# Has any piece....



## beetzart (Dec 30, 2009)

...made you breakdown and cry? I remember once I was listening to Tchaikovsky's 1st piano concerto and I became so overwhelmded by it that I rang my mum and sobbed my eyes out to her, declaring that Tchaikovsky was the greatest human being ever to have walked the earth (along with Ludwig).

Then another time when I was listening to Beethoven's 9th 1st movement, I jumped up and down as it came to its climax and punched the air in anger.

It's just what this music does to me sometimes.


----------



## danae (Jan 7, 2009)

Bach cello suites, I don't remember which one though. 

Also a slow mvt from one of the Brandemburg concertos with oboe (I know this is unforgivable, but I sincerely don't remember which one it is)

Barber's Adagio for strings made me cry at a concert once. It was Simon Rattle conducting it. I couldn't stop the tears.


----------



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

http://www.talkclassical.com/2379-music-moves-you-tears.html?highlight=tears


----------



## Artemis (Dec 8, 2007)

You should try some late Schubert works, which are full of a mixture of conflicting emotions reflecting his tragic personal circumstances as he struggled to come to terms with his ever more likely impending premature death. 

Some accounts of his last months suggest that he became increasingly possessed and almost trance-like, which gave several of these late works an "other-worldy" feel (e.g. String Quintet, D 956, and Piano Sonata D 960). 

In my view there's nothing to match such works elsewhere for a good cry, if that's what you want. Personally, all I have to do to achieve the same effect is read some of the dross that occasionally gets posted on this Forum.


----------



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Artemis said:


> Some accounts of his last months suggest that he became increasingly possessed and almost trance-like, which gave several of these late works an "other-worldy" feel (e.g. String Quintet, D 956, and Piano Sonata D 960).


You just made get my Schubert set and prepare it for tomorrow listening.


----------



## Organum (Nov 29, 2009)

Happened to me many times. The most recent was with Rachmaninoff's Vespers.

Also these:

"Qui tollis peccata mundi" from Bach's B Minor Mass
Gorecki's 3rd Symphony
Consolation No. 3 by Liszt
Klaglied by Buxtehude
June (Barcarolle) from Tchaikovsky's The Seasons
Song for Athene by John Tavener
Op.30 No.6 from Songs Without Words by Mendelssohn
Adagios by Barber and Albinoni
Etude Op.2 No.1 by Scriabin


----------



## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

_In Paradisium _from_ Requiem_ by John Rutter.
In fact, the entire Requiem is quite moving.

Also, the Barber _Adagio_.


----------



## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

We're playing the Barber Adagio in our youth orchestra. It's really hard to rehearse because, of course, you want to give it everything you can and lose yourself in the music, but you can't really do that in a 30-minute rehearsal of the thing. One killer viola part, though, let me tell you...

The adagio of Bruckner 8, I think, is the most recent music to put me in tears... I think that was a few days ago. Tremendously moving stuff!


----------



## Guest (Jan 3, 2010)

I can honestly say that the only time music moves me to tears is when it reminds me of someone no longer with us or of a place that has sad memories, poetry has the same effect, even an old pop evergreen will do the same, if you are a wind player you absolutely can’t be emotionally unstable when performing, whereas a string player can sob all over the place and put on a great act, just a few days ago I had to have a Cat put down she used to sit with me in the evening and listen to our music I know it will be ages before I can listen to the last piece that we heard together.


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

The Vaughan-Williams Tallis Fantasia rarely fails to move me to tears. Not necessarily sad tears, but sentimental ones as enigmatic as the piece itself. 

Parts of Monterverdi's 1610 Vespers (Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610) bring tears to my eyes.

Certain transitions in Beethoven's 9th do it for me, and really almost any of the times Beethoven goes off into an unexpected harmonic direction will bring tears in whatever piece.


----------



## pianoman55 (Jan 2, 2010)

Of course Barber's Adagio for Strings. Mozart Requiem and Beethoven 9 as well. A lot of times, it's not just the music which will make me cry, but also understanding the significance of a piece.


----------



## Artemis (Dec 8, 2007)

Aramis said:


> You just made get my Schubert set and prepare it for tomorrow listening.


May I ask which versions of these works (D 956 and D 960) you have?


----------



## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Dvoraks Stabat Mater


----------



## mueske (Jan 14, 2009)

The moderato from Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto, makes me breakdown. Memories that come up, the atmosphere of the piece, and knowing what Rachmaninoff had gone through, really make it quite impossible for me to not at least get a single tear in my eyes while listening.

Also Rach's Vespers, some preludes (B minor especially), his first piano sonata, both of his piano trio, a few songs (among which the popular vocalise). I think you get the drift, Rachmaninoff makes me weap. 

The ending of Mahler's third and eighth symphony.

Alot of fugues, their magnificence just does something to me. My favourite would the the fugue in the fourth movement of Beethoven's ninth symphony. 

Barber's violin concerto, first movement. Same for Elgar's violin concerto. 

And much more I can't recall at the moment

I cry quite a lot now that I think about it.


----------



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Artemis said:


> May I ask which versions of these works (D 956 and D 960) you have?


I don't have D 960 yet (only D 850 when it comes to sonatas), but String Quintet D 956 recording which I own is by Weller Quartet.

It's part of this CD Set:


----------



## Artemis (Dec 8, 2007)

Aramis said:


> I don't have D 960 yet (only D 850 when it comes to sonatas), but String Quintet D 956 recording which I own is by Weller Quartet.


I have been collecting Schubert for 12 years now and have hundreds of recordings. The piano sonatas from No 11 inclusive upwards are a must. Probably my favourite sonata (currently) is No 18, D 894, the so-called G major. The last three, Nos 19-21, were all written in a short space of time. Everyone you talk to has a different opinion about who is the best pianist for Schubert. My preferences are for Richter, Brendel, Pires, Cooper, Rubinstein. Any of these should be OK.

I have just been flicking through some old photos of various trips I have made to Vienna. I've been there three times in the past 10 years, and on each occasion I have always taken time out to visit the Zentralfriedhof (cemetery) to pay my respects to all the wonderful composers. I recall the first visit, ten years ago, when I spotted the graves of Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms (which as you may know, are close together in a tight group) I simply burst into tears. I was completely overcome with emotion. I wandered around that area for hours and went back next day. It's a place definitely worth visiting, plus of course Vienna is a wonderful city.


----------



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Thanks for recommentadions, if Schubert that I already own will make me thirsty for more I shall get those sonatas you mentioned (probably played by Richter or Rubinstein).


----------



## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

For reference to Richter's Schubert recordings, I have copied a post by an esteemed Richter-evangelist from another forum:



George said:


> So this ends my survey of the available Schubert sonata recordings by Richter. I have summarized my results below (work, place, year and label.) For D 845 there is only one performance available.
> 
> D 960 Prague - 1972 - Praga
> D 958 Salzburg - 1972 - Regis
> ...


And quite suprisingly, the last two pieces to make _me_ cry (besides Purcell's Dido and Aeneas) _were_, as a matter of fact, the D 894 and D 960 piano sonatas by the great Franz Schubert. But they were most certainly tears of other-worldly bliss...


----------



## Artemis (Dec 8, 2007)

I think that Richter was a brilliant pianist, one of my favourites and better than anyone currently around. 

I prefer his Schumann to Schubert. In fact I think that he was "tops" for Schumann. As you will know, he also did a splendid Brahms PC2. Regards his Schubert, there's a lot of good material, especially his Wanderer Fantasy, D 760 which is so stunning it should be a mandatory purchase for any serious classical music fan. For me, however, I find two slight problems with Richter: (i) somewhat slow tempi (ii) quite a bit of audience noise on some recordings because of his preference to record live. I admit that I haven't acquired all of his Schubert recordings, and there may be better than what I have, but I have certainly noticed some audience noise, which I don't generally like.

For Schubert's sonatas, if I had to pick just one pianist who generally gets it right across the piece it would be Brendel. I far prefer Brendel's Schubert to his Beethoven. But for D 960 I happen to like best of all Rubinstein.


----------



## kmisho (Oct 22, 2009)

I always bring up Tchaikovsky. Romantic music was marked by its emotionalism, but Tchaikovsky was one of the few composers who tried to latch onto a particular emotion and transcribe it directly to music. The last movement of the 6th begins with what is unquestionably open weeping. The whole movement is the epitome of abject despair.

Another example: there's a section near the end of the 1st movement of the 4th symphony that I'm convinced is an attempt to depict raw panic.


----------



## dmg (Sep 13, 2009)

I've never heard a piece of music that made me physically produce tears, but I find it emotionally difficult to listen to 'Farewell Neverland' from John Williams' 'Hook' score...


----------



## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Actually Rachmaninovs 2nd symphony did within the week.


----------



## kmisho (Oct 22, 2009)

emiellucifuge said:


> Actually Rachmaninovs 2nd symphony did within the week.


I was just listening to that. Which part?


----------



## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Yes, several. I remember every piece that has moved me so:

Tchaikovsky - Symphony #6 in Bm. The last movement gets me every time, and sometimes the first movement does too.
Wagner - Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, especially when hearing it after the entire opera.
Schubert - Sonata No. 21 in Bb, 1st and 2nd movements.
Rachmaninov - 18th variation of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
Barber - Adagio for Strings.
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 30 in E, final movement.


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Today at work Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 came up on the random cycle. I think we tend not listen to these war horses as we get older, feeling the need to experience something else. It may have been several years since I had heard this, so it impacted me all over again almost like new, though this was the first classical piece I became familiar with as a child.

That 2nd movement is so moving and sweet. I think it brought back memories of childhood. So my eyes were at least damp. Then the massively triumphant 3rd movement breaks through. That is as joyous as the 9th Symphony - maybe even more so!


----------



## Vic (Sep 2, 2009)

Mahler's 2nd made me cry (Solti) and Kindertotenlieder (Proms performance 2009 c/w Atmospheres, Also sprach Zarathustra) and about any opera.


----------



## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

kmisho said:


> I was just listening to that. Which part?


There are parts in all movements except maybe the second. The orchestration is just so beautifully lush and the amazingly beautiful and nostalgic string melodies coupled with the counterpoint gives me such a nostalgic feeling. I miss some previous part of my life though I dont know what i miss...


----------



## ScipioAfricanus (Jan 7, 2010)

*What piece of music made you cry?*

I'm not a sap but Hans Rott symphony did it for me


----------



## hawk (Oct 1, 2007)

This may not fit into this discussion but:

In 2007 prior to some work in England I was commisioned by the LMP (London Mozart Players) to make a piece of music that we would play in concert. I do not read or write music so the piece I created was recorded on my computer and sent mp3 format via e-mail.

For various reasons when I arrived in London to rehearse with LMP schedule conflicts prevented more than 15 minutes together. The next nights concert was well it sounded like we were in seperate universe's. The day after our first concert we engaged about 400 students in a workshop setting where I had some "solo time with the students and my instrument ( I build flutes). Here the orchestra had the opportunity to hear my way with the flute and we had a little time to be human with each other then musicians.
That evenings concert moved us back to the same planet but still with a gap...

The next day there was much more time for us to be together-after the workshops had 
concluded we had a long lunch chatting about family and gardens and pets- it was a time of making a connection that transcended musical, cultural, geographical differences/boundries....

During this evenings concert for many reasons I was filled with emotion which was expressed while playing. As soon as the music stopped the tears flowed and flowed. My eyes being closed while I tried to regain some control to be able to speak with the audience (intermission followed this part of the program) did not allow me to see that more than a few of the audience was in tears also. I sat for a minute or two so as to not cause any disruption in this, for me better than a standing ovation, acknowledgement.
When I did stand to acknowledge the orchestra I was moved to see that some were equally as emotional.

After intermission the rest of the program was Tchaikovskys' Serenade for Strings. This music blew the doors off of my already opened self and allowed me to feel and see the beauty of this music.


----------



## Guest (Jan 11, 2010)

I must hear your composition hawk can you provide a link?? I don,t mean the performance


----------



## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

The 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th always gets me all emotional and I'm pretty sure I could cry if I saw it in concert.



danae said:


> Barber's Adagio for strings made me cry at a concert once.


Oh me too. For some reason, it doesn't matter how I was feeling before the music starts but as soon as it does I sudenly become sad.


----------

