What is the most SAD pieces for piano solo ?

[amirawad]

i have a concert , it is required to play sad pieces ,
I chosed
Chopin : Preludes no 7 and 20
Chopin Valse no 3

I want you to help me for choosing the rest of program

Thanks

[iumonito]

Chopin's preludes 4 and 6 are sad, 7 not so sad.

Can you play the slow movement of Schubert's last sonata?  Very sad.

Scarlatti sonatas in F minor (K 466) and b minor (K87)

Bach:  what about WTC 8/1 (prelude in eb minor) or 4/1 (prelude in c3 minor) or 24/1 (b minor)

And while we are at it, there are a couple of chorale preludes arranged by Busoni that are truly poignant.  'Nun komm der heiden Heiland'; 'Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ'

How can you ever be the same after you play that?

Chopin etudes op. 10 #6 and Op. 25 # 7 are pretty sad, but that's nothing compared, IMO to the second movement of Schumann's second sonata (notably, in a major key).

Now I need some Rossini so I can face the day.

[Siberian Husky]

Chopin Nocturne  Posthemous C Sharp Minor

"Poverty Stricken"

[teresa_b]

Brahms Intermezzo Op 118 no 6.

A sad, lonely and desolate melody, hauntingly beautiful.  The middle section is more heroic, but in the end resigns itself to despair.  (Difficult piece, the middle sectioon has some leaps, and the whole piece demands great control of the soft accompanying arpeggios to get the effect.  Worth it, though!)

Alternatively, Brahms Intermezzo Op 117 no 2.  A little easier but still challenging.  This piece is melancholy, but not desolate--more sweetly sad. 

Teresa

[xvimbi]

Liszt's Liebesträume No. 3 is devastatingly sad, but you have to recite the accompanying poem before you play to make that clear, as most people (pianists and listeners alike) think it's a romantic, lovely, almost giddy piece. Try that, I promise, you won't ever again see that many people swallowing dryly and with tears in their eyes when you sit down to play.

Check out a somewhat butchered, non-official translation of the poem to get an idea: https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,4784.0.html

[pianistimo]

that's very apt and very beautiful too.  i mean, if the person you love is still alive, there's a chance you can mend harsh words.  but, if they die suddenly without a kiss goodbye, or 'i love you' - the regret could be enormous.  i often think of this when my kids get in the car and i'm anxious for them to leave (so i can get something done) and the little one jumps back out and runs to hug me one last time or says 'i love you' and cries if the automatic door shuts and she doesn't get a kiss.

[mlsmithz]

Sad pieces eh?  Shostakovich specialised in those.  You might want to look at the Op.87 Preludes and Fugues, specifically No.16 in B-flat minor, No.18 in F minor, No.20 in C minor, and No.22 in G minor.  While some of the fugues are rather taxing, the preludes from those four pairs (No.16 less so than the other three) are also very downbeat (although No.18 and No.20 dispel the atmosphere in the final bars with major resolutions).  Then from the Op.34 Preludes, No.14 in E-flat minor and No.22 in G minor probably fit the bill.

[Souza]

Gluck/Sgambati  Melodie  and Adagio/ Albinoni - I had a  piano transcription.

{}sPedro

[hodi]

NOBODY REMINDED SCHUMANN PIECES!
*ANGRY* !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

schumann:
piano concerto
sonata no.2
fantasy in c major!!

almost all of schumann's music is sad

[phil13]

Let's take a look at what a good sad program might be:

I think you should include Chopin's Mazurka Op.17 No.4 and his Etude Op.25 No.7 (if you can, i take it you're not incredibly experienced if you're playing Chopin's preludes No.7 and 20.  )

In addition to that, Beethoven's 'Moonlight' Sonata might be right up your alley if you can manage not to butcher it like so many do. For that sonata, play just the first movement (again, judging by the pieces you listed).

Don't play Prelude No.7. It's not very sad, and it's so simple it's pathetic. Instead, play No.20 and Preludes Nos. 4 and 6 in E minor (incredibly solemn) and B minor.

Lastly, try Scriabin's Etude Op.2 No.1 in C# minor. Another great melancholy work.

So, let's put them in order:

Beethoven: Moonlight 1st movement
Chopin: Prelude No.4 in E minor
             Prelude No.6 in B minor
             Prelude No.20 in C minor
             Mazurka Op.17 No.4 in A minor
             Etude Op.25 No.7 in C# minor
             Waltz Op.34 No.2 in A minor           
Scriabin: Etude Op.2 No.1 in C#minor

That's pretty good-sized.

Phil

[Souza]

Another easy and sad  piano transcription:

Le Cygne (The Swan)--from "Carnival of the Animals".
https://www.sheetmusicarchive.net/dlpage_new.cfm?composition_id=797

{}s Pedro

[abell88]

Does your whole concert have to be sad pieces? It sounds...sad

[dinosaurtales]

Hm.  I dont' see the moonlight as particularly sad.  But op 110 seems very sad to me.  Lonely sad. 

[stevea]

Mozart's Rondo in A minor...

Here's a link to a great recording of it:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,11063.0.html

For a CD recording, I highly recommend Richard Goode's, simply titled, "Mozart".

[perfect_pitch]

In my books, the 3 saddest pieces could possibly be:

Chopin - Ballade No. 1 in g minor
Chopin - Nocturne in c minor Op 55 (I think)
Chopin - Posthomous Nocturne in c sharp minor

[sama]

I found chopin's nocturne in c# minor pretty sad too
I think the  Op 10 no 3 etude is sad, no matter it's major ^^ I feel some kind of ... sadness, or maybe is it just melancholy

And isn't rachmaninov prelude op 3 no 2 sad? (as wall as many others of his works)

[pseudopianist]

Without a doubt Bach Fugue from WTC Book 1 in C# minor.
Other then that, Chopins 10/3 etude

[paris]

besides that chopin nocturne c-sharp, ocean etude always makes me wanna cry. sounds so depressive...

and chopin e-minor concerto thema with chords in left hand...    

[rob47]

hahaha i just briefly scanned the responses, it seems EVERYONE mentions chopin.

which are the saddest pieces written for piano solo...hmmm..

here's a couple off the top of me's head

scriabin - etudeop.8 #5

Liszt - the climax of TE10, ballade #2

Beethoven - too many to name

[jeremyjchilds]

I find Brahms 118-2 to be sad....

Most people find it beautiful

I love it just as much as they do though...

[•ÇØM]

ocean etude always makes me wanna cry. sounds so depressive...

Oh my, I'm not the only one feels that way about this etude.

[bernhard]

Chopin op. 28 no. 2 and no. 4 are far sadder than no. 7 and no. 20 (imo)

Have a look here:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2287.msg19431.html#msg19431
(Melancholy and depressing pieces)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[nanabush]

Pavane pour une infante defunte I think sounds really sad..