10 Formerly Popular Works That Have Faded From The Repertoire

10 Formerly Popular Works That Have Faded From The Repertoire
Goldmark: Rustic Wedding Symphony
D’Indy: Symphony on a French Mountain Air
Grieg: Piano Concerto
Khachaturian: Violin and Piano Concertos
Hanson: Symphony No. 2 “Romantic”
Borodin: Symphony No. 2
Mendelssohn: Elijah
Walton: Violin Concerto
Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 “Mysterious Mountain”
Cilea: Adrianna Lecouvreur

[@davidhollingsworth1847]

And also: Franck: Symphony in D (the New York Times published an excellent article on that topic surrounding the piece) Glazunov: The Seasons Lalo: Le Roi d'Ys (overture and the opera itself) Dohnanyi: Nursery Variations Kodaly: Peacock Variations

[@user-wp4ju4hp5w]

Hanson s Romantic Symphony is absolutely gorgeous!

[@ukdavepianoman]

Seconded !!

[@gomro]

Hanson is my favorite of the American Neo-Romantics who were swept aside for the avant-garde in the 50s and 60s. If someone champions his stuff now, it will come into its own.

[@michaelfurbank3504]

I sang Elijah last October and it was fantastic to sing and went down a storm. You're dead right Dave, by contrast the obligatory Christmas performance of the Messiah generated nothing like the same excitement (in me, the players or the audience). Thanks for your excellent video.

[@huismanq]

Many pianists of the ‘older’ generation (Gieseking, Cortot, Rubinstein, Bolet, Cziffra, Curzon, Larrocha, Ashkenazy, Freire, Ciccolini) had Symphonic Variations by César Franck in their repertoire. Nowadays you rarely hear it in the concert hall.

[@pmarq32]

Great observation! I was living in Baltimore when Leon Fleischer made his return to the concert stage playing music for both hands. He was going to make his premiere playing the Franck Variations with the Baltimore Symphony. I immediately thought "ARE YOU INSANE?". They soon revised the program to feature Beethoven #4 in G Major. By no means an easy piece, it's a much better choice to ease back onto the concert stage. It was an unforgettable show.

[@HassoBenSoba]

I realize it's considered a "bon-bon", but the Enescu Roumanian Rhapsody #1 was EVERYWHERE c. the 1930's. It really took a hit during the rise of the 1950's "academic" period, and has never recovered. And despite its very attractive opening tune, it's still filled with Enescu's typically unique (and bizarre) folk-inspired idiom. LR

[@cimbalok2972]

I like both of them! An interesting factoid: the final tune of #2 (the one that fades the piece out) is also a dance from Southeastern Poland.

[@pierrevigna]

That video triggers a sequel : pieces that are have recently become much more popular. My pick would be Prokofiev piano concerto No.2

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Mine too!

[@ukdavepianoman]

My favourite piano concerto! I think part of the reason for this is that there are more and more pianists who can actually play it and play it well!

[@stevecook8934]

The Britten Violin concerto has been getting a lot more love in recent years.

[@jamescappio7434]

It’s a little strange to me that the Hanson isn’t played more often, considering it was used for the end credits of ALIEN. Which makes it probably the most *listened to* work on your list.

[@wayneday3116]

Bizet's Symphony in C and L''Arlesienne Suites, Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite, Copland's Lincoln Portrait come to mind. All popular in the 50's and 60's, not so much now.

[@seanz1115]

I just saw a live performance of the Lincoln Portrait

[@paulbrower]

@@seanz1115 The Lincoln Portrait is propaganda -- American liberalism against despotism. It came into existence during WWII as a complete repudiation of fascism. Nazi Germany and Thug Japan were both slave-holding societies. Sometimes it becomes particularly relevant.

[@disasterblaster3693]

There is also the Roma Symphony by Bizet that has never been popular but should be heard more often.

[@waltergold3457]

The Grand Canyon Suite, despite its use in a Disney soundtrack, is anything but grand. 🙂

[@jamescappio7434]

@@waltergold3457I actually listened to it for the first time a while ago, and you’re absolutely right.

[@mparento]

How strange that, just yesterday, I thought about the Grieg piano concerto that I heard so often and that we could find in every music store when I was younger, and how I almost never hear or read about it nowadays. And today I click on your video and you confirm my impression. Wow!

[@Kyle-ur4mr]

Finally a list where I know most of the works! And I totally agree The Walton VC is supremely gorgeous and it’s my dream for Hilary Hahn to make a recording

[@paullewis2413]

I’m not generally into violin concertos however I absolutely love the Walton, for me it’s the best of the lot. The same goes for his cello concerto.

[@iankemp1131]

@@paullewis2413 Heard the Walton VC for the first time on the BBC Proms last summer and was very impressed.

[@russelljohn5258]

Back in the late fifties I was just a kid. My Mom and Dad and I went to a keyboard concert series year after year in a small california town. Anyway there was always a piece of two by Chausson, always. Yet at the many per year piano concerts I've attended in the last fifteen years, I have never seen a Chausson piece on the program. He seemed to be a thing back in 1959 or 1960. The only two pianists I can remember by name are Leon Fleisher and Jorge Bolet. I saw Fleischer again in 2013 and asked if he remembered the concert in Modesto, Ca. so many years ago when he was a young man, fresh on the scene. He said he remembered it well. So anyway Chausson is my nomination for Faded Repertoire.

[@stephenmarmer543]

Great video. Modern times seem to be allergic to innocent beauty and warm romantic feelings. I grew up with the Hanson and Goldmark. We are in the process of losing that human touch - emotional while still focused and intelligently structured, appealing to both mind and heart.

[@seanoslin5299]

The Puerto Rico Symphony did the Hanson 2 last month. The audience was just crazy for it. Hanson 1, 3 and 6 are also great. Hovhaness’s Mt St. Helen’s Symphony should be in the standard repertoire. It’s a blast, pun intended

[@georgesdelatour]

You're reminding me that I'm old. I sang the boy soprano solo for the youth in Elijah as a child. You're right that it's largely faded from the repertoire. Bring it back now!

[@cimbalok2972]

I have heard most of these pieces on WFMT, our classical music station. They played the Walton Violin Concerto a couple days ago. Being a Central/Eastern European music freak, I love the Goldmark. They play it every few months or so. I used to listen to an LP of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto when I was a teenager. Loved it. Ditto the Borodin. I've heard excerpts from Elijah, but not the whole thing. It deserves more air play.

[@geoffashden2]

Hanson's 2nd symphony reached it's peek of popularity folowing the film 'Alien'. Personally I hadn't even heard of this composer prior to watching the movie. I'm sure this is true for a lot of music lovers.

[@geraldmartin7703]

Some studio executive didn't like Jerry Goldsmith's music for the end of the movie and so ordered it replaced with an excerpt from the Hanson symphony. More "consoling" or something.

[@charleslawson6824]

Elijah was just performed last weekend at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC by The Washington Chorus. The piece is still alive!

[@stevem4413]

All the more reason to have these works on CD so they can be listened to and enjoyed. As a life long concert goer the Grieg concerto was once so frequently programmed that I started to avoid any concert in which it was played, I had grown so tired of it. Now I can't remember the last time I did hear it so it will certainly deserve a listen to on CD in the coming weeks.

[@ericakilian3]

I'm late to this thread, but I thought I'd mention anyway that Minnesota under guest conductor Thomas Wilkins performed Hanson's Symphony No. 2 in October of last year. Wilkins having been in Omaha may have influenced the programming. It was a marvelous piece for me to hear live.

[@basiliscornelius]

Love this! Another work that used to be more popular is Ambroise Thomas' opera "Mignon." I've always found it an utterly charming work with some incredible arias. True, it's quite light but a lot of fun, with a few moments of surprising depth. Really wish it turned up more often these days!

[@robhaynes4410]

William Grant Still! His Symphony No. 1 was played all over the world, & reportedly the most popular American symphony before the end of WWII. It should absolutely be revived today.

[@iankemp1131]

I had not heard it at all in the UK on radio or in concert halls until a few years ago, but it is getting some air time now on Classic FM and Radio 3, along with the works of Samuel Coleridge Taylor. Both are certainly worth hearing.

[@martinhaub6828]

It actually gets a lot of outings these days. His other symphonies not so much.

[@disasterblaster3693]

@@iankemp1131 Hiawatha's Wedding Feast by Coleridge-Taylor used to very popular and would be a good one for this list - although it fell out of popularity long ago.

[@iankemp1131]

@@disasterblaster3693 To my mind it falls in the same category as Elijah, in that a lot of large-scale choral works that were once popular with amateur choirs have largely disappeared from both amateur and professional concerts. Even Handel's Messiah and the G&S operas are performed far less than they used to be. I've also been intrigued to hear some of Coleridge Taylor's instrumental works for the first time in his recent revival, like the Violin Concerto and Nonet.

[@cimbalok2972]

Our classical music station WFMT plays a lot of Still and I have never heard a piece by him I didn't like. I love the Symphony #1. I agree it should be played more often.

[@iankemp1131]

There are a number of works about 15-20 minutes in length that don't fit comfortably into modern concert programmes of overture-concerto-symphony. This has particularly hit symphonic poems (apart from R.Strauss) and sets of variations (Dvorak's fine Symphonic Variations for example; Franck's are mentioned in other comments; and I have a soft spot for Dohnanyi's Variations on a Nursery Song which does more with its innocent theme than one would believe possible!)

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, I've discussed this many times.

[@zdl1965]

Speaking of Karl Goldmark, his Violin Concerto in A minor used to be played and recorded by the great violinists of the day. Nobody hears it nowadays.

[@markzacek237]

A lovely, lovely work! As a teenager, I was unfamiliar with the concerto, but I loved the Rustic Wedding Symphony, so I bought the Milstein/Blech performance (a Seraphim LP). It is the only time I've ever played a full length work through and then immediately played the whole thing again. Apart from a somewhat rum-ti-tum primary theme, I think the entire concerto is stunningly beautiful. I've seen it referred to as Goldmark's Violin Concerto no. 1. It appears as if a no. 2 was lost. That's a real shame.

[@jaythomas5006]

Dave, I’d love for you to some day discuss Tansman. He was an extremely popular composer in the first half of the 20th century but is basically unknown now. You have positively reviewed some recent recordings. His 6th Symphony and Sinfonia Piccola, in particular, seem worthy of revival!

[@naytonestew7202]

The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra is playing "Mysterious Mountain" by Hovhannes April 5-6. Be there or be square! The new music director, Michael Butterman, just performed Philip Glass's Piano Concerto #1 a few weeks ago. [Lancaster, Pennsylvania]

[@waukee321]

My grandparents have an old player piano with several rolls by Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925). Wrote a Piano Concerto, Spanish Dance, Tarantella, Fackeltanz (Dance with Flambeau), etc, many pieces that you never hear.

[@christopherrussell9500]

Perhaps I'm mistaken but it seems like Rossini overtures almost never show up on professional concert programs anymore

[@cimbalok2972]

You can hear the Semiramide and Cenerentola overtures ad nauseum on radio station WFMT.

[@michaelpetkovich5058]

I'd like to hear the Roy Harris Symphony No. 3 again. Well, any Roy Harris...

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Me too.

[@danieljoseph2015]

I listened to classical music on the radio extensively in the 1960's. A work that I heard pretty often (that I liked and still like) was the suite from Walter Piston's ballet The Incredible Flutist. I don't think that work is heard much, if at all, today. It is tuneful, appealing, and easy to like; I especially like the tango, and everyone likes the circus band that marches through the town. I don't know if it's in the score, but every recording of that work had a dog barking at the end of that section, a pleasing touch. One also heard two works of Poulenc (both on one LP by the Boston Symphony) -- the concerto for organ, strings, and tympani and the Gloria that I think are rarely performed now. I think they both deserve to be in the general classical repertoire, but I don't think they are. The Frankfurt Radio Symphonyperformed the organ concerto a year or two ago, however.

[@wigs666]

Piston is so underrated. He can write a cracking tune and his orchestrations are spectacular. (obviously!)

[@culturalconfederacy]

Love the Khachaturian Piano Concerto. So sad it isn't performed more often. Also had the chance to see Elijah performed live by a local college choir- with just pipe organ. Amazing experience.

[@christophermacintyre5890]

I think the requirement for a flexitone, coupled with the general snobbish disdain many in the Classical world who hold positions of influence seem to regard Khachaturian generally, have sealed the fate of this work. The proof is that even the Violin Concerto (not a flexitone is sight) doesn't get played. And there has only been one recording each of the complete Gayane and Spartacus ballets. I find this unconscionable.

[@charleslawson6824]

The Khachaturian Piano Concerto will be played by Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the National Symphony Orchestra (US/Washington, DC) this coming season in February of 2025. Come listen! (And Elijah was just performed last weekend in DC at the Kennedy Center by The Washington Chorus.)

[@martinbynion1589]

You don't listen to Concert Radio in New Zealand (of course!), or you wouldn't think the Grieg Concerto had faded away! I must admit that I've NEVER heard the d'Indy, Mendelssohn, Walton, Hovahness and Cilea despite having been listening to classical music from Gregorian Chant to Robert Simpson since the mid 1960s. I have only discovered the Hanson in the last couple of years, so I feel that I'm ahead 🙂

[@wouterdemuyt1013]

The Grieg piano concerto was played in a concert hall near me in the last 5 years by Lars Vogt, Gabriela Montero, Katia Buniatishvili, Leif Ove Andsnes, Javier Perianes, Denis Kozukhin and Vikingur Olafsson (twice), and I might be forgetting some. And there was a reality tv series made about a local tv personality learning and performing it, that was quite popular here in Flanders.

[@normanmeharry58]

It was included in the 23 Proms. Always a sign it's still up there

[@marlenemeldrum7382]

I love the violin concerto by Khachaturian....Just wonderful today very seldom heard😢

[@christophermacintyre5890]

Never understood what the problem with Franck was, I've always considered him a major and multifaceted composer (Orchestral, organ, Chamber masterpieces to his credit). While Khachaturian is a decidedly less great composer who wrote more than a few shallow pieces, I don't think it's fair to banish the Piano and Violin Concertos.

[@williamhollin1445]

At the very end you mention von Suppé. Almost always found on New Year's from Vienna. I quite often do them with my Youth Orchestra and my HS Bands. Did Light Cavalry at my retirement concert in May. Students LOVE not just von Suppé but several of the others on this list! A lot of really attractive music here!

[@MarshallArtz007]

I love Zubin Mehta’s CD of von Suppé Overtures with the Vienna Philharmonic (CBS Masterworks).

[@kellyrichardson3665]

It seems like Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite used to be kind of popular.

[@MarshallArtz007]

A wonderful piece! 😎🎹

[@iankemp1131]

In my junior school in the UK we had a different piece of classical music played each week in school assembly. On the Trail from Grand Canyon was played and won the popular vote for favourite piece at the end of the year. I hadn't heard it before then, it was never played on Radio 3 which at the time was the UK's only classical music station - not highbrow enough!

[@MichaelGilman489]

Do Pops orchestras even play the suite anymore?

[@davidhowe6905]

I also remember my UK music teacher playing this (? early 70's). I was then already on the way to becoming too pretentious to take it seriously!@@iankemp1131

[@christophermacintyre5890]

​@@MichaelGilman489I don't think so. It's fallen off a cliff since the CD Era. There was an Antal Dorati recording and an Erich Kunzel one in the early 80s, but I think only Lorin Maazel and Naxos have recorded it in the 40 plus years since. P.S. Oh, and an electronic version by Tomita.

[@stevecook8934]

I always wondered why Perlman didn't take up the Walton concerto. There are very good 21st century recordings of the Khachaturian and Walton from Fischer and Ehnes, respectively.

[@christophercrimmins6143]

Raff's 5th symphony back in the day

[@murrayaronson3753]

I’ve been going to concerts since 1963. I don’t believe I ever heard live Franck’s Symphony in D. I for sure never so far heard live the Goldmark and d’Indy symphonies. Back in October I heard live at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Khatchaturian’s 1st Piano Concerto and some music from Spartacus. There were a lot of Armenians in the audience - Glendale is second only to Yerevan. I’ve only heard live the Grieg Piano Concerto once, in the 1999s with the National Symphony Orchestra. It’s a shame that the Borodin symphony and Kalinnikov’s two aren’t programmed. I’ve seen Adriana Lecouvreur twice live, once with Renata Scotto in San Francisco and with Joan Sutherland in San Diego. It will be done again when some star soprano wants a spectacular exit. In a couple of weeks the Colburn Orchestra will be playing Goldmark’s Violin Concerto followed by Mahler’s 1st Symphony. I’ve noticed and don’t like the tendency for orchestras to play only two works. In this weeks Los Angeles Philharmonic program it’s the Brahms Double Concerto and the Bruckner 1st Symphony. No overture, fanfare, divertimento, just a plunge into a concerto or symphony or tone poem. It may have to do with the attention span of the audience or its need to check their phones. I don’t like it. Happy Listening.

[@Jasper_the_Cat]

Oh wow I guess I should feel very lucky! My first and only live symphony I've ever attended included the Khachaturian violin concerto! It was spectacular! My friend who is even newer to classical music than I am said she enjoyed it even more than the bookend performances of Saint- Saëns' Samson et Delilah Bacchanale and Shostakovich's 5th. We were there for the Shostakovich and it did not disappoint, but I had never heard the Saint-Saëns or Khachaturian, so what a treat that was! I can't wait to see another performance!

[@paullewis2413]

Elijah was performed at the BBC Proms last year and it was a great performance, thoroughly enjoyable. There is for me the gold standard performance on YT Daniele Gatti//French National Orch.with great soloists. However I agree that we don’t hear it being performed very often now. The Walton that very rarely gets a hearing is his Cello concerto, fantastic work and a refreshing change from Dvorak and Elgar that get ubiquitously played. I’m not sure if it was ever very popular.

[@markzacek237]

Totally agree about the Gatti performance on KZbin. Best I’ve ever heard - and I’ve heard a lot!

[@paullewis2413]

@@markzacek237 At times I’m disappointed with Gatti however on this occasion he is outstanding/. The orchestral playing is wonderful and Michael Nagy is a great Elijah Best ever IMO.

[@KenBreadbox]

Moskowski's Piano Concerto was once one of the most popular piano concertos on the planet. Rarely performed anymore...

[@classicallpvault8251]

And instead we're being treated to the umpteenth recording of Rachmaninoff's 3rd. By the way, the opus 3 or opus 59 concerto?

[@sedna90377]

@@classicallpvault8251 surely op59. Annique from "Heart of the Keys" youtube channel played it as her final exam

[@HassoBenSoba]

When I programmed it with my orchestra (c. 2011), no one had ever heard of it (luckily, the pianist, Thomas Pandolfi, had played it several times in Europe). When I checked the Chicago Symphony's performance data base, they had played the Moskowski very often...almost every season...but all clumped around the years 1921-26, as I recall. Since then, they've never done it. (LOVE the trio of the 3rd Movt Scherzo; now you've got me humming it, and I'll NEVER get it out of my head!) LR

[@MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist]

i'd be glad to hear that live--there's the recently discovered 1st Piano Concerto, doesn't have the charm of no.2 but is worth hearing.

[@IHSACC]

Thanks Dave, Very interesting topic. Well, I’m glad that there have been at been at least 5 recordings of the Walton Violin Concerto since 2010. And some good ones no less. It could be worse. But I certainly believe you that they used to be more frequent. It’s such a beautiful work-one of his very best. I hope it doesn’t ever fully go out of fashion.

[@mishoren]

Schwanda the Bagpiper, hugely popular back in the day.

[@HassoBenSoba]

And rightly so. But the lead roles require REAL singers, especially that wascally Babinsky. LR

[@johnwalters1341]

Specifically, the "Polka and Fugue."

[@herbchilds1512]

What's not well known is that Jaromir Weinberger, a Czech, became an American citizen, taught music at Ithaca College, and died in Florida. One of his compositions is an opera, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat." I'd love to hear that one sometime.

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

To these, I might add the Kalinnikov 1st symphony. Once rather popular in the concert halls and performed by Toscanini on NBC...even to the point where Glenn Cliffe Bainum made an arrangement of the finale for concert band....it seems to have disappeared from live performances, even though there have been some very fine recordings of the past 40 years.

[@paulbrower]

It's a delightful work, and it deserves revival.

[@williamhollin1445]

Glenn Cliffe Bainum...from The University of Illinois and my alma mater, Illinois State University.

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@williamhollin1445. Please forgive my memory. Thank you for the correction

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@williamhollin1445. My comment has been corrected.

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@williamhollin1445 By the way GC Beinum also made transcriptions of Valdres March and (I believe) Hary Janos Suite. Valdres is excellent, but in Hary Janos, one really misses the strings and the cimbalom.

[@VuykArie]

Dopper: Symphony 7 "Zuiderzee". Raff: Symphony 6 "Im Walde". Ibert: Escales . Mac Cunn: Overture Land of the Mountain and the Flood. Nice topic! Thank you!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thanks for sharing!

[@pianomaly9]

Love the Raff and his "Seasons" Symphonies. The Ibert seems to have been de rigeur for French conductors mid-20th century.

[@johnedreslin]

Mysterious Mountain is still one of my favorite pieces. Have been trying to get our local orchestra to play it. So far have not succeeded. I especially love the 2nd movement fugue.

[@historicaltemperaments3566]

And Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini is SO much fun! I saw it in Szeged Theatre, it was really so fantastic! It is very difficult to cast, because it really needs 3 first-class tenors (I mean first class), and a great, dark, projective, high tessitura Verdi baritone, also first class himself. If you don't have these all together, I really cannot imagine what can happen, but the opera works so well if you have... the "three tenors" (not that three, but the best available three ones...) on stage! And yes, it has a superromantic story, wild everything happening at once, so not a mainstream thing to contemporary directors... but who cares. :)

[@FREDGARRISON]

Rachmaninov also did a work about Francesca Da Rimini. My vote for the best Francesca is the one by Tchaikovsky, his Opus 32 It's one (pardon the pun) HELL RAISER.....

[@davekeyes5589]

Thanks so much for this list, Dave. I heard Hanson 2 this fall live for the first time (Minnesota); it was very well-received. People I heard when leaving were surprised they’d never heard it before. Never have heard Borodin 2 live. Sure, neither of these may never be “Top 100” material, but they are nonetheless very attractive. Other than the Grieg I’m not familiar with the others, so seven more new things to listen to!

[@kanishknishar]

Who was the conductor?

[@davekeyes5589]

@@kanishknishar Thomas Wilkins. The Barber violin concerto was also on the program.

[@bbailey7818]

The last Symphony on a French Mountain Air I heard (Ormandy/Casadesus in the new stereo box) impressed me as beautiful, yes, but not at all a work that highlights the piano. (I had the score as well.) The very nature of the orchestration seems to set the piano in the background as an obbligato. Casadesus obviously loved playing it, but it does hide his light under a bushel. It should be programmed much more and could be done with the orchestra's regular pianist, especially these days. I've never heard the Borodin 2nd in a concert. Inexcusable! Not only Hanson's Romantic but I just heard the Third again today and we should get it too more often. Not only the gorgeous Mysterious Mountain but the Mathis der Maler Symphony seems to have gone missing for a couple of decades. Franck also wrote some wonderful short pieces that never get played: Les Eolides, Psyche, the symphonic interlude from the Redemption. Cherubini's Anacreon Overture used to be a standard concert opener. Toscanini, Furtwangler, Mengelberg, Walter, all used to do it. It's a sweeping, grand piece. Harris's Third Symphony is neglected. Operatically, although it hasn't been standard rep in anybody's lifetime now living, it's a tragedy that Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots doesn’t get restored to the rep. It's a magnificent masterpiece and the fourth act is one of the greatest and most moving in 19th century opera. French verismo, Charpentier's Louise is terrific and would resonate even today.

[@Eric-ch9yu]

Franck : Variations symphoniques pour piano et orchestre. Gounod : Faust.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

The Franck vanished because it's too short and not flashy enough. A pity--it's a gorgeous work.

[@josepholeary3286]

@@DavesClassicalGuide The Franck symphony is also a faded work, once an obligatory item on sets of popular classics. If Walton’s Vn Concerto has faded, the Planets by Holst should be due to fade as well. Is Respighi gone? What about works that were unpopular and have pushed themselves to the forefront? Rach 2 was all the rage but now Rach 3 seems to have upstaged it. Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony seems to be overshadowed now by the Scotch and even the Reformation. Scriabin has become more honored, at least for his piano music. Mahler soared from a reputedly flamboyant but chaotic entertainer to the highest level, largely because of Theodor Adorno’s espousal of his cause. Nowadays he is linked with the Second Viennese School, something no one thought of back in the 1960s. Bruckner also has climbed steadily (though his 5th symphony was the most boring two hours of my life). John Field has edged up close to Chopin. Chopin himself is now incontestably a Great Composer, as he always was for the French, whereas we once thought of salons and girls high schools (if not of “consumptive music” as cruel critics muttered). Schumann’s symphonies too - they were less known than his piano works at one time - now they sit comfortable with the Vienna classics and Dvorak and Brahms- though when I heard no. 4 live at the Proms in 2022 it struck me as noisy rumtitum stuff (Britten thought Schumann’s Violin Concerto was “ineffective”). Just a smorgasbord of impressions.

[@iankemp1131]

@@josepholeary3286 Interesting set. Sadly Franck as a whole is out of fashion. The Planets is not fading out any time soon - combines a very famous tune with 6 other movements of great variety and ingenuity, always pulls an audience. Rach 2 is actually top of UK Classic FM's Hall of Fame at the moment by popular vote from the 5 million listeners, though Rach 3 is also in the top 20.

[@playandteach]

I think the Grieg piano concerto is wonderful. I played it first in my youth orchestra ( London Schools Symphony Orchestra), on tour to Norway - and the soloist was a local (Norwegian) very young player, who played it so simply and effectively. The melodies are just full of depth. I'd be happy for Beethoven 5 and 9 to continue to decline in popularity. I'm also glad that Gerontius is not quite so frequent. Talking of English music, the York Bowen bass clarinet quintet is really worth a listen.

[@martinhaub2602]

Ippolitov-Ivanov: Caucasian Sketches. Beautiful, if minor, work that needs to be brought back.

[@waukee321]

Enjoy this piece as well. Have an old L.P. of it performed by Abravanel/Utah Symphony. Also has Rimsky-Kosakov, Antar symphony and Gliere Russian Sailors dance. Sometimes Caucasian Sketches piece gets truncated (1st Movt) where they cut out the whole middle section. Don't know why they do that.

[@glennsolva1567]

2:40 Thanks for the Goldmark tip. I found a recording released 2011 by Hänssler. Lovely symphony! I will definitely add it to my collection eventually, IF i can find it. 😊🎼🎶🎶🎶

[@FREDGARRISON]

Bernstein and The N.Y. Philharmonic has done a recording as well as Maurice Abravanel and The Utah Symphony. Another one was by Yondani Butt on the ASV label. Try these if you can't get your hands on this Hanssler recording. You can download them from KZbin and burn them onto your own disc if you have the capabilities. Keep us informed.

[@david.carlton303]

Curious--I've been listening to Sirius XM's list of the 78 most popular symphonies as determined by popular vote from a curiously curated list, and--guess what?--Borodin (70), Hanson (64), and Hovhaness (50) made the list! Somebody's still listening.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Great idea for a video. I have most of these on disc and want to dig them out now...

[@andrewhcit]

I'm surprised to see the Grieg piano concerto and Borodin 2 mentioned here. Since 2015 I've attended one live performance by the local professional orchestra, and played it twice in different community orchestras. Borodin 2 still seems popular. I most recently played it in 2019. The Khachaturian violin concerto is a good call. It seemed to be played all the time 20 years ago, but I haven't heard of it being played anywhere near me in a decade, and I've heard it on radio just once in that time.

[@ewmbr1164]

Walton Cello Concerto. My indelible memory: Zara Nelsova with Amsterdam Concertgebuow Orchestra under Haitink, some 55 years ago. (BTW: I now live in Boston since 2016. Elgar's Cello Concerto has been performed twice at the BCO, and will be again soon this season. Snooze...).

[@kylejohnson8877]

Seriously, there needs to be a ban on performances of the Elgar cello concerto for at least 5 years!! It’s hardly one of Elgar’s finest works, and there’s so many better cello concerti out there which almost never get played….

[@musicianinseattle]

A loving vote for Arthur Honegger's "Pacific 231".

[@pmarq32]

Yes! That needs a comeback!

[@JuanManuelTriana]

I think Reinhold Gliere's The Red Poppy and Kabalevsky's The comedians also fit in this category. Also Glazunov/Chopin Les Sylphides

[@kid5Media]

The Grieg was the first piece of classical music I heard live (after being brought up on the Entromet/Ormandy.

[@ethanschmeisser6334]

Adriana is still very present in the repertoire and there are running productions of it. It contains a huge number of small roles, which might afraid some companies (as is Andrea Chenier). For me, as for works which I feel that disappeared, there are a lot of overtures like "Guillaume Tell", or the Suppé overtures. Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espanol...Liszt's "Tasso" and even "Les Preludes'', in general, a lot of medium size pieces that were tagged in the past as "Light classical music " and simply evaporated from today's repertoire.

[@daviddavenport9350]

LIke Walton....a colleague of mine and I mentioned that Hindemith seems to have had his day.....once a compositional and conductorial leader, now, I am hard pressed to tell you the last time I heard or played a work of Hindemith's. Must admit that except for Mathis der Mahler, I dont much care for his music all that much.

[@pianomaly9]

Heard Fruhbeck de Burgos and L.A. Phil do something by Hindemith c. 1969.

[@herbchilds1512]

Chadwick's Symphonic Sketches. Piston's Incredible Flutist. It seems to get played only on July 4. Hanson 3 is still a "frequent flyer" (as is Borodin 2). I would like to hear Hanson's Nordic, and his other symphonies, for a change. And Piston's.

[@herbchilds1512]

Sorry, I meant Hanson 2, "Romantic."

[@jgesselberty]

Love most of these and agree with your list. Most are played far less these days.

[@ervinvice1521]

I wasn’t aware that Grieg’s Piano Concerto had been dropped from the repertoire. There is certainly no shortage of recordings.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I never said that. A little nuance, please.

[@MrRuplenas]

MacDowell's 2nd piano concerto used to be a hot item on concert programs . It seems to have gone down the memory hole.

[@MrYoumitube]

I love Borodin Symphony No.02 especially conducted by Kurt Sanderling.

[@markbeck8384]

It is strange and sad how things go out of fashion that really are pretty enjoyable. I have heard all of this music, except the Elijah; I will go searching for that right away. The genre that I am finding interesting right now is Baroque Opera that is not Handel. I just saw a video of Charpentier's David and Jonathas that was just marvelous. It's on Medici TV. I really enjoy your comments. My classical music interest seems to ebb and flow, now that I am pretty Old. I was mad for it when I was younger; but I still appreciate being led to material I do not know.

[@ftumschk]

Elijah's a masterpiece, imho, and you won't be disappointed. There are quite a few good version out there, but my recommendation would be the Bryn Terfel/Renée Fleming recording on Decca.

[@kenmcguire5837]

My community orchestra has played both the Grieg and Hovhaness in the last couple years, and I have done more than a few of the others in decades past. Good music, even if it may not fit with what labels want to record.

[@ScottCulclasure]

Perhaps they’re not being recorded as often today, but I can hum from memory the Grieg piano concerto and the Hanson romantic symphony and the Hovhaness mysterious mountain symphony the number of times they are played on my classical music stations! It would be interesting to compare what gets played in the concert hall versus the radio.

[@denishinds3777]

Agree with all you said. Also Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto, Glazunov's Violin Concerto and most Bellini Operas.

[@iankemp1131]

The Schumann Piano Concerto still seems to get plenty of outings in the concert hall (at least in the UK) and on Classic FM and Radio 3.

[@fjblanco]

On the other side of that coin... here in sunny South Florida, where our "symphonic" options are fairly limited, it seems the programs keep repeating themselves with the same composers, usually from the "Germanic" and "Russian" tradition, sprinkled with a little French here and there. And it just keeps cycling and repeating. I've all but given up on looking for concerts with interesting and unique programs.

[@ER1CwC]

Yes, it was Ponselle who quit after the Met didn't let her sing Adriana. Tebaldi also effectively blackmailed Bing into reviving it ("No Adriana, no Renata."). Another opera that has not exactly disappeared from the rep, but has declined quite a bit, in my view, is Faust. Faust was actually the most popular opera in the world 100 years ago. French Grand Opera in general, like verismo, has fallen out.

[@josepholeary3286]

Faust was adored in my home town, Cork. It tends to be heard as period music, but in a great performance it still leaps into life, with a string of inspired melodies. I have the uneasy feeling that Roméo et Juliette has upstaged it, perhaps because of the more obvious character of the story. French operas are hard to revive because they are based on a vocal tradition that has not been transmitted (or so I felt hearing Louise and I think La juive at the Bastille some 20 years ago, and listening to old recordings - but again a single aria can float one’s boat to immortality - Depuis le jour for Charpentier). Fauré’s Penelope languishes in Limbo for want of vibrant performances, but Pelléas et Mélisande, almost murdered by Boulez, cannot be dethoned thanks to Roger Désormière, Karajan, and Abbado.

[@ER1CwC]

@@josepholeary3286 I think that French grand operas tend to be a bit long for modern audiences and that the forms seem archaic. Wagner operas arguably have these characteristics too, but they are considered ‘profound,’ whereas French operas are often deemed superficial, like whipped cream. I’m not saying that these perceptions are right, but I think that they factor into the general decline.

[@alejandrosotomartin9720]

Absolutelly agree. Gounod and Meyerbeer ( we could also add to the list Auber, Saint Saens or Ambroise Thomas ) were the blockbusters of French Grand Opera back in the 19th century and the beggining of the 20th. Barelly stagged and sung right now.

[@classicallpvault8251]

How about the Henselt piano concerto? It was standard repertoire up until the dawn of the recording era, being so incredibly difficult to play note-perfect that Artur Rubinstein dropped it from his repertoire because he feared making errors would become apparent to listeners if they had access to the score and the ability to re-listen repeatedly. It was only revived thanks to Raymond Lewenthal, who recorded it with the LSO under one of your favourite conductors, Charles Mackerras. Fabulous recording by the way, have it here on LP.

[@JAMESLEVEE]

The piano part in the first movement ends on a deceptive cadence, resolved by the orchestra alone. Lewenthal plays a resolution for the piano part that was composed by Liszt, which plays over the final tutti. The Henselt has since been recorded by Ponti and Hamélin in its original version.

[@pianomaly9]

@@JAMESLEVEE Thanks for the info. Have been familiar with the RL recordings since it was first released, didn't know about the Liszt ending to the 1st mvmt. Also love RL's version of Totentanz, with the music from the earlier version skillfully woven in to the final version.

[@JAMESLEVEE]

@@pianomaly9 Liszt has an unfinished concertante work based on the De Profundis in which, I believe, he used those chunks intended for the earlier Totentanz. Leslie Howard has recorded it, I'm pretty sure

[@pianomaly9]

@@JAMESLEVEE Yes, there are several other recordings of De Profundis, the earlier Totentanz, and the reconstructed "3rd" Piano Concerto.

[@JAMESLEVEE]

@@pianomaly9 that 3rd piano concerto has quite a backstory. I love the piece, myself. It's a genuine Liszt concerto, orchestrated by the composer himself, and reconstructed from chunks of the score separated from each other and scattered all over Europe.

[@geraldmartin7703]

The Kalinnikov First Symphony was once popular-- or so I read. I like it.

[@petertaplin4365]

I think Elijah is every bit as good as Messiah. Every number's a hit, each one better than the last! Also, I miss 'Suites' generally in the concert hall, like Karelia, Holberg, Lieutenant Kije, Hary Janos, L'Arlesienne etc etc

[@UlfilasNZ]

The Grieg certainly hasn't faded from the repertoire where I am!

[@jbbevan]

I'm pleased to report that I have them all and that I've listened to them all within the past year. I have the Abravanel on Rustic Wedding but Beecham also rendered it well before any of them. D'indy has been a favorite piece ever since the Society of Great Music (aka Book of the Month Club, record club...before it was RCA) offered the Living Stereo Munch version. I also have one by Grant Johannesen who was sort of an outlier specializing in French Music (recorded complete Faurè I think)(studied with Cortot) so it's not a big surprise that he did D'Indy. While Grant is a native son of Utah (I even took piano lessons from his sister), I think I still prefer the Munch recording. Khachataurian & Walton have both been (well) recorded by James Ehnes in recent years....heard him perform it live in Salt Lake a few yers ago. Borodin 2 I have by Järvi & Rattle. But other than the Walton and the Grieg, I can't say that I've heard any of these in concert forever. Another piece that was recorded frequently during the '60's (but no more) is Grofè's Grand Canyon Suite. Abravanel recorded it twice...but I can't remember that he ever performed it in concert. The quality of that piece is not in the same league as your other listings, but it has certainly fallen out of the recorded repertoire. Finally, Elijah I heard in 2007 when Bryn Terfel came to sing it with the Tabernacle Choir to celebrate the re-opening of the Salt Lake Tabernacle after seismic renovation. Bryn was an extremely memorable titular character. My sister (one of Piatigorsky's last students before he died) played "It is Enough" with Bryn as a duet....at the end of the concert he gave her the bouquet of roses

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

The Grand Canyon Suite lack nothing in "quality."

[@charleslawson6824]

The Khachaturian Piano Concerto will be played by Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the National Symphony Orchestra (US/Washington, DC) this coming season in February of 2025. Come listen!

[@samuelstephens6163]

There are some operas in Henry W. Simon's "100 Great Operas" that haven't gotten much love since that book was published. Who talks about Montemezzi's Amor de tre re? Pergolesi's La serva padrona; Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto; Thomas' Mignon, Flotow's Marta, Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Charpentier's Louise, Giordano's Andrea Chenier, Wolf-Ferrari's Il segreto di Susanna, the Menotti operas; heck, even Boito's Mefistofele, which mostly now gets heard by people who are watching Batman Begins.

[@dajepson]

Weinberger Polka and Fugue would be my addition to the list. Surprised to see Grieg here…it is still among the most frequently-played PCs on my local classical radio station.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Radio stations live in their own world.

[@paulbrower]

@@DavesClassicalGuide The Weinberger Polka and Fugue has a horrible title for a light classic. It suggests J S Bach, generally not seen as a source of light classics. (Oddly Bach's cantatas have much music suited or light classics).

[@bobleroe3859]

I'm going to be busy listening to these. A few I am familiar with.

[@wilsonfirth6269]

Dohnanyi's Variations on a Nursery Song deserves to be performed a lot more than it is!

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

I agree. I’ve done it three times with orchestra as the solo pianist and audiences love it. Pianists tend to avoid it as it’s not something that would be successful in a piano competition. Ditto for Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain. The Dohnanyi feels more like a concertante part, which is what he himself called it. He also wrote two fine concertos.

[@lflagr]

Hmmm, I'm not sure the Grieg piano has "faded from the repertoire" given how much it still gets played today, especially as a "first" concerto for conservatory students. Plus, it was performed at the last Cliburn competition in the finals, which is more than can be said about a lot of "standard" concerti like many of the Mozart ones, or other Romantic ones like Saint-Saens or Schumann.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

It's faded from the repertoire as far as recordings are concerned, or, as I explained, it's become "de-internationalized," which was the interesting aspect for me.

[@waltergold3457]

Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 - it enjoyed fluctuating favor, but was never out of favor, at Carnegie Hall during the first half of the 20th century before being consigned, a warhorse behind the plow, to celebrations of Romanian music. The Mendelssohn oratorio is wonderful - I heard the "Call louder!" section in college and never forgot it - but the Hovhaness symphony, if I can judge from its allegro vivo alone, isn't much. The other lesser works, I haven't heard, or haven't in a long time, so thanks for suggesting them! (Your musical knowledge is astonishing.) Is the classical canon a winnowing merely of lesser works or, more rigorously, of those which don't serve, in the opinions of the winnowers, as exemplars of its artistic evolution? The beaux-art school of painting, it seems, found itself in the same predicament - it boasts many beautiful works discarded in favor of modernism. (Fortunately, though, classical music is doing well despite the gatekeepers who, in the words of one critic, "sniff at a foxtrot" - concert attendance is down, slightly, but recorded performances are more popular than ever.)

[@iankemp1131]

Interesting list. I'd agree with most of them, but the Grieg Piano Concerto is still popular in the UK and gets a lot of playtime on Classic FM. In fact to the exclusion of Grieg's other works apart from Peer Gynt. The Norwegian Dances, Symphonic Dances and the wonderful Lyric Suite almost never appear, even on Classic FM where you'd think they would fit the format perfectly.

[@stevekole9796]

Sir: I would be grateful if you did a review of the works of Havergal Brian. Thanks! Steve

[@composingpenguin]

A Hanson concert program series, maybe?

[@kevindanielson1908]

Yes a Hanson cycle please!! And Alfven!

[@historicaltemperaments3566]

Elijah is popular in Hungary, at least! It has a major poshy presentation of it in all 3-4-5 years, the next one being this weekend!!! :)

[@kevinm6790]

Phillipe Entremont: Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while!! I recently listened to Leif Ove Andsnes play the Grieg. The comments raved about how wonderful it was. I honestly wasn’t impressed. My go-to is Cliburn with Ormandy.

[@OlehZavadsky]

Very interesting episode indeed And what about Paganini’s famous Violin Concerto on A minor with the fabulous La Campanella?

[@ahartify]

I think Mysterious Mountain could be back in fashion, actually. I hear it on the radio every so often nowadays.

[@thevault3853]

I would argue that the Franck Symphony should be on that list. A marvellous work to experience, but rarely performed these days (in the UK, at least), although I did see it at the proms a couple of years ago, but that was the first performance there in a couple of decades. There's no sign of the Grieg Piano Concerto having faded in the UK. In fact, it was showcased during the First Night of the Proms last year, and has been performed at the concert series 6 other times since 2010, which is pretty good going. Compare that to Tchaikovsky's first concerto, which was performed 4 times between 1990 and 1997...but only three times since.

[@christophermacintyre5890]

Les Preludes by Franz Liszt has been dropped down a mineshaft and covered in concrete, as have all of his tone poems.

[@davidsolomon7101]

The Grieg Piano Concerto? I would have never thought that was lacking in popularity. Seems like it's among the top 10 most popular piano concertos, but what do I know.

[@iankemp1131]

Certainly that's the case both in concert programming and the Classic FM Hall of Fame in the UK.

[@JohnMassari]

Howard Hanson's Romatic Symphony was one of the compositions that John Williams channeled into E.T.

[@MrTableturns]

David, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the best recordings by youth orchestras!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I have no opinion because I don't make a special category of them.

[@MDK2_Radio]

I don’t know if there’s a recording by this violinist, but this past fall Colorado Symphony performed the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with soloist Nemanja Radulović. So at least he’s touring with that work trying to keep it in the repertoire.

[@ColinWrubleski-eq5sh]

(He. Nemanja is actually a big dude with modern massive North American football linebacker hair.^^)

[@MDK2_Radio]

@@ColinWrubleski-eq5shthanks for the correction. Whoops!

[@Jasper_the_Cat]

Yes! I was lucky enough to catch this performance and in my opinion he really stole the show! Don't get me wrong- the Shostakovich 5th I came for was great, but I'm newer to classical music so hearing the Khachaturian violin concerto for the first time like that took my breath away!

[@MDK2_Radio]

@@Jasper_the_Catawesome.

[@thomashaugsness1003]

Ippolitov-Ivanov’s “Caucasian Sketches” is another work that no one ever plays or records anymore.

[@TheRealGnolti]

Totally agree about Khachaturian. The ballet suites--Masquerade, Spartacus, Gayne--are wonderful, if light, yet enduring melodically. But dip into his "serious" works and you don't find a serious composer. That isn't an insult; the man had a some great hits which stand the test of time. More than can be said of most of us. As for Borodin: The 2nd has nothing on the 1st. I guess I'm in the minority on that one.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

That's not the point. The Borodin Second was very popular, the First never was. No one's opinion of how good the are, relatively, matters in this context.