Bernard Chasan wrote:

>A discussion of great music from underappreciated composers would be far
>more interesting.

I entirely agree, and will post some suggestions along this line later.
As a bridge, however, consider the cases of little-known works by composers
who are universally admired.  Someone else pointed in this connection to
Beethoven's string trios.  Let me add two other early Beethoven works whose
obscurity is absolutely baffling.  The quintet in C, op. 29, is a beauty,
with a curiously Schubertian first movement.  It is by no means an immature
work, coming from 1800-1801, between the first and second symphonies.

Then, there is the strange case of the Musik Zu Einem Ritterball, a suite
of short ballet movements which Beethoven reportedly wrote at about age 21,
in his last months in Bonn.  [The ballet was not performed, the music was
not published, and Beethoven took off for Vienna.] I ran into this suite on
a Koch recording of ballet music.  It is a gas, full of zest and character.
Why is it so little known? Does anyone know whether there is some question
about its authenticity?

Jon Gallant  ([log in to unmask])