Stress-Relieving Pieces

[Ludwig Van Rachabji]

There is probably all ready a topic on this.... Oh well.

Well, the title explains it all. I'm looking for stress-relieving pieces of moderate difficulty where you can really pound out your anger on the piano without having to spend months practicing. An example of this would be Bartok's Allegro Barbaro.

[pianonut]

anything written in the sturm und drang period.  i have learned that beethoven's moonlight sonata mimics haydn's symphony #44 (mourning),III Adagio.  both are in the key of f#minor, identical in tempo, rhythm, melodic line, and harmony!

i often wondered whenever i played the 'moonlight' why i felt so much better afterwards.  there is something magnetic about it.  also, many of beethoven's pieces allow you to fff, which is a great stress reliever.  lately, tho, i have resorted to knocking down my dynamics one level.  i am still relieved of stress when i play a simple double forte.  the walstein is a good one, because if you have a lot of pent up energy, it takes it all out of you to play it completely through.

[allchopin]

Liszt's 6th Hungarian Rhapsody is great, although the exciting theme it is in a major key (kinda hard to express your anger in this situation  ).  But that's recently what I've been using.

[pianonut]

here's a little exerpt from the end of a journal article (that is a beginning of another subject completely off sturm und drang)

"two very important, but little-known, spanish composers of harpsichord and  piano music in the late eighteenth century were manuel blasco de nebra and joaquin montero.  nebra's op.1 'seis sonatas para clave y fuerte piano'.  the library of congress posesses what is apparently the sole copy of the eighteenth-century edition of the blasco de nebra sonatas.  they were published in 1780 in madrid.  apparently he was an organist at the cathedral in seville.  1750-1784.  has anyone played his works?  are they stress relieving?

enrique granados spanish dances are very uplifting, and some are a 'working out' of feelings...so in that way, stress-relieving.

the library of the orfeo catala in barcelona owns what is possibly the only eighteenth-century edition of the montero sonatas.  i am thinking of looking these up in the library (to see what they are like) 

[ted]

No trouble answering this one - improvisation !

[steinwayguy]

An example of this would be Bartok's Allegro Barbaro.

Exactly what I was thinking. I used that for several months, just don't hurt yourself 

[apion]

Liszt's 6th Hungarian Rhapsody is great, although the exciting theme it is in a major key (kinda hard to express your anger in this situation  ).  But that's recently what I've been using.

I totally use this Liszt masterpiece.  I also recommend Brahms Piano Concerto #1, 1st movement (assuming you can handle it - it always does the trick).  Very much in the minor key.  Just remember that when Brahms uses ff, he really means fff.

[Rockitman]

Now he did say moderate difficulty.  Of course I fear that Ludwig's moderate difficulty might be considered major to many of us.
Lecouna's Malaguena is what I'm working on now.  I've been told it is considered moderate in terms of difficulty and I'm slowly coming around on it but man,  (as Mound can attest) you get to do some serious pounding in the end.  It's not a long song but I fear I'm going to break my Yamaha S90 synth if I don't stop slamming  on it so hard!
Great piece to vent frustrations!

[Bob]

Anything you can get into emotionally and don't have to worry about whether you're playing it right, etc.

I made a thread on "brutal piano pieces" awhile ago that might have some answers for you...
https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php?topic=5653

[Ludwig Van Rachabji]

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions. I'll look into these.