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What do you think are the downright scariest, terrifying, or haunting pieces written for piano. I thought this would be a good topic to speculate on seeing the season. Sonata #9 (Or was I thinking of the eigth?) composed by Scriabin, perhaps? "Scarbo" by Ravel? Even Mikrocosmos? go ahead and reveal it. Feel free to name chamber, orchestral, operatic works with piano. Name celesta, organ, and other keyboard works, if you want.
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I was terrified of "Il Pensiero" from the second book of Annees de Pelerinage and the 17th Hungarian Rhapsody when I was little.
Scriabin's 10th also freaked me out the first time that I heard it.
Edit: Mahler 6 as well.
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Liszt's Mephisto Waltz has some chilling moments, quite devilish! Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony is absolutely immense in sound, it engulfs me in a cataclymsic fury of passion and somberness. A lot of Messiaen's pieces have a relfective, somber mood to them that makes one think while the music plays. The Op. 27, no. 1 Nocturne of Chopin is very gloomy, and the sarcastic middle section only adds to the mysterious mood. Liszt's etude "Paysage" has a very somber and lyrically intense atmosphere, it is a piece that makes me remember things from the far past- this one gets my vote as most atmospheric. Debussy's "Voiles" from preludes Bk. I is also a dark and somberly majestic (what choice of words, but it is very true!), and his feux d'artice is scary in the sense that the piece is very "Cold" emotionally, no real substance besides the various figurations.
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Yes, I second Mephisto Waltz. One song (not piece) that immediately came to mind was Nachtens (Night Visions) by Brahms for SATB choir and piano that I sang last year or so.
Mike
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Definitely the 2nd movement of the Bartok piano concerto #1... 
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"War does not determine who is right; only who is left."
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Liszt's Petrach sonnets 104 and 123
the nocturne in c sharp minor is the most beautiful thing on this earth
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Khachaturian, piano concerto, 2nd movement. The melody itself is haunting, and the orchestration enhances that greatly, especially the bass clarinet at the beginning and the flexatone somewhere in the middle.
I'd also mention Mahler's 7th (no piano, but haunting as well).
I have an ice cream. I cannot mail it, for it will melt.
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If you're looking for a work to play for Halloween, then Liszt's arrangement of Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre is a sure fire hit.
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Originally posted by SethW:
What do you think are the downright scariest, terrifying, or haunting pieces written for piano. I thought this would be a good topic to speculate on seeing the season. Sonata #9 (Or was I thiking of the eigth?) composed by Scriabin, perhaps? " I would guess you're thinking of the 9th. I don't consider the 8th to be frightening, although it has a certain eerie beauty. The 6th, for me is the most frightening of Scriabin's sonatas. How 'bout that 23 note rolled chord?
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The 6th, for me is the most frightening of Scriabin's sonatas. How 'bout that 23 note rolled chord? Are we talking about scary to hear or scary to play ? :p
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The final fugue from Bach's "Art of Fugue".
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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Originally posted by Nina:
Are we talking about scary to hear or scary to play ? :p BOTH!
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Variations on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff
Better to light one small candle than to curse the %&#$@#! darkness. :t:
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I would guess you're thinking of the 9th. I don't consider the 8th to be frightening, although it has a certain eerie beauty. The 6th, for me is the most frightening of Scriabin's sonatas. How 'bout that 23 note rolled chord?
Has anyone heard of the Makrokosmos (pardon the minor spelling mistake in the earlier post) for amplified piano? Besides being a really good piece, it has some of the strangest notation I've seen. I don't have a recording, so are their any recommendations if you have knowledge concerning this piece?
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Scriabin: Sonata No. 9
Schumann: Haunted Place from Waldscenen
Liszt: Funerialles, Dante Sonata
Chopin: B minor Scherzo, D minor Prelude, Finale from B minor Sonata
Ravel: Le Gibet
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oh, the beggining of the Liszt sonata in B minor is just so !!!  also the petrouchka's transcription (petrouchka's room) have some very cool rapid passages... and finally the great scarbo and there`s a ligeti etude called "vertige" that really makes you feel "vertige"
ss ao lr ue dt on si .u dq ar no on ra qd u. is no td eu rl oa ss
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"Makrokosmos" are by George Crumb. Fascinating composer. Pretty sure they've been recorded, but I don't recall by whom.
Ken
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You nailed it! I'll see what recordings are available.
Back on topic, Ligeti seems to write lots of stuff that meets the criteria. His Requiem defnitely ranks up there. Organ works by Vierne and Messiaen ( e.g, the "Livre du Saint- Sacrement" [?]) deserve mention.
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The Makrokosmos has been recorded several times. The recording I know is by (I believe) Paul Jacobs.
If you're just starting out, I'd suggest looking at "Dream Images" - it's one of the easier ones to play, and doesn't require much preparation of the piano.
I'd also suggest George Crumbs "Five Pieces for Piano" and "Little Suite for Christmas" - both are shorter and a bit less daunting than the Makrokosmos, but both are fantastic sets.
Other "scary" pieces might include the Emma Lou Diemer toccata, the Prokofiev Diabolic Suggestion, and a few Bartok pieces. (The third movement from the Op. 14 suite and the last movement of the "Out of Doors" suite come to mind...)
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