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At the interesting suggestion of JBiegel I am starting this thread. His idea for it appears near the end of the recent Schubert thread.

Here's one example that comes to mind. Beethoven disliked his 32 Variations in c minor(why I don't know)yet today they are almost universally praised and appear quite often in concert.

Are there other works that you can add to this list of liked/disliked works(by the composer of the work)?

For Chopin, obviously his early Sonata in c minor. Though assigned Op. 4, it remained unpublished until after his death. For pieces in his conventional oeuvre, though, I'd have to defer to those with greater knowledge than mine.

Ravel didn't like his Bolero and was very surprised at its success.

Tchaikovsky didn't like The Nutcracker.

Chopin didn't dislike it but he thought that the black key etude was insignificant.

Rachmaninoff's favorite piece that he wrote was "The Bells", which most people have never heard of, let alone heard. I lost my recording of it....

Ives claimed that his setting of Psalm 90 was his favorite work. It's also my favorite work of his, and it's a mystery to me why it's not performed more often.

I remember hearing that when Tchaikovsky wrote the "1812" and his "Serenade for Strings" that he wasn't overly fond of the 1812 and basically did it because he was obligated to (i.e. he was commissioned to) while he had great fondness for the Serenade.

Rachmaninoff grew to hate his Prelude in c# minor...

I'm getting there myself...

Are we speaking of works disliked because the composer felt them to be poorly written or because of runaway success? The Rachmaninov mentioned above, the Paderewski Minuet in G and the Liszt 2nd Rhapsody would fall into the latter category.

As for the Beethoven C minor Variations, I've always wondered if he made his disparaging remark with a twinkle in the eye, or perhaps after a few wines. Brahms destroyed some of his earlier works because he didn't feel them worthy. The great Eb minor Scherzo is undoubtedly from a sonata that must have dwarfed the F minor.

Finally, in delicious irony, Sullivan never cared much for his collaborations with W.S. Gilbert, yet he needed the income to support his lavish lifestyle. Sullivan was certain his sanctimonious church music and stillborn opera Ivanhoe would grant his immortality.

Gollerich's diary notes from his masterclasses with Liszt are full of disparaging remarks from Liszt concerning his own compositions. Reading it, it's hard to find anything of his own he had a good word for! Some examples:

Miserere after Palestrina, and Andante Lagrimoso - "Despised things, cast out and completely bad!"

Variations on "Weinen, Klagen..." - At the magnificent dreamy section, he said "Now it will get more and more boring. If you want to be poorly reviewed, you must play this. It will then be reported, 'The talent of the young artist cannot be denied - it is only regrettable that he hit upon such a terrible selection of pieces'. The whole thing is a posthumous work by Gottschalk, the composer of Le Bananier. I take a little pride in this passage in sixths" [bars 33-41]

He didn't like hearing his E major Polonaise - "No, I cannot listen to that anymore". And again - "Today it is inconceivable to me how someone is able to bring that to me: shame on you - everyone plays that today!"

Some good words for La Leggierezza - "That is not such a bad piece; in its day nothing like it had been heard or even written".

It's a great book, highly recommended.

I don't think Rachmaninov could've much liked his first Symphony after its premiere either!

In perhaps the most humbling case of all, Henri Dutilleux disowned a number of his early works, many of which are essentially masterpieces in the minds of most listeners, simply because they were too derivative from earlier composers.
How anyone could disown a flute and piano sonatine of that caliber is amazing, but his integrity is commendable!

Hovhaness was supposedly a man of great integrity, though he seems to have worked almost completely on automatic pilot. Most of what I've heard seems little more than modal noodling, though he is reportedly very popular with some folks in the States.

Beethoven didn't like too much his 32 variations in c minor, because it's leaning towards some 'Romantic' ideas (according to Rosen). but i love that piece.

But perhaps only because he was forced to play it so often, not because he thought it an inferior work.

Oh, absolutely, and that is why I don't like it either.

Beethoven disliked the popularity of "Moonlight" Sonata. He's been quoted as saying- "Everybody is always talking about the C Sharp Minor Sonata! Surely I have written better things. There is the Sonata in F Sharp Major(Opus 78)-That is something very different"

MacDowell thought so badly of his "To a wild rose" composition that he reportly threw it in the fire. His wife rescued it.

Beethoven told the publisher that the Sonata opus 22 "hat sich gewaschen." (Hope that's spelled right.) I think that means it is the cat's pajamas.

I've read that Chopin didn't want Fantasie Impromptu published because he felt he stole some melodies from Beethoven. I also read he wanted all of his unpublished works burned after his death. Good thing they weren't.

Saint-Saens didn't like Carnival of the Animals.
I heard Debussy too didn't like his famous Child's Corner suite...

Those old timers sure were averse to stardom and fame!

That's only what Saint-Saens said in public. Doesn't ring true. I think he secretly loved the satire and inside jokes behind this brilliant tour de force.