Most underrated composer of 20th Century?

Schubert, out of curiosity, if time spent on listening to music is so precious why waste any of it posting opinions on the internet?

I'm thankful that I have no such constraints and can listen to most anything that interests me including stuff by Klami, Bantock, Ives, Massenet, ad infinitum, without guilt that I'm not listening (again) to one of the 'greatest composers' or 'greatest compositions' if I were even educated enough to know which ones these may be.

Perhaps ignorance can be bliss after all. :-)

Bifwynne, Mahler as background music! Shame on you!!!! You're going to get drummed out of the club. But so far as Mahler goes you've probably picked the best one. :-)

FWIW, in order to conserve time, I usually set aside listening to classical music for those times when I read. Kills two birds at one time, neither being a mockingbird. If the book is really good and I'm listening to merely 'good' music I'm not missing much I guess. If I find myself distracted I don't know whether its because the book is really boring, the music is better than just good, or I'm admiring what I have accomplished in putting together my audio system. Another mystery to solve!

I find it most difficult to read, though, when the music was originally composed for the solo piano by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Prokofiev, Schumann or Schubert. I do find it easy to read when the music is transcribed from orchestral works. In fact that is probably my favorite reading music.

Then there is sleeping music, Mozart, maybe at night. :-)

Brownsfan, Perhaps you don't see more of Britten's music in concert or over the radio is because of a general lack of interest. I have tried his music often but outside of a few like The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Four Sea interludes, The Prince of the Pagodas, and War Requiem little seems to have stuck.

Reaching for music from the British Isles I usually reach for Bax, Bridge,Stanford, Elgar(not so often), Walton, Vaughan Williams or Bantock. BTW,Chandos has some great audiophile recordings of orchestral music by Bantock which are more than just more cow(paddy)pasture music.

I do think that Bax and Vaughan Williams may be underrated. I love Tintagel.

I feel guilty about Britten but......