Have you heard the whole oeuvre of a composer?

[Diletante]

Good evening.

Have you heard the whole oeuvre of a composer? Or of several composers?

I suppose 'whole oevure' can be interpreted in different ways, including or excluding incomplete works, arrangements made by the composer, etc. Feel free to follow your own definition, I guess.

Maybe another interesting question would be:

Do you listen to the whole oeuvre of a composer regularly?

'Regularly' could be at least once a year, I don't know...


----------------------------


I haven't heard the whole oeuvre of any composer. I think Chopin is the composer whose works I'm most acquainted with.

[Homo Aestheticus]

Sure... Webern.

[Todd]

Yep, Webern and Decaux.  Good stuff in both complete cases.  I don't believe I listen to all of Webern's works every year, but I listen to a good chunk on a regular basis.  Decaux's easy to listen to in his entirety.

[Gurn Blanston]

Well, if you define it as including incomplete works and transcriptions, then I have heard (and more than once) the "whole oeuvre" of Mozart and Beethoven. Several times each. One day I will be able to say the same about Haydn, but they haven't all been recorded yet...

If we were limiting it to the entire chamber music oeuvre, then I could add Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Dvorak, but I guess that's cheating.



----------------
Listening to:
Bach JC Sinfonia Concertantes - Budapest Strings / Banfalvi - Bach JC Sinf Concertante in F  Op T287 #2 1st mvmt

[Todd]

One day I will be able to say the same about Haydn, but they haven't all been recorded yet...

If recording budgets allow, maybe even by the end of 2009.

[Gurn Blanston]

If recording budgets allow, maybe even by the end of 2009.

That would be super. I've been waiting for years!   The current "big box" has the first complete set of the baryton trios. I will buy it (my first "big box") just for that. Maybe the next one will have the string trios and....



----------------
Listening to:
Bach JC Sinfonia Concertantes - Budapest Strings / Banfalvi - Bach JC Sinf Concertante in F  Op T287 #2 1st mvmt

[Bu]

No. I would like to hear everything by Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, but my taste tends to get distracted by other composers works. Later when I return to the big three's music, previous pieces that have brought enjoyment usually get spinned. *sigh*

Maybe someday I'll finally cross home plate and knock 'em all in.

[greg]

Yep, Webern and Decaux.  Good stuff in both complete cases.  I don't believe I listen to all of Webern's works every year, but I listen to a good chunk on a regular basis.  Decaux's easy to listen to in his entirety.

Mwahahah me too
and include Varese..... and Barraque... maybe a few others that i can't remember right now.

[greg]

No. I would like to hear everything by Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, but my taste tends to get distracted by other composers works. Later when I return to the big three's music, previous pieces that have brought enjoyment usually get spinned. *sigh*

Maybe someday I'll finally cross home plate and knock 'em all in.

Good luck with that. Did you know they haven't even recorded all of Prokofiev's works yet?

[Bu]

Good luck with that. Did you know they haven't even recorded all of Prokofiev's works yet?

Learn somethin' new everyday 'round these parts. 

[Lethevich]

In addition to the other obvious less-than-5-disc-discographies: Ruggles.

It is possible to hear all of Tallis' (surviving) music cheaply thanks to the Brilliant Classics reissue of the wonderful Signum recordings.

[some guy]

Yeah, but then they write more stuff.

I just can't keep up. (Oh, right. You meant dead composers, only. Well, I've heard everything by Luc Ferrari that's been recorded. (LP and CD.) Plus a few things live. One of those featured Luc at the CD mixer and William Winant drums. That was good times.)

[CRCulver]

Using the definition that the "whole oeuvre" means the set of works recognized by the composer, excluding those supressed as juvenalia, I've heard Ligeti's whole oeuvre. The Gyorgy Ligeti Edition on Sony and The Ligeti Project on Warner Classics collects all the works he wished to preserve. Throw in a recording of the variant arrangement of "Ramifications" and you've pretty much got his entire recognized output.

[Wanderer]

obvious less-than-5-disc-discographies

Good one.

Disregarding these, Bach and Beethoven (the complete -?- Brilliant and DG editions respectively). Sibelius too, as fast as the BIS edition is being issued.
I also have every recorded work by Medtner (that I'm aware of) but, as far as completeness goes, there's still no plan on sight by any label to record his (more than a hundred) lieder/songs, a decisive step towards recording his opera omnia. Looks like a job for Hyperion once their Richard Strauss project is completed.

[greg]

Mwahahah me too
and include Varese..... and Barraque... maybe a few others that i can't remember right now.

actually, now that i think about it, i'm pretty sure that's it.
But when I get that complete Stravinsky set.........  0:)