Mark Seeley wrote:

>Robert Baldwin wrote:
>
>>I'm interested in great works that may have been overshadowed by glitzy
>>showpieces.
>
>The first one that immediately came to my mind is Beethoven's 4th symphony...

As long as we're on Beethoven I might mention the Mass in C, which isn't
done a lot.  (Of course I haven't seen the Mass in D done much either, but
it is certainly the better known of the two.) There is also the 2 movement
piano sonata Op. 54 which is a wonderful piece completely in the shadow of
the Waldstein.  And the 10th (Op. 96) violin sonata, while years removed
from No. 9 (the Kreutzer, Op. 47) is a masterpiece; and don't forget
there are TWO sonatas "fuer das Hammerklavier"--Op. 101 and Op. 106.  The
piano trio "Kakadu" variations is a very good piece, not at all a work to
be slighted in spite of its light theme.  Beethoven is a good composer to
do this with because while some of his works are definitely "heroic," by no
means all of them are.  And when they are paired off, the virtues of the
more "retiring" maybe aren't so obvious.

For Haydn I would recommend the Piano Trios as "most neglected
masterworks."

Mozart has pretty well been picked over, I'm afraid.  I can't think of any
of his works that deserve to be better appreciated or have been unfairly
maligned--unless you want to compare Cosi fan Tutte with the other two da
Ponte operas, and I don't really think that's fair.  Since I don't really
know Idomeneo or Titus, I can only say they have come in for their share of
criticism.

The Schubert Trio Op. 100 in Eb has been said to suffer by comparison to
the Op. 99 in Bb.

Maybe we should talk about underappreciated COMPOSERS (like we haven't
already!)...

Chris Bonds