SPF: Ravel vs. Grieg vs. R. Strauss vs. Elgar vs. Rachmaninoff

[MN Dave]

 

[Brahmsian]

Interesting combination there, Dave! 

[MN Dave]

Neglected or underrated composers?

[Brahmsian]

Neglected or underrated composers?

I don't think any of these are.  Perhaps Grieg is the most underrated of this group.

[karlhenning]

Interesting clump of five, Dave . . . for me, Grieg, R. Strauss & Elgar aren't even in the running (compared to Ravel or Rakhmaninov) . . . and to decide between Ravel and Rakhmaninov is a Gordian knot.

I suppose I must vote Rakhmaninov.

Of course, it's just a Silly Poll . . . .

[MN Dave]

Ravel and Rach rock. 

[rappy]

For me only Ravel and Strauss are in the running, and still, when comparing these 2, my choice is clear: Strauss.

[Sergeant Rock]

Strauss for me. Rach and Elgar are in the second tier...both among my favorite composers. Ravel and Grieg are also rans.

Sarge

[Brahmsian]

I'm the same as Rappy (toss up between Ravel and Strauss).  In the end, it's Strauss.

[MN Dave]

Quite interesting to me these results...

[Brian]

Boy, I do find this difficult as well. Elgar is definitely in fifth, and Strauss and Grieg are sort of dark horses - especially Grieg - but it really boils down to Rach vs. Ravel for me. I think I listen to Rach more, and get a ton of pleasure from Rach's piano music and Third Concerto, but Ravel might be closer to my own personality and spirit.

[Todd]

Strauss for opera, otherwise Ravel wins.

[Scarpia]

I don't think any of these are.  Perhaps Grieg is the most underrated of this group.

Grieg is clearly the most overrated.  How many substantial pieces by Grieg are really worth listening to?  The Piano Concerto, Peer Gynt maybe, then, hmmm, that's it, right?  A couple of violin sonatas if you want to be charitable.

[Cato]

Rachmaninov must be taken more seriously as an opera composer: The Miserly Knight is a masterpiece which should be performed more often, although who is our modern-day Chaliapin?

Outside of opera, these are not to be forgotten: The Bells, one of the greatest choral  symphonies of the 20th Century.  And Isle of the Dead!

Despite the above, I must give the edge to Richard Strauss and mainly for one nearly perfect work:  Elektra.

[Brian]

How many substantial pieces by Grieg are really worth listening to?

Ah, but that is where the difference lies! Aside from his substantial pieces - and I would list those as Peer Gynt, Piano Concerto, last two violin sonatas, Symphonic Dances, the piano Holberg Suite, and nearly all the orchestral songs / choral works - Grieg was the only composer of the five to bring any of his talents to bear on the realm of the miniature (exception: "Polka de V.R."). Elgar's miniatures are negligible trifles, Ravel didn't really write (m)any, and the idea of Strauss writing miniatures is a laugh. But Grieg's are little pure slices of heaven.

I did vote for Ravel, true. But Grieg wasn't last place on my ballot. Simplicity and wit are not easy things for composers to do.

[karlhenning]

Argh, Cato reminds me that I really, really need to attend to the operas of both Rakhmaninov and R. Strauss.

[Luke]

It's an easy choice as Ravel is one of my very favourite composers - no one to touch him, for me, in this poll. But aside from my personal preference for his precise, perfect but profound soundworld - and I could go on about it all day! - there's also the fact (or so it seems to me) that he's alone among these composers in producing not a single dud - even the pieces he rejected, such as the exam-pieces he wrote for the Prix de Rome or the Serenade Grotesque are exquisitely fine music. His small oeuvre is a real jewel which, to me, is one of the finest things music has to offer.

[mc ukrneal]

It's an easy choice as Ravel is one of my very favourite composers - no one to touch him, for me, in this poll. But aside from my personal preference for his precise, perfect but profound soundworld - and I could go on about it all day! - there's also the fact (or so it seems to me) that he's alone among these composers in producing not a single dud - even the pieces he rejected, such as the exam-pieces he wrote for the Prix de Rome or the Serenade Grotesque are exquisitely fine music. His small oeuvre is a real jewel which, to me, is one of the finest things music has to offer.

Really?!? Fascinating. He was my easy first cut!! Profound soundworld is not what comes to my mind on Ravel - although it's not so much that I dislike him, but rather I just like the others so much more. I am really surprised that so many people put him so high. Perhaps you (and anyone else who is interested) could go a little deeper into what attracts you to him? I have four discs with orchestral pieces on two and piano on the other two. Perhaps I am missing something in his chamber pieces (although chamber is not always my faborite)? I've even played Bolero, so he is not exactly foreign to me either. I'm not trying to knock those who like him, just want to better understand what it is I may be missing.

[MN Dave]

I'm not trying to knock those who like him, just want to better understand what it is I may be missing.

You are obviously missing any musical sensibility and are therefore insane. 

[mc ukrneal]

You are obviously missing any musical sensibility and are therefore insane. 

Thankfully for me then, that wasn't a choice!