10 Ridiculously Underplayed Symphonies 

In fact, Dvorak 3-7 are all criminally underplayed.

Can I say Parry, symphonies no 3 and 4.... OK, I'll go and hang my head in shame.

Very good list here, I especially agree with you about the Mendelssohn, Dvorak, and Martinu...I might add the 4th symphonies of Beethoven and Shostakovich to make it a dozen, but thats just me!

I like to mention: Symphonies of Chatchaturian Manfred Symphony of Tchaikovsky Symphony 2 of Van Beethoven

I listened to all of these.....you were correct about all of them

I feel Prokofiev’s Third doesn’t get enough love and it’s my favourite of his. The third movement is pure possession. Pun intended.

I’d add Chausson’s single symphony.

Tchaikovsky Third, "Polish." An underappreciated gem. Exuberant and tuneful as they come. Also, even more obscure, but a delight--Kalinnikov Sym. 1.

I can't resist chipping in with ten recent favorites that seem underplayed. Haydn 75 Kalinnikov 1 Bloch Symphony in C-sharp minor Elgar 2 Schmidt 2 Stenhammar 2 Myaskovsky 6 Bliss A Colour Symphony Dohnányi 2 Hanson 6

You could put a dozen Haydn symphonies on this list. Conductors' response to having too many choices is to walk away with nothing.

What? No mention of Walton’s First Symphony?! 😮 It is hardly ever played and is one of the greatest English symphonies.

I love Thackovsky's Third, Polish Symphony and yet never publicly performed. Absolutely baffling. No excuse not to perform this wonderful symphony in concert

Shostakovich 4 is a superlative monument to musical courage, genius, complexity and emotional impact. There isn't a dull second in it. Unfortunately, tragically, it is massively overshadowed by his 5th, a work of genius without doubt, but his coerced retraction, under the heel of totalitarianism, of that earlier daring and freedom. Like you I could nominate dozens more, but let's keep it at that.

All excellent choices! My only addition might be the Asrael Symphony by Suk - as "underperformed" (shall we say) as it is intense.

This is the kind of content I always look forward to from you, Dave! I had the immense pleasure and rare opportunity to perform Nielsen 5 last week (I'm a cellist) - what a thrilling and singular work of genius! It's probably the most difficult orchestral piece I've ever played, especially the 2nd movement with its jumpy chromatic string ostinatos and lightning-fast initial fugue. My own list would probably look something like this: -Hugo Alfvén: Symphony No. 3 -Malcolm Arnold : Symphony No. 5 -Kurt Atterberg: Symphony No. 3 "West Coast Pictures" -Joly Braga Santos: Symphony No. 4 -Alfredo Casella: Symphony No. 3 (Sinfonia) -Howard Hanson: Symphony No. 3 -George Lloyd: Symphony No. 5 -Albéric Magnard: Symphony No. 4 -Erkki Melartin: Symphony No. 3 -Ernest John Moeran: Symphony in G minor Not only do I think these are among the most unjustly underplayed symphonies in the repertoire, but they're among my all-time favorite works of classical music - underplayed or not!

I would include Bruckner 6, compared with some of the other Bruckner symphonies.

On my own list, I would also include Szymanowski's Symphony No. 3 and No. 4, among others. Szymanowski is one of the most underrated musical geniuses. I agree that many lesser-known gems in Haydn's symphonic repertoire deserve far more attention. I appreciated it when John Storgårds, during his tenure as the chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, regularly performed some of those Haydn symphonies that, due to the lack of a nickname or other reasons, have remained in the shadow of his more famous works.

Wonderful list. Enjoying Haydn 102 now with Sinopoli and the Philharmonia. Thank you. May I add 3 for your consideration: Bax No. 6 Barber No. 1 Vaughn-Williams No. 3

Shame you couldn't have included virtually any one of Vaughan Williams's 9 symphonies. If you're looking for sheer brilliance ignored, at least by non English conductors, here it is.

Elgars 1st symphony! A masterpiece! The fast movement’s theme is transformed into the slow movement’s!

Great video, Dave! Maybe there is some hope for us, at least here in Philadelphia. The following may not qualify as underplayed, but over the past couple of seasons we heard:: Berwald Sinfonie Singuliere Weill Symphony no. 2 Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 Scheduled for next season: Prokofiev Symphony No. 6 Lutoslawski Symphony No. 4 My personal Wish List : Gade Symphony No. 1 Tubin Symphony No. 3

Dave, I’d love to hear some day your take on Karlowicz’s Symphony.

Paavo Jarvi and the Tonhalle Zurich programmed Nielsen's 5th together wit Bartok's second violin concerto just a couple of weeks ago. What an amazing pairing and what a wonderful evening it was! Unfortunately it did not fill up the venue as it happened in some other recent concerts, which caused a couple of critics/comments on the local press. A bit sad. I hope they continued programming this less played repertoire and people get more curious about them as they get more air play.

My doctoral thesis was on Nielsen's percussion writing in the Clarinet Concerto, the 4th and 5th Symphonies....AND I had the good fortune to play all of those pieces (right around the time I was completing the paper!).....on the 5th....there is that magic coda to the first movement (section) in which the solo clarinet sings this plaintive chant softly and softly and the snaredrum echos from off stage his "fascist" tattoo... the conductor came up to me after the performance and said he would always remember the way the clarinetist and I did that bit!

Love the Nielsen 5th and have neen blown away by the Martinu 4th, especially the slow movement and that awesome finale. Grateful for the mention of those two. Thanks David!

I was lucky to hear the Roussel 2 with the RSNO under Stephane Deneve. They played the cycle of 4 symphonies and ballet scores live about the same time they were getting recording. I started going to concerts just after Neeme Jarvi left so I don't know if he played his recorded Prokofiev cycle live although I did get to hear the No. 6 as part of a full cycle years later under Alexander Lazarev.

There is indeed at least one mono recording (from 1954) of Piston's symphony No. 4. It's in the big Ormandy Columbia Legacy box coupled with William Schuman's Symphony No. 6.

How about Saint-sahns symphonies 1 and 2? They are beautiful and almost never heard

Haydn 102...absolutely! But then the whole of the London symphony sets are extraordinary in inventiveness.....I have a lovely little book called Haydn in London....and it describes how unbelieveably busy Haydn was in churning out music for his two stays there....I dont know how a single man accomplished all he did there!

I just last week attended a performance of the Nielsen 5th, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi. A fine performance of a fine work!

When people ask me this question, I always say Nielsen’s 1st.

Josef Bohuslav Foerster's 4th symphony.

Joseph Suk's incredibly emotional Asrael Symphony is worth a mention as an underplayed symphonic masterpiece. So worth a listen by anyone who is unfamiliar with it.

Ernst Toch! I've only gotten to listening to his 1st one, but it's an incredible masterpiece.

I heard it's difficult to play, but Franz Schmidt 2 is such a cornucopia of masterful harmonies, counterpoint and it's just a smashing piece as a whole.

Found Prokofiev #6 last week. Whoa! What a delight!😊

I love, Beethoven's little symphony the 8th

Richard Wetz 2 and 3, please.

MIght I suggest that Haydns late Masses are the precursors to Beethoven's 9th Symphony? I have done a bunch of them (some more that once) and find them squarely in the mid to late Beethoven style....the Masses are all Choral Symphonies!!!

There is so much music, so many symphonies, that aren't played or heard. It would be nice if summer music festival took the opportunity to explore some the lesser known repertoire. But nowadays they all just regurgitate the same old, tired, worn out repertoire from the regular season. There is one festival, Leon Botstein's Bard Festival, that concentrates on obscure music, but he's out there alone. Thank God for recordings!

Could some of the reason why so many good-to-great symphonies such as those discussed here are so underplayed is simply that conductors and orchestras have to take the time and work to learn them, while the warhourses they do not? A cheer for the Martinu 4.

Mendelssohn 1 - indeed. I don't care how young he was when he wrote it - it's brilliant. And Dvorak 5 is so nice.

When I first started listening to Mendelssohn's symphonies, I listened to them in order (because why wouldn't I? I didn't know any better). I loved the first symphony from the jump. Sure, you could hear the Mozart influence. I didn't care, anymore than I care that the Brahms First was clearly influenced by Beethoven. And when I found that he was only 15(!) when he wrote it? Forget it -- Mozart never wrote anything that good at that early of an age.

I get annoyed by the fact that there are numerous great symphonies by English composers which never ever get played live, even in England. The Prom concert organisers are as responsible for this neglect as anyone.

In alphabetical order by composer: Beethoven 4 Bruckner 6 Chausson Symphony in Bb Dvorak 3 Haydn 44 (or any of ~60 other Haydn Symphonies) J.M. Kraus Symphony in C# minor Pettersson 7 Schmidt 4 Sibelius 6 Tchaikovsky 1

Shostakovich Symphony No 1. It a fun, catchy, quirky, dramatic, available work

The Goldmark symphony is indeed fantastic. I had never heard it before (nor had I heard of Goldmark) until you mentioned it a few weeks ago!

Schubert 4th: Underplayed, maybe because underrated

My first introduction to Haydn 102 was on a Pearl CD. The Boston Symphony under Koussevitzky.I was flabbergasted.

All of Berwald's symphonies. Dvorak's no. 6. Haydn's Paris Symphonies (82-87), even more ignored than the London Symphonies. Bruckner's No .2, really his first fully mature symphony.

Dave, why do you love classical music so much? I love it myself but. . . wow. I didn't know anyone could love classical music more than me until I found your channel. Your level of obsession makes it seem like I am completely disinterested in the genre by comparison.

I really liked Scambatti.... fantastic

This is a great and informative video. I really like your choices. I'm very happy you included Piston's 4th symphony. I personally don't think Eugene Ormandy ever made a finer recording than his mono recording of Piston's 4th with the Philadelphia Orchestra. As fine as Schwarz's recording is, Ormandy's recording has a rhythmic vitality and soaring lyricism that remain unmatched. I'm also glad you included Dvořák's 5th symphony as well. I've always liked it better than the 6th which seems to get played more often. But my pick would be his 4th symphony, which is almost never played. I think it's really an undiscovered masterpiece. The slow movement is somewhat Wagnerian, but there's nothing wrong with that if it fits into the conception of the symphony which it does here. And the last two movements are thrilling and if played well should get an enthusiastic ovation from the audience who will no doubt go home humming the tunes. Every time I hear a recording of this glorious and engaging work (I've never heard it live and probably never will) I think to myself it is one of the most underrated symphonies ever written.

on the other side of the spectrum Tchaikovsky's 4th and 5th get played every week

Speaking of "sellling the product", one of my long-running frustrations is concerts that get promoted as "featuring works by x, y and z" - as if that's enough information for a potential concertgoer to decide to part with their time and money (or worse, as if the fact that you're playing should be the only factor to entice everybody to just rush to the concert without knowing what they're going to hear).

Dvorak's 5th is a gem, especially, in the Rowicki recording.

Excellent shortlist. For the record, Schwarz/Seattle Symphony played the Roussel No. 2 early in Schwarz's tenure as music director. Wonderful piece.

I'd like to add Gliere's 3rd which I love! Others include Dvorak's 6th, Franz Schmidt 2. I adore the Prokofiev 6th too and Neilsen's 2&3. Why do Neilsen's symphonies still remain so underplayed? Also a symphony that is likely to be played even less now, Ben-Haim Symphony No. 1.

I heard Prokofiev 6 live several years ago in Tokyo. The orchestra was New Japan Philharmonic; the conductor was none other than Dennis Russell Davies. The performance was OK. We had kind of a bumper year for Prokofiev 6 back then as Paavo Jarvi and Kazushi Ono took it up with NHK Symphony and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, respectively, all within the space of a few months as I recall.

Such a great list and a to-do list for listening. I've never understood the lack of Roussel's second recordings. As you remarked, it must be the quiet ending. I would really like to hear Martinů's fourth symphony live... okay any Martinů symphony live and I don't understand why his symphonies aren't not programmed more. Before the pandemic, I was lucky to hear San Francisco with Salonen perform Nielsen's 5th symphony. The audience, including me, lost our minds when it was over. I remember discussing the performance with a few people on the way out and how powerful it came across. The snare drummer had some very cool lighting effects which increased the impact that much more.

As a long time classical music fan I'm ashamed to admit I have not heard anything by Nielsen. I need to remedy that situation post-haste. Thanks, Dave.

Who was it who said "talking about music is like dancing about architecture". I love your videos, but they'd be in another dimension if you actually played excerpts for the pieces you're discussing. Especially in your videos comparing various versions of the same piece. Remember "the record shelf" from NPR back in the day with Jim Schweda...you could and should do a youtube version of that, you're obviously among the most discerning, literate, passionate knowledgeable classical critics on here, and having musical illustrations (while a _lot_ more work I'm sure) would do wonders for making your points. Example "for some reason the cymbal in [I think bruckner 8] was off-mike". Being able to play those 10 seconds, vs one where the cymbals was adequetely miked would have been amazing. At very least, having a curated playlist on youtube or spotify or apple music would be helpful. Thanks for what you do!

A perfect list. I recently heard a concert of the Rustic Wedding Symphony with Dvorak's Carnival Overture as opener. They were cunningly separated by something completely different--Delius! Believe it or not, it worked beautifully.

I don’t believe there are any underrated Haydn symphonies…he wrote so many of them, and practically all are complete masterpieces…they’re all great

Couldn't agree more about Haydn 102 and Mendelssohn 1st. I must confess I love Roussel, but prefer no.4. Don't care for Martinu. Dvorak 5 is fabulous!

Please, do many more such reviews and help us (re)discover more good music. Thanks.

Thank you David. Glazunov #8 too.

I don’t know all of them, but totally agree about Nielsen 5, Martinu 4 (and the Martinu symphonies generally), Prokofiev 6, and Dvorak 5 (I also really like #3). And even more neglected is Harold Shapero’s Symphony for Classical Orchestra.

Very important publication! Thank you so much Dave for your work!

I’m so sick of conductors spamming Shostakovich 5 on their programs non stop. Shostakovich 5 this, Shostakovich 5 that. It hurts to see Shostakovich 5 being performed so very much when masterpieces like Shostakovich 13 and 4 exist

Please add a small clear label of composer name and precise work in writing! Often I have the misfortune that one of the few times you state that crux info a noise occurs. Waah! Keep going! I love you even when I vehemently disagree.

Here's an obscure one most people have never heard of: Symphony No. 1 by Carl Derfler, a modern day composer and educator in the Pacific Northwest. About 25 years ago I heard a community orchestra play this piece, and it was delightful and quite good.

Dvorak symphonies 4 & 6 Tchaikovsky symphony no 3 Kallinkov symphony no1 Stanford symphony no 3 Parry symphony no 3 Bizet symphony in c Schumann symphony no 2 Elgar Symphony no1 Schumann Symphony no 4 (1841)

Thank you so much for breathing new life into my symphonic listening! Your video has renewed my interest in some symphonies that I've heard and forgotten and introduced new symphonies (and their composers) to me. And your mocking delivery of, "palace of culture" is absolutely priceless. Who said classical music commentary has to be wholly somber and judicious? I say give me a bit of good-natured cheekiness anytime. I'll keep on listening!

Marx - Eine Herbstsymphonie. I don't think Dave likes it but I love it. Along with Gliere's Symphony No.3 in Bm op.42 'Ilya Murometz'. Anyway, I guess most of my thoughts surround the notion why I don't attend live concerts anymore - NO MORE WARHORSES !!!

Chausson is intriguing, as I was most impressed with his piano trio, which I performed. Martinu too (all of them, actually 19:06 ). Anyone ever hear stravinsky’s symphony in c? It’s quite nice and very accessible, but it doesn’t end the concert with a bang, so doesn’t get much play.

I love Martinu, but number 1 is my favorite of his symphonies, which might only mean that I like it so much that I haven't listened to the others enough. Some years ago the Oakland East Bay Symphony was auditioning for a new conductor, and the auditioners had to guest conduct one concert each. The one I went to featured Martinu's 1st, and the conductor asked the audience how many people were familiar with it. My hand went up, along with a paltry few others. Oh well. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, but I don't think he got the job--not sure though.

Interesting selection: was shocked to hear the Nielsen 5th included though. Yes, one of the greatest of all symphonies. Ever. I kind of assumed it got played often. The symphony I was most happy to hear you cite is Roussel's 2nd. Wow.. what a work!! I discovered Roussel very early on (aged 13?) and made it an ambition to hear everything he ever wrote (pretty much achieved over the years!). Anyone reading this who has never heard the second symphony, well, you know what you have to do! As for Tchaikovsky (comment below): I have never got into the 3rd., his weakest by far (IMVHO!); I tried again recently, with the full score, but no joy. His real orchestral masterpiece, sadly hardly ever played, is the Manfred Symphony. Wow! No.4 (his greatest numbered symphony) on steroids. :-) Of course, Tchaikovsky being Tchaikovsky he came to dislike all of them over a short period of time. Poor man. (Only discovered this channel tonight! As a classical musician, am certainly going to subscribe: looking forward to the Mahler (discovered him at the age of 13 - Das Lied - and my favourite composer for over 50 years now!) cycle reviews when I get round to watching it! :-) )

An argument could be made that, at least in the US, ALL Nielsen symphonies are ridiculously underperformed.

My favorite Dvořák symphony by far is the 6th. I've heard it only once or twice in concert, which amazes me. It should replace the ridiculously overplayed 9th at least part of the time. I have the complete symphonies conducted by Kertész and listen to the 6th frequently.

I'm fixated on Bruch's Symphony No 2 in F minor. Unlike his other symphonies it's an emotional bulldozer that gives little relief. I confess that the only Bruch I can remember hearing in live performance is the gorgeous but perennially OVERplayed G minor violin concerto. If you don't know the 2nd Symphony check it out and tell me what you think.

When I was young, Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony would have belonged on this list, but it gets played somewhat more now. The liner notes of the first recording I had was very negative about the piece, in a way that seemed inspired by Wagner's attacks on Mendelssohn. I wonder if anti-Semitism succeeded in keeping the piece out of the repertoire for a few generations.

I admit I have not got to the end of this yet but must recommend the four symphonies by Franz Berwald. Tuneful. I have the Neeme Jarvi set.

Also by Goldmark his underplayed and under-rated Violin Concerto No 1. I heard the Nathan Milstein recording on the BBC many years ago and was hooked.

Nielsen no 5 and Prokofiev no 6. I’ve heard both these in live performances over the past 3 or 4 years, however they are overall very much ignored in favour of the more popular. Almost every time a Prokofiev symphony is performed it’s the ubiquitous no 5. Yes it’s great but so is the 6th. Same with Nielsen, it’s nearly always no 4, again a great work but what’s wrong with the 5th - absolutely nothing, it’s superb.

When the name Scriabin appears in a conversation, everyone talks about piano. And seems ignoring or forgetting this genius wrote symphonies. The third (op.43) is the most original and mystical !

All of Haydn's symphonies without a nickname - all 80 or 90 of them or however many there are - are seriously underplayed. You need a catchy name to be easily remembered and recognized - great music is not enough. To fix this, I hereby propose the Great Haydn Symphony Nickname Contest: let us find nicknames for all unnicked ones! My own humble contribution is a proposal for #93: Since we love this symphony as we love our pets, let's call it "The Pet", or, as the French say, "Le pet"!

Personally, I would have included Mendelssohn 2nd the Lobgesang which is a magnificent piece and yet undeservingly underperfomed.

Thank you Dave for this video; I'm finally back from holiday and can dive into all of the videos I've missed! I would explicitly nominate the Symphony in F Major, Op. 14 ("Polonia") by Emil Mlynarski. One of the most memorable first subjects I've ever heard, and beautiful use of a motto theme - plus one of the most economically powerful funeral marches in any symphony. There's a Warner recording with the Warsaw Philharmonic under Jacek Kaspszyk, but no professional performances of which I'm aware. Others I love are by composers you or others have mentioned (e.g. Martinu 1, Borodin 2, Nielsen 2, Walton 1, Hanson 2, Bliss "A Colour Symphony", Glazunov 5) or that you've explicitly plugged in other videos - Rorem 3 (and 2 for that matter!) and Kurka 2 are ones for which I'm particularly grateful. Many thanks again!

Vittorio Giannini symphony 3. Wonderfully engaging American composition. Dave did a piece on it in the past

Doesn't the opening of Sgambati's Symphony remind you of the Epilogue from The Tempest by Sibelius?

Liked (and kind of expected) your inclusion of Nielsen and Martinů. Any thoughts on Enescu or Szymanowski?

The "other" symphonies of Saint-Saens. His first is a very delightful piece.

All of Mendelsohn's five symphonies and stunningly gorgeous and criminally underrated in my opinion. Of course, the Itallian is more well known, but as great as that is, the Scottish (#3) is even more beautiful. And the first symphony, written when he was only 15 (!), is like Mozart on steroids, eclipsing anything Mozart wrote in his early years.

I fell in love with the Piston 4th when I got the Schwarz recording 30 years ago, and it turned me on to his other music. It’s a bucket-list piece I hope to get a chance to hear live. Love all these other choices, too, including the Roussel and Goldmark.

Next: underrated critics.

I think out of Haydn's London symphonies No 97 & 99 have always been in the shadows. I tend to listen to the set in one go usually at least once a month and can honestly say there isn't a weak symphony there or out of the 104.

Perhaps all true. But: I so much missed the only symphony that guy wrote and is such a masterpiece: the Symphonie of Ernest Chausson. It's a kind in the style of Franck one, but also so different. And so beautiful. Heard it once by the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Michel Plasson. About Prokofiev 6: once performed by the Royal Concertgebouw and Gergiev. The audience (and I) were electrified. Hope they will issue that recording on cd.

Schubert’s 4th. It’s so tragic how rarely it’s performed

N'oubliez pas la symphonie de Paul Dukas ( surtout dans l'enregistrement de Jean Martinon). A mon avis, la plus scandaleusement négligée des symphonies de la fin du 19eme siècle.