Jon Gallant suggested that we might:

>consider the cases of little-known works by composers who are
>universally admired.

and mentioned that Beethoven's

>quintet in C, op. 29, is a beauty, with a curiously Schubertian first
>movement.

It also reminds me of Berwald whose music was given to going off in very
unexpected directions.

Some time ago, I posted about Beethoven's Op 45 marches for two pianos,
under the impression that they were little-known.  Not among listers,
as I quickly learned when a number of suggested recordings were posted.
So I *think* these works fit Jon's criteria, although I've interpreted
"universally admired" rather loosely:

Prokofiev: Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution.
I've long treasured Kyrill Kondrashin's account of this.  With such a
title, you'd expect something dire that would be true to socialist
principles, and free of formalism, and so on, but no, it has gorgeous
melodies, thrilling choral passages and Prokofiev's orchestral footprints
all over it, even though the siren at one point might be a bit OTT.  It
wasn't until Neeme Jarvi's version appeared that I discovered that the
Kondrashin is missing quite a slab of the original, excised apparently
because it didn't sit well with what passed for Soviet political thought
at the time.  Unfortunately, Jarvi's version, IMO, is not as fiery nor as
well-sung as Kondrashin's, which had as a filler another choral work, The
Salute, also good stuff.  The chances of Kondrashin's version making it
to CD seem ever more remote, so Jarvi is, AFAIK, the only one there is.

Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto #2.  Saint-Saens is rarely mentioned in MCML.
He did sometimes write tunes that were almost embarrassingly banal, but he
always seemed to get away with them.  He's a composer I've liked for years,
and find he's usually very genial and interestingly orchestrated.  The 3rd
violin concerto is the one that gets recorded more than the others and
while I quite like it, I've never been able to take some of the cloying
bits in the last movement seriously.  The second concerto is quite
virtuosic, has good tunes and is a thoroughly enjoyable Romantic concerto.
I'd also like to put in a plug for Saint-Saens' 1st string quartet - the
first movement is, for him, unusually sinister.

Vaughan Williams: Phantasy Quintet for strings.  This is a short work -
about 15'.  The opening section is very beautiful indeed and should be
enough to draw you in. The rest of the piece has a great deal of energy.

Reubke: Piano Sonata.  Reubke is better known for organ music.  This sonata
owes a lot to Liszt's which may be a turn-off for some.

Dvorak: A Hero's Song (aka Heroic Song).  The last of the symphonic poems.
It has had few recordings and I was only able to get to know it through an
Australian domestic LP.  I think it's at least as good as its companions
and fortunately, it's available on Naxos.

Randall Thompson: Symphony #3.  His 2nd is the best-known because of the
Bernstein recording.  The 2nd and 3rd are on Koch, and I have a soft spot
for the 3rd.  It has its dramatic moments but it's mostly just a good,
well-made, enjoyable symphony.

Rubbra: Piano Concerto.  Rubbra's special sound can be an acquired taste.
Even by his high standards, the slow movement of this lovely work is very
special.  Time for a new version, or have I missed it?

Bartok: Piano Quintet.  An early work with little of his later style, but
has a lot going for it.

Brahms: Rinaldo.  This is a cantata for tenor, male chorus and orchestra.
I know of only one recording by James King and the New Philharmonia/Claudio
Abbado on London which was made in the late 60s.  It doesn't deserve this
neglect.

And so on.

If anyone knows that the Prokofiev/Kondrashin is available on CD, email me
- NOW!

Richard Pennycuick
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