# Suggest some lesser known works by famous composers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951 "2017-08-28T18:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/1 "2017-08-28T18:55:29Z")
I have amazon prime music plus, so I can basically stream almost anything. I’m looking to go deeper into a few composers who I’m already familiar with. Please suggest some other works that I might enjoy by them that aren’t as well known. Handel: I enjoy Messiah, Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks, the Coronation overtures, and the Organ concertos Haydn: He wrote so many symphonies and string quartets that I could spend a lifetime exploring them. I’m particularly in love with his string quartets. Beethoven. Probably nothing of Beethoven is ‘lesser known’ but I particularly like Symphony No. 1 and No. 7, String Quartet Op. 18 No. 2, and the Archduke Piano trio. Ravel. I love his string quartet as well as the full Daphnis et Chloé Schumann: I like all 4 symphonies, with #1 being my favorite. I also enjoy his string quartets. Two composers that I don’t know very well, but want to explore are Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams. I listen to BBC Radio 3 quite often both composers are often played. Please suggest away! And, if there are other composers you think I should explore based on what I’ve listed above, feel free to mention them as well. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/2 "2017-08-28T19:57:16Z")
It’s pretty popular, but in case you aren’t familiar, try Dvorak’s “Serenade for Strings.” You also might like Schubert. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/3 "2017-08-28T20:46:05Z")
John Williams composed the theme song to _Lost in Space_, a pretty jazzy little tune completely different from his later work, for which he is much better-known. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/4 "2017-08-28T23:44:07Z")
Bach’s cantatas. (Micro-operas, so to speak.) My personal favorite is “Hercules at the Crossroads.” Another wonderful one is “Flow Gently, Playful Rivers.” Telemann’s “Don Quixote” (or Don Quichotte.) Also, Telemann’s “Hamburg Ebb and Flow.” Beethoven’s opera overtures, perhaps the best of which is Leonore #3. ETA: Boccherini’s Quintettino, ending with the majestic “retreat of the military nightwatch of Madrid.” The whole work is a gem! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/5 "2017-08-29T00:44:26Z")
Beethoven’s Septet, about which Richard Wagner wrote. Also the Violin Sonata No. 9 (“Kreutzer”) which is the one Beethoven piece of which I will never tire. Handel’s Chandos Anthems. Also his charming flute sonatas – I play the flute, and they are as fun to play as they are to hear. Elgar’s First Symphony is excellent, and uncharacteristic of him. Vaughn-Williams: I like the Third Symphony (“Pastoral”), the Sixth (with the weird and eerie final movement) and the Seventh (based on his film music for _Scott of the Antarctic_, with the wind machines and all of the fatal and subzero themes). If you like the Brit composers (I do) try Arnold Bax. Start with his tone poem _Tintagel,_ then go on to the symphonies. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/6 "2017-08-29T03:30:46Z")
Beethoven’s Great Fugue. Probably his most ahead-of-its-time work. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/7 "2017-08-29T03:59:41Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Handel: I enjoy Messiah Have you tried any of his other oratorios? _Israel in Egypt_ is kind of fun: the ten plagues set to music! (Also second **Ike** ’s suggestion of the Chandos Anthems.) > [@](#): > > Beethoven. His “Choral Fantasy” is an odd but interesting piece. Starts out as a solo piano work and turns into a preview of the Choral (9th) Symphony. > [@](#): > > Schumann: I like all 4 symphonies, with #1 being my favorite. I also enjoy his string quartets. They may not be “lesser known,” but don’t miss his piano quintet and piano quartet. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/8 "2017-08-29T04:04:52Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > It’s pretty popular, but in case you aren’t familiar, try Dvorak’s “Serenade for Strings.” There’s a lot of Dvorak that’s worth exploring. Since the OP seems to like string quartets, I recommend some of those (the “American” is probably the most popular). ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/9 "2017-08-29T04:17:04Z")
Re Schubert, I love the Octet in F, which I don’t have a clue if it qualifies as lesser-known. Plus I imagine he noticed Beethoven’s septet and thought, “well, this goes to eight!” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/10 "2017-08-29T05:57:43Z")
Some of my suggestions from an earlier thread [Your favorite not-super-famous pieces of classical music... - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=659284) Ravel _Sheherezade_ (try the Victoria de los Angeles performance if available) [Miroirs No. 5, “La Vallée des Cloches”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnTmtjO6IKI) Holst _Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda_, group 3. Also try group 2. _Hymn of Jesus_ Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs for baritone, chorus and orchestra [part 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5JvpL6nyTc) [part 2](http://youtu.be/mNMnGNL0-uw) (the last one, _Antiphon_, is fairly well-known) (Thomas Allen is almost perfect in this performance) _The Wasps_ incidental music _Hodie_ (Christmas cantata) Handel _Judas Maccabeus_ Arias “Sound an alarm!”, “Let the bright seraphim”. Final chorus “Hallelujah, amen!” _Acis and Galatea_ Aria “O ruddier than the cherry”. Duet “Happy we!” ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/11 "2017-08-29T10:42:58Z")
**Handel** : Great suggestions so far, so I’ll only add the logical follow-up i.e. … **Bach**. Try the _sacred vocal works_, the dramatic and gorgeous St Matthew Passion first and foremost. I’d advise against listening to the whole 3-hour piece initailly. Find some exerpts which must however include the opening and closing choruses (Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen + Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder, respectively) as well as the aria Erbarme dich. Want more ? Go for the extatic Magnificat or some of the cantatas (Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben, BWV 109 + Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 are personal favourites but there are almost 200 to choose from…). If you prefer _instrumental works_, you could check out some of the solo harpsichord/piano pieces in the Well-Tempered Clavier (Book 1, preludes and fugues 1, 2, 4, 16 for a start), the flute sonatas (BWV 1030 first), the cello suites (1 is the most famous one), the orchestral suites (2 and 3) or the violin concertos. * * * **Beethoven** : his _piano sonatas_ are essential, all 32 of them. Ok, more realistically, start with the famous ones (8 “Pathetic”, 14 “Moonlight”, 15 “Pastoral”) and then move on to the introspective, metaphysical last ones (30, 31 and especially 32). Once you’re hooked, you’ll want to know them all. You should also give his _piano concertos_ (4 and 5) and _symphonies_ a try (at least the fifth !). And, as **jayjay** mentioned, his _Great Fugue_, too. Logical follow-up : **Brahms**! First and foremost his late _piano pieces_ op. 116-119 as well as his _clarinet quintet_, all of these are achingly beautiful, the works of a composer in the autumn of his life who masters his art totally. Wistful but never maudlin. Then, his _chamber works_ (the first cello sonata, the third violin sonata), _symphonies_ 4 (!) and 1 as well as the _first piano concerto_ * * * **Ravel**. The _piano concerto in G_, with one of the most beautiful slow movement in the whole repertoire. His solo piano cycle “Miroirs” is also wonderful as well as his _vocal works_ : “Shéhérazade”, “Chansons Madécasses” and “Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé” (the latter is perhaps Ravel’s most experimental piece, so leave it for later). Logical follow-up : **Debussy** (actually the oldest of the two composers). The _piano works_ (Préludes, Images and Estampes + Six Epigraphes Antiques for two pianos) and the orchestral pieces (La Mer, Prélude à l’Après-Midi d’un Faune, Trois Nocturnes). * * * If you still have some energy left (I hope my suggestions were not overwhelming), try **Chopin** ’s heartbeaking Nocturnes and **Tchaikovsky** ’s violin concerto. I excluded almost all 20th-century composers as many are an acquired taste but some are well worth discovering, too. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/12 "2017-08-30T03:32:19Z")
A bit more Holst: Suites 1 & 2 for military band ---
**Author:** ![norvalnormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@norvalnormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norvalnormal)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/13 "2017-08-30T17:22:25Z")
Dvorak’s Stabat Mater. Schumann’s Fairy Tales (op. 132). Every single one of Mozart’s string quintets. All Haydn’s string quartets–for some reason, the same dozen or so, often with nicknames, are well known when there’s nary a dud in the bunch. His Opus 50 is one example of 6 unjustly ignored masterpieces. Dvorak and Schubert string quartets are much the same–a few (again, often with nicknames) you hear all the time, when virtually every single one is a joy to listen to. All Haydn Masses. Any of Saint-Saens’ 5 piano concertos. The 4-hands-piano stuff Mozart composed. The 4-hands arrangement of the Grosse Fuge that Beethoven wrote (opus 134), for those already familiar with the string quartet version. Someone above already mentioned Messiaen’s Turangalia Symphony–also pretty much anything else by this modern-era composer: much of it “inspired” by birdsong. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/14 "2017-08-30T18:38:28Z")
Vaughn-Williams “The Lark Ascending” is one of my all-time favorite pieces of music, it’s beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/15 "2017-08-30T21:14:59Z")
As for Beethoven, like the 4th movment of the Fourth Symphony quite a lot, though I have some excellent versions and some less interesting. “Ruins of Athens,” (Op. 113) was surprisingly good. And for something maybe not so good, but obscure today, try Wellington’s Victory, Op. 91. Greenberg played a tiny bit of it to show how bad it was, and he played the good part. And it apparently made a lot of money, showing classical audiences might not have been a lot smarter than present day ones. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/16 "2017-08-30T21:29:20Z")
Samuel Barber’s _Music for a Scene from Shelley_ is a terrific short piece that doesn’t get much attention compared to his other orchestral works. > [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > A bit more Holst: Suites 1 & 2 for military band I’ve played those more times than I can count! I actually think they’re overrated, and are performed constantly because they have Holst’s name on them. (I realize this isn’t a mainstream opinion.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/17 "2017-08-30T22:13:30Z")
I’m a big fan of Dvorak’s Piano Quintet #2, op.81. I first heard it when a group of teachers at a [Summer music camp](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://perlmanmusicprogram.org/&ved=0ahUKEwizoKyj_P_VAhWi0YMKHQRWC3IQFggnMAA&usg=AFQjCNFqTMuYJHhEdMo3myodWdcWgIw7Hw) near my home town. The director of the program took part. 😉 I’m also a big fan of Milhaud’s _Le Boeuf sur le Toit._ ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/18 "2017-08-31T05:12:34Z")
Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. There’s a great recording on YouTube that has it with Itzhak Perlman, Yo-yo Ma, and Daniel Barenboim. And then the Choral Fantasy right after as a bonus. His Violin Concerto as well, it remains my favorite piece I’ve ever played. Schubert, the Trout Quintet and the Cello Quintet Mendelssohn Octet Dvorak Piano Quintet No. 2 and the New World Symphony Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. There’s one recording on YouTube that’s done in the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo and the acoustics are really something. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/19 "2017-08-31T07:08:29Z")
Brahms, definitely. Start with the violin concerto, symphony 4, Ein Deutsches Requiem, and the clarinet quintet. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951/20 "2017-08-31T07:10:07Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > Schubert, the Trout Quintet and the Cello Quintet The latter is generally recognized as one of the most beautiful chamber music pieces (and I agree with that). If you want to look for it, it is known as the Schubert string quintet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-lesser-known-works-by-famous-composers/794951.md?page=2)