Most Underrated, Forgotten, and Neglected Masterpieces

For once I am full agreement with you.

Rather twenty minutes of inspired, if bombastic, piano concerto than two hours of declamatory, if pompous, vocal music!

Oh, come on. Liszt was related to him by marriage and treated appallingly by him.

I think Troyen means the great Wagner (whom he knows I admire most).

However, to call this unique mind's music "declamatory, if pompous, vocal music" is a very superficial reading of his great Opus. Anyway, Wagner's music is much more than Vocal, Choral or Symphonic; it is the Gesamtkunstwerk (the total or comprehensive art work). Some analysts in the past have called his "works" huge Symphonies with voices. What they practically wanted to say is that the voices (soloists or Chorus) are part of the whole score with equal value of presence.

Finally, the influence of Wagner to his contemporaries (see Bruckner, Mahler, Pfitzner, etc.) and mostly to practically any composer of the future (R. Strauss, Shostakovich, Respighi, etc.), in one or the other way and to a high or not degree, indicates that his music was much more than declamatory or pompous.

Parla

Total or comprehensive art works are they? Where's the dance, for a start?

Personally, I prefer my symphonies huge but to last a tad less than 3 hours.

I always wondered why Pfitzner was crap for the most part, now I know.

The others that you cite merely improved on the source, although it would be interesting to know where you find the influences in Shostakovich.

There's a disc of orchesterlieder sung by Begemann with the Nordwestdeutsche Philhamonie under Tausk on CPO and his violin concerto is worth the occasional airing.

I've come across nothing else of note, as yet.

Final part of Maria de Rudenz.

This, I can hear, will only end in tears.

I'm not surprised if you call Wagner "the self-important monster of Western Art music, provided you "only end in tears" after listening Maria di Rudenz. It's pity, but it's a fact (for you), I admit. However, there is a huge variety of people since the appearance of Wagner who thought and keep thinking otherwise.

As for Pfitzner, there is enough Chamber Music and a group of Lieder worth exploring.

For Shostakovich, just explore his orchestration, his direct quote of the Funeral March of "Gotterdammerung" in the final movement of Symphony no. 15 and so on.

Parla

Troyen, I didn't dare to tell you before that when I came across the Donizetti on the ORF site, that I posted you about, I was actually looking for something quite different, Thielemann in the Wagner Ring from the Staatsoper, being broadcast this week and next.  By the way, no dance in Wagner?  Try Die Meistersinger Act III (Dance of the Apprentices).