Dismal Keys thro' Scented Dreams

[iphis]

besides Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, I found out there's not much classsical music that is in melancholy mood.
I wanted to practise some classical piece that's suitable for beginner...and hopefully, in a sad mood, since I prefer such songs.

PS: is Moonlight Sonata too harsh for a beginner anyway?

[kaveh]

Try Gnossiene no.4 by Satie.  Hauntingly lugubrious but really quite easy. (grade 3/4)

[bernhard]

Er… There are zillions of melancholic piano pieces (at all levels).

Have a look here, for instance:

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

For beginners try those (just tip of the iceberg):

Erik Satie – almost everything Satie wrote is melancholic, but his Gymnopedies and Gnossienes (especially no. 4) are particularly beautiful.

Edward MacDowell – “To a wild Rose”

Domenico Scarlatti – Sonata k 32 (a bit more advanced but manageable are k69, k 208 and k 213)

Robert Schumann – too many wonderfully melancholic pieces – on the beginner/intermediate level you can try: Album for the young op. 68 no. 1 (Melody), no. 16 (First loss), no. 21 (***), no. 35 (Mignon), no. 28 (Remembrance), and no. 30 (***) Bunte blatter op. 99 no. 1 (little piece), no. 4 (Album leaf I), no. 6 (Album leaf III) Album blatter op. 124 no. 8 (Leid Ohne end), no. 16 (Lullaby) Kinderszenen op. 15 no. 1 (From Strange lands and people), no. 7 (Traumerei), no. 13 (The poet speaks). 

Chopin – preludes op. 28 nos. 2, 4, 6, 15, 20.

Grieg – several of the lyric pieces (there are 68 of them) are on a melancholic mood. Amongst the easiest, see for instance op. 12 no. 1 (Arietta), op. 12 no. 3 (Watchman’s song), op. 47 no. 3 (Melody), op. 38 no. 3 (melody), op. 68 no. 5 (At the cradle).

Tchaikovsky – Album for the young op. 39 nos. 1 (Morning prayer), no. 7 (The sick Doll), no. 8 (The doll’s Burial), no. 21 (Reverie), and no. 24 (In Church)

Felix Mendelssohn – several of the Songs Without Words are very melancholic indeed, like op. 19 no. 2, op. 19 no. 6 (Venetian boat song), op. 30 no. 6 (Venetian boat song),

Sergei Prokofiev – amongst his “Children pieces” op. 65, try no. 5 (Regrets), no. 11 (Evening) and no. 12 (The Moon strolls in the meadow)

Amy Beach – Secrets, op. 25 no. 5

Robert Fuchs – Sad at heart, op. 47 no. 5

Enrique Granados – Dedication, op. 1 no. 1

Just the tip of the iceberg.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.