Music of Power

[donjuan]

Which piece of music do you think is the most powerful?  emotionally or physically?  For me, Prokofiev's Toccata Op.11, Liszt- Totentanz, or Chopin's "Winter Wind" etude come to mind.
Let's hear some more!

donjuan  

[Antnee]

Liszt definitley comes to mind... As well as Beethoven

Liszt'z Transcendental Etude Mazeppa is pretty powerful. Beethoven's  Emperor concerto is very electrifying. Hmm... The first part of Rossini's overture to William Tell is powerful with the downward chromatic scales. Chopin's Revolutionary etude as well and his 16th prelude.  

-Tony-

[DarkWind]

Ravel's La Valse. When I play this, I feel powerful beyond words. Also, Transcendental Etudes 6. Vision, 7. Eroica, and 8. Wild Jagd are chock full o' power.

[Rach3]

Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, op. 43; the coda of the finale. In Rachmaninoff's manuscript he had inscriped "Hallelujah" in Russian over one of the final bars, I think the one with the descending muted trumpet figure.

Close runners-up include the Mahler symphonies (esp. "Reserruction", fifth movement, the 'wrath of God' part); Beethoven symphonies (scherzo from 5th, finale from 9th); and Rachmaninoff 3rd piano concerto, all of it.

And some Chopin solo piano pieces, espcially the fourth ballade.

Brahms f minor piano quintet, scherzo and finale. WOW!

I feel rather stupid for adding this, but "Ride of the Valkyres" certainly qualifies somewhere.

Liszt b-minor sonata.

Brahms third sonata.

Rachmanioff second sonata.

Tchaikovsky 5th symphony.

More to be added later.

(PS: I really like the topic, very specific and original, not "best piece" or "best piano piece" or "most emotional" or "affecting", but _powerful_. Really changes my perspectives.)

[dj]

1st movement of scriabin's first sonata

chopin: 2nd scherzo

rachmaninoff: etude op. 39 no. 9

[donjuan]

Wow!! I didn't expect such replies!   I agree with everyone for the pieces mentioned.  I dont know why I didn't mention Chopin - Ballade No.4 first.  I think Bach/Busoni - Chaconne in D-Minor is also a very powerful piece.  The way it ends...whew, it's almost like the earth is shaking.  
donjuan

[aileigc]

Everyone's forgetting Appasionatta. This is the music I would like to play to the extreme: extreme tempo change and extreme dynamics change. The 3rd mov of Moonlight is very close behind, but in sheer power and length for which it is maintained, admitting that I don't know much else and speaking only from what I listen to, I'd put Appassionata there on high.

Then again, I'm partial.

Alex

[ravel]

lots of such pieces, few that come to my mind now are:
prokofiev sonatas 6,7,8. piano concertos specially no.1,2,3,4,5  , no.2 being the most powerful i guess , toccata opus 11
bartok piano concerto 1,2, piano sonata,
scriabin etude opus 8 no.12( if i am right, its his most famous one), piano sonata no.5, 6,7 , prometheus poem of fire.
chopin ocean etude, winterwind etude,revolutionary, etude opus 10 no.4 , no.9.
liszt sonata in b minor, lots of stuff by liszt
ravel toccata ( specially the ending) , piano concerto for the left hand, la valse both in original and piano form
rach 3, prelude opus 32 no.1 , opus 23 no7, opus  32. no10, prelude in c sharp minor some of his etude tableaux 9 i dont remember which ones exactly)
schoenberg piano concerto , his gigue  from five pieces for piano
stravinsky :rite of spring  piano transciption !!!! heard this on mp3.com by Dag Achatz, it was quite powerful , although not as powerful as the orchestral version for obvious reasons.
debussy  prelude book 1 no. 7
some of godowskies studies on chopins etudes are really powerful pieces.
ginastera , danzes argentina
enuf for now, il l be back with more powerful pieces when i have more in my head .

[donjuan]

Has anyone ever thought about Liszt's transcription of Bellini: Grand Concert Fantasy from Sonnambula?  This music is very powerful physically because only a handful of people in the world will be able to maintain the stamina required for such a piece.  
donjuan