The Most Underestimated Symphony

[TheGSMoeller]

I once underestimated the length of Mahler's 3rd symphony.

[Karl Henning]

I once underestimated the length of Mahler's 3rd symphony.

Bet you were sorry!  0:)

[DavidW]

Bet you were sorry!  0:)

Why past tense?  He's still listening!

[jochanaan]

Not to flog the horse over Haydn, but I think there might be a subconscious assumption that any composer who wrote 104 symphonies, well, there must be a lot of chaff.  But that assumption is proven false by an investigation into the amazing variety and creative invention that abounds in the works themselves.  It is frankly an achievement that is quite astounding -- and one which, I think, is easy to underestimate since aside from, oh, maybe 20-25 works, the rest of the symphonies are hardly performed at all.

Also, the whole idea of what is a symphony changed not too long after Haydn's career was over.  Especially after Beethoven's Third, Haydn's symphonies might seem slight in comparison. 

So, I stand by my nomination of Haydn is one of the most underestimated of symphonists.

It used to be that lots of folks thought that Haydn was, well, less great with less heart or whatever makes a great composer than Mozart or Beethoven.  But in recent years such voices have become muted in the face of increasing acquaintance with more than just a few of the 104 and other works.  Papa Haydn once said that, due to his relative isolation at a minor nobleman's court, he had to become original.

I tend to think that the Franck symphony is underestimated.  It was very familiar at one point, but may be less so today; yet it's a beautifully constructed, masterfully crafted, powerful piece.  But I've heard a number of recordings that somehow fail to get at the essence of the symphony; either they're over-romanticized, or too fast or too slow or too metronomic or something.  I myself tend to think of Franck as the Belgian Bruckner; he has something of the same spiritual emphasis.

As for composers, I've heard lots of people dissing Dittersdorf, but from the one recording I heard over the radio, I wonder if that's a serious "misunderestimation."  (To paraphrase a Bush. )

[Daverz]

Why past tense?  He's still listening!

As much as I love the work, my favorite Mahler symphony, that last movement can seem interminable.

[vandermolen]

We love you, Jeffrey