I dont consider popular composers to be underrated.
For symphonic works composers like George Lloyd, Malcom Arnold, Vagn Holmboe and Eduard Tubin are amazing great modern symphonists that dont get enough love but they do have a following, they just dont have the mainstream they deserve. Heitor Villa-Lobos is an amazing symphonist. Alfredo Casella is very underrated and so is Arnold Bax. Walton, Delius, there is plenty of composers out there that are great yet not mainstream, kind of obscure. For more solo and chamber/concertante music you've got the amazing Samuil Feinberg. But for my actual list i will list actual obscure composers
1.Alun Hoddinott - Not the best melodist for sure, the music is pretty unstructured, but interesting nonetheless.
2.Aubert Lemeland - A modern French conservative who is worth checking.
3.Eric Chisholm.
4.Carl Vine.
5.Viktor Kosenko.
Most overrated composers
1.Hans Zimmer - Good for impressionable people who didnt expand their taste.
2.Ludovico Einaudi - Just no.
3.Sergei Rachmaninoff - I just have never really felt the music. Mainly the orchestral stuff. The solo stuff is the only thing i remotely like.
I can't think of more.
Anyone who claims Brahms never innovated doesnt know a single thing about Classical music or Brahms either.
