Standout passages in classical piano music

[danielcadenza]

Whilst the question 'What are the greatest piano pieces ever composed?' is innocent enough, as I'm sure many of you know already, it has its limitations, all ultimately stemming from the subjective nature of the question.

In my opinion the biggest problem with the sort of discussion that follows the question above is that the amount of musical exposure people have differs too much. Someone whose only experience of classical piano was a typical 'best of' album might honestly claim that, to the best of their knowledge, Fur Elise is the best piece ever written. And yet I know that for a lot of people, just reading the name Fur Elise is enough to make their blood boil.

To this end, I pose a new question: What, in your opinion, are the standout passages in classical piano music?

Of course, this is also too subjective to be able to produce a definitive list. In fact, it's likely to be even more open-ended than the question at the top of the post, seeing as there are far more passages than pieces

But I think it has its advantages. Firstly, it is incredibly rare for every passage in every piece to be outstanding. This is not to say that we should all be creating playlists of 10 second extracts from various pieces - a piece is a piece; it is polished and complete. Nevertheless there are some passages that move you more than others, that send shivers down your spine, or that cause you marvel in glorious splendour, asking yourself how a mere mortal could come up with something so perfect.

Secondly, this question should filter out a lot of the stock responses. It requires you to focus on what you are listening to, as opposed to letting it glaze over you, so it should result in more thought-out responses.

I expect some people will dismiss this question as stupid outright; others will realise they can't think of any standout passages, or not take it seriously. I'm hoping that enough people will think about it - after scouring the internet it appears this is a pretty good place to ask this sort of question.

As an example, I think the fff Dflat section of Liszt's Harmonies du soir is stunning

Discuss...

[ongaku_oniko]

The first 15 seconds of both rach 2 and rach 3 for me.

I'm not knowledgeable enough musically to be able to break it up and explain intellectually.

The reason I find them, especially rach 3 to be the most influential piece in my life, is because of the first time I heard it. It was also when I was just starting to learn the piano, when I was just entering highschool. Those memories, those 15 seconds carry the weight of all my years after highschool, all the events in my life, all of the changes, the pain, the suffering, and the occasional happiness since I've started highschool; everytime I hear the start of rach 3 it's as if I've gone right back to the first day of school; that rainy morning when my dad drove me to the highschool.

The feeling is just... indiscribable. The nostalgia is so strong my mind literally goes back to 2005. I would completely forget what is happening in the present.

I don't think anything can replace rach 3.

[tb230]

Schubert's sonata in B flat major (D. 960) - the modulation to c sharp minor after the repeat, that's a standout passage for me.

[pianisten1989]

Mephisto waltz no 1 - the leaps near the end. I don't know how many times I've heard pianists miss them!
The trills are also something many pianists have great troubles with.

Dante sonata. Also some leaps, like in the last page, or second last. The first passage that actually is really difficult in that piece (I don't say it's an easy piece, but it's not difficult "passage-wise")

Ballade no 4, Chopin, The thirds in the coda.

[hoohah2]

My vote goes to the modulation from A minor to A major in Mozart's Piano Sonata K310 - 3rd movement.

Most beautiful melody!

[austinarg]

I've always loved the beginning of the friska in Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.2. After the slow and somewhay mysterious ending of the lassan, the first time I heard those right hand broken chords I thought "Something serious is about to happen"  And then came the world famous main theme of the piece 

[stiefel]

I love the really long unison 16th passage in the development of Beethoven Sonata in G major Op 1 No 1.  During the entire exposition it seems like the hands just can't get together, but then Beethoven slaps us in the face with the unison.  It's amazing.

The end of Albeniz's corpus christi en sevilla is stunning.  The whole piece is so energetic and impressive, but the end becomes suddenly still and reflective.  goosebumps.

Finally, near the climax of Chopin's Barcarolle, there's a spot that sets up a cadence the same as the beginning of the piece.  But, instead of the resolving the cadence quietly and peacefully as before, it is triumphantly powered through.  It's like you're touching the sky.

[stoudemirestat]

There are SO many, but the one that stands out the most to me is the presto agitato assai near the start of Liszt's Dante Sonata. 2:09 - 3:20 in the video below.

[werq34ac]

My god, can't believe someone just said Chopin 4th ballade and COMPLETELY ignored the most beautiful music ever written.

8:18-9:18
8:31 is absolutely the best moment ever.

Couldn't find a recording that gave full justice to it

[akthe47]

My god, can't believe someone just said Chopin 4th ballade and COMPLETELY ignored the most beautiful music ever written.

8:18-9:18
8:31 is absolutely the best moment ever.

Couldn't find a recording that gave full justice to it

AMEN!  Totally agree with you-- 8:31 in this recording is too beautiful to describe.

Zimmerman's recording on youtube is pretty good on this passage.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

The last like 15-30 seconds of Scriabin Sonata 7 "white mass".

There's like a 20 note chord at the end that's soo creepy!  My first time hearing it, I had to turn on the lights in my room because I was so freaked out!

Scriabins poem of fire op. 60 which is more of an orchestral work, but the piano has some pretty pretty pretty difficult passages in there.

the last 5-7 minutes OH MY GOD!

[williampiano]

1:41-2:49 in the video below

I always thought this part of Alkan's Etude op. 35 no. 3 was pretty cool!

[lorditachijr]

So many great things out there. I have long loved that passage in the Chopin 4th Ballade that was previously mentioned. The C-sharp minor section of Chopin's 4th Scherzo is another for me. I think my favorite moment, however, has to be the end of the exposition of the first movement of Chopin's 2nd Sonata. As for NON-Chopin, I'd say those moments directly preceding the coda of Appassionata's 1st movement and a lot of those bone-chilling moments in Rach 2/3.

[j_menz]

.,.. Scriabin .... Scriabin....

 OH MY GOD!

Is someone due for a name change? 

[werq34ac]

Ah! the section right before the coda in the 3rd scherzo. Absolutely gorgeous.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Is someone due for a name change? 

Didn't Scriabin say that he was god?

[j_menz]

Didn't Scriabin say that he was god?

Probably. You don't have to take his word for it, though. 

[squarevince]

My god, can't believe someone just said Chopin 4th ballade and COMPLETELY ignored the most beautiful music ever written.

Going to have to disagree... there's nothing that chopin wrote that compares to the first 3 minutes of Ravel's G major Concerto 2nd movt in Martha's hands (8:58 - 12:00)...  the only time i've ever cried at the symphony was watching her play this.

 

[revanyoda777]

The middle part of Chopin's 'raindrop' prelude makes me want to cry like a baby.

Either that or the section at about 8:20 minutes in to his 4th ballade. It feels like you are seeing the doors to heaven when you hear that part. and in a mostly sombre piece of music it really stands out.