Major works absent from your collection?

[prémont]

Yup.

Or pianos, mostly.

Or vocal/choral/masses/songs, in the main.

Well, I'm a lover of piano music in general and as to masses and songs I particularly favor the medieval and early renaissance periods, while I find Italian late renaissance less inspiring eg. Palestrina, who isn't represented in my collection.

[Spotted Horses]

You'll get countless recommendations for this, surely. Mine is Maurice Gendron. If it were on cassette tapes, I would have had to replace them a number of times already! 🙂

I still remember the feeling of fascination and astonishment when I first stumbled on those pieces, in Fournier's recording.

[DavidW]

Due to streaming, I think I'll pivot away from talking about my collection to talking about my listening habits.  What are the holes in my listening?  I would say early music and early baroque.  Also opera.  The latter is due to wanting to watch it while I listen.  I'm slowly starting to move away from that since it is so limiting.

[foxandpeng]

Well, I'm a lover of piano music in general and as to masses and songs I particularly favor the medieval and early renaissance periods, while I find Italian late renaissance less inspiring eg. Palestrina, who isn't represented in my collection.

I'm keen to explore early medieval vocal works, but at this stage know very little about it. Not a surprise, really.

[JBS]

Mine:
Lieder, outside of Schumann and Schubert among the Germans* and Berlioz, Debussy, and Ravel among the French, I have very little: voice with piano doesn't appeal to me, and when I want it what I have now is enough to satisfy me. (Voice with orchestra is a very different thing.)

Post WWII non-tonal music: have Boulez and Ligeti (and Stravinsky and much of Schonberg and Skalkattos) but again much of that type does not work for me, and what I have suffices. Also, when exploring modern music, I prefer living composers, with the result that the 1990s and 2000s are much better represented in my collection than the 1950s-1980s once you delete Shostakovich, Barber,  Britten, Arnold, and RVW.

*I suppose I should insert Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn in there, but does anyone think lieder were an important segment of their work?

[Florestan]

Mine:
Lieder, outside of Schumann and Schubert among the Germans* and Berlioz, Debussy, and Ravel among the French

You need Wolf and Faure.

[JBS]

You need Wolf and Faure.

I've tried a few recordings of the Spanisches/Italienisches Liederbuch: they all bore me.

I'll take Faure into consideration. It occurred to me as I write this that I do have Poulenc as well.

[Florestan]

I've tried a few recordings of the Spanisches/Italienisches Liederbuch: they all bore me.

Well, then Wolf is not your cup of tea. No problem at all if you ask me. Perhaps Carl Loewe instead?

[JBS]

Well, then Wolf is not your cup of tea. No problem at all if you ask me. Perhaps Carl Loewe instead?

Maybe someday...
But as I said, it's genre itself.
I listen to it for the sake of variety, but voice and piano don't usually do anything for me.

[Florestan]

Maybe someday...
But as I said, it's genre itself.
I listen to it for the sake of variety, but voice and piano don't usually do anything for me.

Oh, I see. Well, still no problem at all if you ask me. De gustibus...

[Florestan]

I have no Verdi and no Puccini in my collection (other than the string quartets) and that isn't likely to change.

No oroblem at all, Ray. AFAIC, you're still my friend. 😍

[Jo498]

Mine:
Lieder, outside of Schumann and Schubert among the Germans* and Berlioz, Debussy, and Ravel among the French,

...

*I suppose I should insert Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn in there, but does anyone think lieder were an important segment of their work?

Reasonably important in Beethoven (and quite important in Brahms), I'd say, there is also RWV and some other early 20th century Brits as well as  Grieg, Mussorgsky, Sibelius; the last two have some songs with orchestra (sometimes arranged by later musicians).
But it is understandable; I'd probably listen to far less Lieder if most were in French or Russian or another language I don't (or only barely) understand.

[Todd]

I fancy opera but own almost no bel canto opera recordings (though I suppose one can quibble with definitions), no French grand operas except for those by Berlioz, and none at all from the periods prior to Mozart.

Aside from core German and French composers (and Szymanoswki), I own little in the way of song recordings.

I own very few recordings from Darmstadt composers.  I am not a masochist.

[Florestan]

Reasonably important in Beethoven

I beg to differ. Vocal music was not Beethoven's forte and when it comes to Lieder he's a nobody. Forget Schubert and Schumann, even Loewe is superior to him in this respect.

[Florestan]

it is understandable; I'd probably listen to far less Lieder if most were in French or Russian or another language I don't (or only barely) understand.

I barely understand German yet Lieder is one of my favorite genres. 😁

[Jo498]

I beg to differ. Vocal music was not Beethoven's forte and when it comes to Lieder he's a nobody. Forget Schubert and Schumann, even Loewe is superior to him in this respect.

Of course Beethoven's instrumental music dwarves his vocal pieces, nevertheless he wrote three of the most important vocal works of the last few hundred years (Fidelio, Missa solemnis, 9th symphony) and his lieder are much better than their reputation (which is not that bad, almost every major male lieder singer recorded at least a one disc anthology of them).
He wrote what was probably the first real song cycle ("An die ferne Geliebte", there might have been predecessors a bit earlier but they are mostly forgotten) and many more very good ones. Including more than 100 arranged from scottish/irish/other folk songs with trio accompaniment.

[Florestan]

he wrote three of the most important vocal works of the last few hundred years (Fidelio, Missa solemnis, 9th symphony)

I"ll give you the 9th as important, but the other two were rather inconsequential. The Missa was neither the first nor the last of its kind and Fidelio... we already had this discussion.

[Florestan]

He wrote what was probably the first real song cycle ("An die ferne Geliebte"

Which means nothing more than mere precedence. The great Schubert and Schumann cycles are miles ahead.

[Brian]

Is this "Unpopular Opinions"? 

[Florestan]

more than 100 arranged from scottish/irish/other folk songs with trio accompaniment.

Haydn did it long before Beethoven.