The last time I listened to Brahms' 2nd Piano Concerto, I realized that
despite its masterful construction, I don't like it.  Every movement,
except the last, struck me as overblown.  The first movement sounds like
a lot of chest puffing, and the second movement is so tragic, but about
what?

There are two other Brahms pieces that belong to the category, "Greatest
Music I Don't Like": The 4th Symphony and the Violin Concerto.  Again,
with the fourth, everything seems blown out of proportion.  I especially
don't get the 2nd movement.  It's like an endless parade of one profound
idea after another, to the point where I get tired of the profundity.
There's just too much excitement in this symphony - it doesn't seem
sincere (same goes for the 2nd Piano Concerto).  The Violin Concerto has
an epic orchestral introduction before the violin bursts on the scene,
which might have been the inspiration for Tchaikovky's remark, "all
pedestal and no statue".

(I don't mean to pick on Brahms.  There are many Brahms pieces that I
like, a lot: 1st & 3rd Symphonies, "A German Requiem", many of his piano
pieces, especially op. 118 & 119.)

Just about anything I've heard by Mendelssohn is the "Greatest Music I
Don't Like". The last time I heard the Reformation Symphony I was reminded
of why I don't have it in my CD collection.  In fact, I only have three
pieces by Mendelssohn: 3rd & 4th Symphonies, and the Hebrides Overture
(my favorite Mendelssohn piece, that I know of).  I rarely listen to
them.  I recently heard a Mendelssohn chamber piece on the radio - I
think it was a String Sextet.  While listening to it I didn't know the
piece or the composer, but after noticing the excellent compositional
technique combined with apparent total lack of depth, I rightly concluded
it was Mendelssohn.

Mike Leghorn
Evanston, IL