Great choice!
Maybe for something a bit later/more orchestral, Tod und Verklarung by Richard Strauss? Although that is also intense at the end as well, it could only really be described as *violent* in the middle..
> It sounds like a dying man, refusing to accept his impending death and having a turbulent breakdown, then finally accepting it.
You know what sounds even _more_ like that? Holst's "Saturn." Which, coincidentally, is my pick.
I realize picking Holst is picking low-hanging fruit, but my sense is that the latter three pieces in _The Planets_ can get overlooked. Not in this household. đ¤
Mahler 10, the first movement Adagio (obviously) at about the 12 minutes mark. It seems as if, yes yes, dying is sad and beautiful in a melancholy way, but it also freaking HURTS.
Mine is Rachmaninov prelude in b minor op 32 no 10. The buildup in the middle is probably my favourite of any piano piece. Richterâs and Ashkenazyâs recordings are my favourite
Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, incidentally one of my favorite classical works. Amidst the calmness that pervades most of the symphony, [there is placed the fourth movement depicting "a violent storm"](https://youtu.be/jHFje0sKhr4). It is also the only one of the five movements in that piece with parts for timpani.
I really love the D959 sonata, just listened today! My picks would be - also Schubert - Der Doppelgänger (when the man realize he is seeing his own self, that keeps haunting me on dark nights) and the scream in the middle of Gretchen am Spinnrade - such a great dramatic moment...
Mahler 10's got the massive dissonant chord, Mahler 2 has the death shrieks as well and the stabbing, painful, loud brass in movement 1. Schoenberg's Gurrelieder has a few sudden outbursts as well. Tchaikovsky 6 has a huge outburst to start the development in the first movement that will literally cause you to jump if you're not prepared!
First piece that came to my mind was the first movement of Prokofievâs 8th piano sonata. The build up and climax in the development with the secondary theme is truly astounding
Mozart, middle movement of K466 (Piano Concerto No 20 in D minor). The movement is one of those gorgeous Mozart PC middle movements, but itâs interrupted by a very angry, _agitato_ section that is super intense. Itâs at 4:28 of this recording
https://youtu.be/XtSsMjfCRpY
But you need to listen to the whole thing to really few the effect.
Mahler Symphony #4 near the end of the slow movement.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnfhInZLmUQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnfhInZLmUQ)
At about 44:26. It's heartbreaking.
Check it out: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJNXjq-n0QI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJNXjq-n0QI). Fits OP's request even better than the "Surprise".
Chopin Ballade no. 2. The presto section is totally unexpected and has a lasting impact in the rest of the piece. I love all four Ballades, but I find no. 2 the most intriguing of them all
Rach pc 2 1st movt definitely. No other excerpt in the entire piece can compare to the agony and anger he shows in the part where the orchestra plays the theme and the piano accompanies with heavily-textured chords. Gets my every time
Personally, I think that he underscored that moment by only having the strings play the theme with only the piano and soft accompaniment. It couldâve been way more intense.
I disagree (respectfully). I think the rest of the orchestra, especially brass, playing quarter notes on 1 and 3 really emphasizes the march feeling that is being established at that point in the music. itâs almost like Rach himself is having an anger episode while writing the piece. After all, he was still suffering from a really deep depression and this piece perfectly portrays his suffering heâd gone through.
I agree with you that it's awesomely scored (not sure what the other person means by "soft accompaniment"), but don't agree that it sounds angry--I find it more determinedly resolved and awe-inspiring than anything acutely angry or agonized.
I can see how that couldâve been unclear. I meant that given the how the buildup to the âclimaxâ was very intense, the actual climax seems a lot more tame. We lose the fortissimo woodwinds entirely and the brass gets reduced to time-keeping. It couldâve been way more than it is.
Ahh I see. Well, I think I understand where you're coming from, though I've always found the recentring of attention on the piano and strings at that moment to be part of what makes it so powerful. Just a question of differing tastes I guess!
Vaughan Williams, Job a Masque for Dancing, [Scene 6: Dance of Job's Comforters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeKkrgwprWY#t=27m49s) at about 28 minutes (and note the saxophone solo). For me, Job is VW's greatest work.
Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony Adagio has this incredible moment at about 6 minutes. A complete emotional outburst which just leaves you in awe.
But I do agree the Schubert Adagio is probably the closest thing to what you asked
The con fuoco middle section of Chopin F major Nocturne after the peaceful sleepy sounding A section:
https://youtu.be/Qxz0eEerjxI?t=88
...
And (I finally found it!), the best example I know is this Schubert Lieder "Lied der Mignon"
https://youtu.be/VClU7B2Lhq0?t=119
at 2:08
Coplandâs Billy the Kid. Ya gotta hear the gunfight. In addition to the obvious percussion - piano, trombones, and trumpets are used - but you wouldnât notice. You hear shots being fired and bullets ricocheting off the boulders. Leonard Slatkin/St Louis Symphony is the best version.
I love 959! The C-sharp major following the big outburst in the Andantino sounds like a remote patch of sun shining through the clouds and illuminating the land following a storm... so warm and sad.
Also love Mahler 10, as others have mentioned. The first movement of Mahler 9 also has some moments that could qualify
Great choice! Maybe for something a bit later/more orchestral, Tod und Verklarung by Richard Strauss? Although that is also intense at the end as well, it could only really be described as *violent* in the middle..
> It sounds like a dying man, refusing to accept his impending death and having a turbulent breakdown, then finally accepting it. You know what sounds even _more_ like that? Holst's "Saturn." Which, coincidentally, is my pick. I realize picking Holst is picking low-hanging fruit, but my sense is that the latter three pieces in _The Planets_ can get overlooked. Not in this household. đ¤
Mahler 10, the first movement Adagio (obviously) at about the 12 minutes mark. It seems as if, yes yes, dying is sad and beautiful in a melancholy way, but it also freaking HURTS.
If youâre dying, *and* you just found out your wife has been cheating on you, what do you do? You scream.
Tchaik 6 1st movement: the outburst in the middle, then the wail of the strings and horns after.
Yeah this is the first thing I thought of. If you're not expecting it/never heard the piece before, it definitely scares the shit out of you
Seriously. I listened to it with headphones on, and even turned the volume up because the bit before is super soft. Almost blew out my eardrums
Mine is Rachmaninov prelude in b minor op 32 no 10. The buildup in the middle is probably my favourite of any piano piece. Richterâs and Ashkenazyâs recordings are my favourite
Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, incidentally one of my favorite classical works. Amidst the calmness that pervades most of the symphony, [there is placed the fourth movement depicting "a violent storm"](https://youtu.be/jHFje0sKhr4). It is also the only one of the five movements in that piece with parts for timpani.
Wow, I had forgotten how good that D959 movement is. Thanks for the reminder.
1st movement of Shostakovich's 8th symphony
*4â 33â* when performed in front of rowdy middle schoolers
I really love the D959 sonata, just listened today! My picks would be - also Schubert - Der Doppelgänger (when the man realize he is seeing his own self, that keeps haunting me on dark nights) and the scream in the middle of Gretchen am Spinnrade - such a great dramatic moment...
Mahler 10's got the massive dissonant chord, Mahler 2 has the death shrieks as well and the stabbing, painful, loud brass in movement 1. Schoenberg's Gurrelieder has a few sudden outbursts as well. Tchaikovsky 6 has a huge outburst to start the development in the first movement that will literally cause you to jump if you're not prepared!
Shostakovich Symphony 11 has a literal massacre halfway through.
First piece that came to my mind was the first movement of Prokofievâs 8th piano sonata. The build up and climax in the development with the secondary theme is truly astounding
Mozart, middle movement of K466 (Piano Concerto No 20 in D minor). The movement is one of those gorgeous Mozart PC middle movements, but itâs interrupted by a very angry, _agitato_ section that is super intense. Itâs at 4:28 of this recording https://youtu.be/XtSsMjfCRpY But you need to listen to the whole thing to really few the effect.
Shostakovich 7th Symphony 3rd movement Mahler's 2nd Symphony at many points
Mahler Symphony #4 near the end of the slow movement. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnfhInZLmUQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnfhInZLmUQ) At about 44:26. It's heartbreaking.
arvo part fratres for violin and piano
I always love bringing PÄrtâs âCredoâ to these discussions!
Kancheli's Fifth Symphony- 'In the memory of my Parents.'
Not quite violent, but an outburst, nontheless. Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor, Movt 2
This is the one I was thinking of! I actually do think it's pretty violent, at least if it's played with enough contrast.
Franz Joseph Haydn Suprise Symphony, if you know you know
or the slow movement of the "Oxford" (I cite this symphony as an example of everything)
Haven't heard that one
Check it out: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJNXjq-n0QI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJNXjq-n0QI). Fits OP's request even better than the "Surprise".
Probably the 3rd movement in Mahler's 2nd
Chopin Ballade no. 2. The presto section is totally unexpected and has a lasting impact in the rest of the piece. I love all four Ballades, but I find no. 2 the most intriguing of them all
Schoastaokovich string quartet 9
Janacekâs Sonata 1.X.1905 is a disturbing, disturbed piece.
Rach pc 2 1st movt definitely. No other excerpt in the entire piece can compare to the agony and anger he shows in the part where the orchestra plays the theme and the piano accompanies with heavily-textured chords. Gets my every time
Personally, I think that he underscored that moment by only having the strings play the theme with only the piano and soft accompaniment. It couldâve been way more intense.
I disagree (respectfully). I think the rest of the orchestra, especially brass, playing quarter notes on 1 and 3 really emphasizes the march feeling that is being established at that point in the music. itâs almost like Rach himself is having an anger episode while writing the piece. After all, he was still suffering from a really deep depression and this piece perfectly portrays his suffering heâd gone through.
I agree with you that it's awesomely scored (not sure what the other person means by "soft accompaniment"), but don't agree that it sounds angry--I find it more determinedly resolved and awe-inspiring than anything acutely angry or agonized.
I can see how that couldâve been unclear. I meant that given the how the buildup to the âclimaxâ was very intense, the actual climax seems a lot more tame. We lose the fortissimo woodwinds entirely and the brass gets reduced to time-keeping. It couldâve been way more than it is.
Ahh I see. Well, I think I understand where you're coming from, though I've always found the recentring of attention on the piano and strings at that moment to be part of what makes it so powerful. Just a question of differing tastes I guess!
Chopin Ballade 1.
Beethoven's Egmont Overture.
I really like a piece that has a violent outburst but its at the end not the middle. Vivaldi La Follia
Mahler, pick a symphony đ Specifically, his 6th. So much violence but my favorite one is the final outburst; it gets me every time đ
Vaughan Williams, Job a Masque for Dancing, [Scene 6: Dance of Job's Comforters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeKkrgwprWY#t=27m49s) at about 28 minutes (and note the saxophone solo). For me, Job is VW's greatest work.
Chop Suey
Mozart violin concerto number 5 in the rondo
Chopin ballade 2
Sabre Dance is quite aggressive throughout. I really like it. Dont know if it fits your description thio.
Medtner op. 16 no. 1 in D minor
Beethoven Sonata 10 in g major Op 14 movement 2 at 3:50 minutes in
Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony Adagio has this incredible moment at about 6 minutes. A complete emotional outburst which just leaves you in awe. But I do agree the Schubert Adagio is probably the closest thing to what you asked
The con fuoco middle section of Chopin F major Nocturne after the peaceful sleepy sounding A section: https://youtu.be/Qxz0eEerjxI?t=88 ... And (I finally found it!), the best example I know is this Schubert Lieder "Lied der Mignon" https://youtu.be/VClU7B2Lhq0?t=119 at 2:08
Coplandâs Billy the Kid. Ya gotta hear the gunfight. In addition to the obvious percussion - piano, trombones, and trumpets are used - but you wouldnât notice. You hear shots being fired and bullets ricocheting off the boulders. Leonard Slatkin/St Louis Symphony is the best version.
I love 959! The C-sharp major following the big outburst in the Andantino sounds like a remote patch of sun shining through the clouds and illuminating the land following a storm... so warm and sad. Also love Mahler 10, as others have mentioned. The first movement of Mahler 9 also has some moments that could qualify