Earsplitting piano pieces

[pies]

What's the loudest piece u ever heard?

[retrouvailles]

The piano has only so high a limit of loudness, so I can't just pick one piece. If I really had to, I would say Finnissy's Piano Concerto No. 4. I could make a much better list of loudest classical music pieces in general, because an orchestra has far greater potential to be loud than a piano. I will possibly start a thread based on this.

[richard black]

Busoni, Fantasia Contrappuntistica, the end of Fuga 4 going into the Coda Stretta, as played by John Ogdon on an occasion when, as I found out shortly afterwards, he was in a bit of a bad mood. He gave vent by really laying into that repeated pattern in the bass and since he was a large and very strong man playing a Bösendorfer Imperial it was really more than just impressive.

[retrouvailles]

I would have to check that out again. I don't remember it being one of the loudest piano pieces I have heard, but it was certainly powerful.

Another nomination: Corigliano's Chiaroscuro. It's technically for two pianos (one tuned a quarter tone flat), but it is still a really loud piano piece, especially in the third movement. The Etude Fantasy by the same composer is also rather loud.

[richard black]

Actually, another really loud bit comes to mind - the point somewhere towards the end of Alkan's 'Quasi-Faust' where one has to play a huge buildup on an F-sharp 7 chord, culimating in mutliple repetitions of the same chord. That's probably the loudest sound I have ever personally made on a piano - I hasten to add that I wouldn't dream of attempting that monster in public!

[redbaron]

The Appassionata's pretty thunderous.