Playlist: Neglected symphonies
Here’s a neglected symphony sampler for your listening assessment.
What, exactly, is a “neglected symphony,” you ask? In this case, these are works which your curator — me — has decided are worthy of at least a few more performances than they get. They range from the obscure to the fairly well known, but in all cases they rarely turn up on symphony orchestra programs.
For this playlist, I have included just the first movements of symphonies by Rota, Rubbra, Freitas Branco, Berwald, Chausson, Schmidt, Vaughan Williams, Tubin, Aho and Shostakovich.
If you don’t already have Spotify, you have to download it to listen to more than a sample (there is a free version). Let us know if you hear something you like. –TIMOTHY MANGAN
Hi Timothy, thank you for calling attention to music that deserves more listening. I would like to add my nomination: The Fifth Symphony by William Bolcom. It was recorded by the American Composers Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. The disc has great sound: Argo 433 077-2 (Copyright 1992).