David Rothstein selects "The Consecration of the House" as a favorite
underappreciated work by Beethoven.  I find that curious: I've tended
to regard it as one of the great master's schlock jobs churned out to
satisfy some obligation.  I find it lacking in the subtlety that I find
in what I consider Beethoven's greatest works, and it seems to me something
of a cliche.  Perhaps I've missed something in the piece- wouldn't be
the first time- but if anything, I'd rank it as overappreciated, at least
based on the number of times I run across a performance of it.

By the way, even though "The Consecration ..." was published toward
the end of Beethoven's life, I think it was composed well before its
publication, so it really does not qualify as a late-Beethoven work.

Larry