Any "sinister" sounding pieces?

[NetherMagic]

Can anyone suggest to me any pieces that sound very "sinister"-like and is also good?  I listened to Mephisto Waltz the other day and yes the start was pretty evil but then afterwards it was just waltzy and not that much of an evil feeling

All suggestions welcome, thank you.

[amee]

Liszt's Totentanz starts off very sinister-like, but its a piano concerto and very difficult.  I enjoy listening to it on recordings.

[Black_Key]

Chopin wrote some pieces that sound a little sinister, lesse....there's Etude Op.25 No.10; Preludes Op. 28 Nos. 2 (possibly), 8 (maybe), 16 and 22; and perhaps his posthumous Waltz in E minor.

[BuyBuy]

Liszt "Unstern", or his "Danse Macabre" from Saint-Saens are pretty sinister.

Check out Ravel "Scarbo", from "Gaspard de la nuit". Quite terrifying.

One of Scriabin last prelude is good too. I forgot the number, and I think it has no tonality, but the label is "Lugubre".

[Ktari]

Le Gibet is also creepy (also Ravel, Gaspard de la Nuit)... *shudder*!! And one of Scriabin's latest etudes

[allchopin]

heres two perfect ones:
1) chopin's prelude #24 (EXCELLENT one)
2) his etude #12 Op. 25 (good, very hard tho)

[ghgjff]

In my mind, Fantasie-Impromptu has a sinister sound to it.

[Irock1ce]

Scriabin has some pretty evil sounding music.... beginning of sonata #5 gives me the creeps..

[dinosaurtales]

Does it need to be really dark and creepy sounding?  If not, I always thought that the last movement of Schubert's sonata in c minor had a *devilish* flavor.

[NetherMagic]

BuyBuy i listened to Danse Macabre and that one is definately evil, especially with the dissonant 2-note repetitions of the string instrument (violin i believe) right at the start

and ghgff, i listen to fantaisie-impromptu at least once every 2 days and nothing of even a glimpse of sinister feeling has ever popped up when i listened to it    well its just probably my personality, but perhaps you would like to say which part you think is sinister?  Because i can't seem to find any unless you are referring to the starting motive, the really hasty one

Dinosaur Tales I havent' listened to your suggested piece yet but yes I'd prefer if the entire song was very sinister and enjoyable at the same time (without too much disonance (some dissonance is okay of course) to make it sound altogether crappy and annoying)

anyways thx for all your suggestions ppl keep'em comin!

[jennbo]

moonlight sonata the third movement...
well only the first couple of measures but it still sounds sinisteryish

[zoolander]

Liszts Dante Sonata from the second book of Anees de Pelerinage.

You could also check out his Ballad in B minor

[ned]

The opening of Scriabin's Sixth Sonata gives me the creeps, and his Prelude op 67 no1 is very sinister.

This type of music is like a draft of dank air from a crypt or mausoleum.

Ned

[ayahav]

1: as far as i know there is no difference between liszt's totentanz and danse macabre - they are the same thing, aren't they? their names mean the same thing at least....

2. They is a third movement of a beethoven sonata entitled "Marcia Funebre sulla morte d'un eroe", which is not terribly hard, but very sinister... Also the coda to Chopin's first ballade. Brahms' first piano concerto (in d minor) starts VERY devillishly..... good luck....

[NetherMagic]

ayahav thx for your suggestions, i'll be lookin for that beethoven one =]

side note iunno the meaning of danse macabre nor totenanz but i listened to both of them and they are completely different, but i must agree both sound really sinister and really good =]

[frederic]

ayahav:
You are exactly right. Liszt's Totentanz is also called Danse Macabre and they both mean "Dance of Death".
But there is another Danse Macabre that is associated with Liszt.
This is the Danse Macabre Saint-Saens wrote for orchestra with violin solo.
But Liszt liked this very much so he TRANSCRIBED this for solo piano.
So these people here are probably saying about both them and i certainly agree that they both are very sinister sounding.

Though I would like to suggest some other pieces. The late Liszt works are all, i think, or at least most are sinister.
Try having a go at Czardas Macabre by Liszt. That one is a favourite.
I would just like to add that Totentanz, as Liszt is passionate about transcriptions, also transcribed this from the piano and orchestra version to a solo piano piece. It won't hurt to try, it though it is much harder than the version with piano and orchestra, and as that is difficult already....well you'll just have to try....

[frederic]

I was just thinking maybe some late Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody would do good too.... Ahh...lets face it.... Liszt's music are mostly all evil sounding.
Also try some modern music. Schoenberg, Bartok (1st piano concerto   ), Prokofiev, Debussy, Shostakovich... There's just too much.

[amee]

How about Scriabin's Ninth Sonata (The Black Mass)?  It was composed in "a fit of sinister inspiration".  The nearly  insane Scriabin feared his composition so much he would not touch it.

I like Horowitz's recording of this Sonata.

Also listen to Scriabin's Fifth Sonata; it is another dark piece.

[R.Q.]

Brahms 1st or 2nd Concerto (I don't remember) which is very creepy, but like everyone else I think Scriabin was the creepiest. Creepy person, creepy music...

~ Young Virtuoso

[xenon]

a creepy person was Gesualdo (medieval or so).  he executed his wife for cheating on him, and he suspended a baby from a cradle off a tower, and shook it violently every now and then, because it resembled someone he didnt like.  his music is also fairly morbid.

as for music, Chopin's Revolutionary Etude (op 10 no 12) is fairly sinister.  its very fast for the LH, and sounds cool.  its also in c minor

[eddie92099]

The Liszt Funerailles is quite sinister and also try parts of the second movement of Prokofiev's 7th sonata (before the return of the main theme at the end). I would have to say the most sinister piece is Le Gibet from Gaspard by Ravel (has anyone read the poem it is based on?),
Ed

[ravel]

want to listen to sinister souding pieces???
well listen to debussy (preludes, images, etudes, estampes, i love pagodes from estampes, its one of the most exotic pieces written by him or any oher composer, then there is "The island of joy " his suite for piano, the toccata has a very mysterious middle section,   then his la plus que lente, amazingly sinister, so many of his piano pieces are sinister)
listen to ravel (gaspard de la nuit, mirroirs, jeux d eau, even his valses nobles et sentimentalis can be called sinister, and the piano version of his la valse is definitely amazing, his sonata for violin and piano , lots of ravel is sinister)
well listen to prokofiev (his sonatas, specially his war sonatas, no.6,7,8    the first movmenet of his sonata 8 is so sinister(whew tired of using that word),  his piano concerto no.2 ,even 3 and , definitely 5, sinisterrrrrrrrrrr)
schoenbergs pieces for piano are obviously sinister cuz of theier serialism and atonality, they rae masterpieces , only quite difficult to understnd,
and i think griegs"to spring"  is quite mysterious,
messiaen's piano piecs are very strange and myssterious,
i havent heard sorabji much, but whateve listttle i have heard, seems to be quite strange,
barbers piano concerto , and so many other pieces, if i start naming, i ll not end this post, so well in short classical music is fulll of sinister pieces, right now this is all i can nameeee
anywazzz enjoy listneing to those sinsitster pieces
sahir

[eddie92099]

Actually I don't know if anyone knows it but the 6th and final improvisation in the third act of Berg's opera "Wozzeck" is extremely sinister because of the context...
Ed

[ravel]

the whole of wozzeck is strange,   but i thought we were taling of piano pieces here
anyway ar eu talking of the ring a ring a roses part of wozzeck, thats how it ends right???/

[ravel]

damn these smileys come from no where haha

[eddie92099]

Yes that's right ravel, but I think that is sinister in context, after the boy's mother has just died and he cannot understand this,
Ed

[trunks]

Chopin has some sinister stuff:
- Sonata in Bb minor, Op.35, finale
- Nocturne No.7
- Polonaises No.2 ('Siberian Revolt'); No.5

And Liszt:
- The introductory sections of some of his
 Hungarian Rhapsodies: 2, 12, 13, 14, 15
- Il Penseroso from Annees de pelerinage II- Italie

[ravel]

you really think hungarain rhapsodies sound sinister??
thats weird ,,
i dont think they sound sinister maybe exceptthe 19th one, or i dont know its one of the last ones .

[trunks]

Hi ravel,

On the Hungarian Rhapsodies, I was referring solely to the opening sections.

[schnabels_grandson]

Rachmaninoff's Trio Elegiaque in D minor is quite weird in it's entirety, the beginning of the first movement especially.

[MikeLauwrie]

Well Rachmaninoff's C#m Prelude for a start.

Also if you don't mind playing part of something: Mussourgsky's Catacombs from Pictures at an Exhibition (make sure you get the Horowitz version).

[faulty_damper]

Sinister sounding:
Maybe Alkan's Scherzo Diabolique.  "Diabolical Joke".  Actually, it's more menacingly curious than sinister.

[donjuan]

Prokofiev's "suggestion Diabolique" is tempestuous without a doubt, but it lacks the melody or structure of Liszt's Totentanz for solo performance.  

Liszt's transcription of saint Saens Danse Macabre is, like mentioned before, very good as well.

[DarkWind]

I would have to say the most sinister piece is Le Gibet from Gaspard by Ravel (has anyone read the poem it is based on?),
Ed

I have! You can also find them in English here : https://www.russischeschule.com/Ravel.htm

As for sinister? Hmmm. Bartok's Allegro Barbaro always sounded to me like if it had a hint of sinister, though its more like anger felt piece. You decide. Also, no one mentioned Mazeppa, the fourth Transcendental Etude? It's a story about a Polishman being executed and tied to a wild horse which goes rampant. Kind of sinister if you ask me. Of course, as everyone else mentioned before me, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit is as sinister as it is difficult. Just taking a glance at Le Gibet makes me shudder! Massive chords. Also, the Toccata from Le Tombeau de Couperin is kind of sinister, although it's more of a mysterious, brooding, type. As well as... wait a minute... No one mentioned Liszt's one and only Sonata?? That's about as sinister as you can get! Anyways, Brahm's Ballade No. 3 has a pretty sinister feel to it, for the most part.

Well, that's all I can think of for now!

[donjuan]

Hi DarkWind,
You should have mentioned Liszt's "Apre's une lecture du Dante" which is also a sonata.  Also the less known "Grosses Konzertsolo" is sinister.  Also Czardas Macabre.
donjuan  

[DarkWind]

According to my copy of the score, it's a "fantasia quasi sonata", or fantasia, almost a sonata. Its ALMOST a sonata, but not a sonata according to the composer's terms. That's why I didn't mention it, since it's not officially a sonata.

[donjuan]

I believe you are correct.  Thank you for correcting me.  I just mentioned it because I thought it was very sinister.
donjuan

[shoenberg3]

If not limited to Piano music, Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire is definitely sinister. Also no. 15 (The Crow) in Winterrese by Schubert is hauntingly sinister; I can't listen to these two pieces at night!

[belvoce]

There is a really sinister piece by Debussy, but I can't remember it's name..

If vocal music can count, Schubert's 'Der ErlKonig' is really creepy...especially if listened to alone at night....

[edouard]

Hello
i'll try to mention pieces not mentioned until now.
I think sinister pieces are not necessarily 'virtuoso' but some are.
So we could have
(a) debussy's 'ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest' prelude, which i think is sinister and vicious, and beautiful and quite unique compared to other Debussy pieces
(b) Scriabin's Etude 3 of op65 (the last opus of etudes). Its great fun to play if you master the jumps and the fourths make it sounds sinister (especially the section not in double notes) and quite crazy and it is surprising how you get used to his late way of writing
(c) Liszt: nuages gris, and yes why not totentanz  and Saint Saens Transcription
(d) Transcription of Mussorgsky/Rimsky night on bald mountain. most sinister of all!! I'm doing a transcription of it right now; but would be most curious if any of you have one or know of a published version to compare thoughts. Interestingly, Mussorgsky originally conceived it as a concerto piece.
(e) why not 'Mars' out of holst's planets. I'm sure that would sound sinister

regards,
edouard

[comme_le_vent]

alkan's prelude - the mad woman at the seashore is VERY creepy - a scary tune repeated psychotically over and over - easy to learn, but VERY effective.

[wanderer]

What about Rodion Shchedrin-basso ostinato, pretty "sinister" isn't it; or Diabolic suggestions by Prokofiev

[ravel]

well if  u count vocal music, then shoenbergs erwartung definitely gives me the creeps,
it seriously is like  a nightmare, which is what it means.

[ravel]

debussy s prelude to afternoon of a fawn sounds sinister as well both in orchestral and piano reduction.

i also found the first movement from barbers piano concerto quite mysterious.

[verwel]

Hi there, I don't want to be the bad guy here, but can anyone explain why any of Liszt's music could sound "sinister"?
His music just isn't good enough, especially when it is meant to sound 'sinister'. Then it often is soooo bad, that it can't do anything other than cause laughter. Anyway, that is just one other personal view....
Having had the opportunity  to follow the finals of the singing competition "Reine élisabeth" last week, I saw how less objectivity music listening allows.....

[donjuan]

Hi there, I don't want to be the bad guy here, but can anyone explain why any of Liszt's music could sound "sinister"?
His music just isn't good enough, especially when it is meant to sound 'sinister'. Then it often is soooo bad, that it can't do anything other than cause laughter. Anyway, that is just one other personal view....

Hi, bad guy! jk.  Liszt was among the first to play diabolically.  He had the ability of making the audience believe he was the devil.  Liszten to such works as Totentanz, Czardas Macabre, or Unlucky Star: Disaster.  These pieces, if you pay the right attention to, will seem perverse and disturbing at times.  I dont know what you mean when you say his music isn't good enough.  By whos standards?  THe only thing that really matters in the end is the impact on an audience.  

donjuan  

[Beet9]

Rach's prelude op. 23 no. 3 in d minor is creepy.  It reminds me of a haunted house or something.

[Beet9]

Oh- i forgot - Scherzo diabolique from the 12 etudes in minor keys by Alkan is pretty sinister.  Well, it's diabolical!

[JK]

Liszts' transcendental study number 10 in F minor (untitled) is pretty scarey!!

[liszmaninopin]

Prokofiev:

first and second movements of the eighth sonata
toccata

Chopin:

Nocturne op. 9 #1

Rachmaninoff:

Etudes op. 39 #1, 2, 6, 7 (the whole op. 39 set has at least some degree of darkness or intensity)

Scriabin:

Sixth Sonata