talk too much about in these threads: Catoire. I recently purchased my first Catoire cd after reading that Mahler was a great admirer of his Russian contemporary and actually premiered some of his works in Vienna. I purchased the cd of his "Room Music" (at yourmusic.com) and was so surprised by what I heard. He is definitely more like Stravinsky than Tchaikowsky (another contemporary), so I'm off to find more of his music. If anyone has suggestion, it will be greatly appreciated.

 

[scottder]

It's kinda of fun "discovering" this music off the beaten path.

Also in the more obscure dept, 2 CD set of Raff's Piano Trios. Haven't listened much. But plan to soon.

Scott

 

[Bunnyears]

Apparently, Catoire composed two symphonies in addition to music for piano and strings, but I could find no recording of either of the symphonies at Amazon, Tower, Arkivmusic, Castle Classics or Russiandvd! Google search did not find any either, nor did Berkshire outlet. what I did uncover was another composer with the same name. The Catoire that I refer to is Georgy Catoire (Russian, 1861-1926), not Jean Catoire (French, b. 1926). I have found out that the major influences on him were Wagner, Debussy, Chopin and Franck. Obvioiusly, he is a contemporary of Stravinsky, Scriabin, and was also a student of Rimsky-Korsakov. He is closely related to Scriabin and Rachmaninov in style, but in my recording by Room Music (not the piece but the group) I see more relation to Scriabin than Rach. I wish there was a recording of his symphonic music so I could hear what Mahler admired.

 

[calaf]

for those of you with an Andante subscription, they have just put up in their musicroom a Naive recording of Gorecki Symphony no 3 (already recommended in this thread)
http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25761
Good, easy neo-modal music, kind of "Arvo Part meets Leo Bernstein"

 

[SiBurning]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 000111 My favourite under appreciated: - Kodaly - Bruch (Although his violin concerto in G min receives a fair amount of love)

Zoltan Kodaly. Hungarian folk music. Guess I like folk music fused with classical. Can't get enough Chopin.

 

[LFF]

Recently discovered a new composers I really like. Check him out:

Josef Myslivecek - A composer Mozart admired. No wonder - his music sounds almost exactly like Mozart's. In fact, some of his pieces were believed to be by Mozart before the original autographs were found.

Check this out by Myslivecek:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...902389-8515241

 

[ephemere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears Here's a composer we don't talk too much about in these threads: Catoire. ... If anyone has suggestion, it will be greatly appreciated.

Yes. Marc-Andre Hamelin's recording of Catoire's piano music. Highly recommended.

 

[scottder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark from HFR Some favorite little-known pieces: Albert Roussel: Concerto for Small Orchestra

Today I receieved Roussel's 3rd Symphony, was curious about it, Haitink will be performing this season with the BSO and this was one piece I was totally unfamilair. Listening to the 3rd by Cluytens on Testament, well worth the $10 I paid on initial listen.

 

[Doc Sarvis]

Thought it was time to revive this thread, and I wanted to do so by recommending the following compilation:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/...48&name_role=1

I know that not everyone likes the Mercury Living Presence sound, but if you do love it (as I do) this is a can't miss set. This is a great overview of many lesser known American composers, including Ives, Barber, Chadwick, Griffes, and many more, all in classic recordings by the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra under Howard Hanson. This 5-disc set is an incredible value at this price (and is available cheaper from Amazon sellers). I love it - listening to it now!

 

[Tyson]

I've been really enjoying the John Adams "Earbox" set of recordings. Really good stuff.