What are the saddest piano pieces? Can you name some of them?

[ahinton]

3. What are you on about?

The fact that you referred to something being "almost free" when clearly it can only in reality and practice either be wholly free or not free at all.

5. A huge amount of Sorabji is free.

What are you on about?

You do not say why this matters; you only claim that it does.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Here is some recommended reading:

https://imslpforums.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3977

If the full score of Sorabji's Piano Concerto No. 5 is indeed in a "private collection", we'd love to have details as to the location and ownership, since no one of our acquaintance appears to have any information about this as yet.

In more general terms, very little of Sorabji's work was published before the US watershed date of 1923 and none those works that were published prior to that year were published in US in any case.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

I have no idea what an argument smells like

Nor have I!

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

we'd love to have deailts

I have a few deailts spare, so I will send you some.

Thal

[ahinton]

I have a few details spare, so I will send you some.

Thank you. I look forward (or do I mean backward?) to them. I've not yet received them, though. Perhaps that is because your mind is on Spohr right now.

Best,

Alistair

[bachmaninoff]

Rachmaninov Elegy Eb minor.

[lostinidlewonder]

Why so? And what does that say about your response to such solo piano works as the Hammerklavier Sonata, Goldberg Variations, Stevenson's Passacaglia or any number of larger works by Sorabji? - or indeed piano concertos such as the two by Brahms, the Busoni, the (Alan) Bush and the big one by Skalkottas or piano quintets such as those by Schmitt and Schmidt? In short, is the problem that of the composer concerned in each such case or your own personal attention span?

Upon first listening few pieces managed to maintain my attention. Many pieces that could be included in the list you mentioned fell into the category of "manageable" for me. But, and here is the but, after thoroughly listening to many of these longer works many times one starts to be a little bit hesitant to have to put themselves through listening to the work again. I find myself skipping parts of longer works I observe online that I know well, I know this is not a good habit but with technology these days we can do it easily and I am not really interested in hearing certain parts when I have listening time. Since most large scale works are quite boring for me even on first observation I find in general I can't listen to more than 30-40minutes. I find I can put up with longer works for extended times if I have the score with me however, my attention span shoots up to hours then, but if I am merely listening my mind wanders and I can get pretty bored even though piano music is my profession!

I also think Gottschalk: Morte, She Is Dead, lamentation, Op.60 is pretty sad.

[ahinton]

Upon first listening few pieces managed to maintain my attention. Many pieces that could be included in the list you mentioned fell into the category of "manageable" for me. But, and here is the but, after thoroughly listening to many of these longer works many times one starts to be a little bit hesitant to have to put themselves through listening to the work again. I find myself skipping parts of longer works I observe online that I know well, I know this is not a good habit but with technology these days we can do it easily and I am not really interested in hearing certain parts when I have listening time. Since most large scale works are quite boring for me even on first observation I find in general I can't listen to more than 30-40minutes. I find I can put up with longer works for extended times if I have the score with me however, my attention span shoots up to hours then, but if I am merely listening my mind wanders and I can get pretty bored even though piano music is my profession!

I shudder to imagine which measures you might "skip over" when listening to the Hammerklavier, or what you'd get out of listening to so tightly organised a work as Schönberg's D minor Quartet with the odd page here and the odd bar there missing. As to the thought of truncated versions of Mahler symphonies or of well over half the operas in the repertoire, words fail me!...

Best,

Alistair

[asiantraveller101]

Schubert's Der Doppelgänger. Liszt made a transcription.

[pianoplayjl]

Chopin's funeral march. I think the title says all. 

[mozartk365]

Mozart adagio in b minor KV540
adagio sostenuto from Beethoven moonlight sonata (1st mvt) and hammerklavier (3rd mvt)
most of Chopin's nocturnes
 

[williampiano]

Grieg Melody op. 47 no. 3

[chopin1993]

Rachmaninoff's Elegy op. 3 no. 1 definitely get's me crying 

[stoudemirestat]

Liszt Vallee d'obermann. The glimmers of hope near the end get vanquished by the last, dark sweep. It gets me every time and is so very relevant to my life.

[teccomin]

Chopin 3rd Sonata 3rd Movement

[squarevince]

Ravel: Pavane for a Dead Princess
Ravel: Concerto in G, middle movement
Schubert: Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3

I second the Ravel.  Watch this clip of Martha (2nd movt starts at 8:55)

I saw her play it live a few years back in San francisco... there were a number of non-dry eyes in the audience... mine included.

[themys]

Chopin's waltz are extremely sad... Especially n°7, 9 and 10.
By Rubinstein :

&

[dirks]

Hi,

I don't know if it is okay to mention one's own music, but if yes, you might like to listen to my latest "sad piano improvisation". I hope you like it. Greeting from Germany, Dirk

[beethoven1011]

I think that many of us are forgetting the amazing, famous...Moonlight Sonata 1st movement, Beethoven's sonata 14.

[ted]

I find this sort of question impossible to answer because the older I get the less emotional my reactions to music are, and if I do experience an emotion with a piece it varies markedly from day to day. Whether this is part of the fun of music or an indication of an unstable mental state I cannot presume to know.

[adodd81802]

I'm not really sure why this got resurrected. But never the less, Although Piano can evoke so many emotions (of course including sadness) I rarely get sad listening to piano music. I do feel a lot of emotions when I perform the pieces and this enables me - I think to better perform them.

I have actually only gotten very sad at one composition so far and it was a Choral. O Magnum Mysterium, no piano piece has ever came close yet.

[visitor]

I'm not really sure why this got resurrected. But never the less, Although Piano can evoke so many emotions (of course including sadness) I rarely get sad listening to piano music. I do feel a lot of emotions when I perform the pieces and this enables me - I think to better perform them.

I have actually only gotten very sad at one composition so far and it was a Choral. O Magnum Mysterium, no piano piece has ever came close yet.

Laurdedson is a genius and his music is 'transcendental.'  I have posted about that pieces several times at PS , I'm glad I'm not the only one around here moved by it, if you look at the voice leading and the text , and there certain dissonances line up to what is being said/sung, it all makes such perfect sense. Masterpiece, and again the composer's pieces are awesome.

[preludetr]

Slow movement of Schubert d960

[stevensk]

Schubert fantasie op 103

Chopin Nocturnes

Satie Gnosienne

Rachm  Vocalise

[beethovenfan01]

Chopin Ballades, especially the G minor.

[adodd81802]

Chopin Ballades, especially the G minor.

but is it really sad? and in the category of 'saddest piano pieces'? I really don't think so..

It evokes emotions certainly and consistently with Chopin these are often negative. If I was to go and find Pieces specifically aimed at sadness, I'd say something like the Chopin Prelude op.28 No.4 E minor is more accurate.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Indeed, the Chopin E min prelude for concentrated dolour. The bleakest I can think of is Wagner - Siegfried's Funeral Music, though there is more than just sadness in there. Busoni did a piano transcription which is good but also inevitably not quite adequate.

[stevensk]

Gluck Mort d'Orphee from Orpheus and Euridice   

[stevensk]

Gabriel Fauré - Pavane, Op. 50

Maurice Ravel - Pavane for Dead Princess

Grieg  Peer Gynt - Death of Ase

(These pieces are not orginally written for piano)

[ted]

I had forgotten about Chaminade's "Au Pays Devaste". That is a real cry from the heart if anything is.

[rosejaune177]

In addition to all these other good suggestions, I would recommend Intermezzi #2 and #3 (not as well known as #1!) from Opus 117 by Brahms. Sometimes I think they are two of the most melancholic - and gorgeous - pieces ever written for the piano. I think Brahms himself called them the "lullabies of my sorrow". You have to listen to them enough to be able to appreciate that, though!

This is the kind of thread that really cheers you up, isn't it?  

[ted]

Joplin's "Magnetic Rag" has always seemed to me to contain a deep undercurrent of sadness, but maybe this reaction is purely personal.

This is the kind of thread that really cheers you up, isn't it? 

Yes, perhaps we could start another one about happy pieces.

[visitor]

Joplin's "Magnetic Rag" has always seemed to me to contain a deep undercurrent of sadness, but maybe this reaction is purely personal.

Yes, perhaps we could start another one about happy pieces.

yes!

[outin]

Sorry, piano music can only make me sad if played really badly.

[ahinton]

Gabriel Fauré - Pavane, Op. 50

Maurice Ravel - Pavane for Dead Princess

Grieg  Peer Gynt - Death of Ase

(These pieces are not orginally written for piano)

No, indeed, but a set of variations on the last of them was, but it behoves me to refrain from comment as to whether or to what extent it might fall into the thread topic category...

Best,

Alistair

[kmiles]

I find the most sad piece of music to be quite a lot. Of course there's too many too list, but here's a few that come to mind.

• Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G minor, it has such a tragic melody in some parts.
• Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1
• Chopin Etude Op 10 No 3 "Tristesse"

[isyriel]

how do i delete post?

[isyriel]

isnt sadness subjective? what may move one maynot move another.  i dont think there is an objective definition of sad music(although minor key minor seconds and v9s could do it for some). its more in the way its played.

to the question i find these pieces sad
rachmaninoff op23 and op32 no 10 both sonatas mvt 2
brahms op118 no 2
liadov op10 no 1 (i think its op10)
not piano but bach violin sonata 1 adagio is nice

[beethovenfan01]

Okay, saddest piece, makes me break down almost every time I hear it ...

Second movement of the Appassionata. Seriously. It's not as dramatic as the outer movements (which I also love), but it speaks so simply, it's heart-breaking.

Also--yes, I have to agree with the third movement of the Chopin sonata No. 2 as being very sad ...

[mishamalchik]

Schubert Liszt transcriptions can be heartbreaking- and not just because they are god-awfully difficult to read and find sheets for.

Der doppelganger  - not terribly difficult
Die Stadt               - very difficult
Das Madchens Klage - absolutely beautiful, but fiendishly difficult for someone at my level.

[kevonthegreatpianist]

How hintoresting.

Very hintoresing.

[mikebat321]

I like to think that my piece 'Poverty' is sad. Please find attached. Hope you like.

Mike