But what if?

[ai4i]

Been thinking of this for a while, but B.com has been down, so here goes:
We are all reminded constantly of the special roles in music that JS Bach, WA Mozart, and Lv Beethoven have played, but how would we feel if announcers were constantly talking about Georg Muffat, the great Antonio Salieri, and all of those wonderful works by Johann Hummel? How would it mold our views? I do not listen to Classical music stations from non-anglophone countries, but those stations do promote more of "their own" than the domestic stations we are used to hearing. RNW Classical is known for promoting Dutch composers, Voice of Russia has huge archives of Mighty Hand of Five material, and the Hungarian web station, Radio Bartok, well figure them out! We hear a lot of, possibly a disproportionate amount of, British and American composers, maybe only exceeded by the Germans, as well as foreign composers who spent time in or retired in the US.
Before I embraced classical music, my two favorite pieces were Beethoven's 9'th and Tchaikovski's 1812, but now they somewhat bore me from abusive airplay. When I want to hear something long and meditative, I seek out Hv Bingen or, for something newer, a Mahler symphony.
What are your oppinions, especially from those who are familiar with composers less well known on this side of the oceans?

[dai bread]

We get a very eclectic mix of composers on Radio NZ's Concert Program. Most of them are people I've never heard of, and I'm always surprised when the announcer gives their dates.

Mind you, I was surprised recently when an announcer gave the date of Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony as 1829. I hadn't realised he was that early. My knowledge isn't exactly encyclopaedic.

[ai4i]

Nice to read your new post after all these years.

RNZ Concert is a unique network.
Your marsupial neighbors to the west also have an interestibng presentation.

[Shapley]

We have periodic revivals of some old composers - Salieri enjoyed a brief one after 'Amadeus' was released.

Antonio Vivaldi is undergoing one now. His music was popular during his lifetime, but fell out of favour until the last century. Was it the quality of the music or just a successful campaign by fans that brought it back into favour? I suspect it was the quality of the music, but who can really say.

Interest in Mahler's symphonies is frequently attributed to Bernstein, who took a great interest in performing them during. Bernstein reportedly had much to with this attribution, as he gave himself credit for it.

J.S. Bach's works were reportedly also lesser played after his death. Perhaps this is the norm?

[DavidS]

J.S. Bach's works were reportedly also lesser played after his death. Perhaps this is the norm?

- It was Mendelssohn who was responsible for reviving interest in him and ensuring his popularity ever since.

[Shapley]

I have a hard time believing, for example, that Olivier Messianen's music will be viewed 150 years from now in the same light that Beethoven is viewed today. Yet, I think Beethoven will still be regarded as fondly.

I can't say what makes music last through the ages. As noted, it seems composers popular in their own time seem to settle into a somewhat obscure period after their death. Then, some of those worth reviving are revived, while others languish. Who knowns how many formerly-popular composers will find their revival in the years to come?

Salieri may yet see his day, but I don't think so. I've listened to some of his works, without knowing they were his, and I had to tune them out. I don't think better PR would have saved them.

I'm hoping Copland's 'The Tender Land' never suffers a revival in my lifetime...