The 10 Most Underrated Composers

When the discussion turns to music, one inevitable question is, "Who's your favorite composer?"  Mozart comes up a lot, Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky, and a number of others. But what about underrated composers. I was asked that question the other day, to which I replied, "I've been enjoying some of Arvo Pärt's music lately - and I really like Eric Whitacre's choral writing."  The blank look I got told me that was the wrong answer.  The look was followed by, "Oh...really?" I followed that with my love for Beethoven's symphonies, Handel's choruses, and how Mozart seemed to love torturing sopranos, and we were back on track.  The problem is, Pärt and Whitacre were fresh in my ears.  Ask me tomorrow, it'll probably be someone else. Two of the composers who made the list were surprises to me, but mainly because they are familiar names. Antonio Salieri and Ottorino Respighi. You can hear a movement from Respighi's Brazilian Impressions above. With that in mind, here are some underrated composers who more often than not to not get mentioned in that conversation, but deserve at least a listen. Read: The 10 Most Underrated Composers (Classic FM)