Are there any little known composers that you love?

Erik Satie
Anders Koppel

are the first two that come to mind

@elbanditoroso, I was just about to say Satie : )

Satie is a longtime favourite of mine. I recently came across Thomas Bergersen and liked Empire of Angels

Looking through iTunes I don’t see a lot that would be obscure to a classical music lover.

Maybe this CD is the the best example. Or at least a favorite. I played bassoon as a teen so wind ensembles have a huge appeal for me.

Zurich Pro Arte Wind Quintet – French Wind Music
Jaques Ibert – Trois Pièces Brèves
Jean Françaix – Quintette
Georges Auric – Trio – Oboe; Clarinet; Bassoon
Arthur Honegger – Danse de la Chèvre
Darius Milhaud – Suite : La Cheninee Du Rois Rene

Olivier Messiaën – if you have an above-average sound system, give his Turangalîla- Symphonie a try. It will blow your socks (and maybe even your system) off!
Douglas Moore – his opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe should be performed more often, IMHO
Isaac Albénia – Iberia is one of my all-time favorite piano pieces, especially as played by the incomparable Alicia de Larrocha.
These are the first ones that come to mind. Perhaps Iberia is not considered “little-known”.

There are plenty of composers that I love. I don’t really know who’s little known. Who’s not little known? Is any of the classical composers well known among folks whose taste doesn’t run to classical music? I don’t even know if older music is included in school curricula any more.

Sorry, the correct spelling is Isaac Albéniz.

@Jeruba I hoped that by asking for music by little known composers I would be more likely to discover some gems I was unfamiliar with. It is quite subjective, what is well known to one person might be unknown to another and a popular composer might have produced a little played piece few had ever heard before. There are no wrong answers.

Who’s not little known?

For this question I skipped over anybody I think I could find in a typical orchestra’s program at least once per year or two.

Beethoven
Mozart
Bach
Schubert
Mahler
Tchaikovsky
Copland
Dvorak
Chopin
Handel
Haydn
Berlioz
Verdi
Brahms

And the opera
Rossini
Verdi
Mozart

I think most people would be familiar with at least a few melodies written by the guys above.

The first opera I saw in person was the Barber of Seville by Rossini. The overture started and I blurted out, “Hey, I know this! It’s from Bugs Bunny!”

Evgeny Khmara

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCbxTG2YHd8