# Classical music pieces that made you burst with emotion(s)



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Is there any composition of any kind that got you exited alot? By any mean-be it cry or laugh.

I have a few:

-The most of all would be *Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky*, there were cases I almost cried with the plot, especially with the original ending, which is sad and tragic (Siegfried and Odette die and are sometimes shown to ascend to heaven together in love), one person on this board suggested that Tchaikovsky's music had alot of emotion, and I have to agree-and he is one of my favorite composers of all time.

-Next in line would be *Beethoven's 9th Symphony*, especially the vocals in German at the end, makes me stand in awe, very powerful in it's tone, and on the good side.

-Another composition by Beethoven would be *Fur Elise*, as we all know Beethoven died without issue, despite have some "crushes", like in his unsent letter "for the immortal beloved"; this piece was only discovered 40 years fater the composer's death, and just like in the letter in mentioned, we're not sure who was Elise; a love? Just a friend? Maybe even an imaginary figure? I always start to think what was going in Beethoven's mind when he composed this one.

-*Mozart's Requiem* takes a special spot, Mozart was a practicing Catholic, so this one isn't surprising-and just like in Beethoven's 9th Symphony, it mkaes me stand in awe-but this time because of the Latin and content of the singing, I feel it's like a well-made combo between common-practice and Gregorian Chant; I also find it a bit creepy for a person to die while composing something like this (and in case you didn't know, Mozart died before completing this, and was finished by Franz Xaver Sussmayer).

-Last but by no means least, the atmosphere created by *Bach's works for the organ* is quite enchanting, and sometimes it sounds like horror movie music-good for me, I like horror movies! These pieces of music make me think of Ghost-type Pokemon like Gengar and Chandelure!


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Nobody? I mean, don't you listen to music emotionally?


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Beethoven symphonies, piano sonatas, concertos and chamber music, Wagner dramas, Tchaikovsky ballets, symphonies and piano concerto No. 3, some piano pieces by Chopin such as sonata No. 2, Brahms symphonies, concertos and chamber music, Berlioz symphonies (except Harold en Italie), requiem, te deum, les nuits d'ete and Les Troyens, Schubert late symphonies, piano sonatas, fantasies and chamber music, a portion of Bach solo keyboard pieces (including the ones for organ), sacred music (including cantatas such as Nos. 16, 21 and 198) and chamber compositions (but not the concertos), Mendelssohn violin concerto etc.

There's a lot of music which may cause me an intense emotional response in classical.


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Allerius said:


> Beethoven symphonies, piano sonatas, concertos and chamber music, Wagner dramas, *Tchaikovsky ballets*, symphonies and piano concerto No. 3, some piano pieces by Chopin such as sonata No. 2, Brahms symphonies, concertos and chamber music, Berlioz symphonies (except Harold en Italie), requiem, te deum, les nuits d'ete and Les Troyens, Schubert late symphonies, piano sonatas, fantasies and chamber music, a portion of Bach solo keyboard pieces (including the ones for organ), sacred music (including cantatas such as Nos. 16, 21 and 198) and chamber compositions (but not the concertos), Mendelssohn violin concerto etc.
> 
> There's a lot of music which may cause me an intense emotional response in classical.


Now that's one things I have to praise!


----------



## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

In terms of upwellings of feeling, I would have to go with Sibelius 7th, Beethoven 6th, and Strauss Metamorphosen.


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> Nobody? I mean, don't you listen to music emotionally?


For emotions, the one composer which moves my feelings is Maurice Ravel, 
Especially his Daphnis, 
Also the last section to his Ma Mer L oye, 
La Jardin Feerique
Only if we could hear in splendent sound the harp at the coda section. Typical poorly recorded Ma Mer Loye.


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

Here you can see and hear
the harp in 
Le Jardin Feerique


----------



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I think I have an emotional response to most (all?) of the music I listen to - with a wide variety of emotions depending on the music and my mood - and I am sure we all do. But I suspect the OP concerns some specific types (the examples given _are _varied) of emotional response.


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

This is a good topic, and now that I think about it. 
There is a idea in psychoanalytic studies, that music can help transcend, transform heal certain nagging hangups,,The idea that , therapy and meds are not the only 2 , though most preferred/most often used, methods of addressing psychic disturbances.


So the OP's idea of *bursting with emotionS* has some contemporary significance in CM culture. 
I mean lets go back to our Rock N Roll days. or post rock, to pop culture music. The listeners connect on a emotional level , they get excited,,,like when the artist throws himself into the audience and they hand carry him along in the crowds arms raised in the air. 

Take evangelical church music, the folks really *get into* their music, big organs, electric guitars, chorus, great vocasl, just like a pop show concert. 
Arms raised in praise, tears flowing, *I've been moved, I am touched,,*.

So apparently this emotional connection has importance in music. 


I think , ,,no, I know, it has been this hidden power inherent in the CM which has affected me deeply, which has kept me from going to anti-depressants, etc meds. 
I am sure of this. 



I think this topic addresses the single most important issue for CM. 
Are we connecting emotionally with our music? 
If not, time,, for a possible change.
Consider new composers, whose music can reflect your inner man, and so allow the inner man to find healing in the sounds which come from the new music. 
many works which once before possessed great emotional charges in the experience, do not work this magic , as once before. 


Now music ,,*seemingly* cold, distant from emotions, like Elliott Carter, Webern, actually move me in powerful waves of emotion, more than Rachmaninov's symphonies, concertos had decades ago. 


Rachmaninov, Sibelius works, do not touch the depths of emotions , feelings which I need activated in order to embrace the music..
Is some of this making sense?


Many studies have been done on this subject over the past 20 years, And in the course of the next 20 years, that number of studies will explode with interest,,,as the pills/therapy deal is exposed as fraud. 
Snake oil 
CM is the *real deal* for power to transformational healing.


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

paulbest said:


> This is a good topic, and now that I think about it.
> There is a idea in psychoanalytic studies, that music can help transcend, transform heal certain nagging hangups,,The idea that , therapy and meds are not the only 2 , though most preferred/most often used, methods of addressing psychic disturbances.
> 
> So the OP's idea of *bursting with emotionS* has some contemporary significance in CM culture.
> ...


Does that mean you think Classical music has no emotion?


----------



## peleshyan (Dec 3, 2017)

Second movement of K'466
Second movement of Mahler's 9
Last Movement of Trout

I don't have the capability to describe those feelings neither in my language nor English. Like Wittgenstein said, whereof one cannot speak thereof one must be silent..


----------



## HistoryJoe (Mar 12, 2019)

One of the biggest for me is the Brahms Violin Concerto in the first movement where that insanely beautiful melody picks up all the way through the cadenza. Pure and wonderful


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> Does that mean you think Classical music has no emotion?


Oh I think my post rambled on so long,,,so that you may have missed my points, 
'Let me try to be more understandable, more clear.

My post boils down to this
CM has inherent power to open the listener's feeling/emotional channels, Channels which can be blocked by any number of early/mid life issues/crisis/neglect. Whatever. 
Are you with me so far?
Good

However , this emotional content , in the music, has to be 
unlocked/received by the listener.

It is not a automatic nor guarantee that the music 's emotional effects will reach the listen, if the person has blockages, resistences/prejudices.

Take the works which move you the most. 
Everyone will have a different reaction, some might share exactly what you feel, others hardly any emotion at all.

I note you have strong emotional connections with Beethoven. This is what is important, that the music is much more than justa passing enjoyment. 
You really allow the music to go deep and bring you , just more than a passing pleasure.

For me, it has always been the music of Maurice Ravel, others as well, but Ravel has the most inherent power to affect my emotional levels.

So contrary to your Q , 
CM has power to reach our emotional states, , which can only be equaled by a relationship of love.


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

HistoryJoe said:


> One of the biggest for me is the Brahms Violin Concerto in the first movement where that insanely beautiful melody picks up all the way through the cadenza. Pure and wonderful


I second this glorious section of the Brahms violin concerto.


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

paulbest said:


> Oh I think my post rambled on so long,,,so that you may have missed my points,
> 'Let me try to be more understandable, more clear.
> 
> My post boils down to this
> ...


So you say not only beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but also in his/her ears? Good point actually, and I am fascinated from composer's life and work, especially Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

When it comes to emotions in music, there's no-one that comes even close to Mahler for me. Das Lied von der Erde (especially the final movement Abschied), The 9th symphony (especially the finale), the 6th, the 4th (especially the adagio), the 10th, the Kindertotenlieder, simply amazing.


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> So you say not only beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but also in his/her ears? Good point actually, and I am fascinated from composer's life and work, especially Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.


Yes, as you know this world is geared around extroversion, 
It is out of balance, and this lack of attention to the inner man creates friction inside of us.

Lets see, what forms western man has created to help provide succor, healing, peace, meaning , back into a life that has 4 flat tires, stuck in the middle of the desert. 
Churches
Councilors office/The Psyche healer
Meds
Social groups
Pop music/culture/Jazz fest new Orleans

None of these venues will allow for real healing, development within the modern psyche. 
These external events are easy and comfortable to attend, but really only likea band aid on something deep. 
the only path I know of to assist in rebalancing tne ego/psyche tensions, is with CM. 
Here this great art can work its wonders powers of transformation and healing. 
.
All other forms of treatments are snake oil. 
CM is like heavenly mana which fed the Israelites for some 40 years as they wandered in the desert , lost like sheep, for their transgression of dis-belief/anti-faith.

This is a vital lesson we must pay close attention to.


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, sung by Janet Baker, Bernstein; 

Barber's Adagio;

Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring; 

Albinoni's Adagio, played on flute by Gunilla von Bahr on the Sun-Flute CD.


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

paulbest said:


> the only path I know of to assist in rebalancing tne ego/psyche tensions, is with CM.
> Here this great art can work its wonders powers of transformation and healing.
> .
> All other forms of treatments are snake oil.


_Warnings/Contraindications: may cause watering of eyes, deep sleep, ego loss, rapid heartbeat, trembling, softening of heart, shortness of pants.
_


----------



## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

millionrainbows said:


> _Warnings/Contraindications: may cause watering of eyes, deep sleep, ego loss, rapid heartbeat, trembling, softening of heart, shortness of pants.
> _


Jim Morrison
Break on through to the other side

Jimi Hendrix
Are you Experienced

JA
White Rabbit

We all now know was fake, CM does get you experienced, breaking planes of reality and , no we don't need no pills.


----------



## Guest (Jul 9, 2019)

I can think of several works that caused quite an emotional stir when I first started listening seriously to classical music many years ago, as a young teenager.

To mention a few, works like Schubet's _Unfinished Symphony _had me mesmerised for some time. Tchaikovsky's Symphonies Nos 5 and 6 , and Beethoven's 5th, 6th, 7th Symphonies were others. In the chamber music area I was deeply impressed with some of Haydn's SQs, Schubert's String Quintet, Brahms Piano Quintet. In the sacred music area, I liked Handel's oratorios, and several works by J S Bach, e.g. _Magnificat in D_.

I'm afraid to say the novelty wore off after about the 500th listen (large number, 500 will suffice). These days, I take music much more in my stride. I thoroughly enjoy listening to music, it being my favourite leisure activity by far. Some works can still bring a slight occasional moist eye on certain occasions. They're mainly religious works of the type produced by the likes of Monteverdi, e.g. Vespers 1610, and some of Handel's oratorios. There are also a few short piano pieces by Schubert and Schumann that I like especially, that can sometimes stop me in my tracks from whatever else I may be doing at the time.

Although I quite like some 20th C atonal music I can't think of anything in that broad category that has, or is ever likely to, create any great emotional impact. The outpourings of personal feelings by some of the 20th C composers whose names have been strongly promoted on this Forum over recent months have zero impact on me. That doesn't mean that I dislike them. On the contrary, some are good and I enjoy them, but the transfer to me of any emotional impact the composer in question may have been trying to express is virtually zero.


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

paulbest said:


> Yes, as you know this world is geared around extroversion,
> It is out of balance, and this lack of attention to the inner man creates friction inside of us.
> 
> Lets see, what forms western man has created to help provide succor, healing, peace, meaning , back into a life that has 4 flat tires, stuck in the middle of the desert.
> ...


Church music? Mozart was a practicing Catholic, his Requiem is a good example, but not the only one, try out "Coronation Mass" for example.


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Handel Messiah: For Unto Us a Child is Born
Mozart's Piano Concertos 22, 27, "Porgi, amour", "Non Mi Dir"
Beethoven's Symphonies 4, 5 and 6
Tchaikovsky's Symphonies 4 and 5, Swan Lake scene
Saint Saens' the Swan
Faure's Pavane
Kallininov's slow movements from his 2 symphonies 
Ravel's Pavane
R. Strauss's Alpine Symphony
Butterworth's Banks of Green Willow
Vaughan Williams Folk Song Suite, Symphonies 3 and 5
Janacek's Idyll for Strings Adagio
Dvorak's American Quartet, Cello Concerto
Wagner's Lohengrin, Tannhauser Overtures
Liszt Les Preludes
Harty's Irish Symphony
Barber's and Korngold's Violin Concertos (slow movements)
Ivanov Symphony 2 slow movement
Bruch Violin Concerto


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Does anybody think it's unusual that I would be deeply affected by Appalachian Spring? There is something so sweet and tender about that music, reflecting a love of life and new, living things. Of course, it also surges forward.


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Phil loves classical said:


> Handel Messiah: For Unto Us a Child is Born
> Mozart's Piano Concertos 22, 27, "Porgi, amour", "Non Mi Dir"
> Beethoven's Symphonies 4, 5 and 6
> Tchaikovsky's Symphonies 4 and 5, *Swan Lake scene*
> ...


It's nice to see more people sharing my love to Swan Lake; tell me more about "The Swan" and its composer?


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> It's nice to see more people sharing my love to Swan Lake; tell me more about "The Swan" and its composer?


I'm sure you'll recognize it when you hear it. From the Carnival of the Animals. There is a great version by Yo Yo Ma and Entremont on piano.


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Phil loves classical said:


> I'm sure you'll recognize it when you hear it. From the Carnival of the Animals. There is a great version by Yo Yo Ma and Entremont on piano.


Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" also features "princess swan"; is that a common motive?


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" also features "princess swan"; is that a common motive?


Could be. Korsakov's was supposed based on Pushkin's fairy tale. Tchaikovsky's story is unknown, but speculated could be from Russian folklore (which may also have influenced Pushkin)


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Phil loves classical said:


> Could be. Korsakov's was supposed based on Pushkin's fairy tale. Tchaikovsky's story is unknown, but speculated could be from Russian folklore (which may also have influenced Pushkin)


And I thought I was based on a German fairytale...The Sleeping Beauty is obvious, and The Nutcracker is based on some book if I recall correctly...all three are some of the best creations in music of all time IMO, and no, I'm not overcarrying!


----------



## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

I've shed some tears to music, but those are rare occasions. 
More often I simply get a physical response to music, such as goosebumps, excitement, having the urge to physically move myself and "conduct"  
For example, I get all of that during the finale of Bruckner's 5th. It doesn't make me "emotional" (as in: happy or sad, or any more complex emotion in between)... but excited, overwhelmed... many goosebumps.... is that just a physical response, or an emotional response as well?


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

DeepR said:


> I've shed some tears to music, but those are rare occasions.
> More often I simply get a physical response to music, such as goosebumps, excitement, having the urge to physically move myself and "conduct"
> For example, I get all of that during the finale of Bruckner's 5th. It doesn't make me "emotional" (as in: happy or sad, or any more complex emotion in between)... but excited, overwhelmed... many goosebumps.... is that just a physical response, or an emotional response as well?


I often get exited by music as well, most people do, aren't they?


----------

