Your 10 favorite 'dark' works

Started by Symphonic Addict, September 05, 2020, 05:56:21 PM

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Symphonic Addict

Works that evoke on you features or ideas such like sinister, scary, mysterious, demonic or troubled, or several of them.


Gubaidulina: String Quartet No. 4
Alexander Lasoń: Cathedral, for symphony orchestra
Ligeti: Atmosphères (or his Violin Concerto)
Lutoslawski: Symphony No. 3 (or his String Quartet)
Penderecki: Utrenja (or his Violin Concerto No. 1)
Pettersson: Sonatas (Duets) for two violins (or his Symphony No. 10)
Shchedrin: Cello Concerto Sotto voce
Schnittke: String Quartet No. 2
Shostakovich: Viola sonata (or his String Quartet No. 15)
Xenakis: Anything by him
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

vandermolen

Interesting thread idea Cesar.
Fanelli's 'Romance of the Mummy' came to mind immediately as did works by Holbrooke but I'll give this topic more thought later:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).



vandermolen

#4
Rachmaninov: The Isle of the Dead
Nordgren: Symphony No.3
Miaskovsky: Silence: Poem after Poe
Miaskovsky: Symphony No.3
Pettersson: Symphony No.8
Sibelius: Symphony No.4
Novak: De Profundis
Frankel: Curse of the Werewolf (cheating I know as it is a film score)
Sainton: Nadir
Fanelli: Romance of the Mummy

Two of these (Novak and Sainton) have redemptive endings.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Brian

#5
Beethoven - Symphony No. 3, Marcia funèbre
Dvorák - The Water Goblin
Górecki - Symphony No. 3
Kabelac - Mystery of Time
Liszt - Funerailles and late piano miniatures
Poulenc - Organ Concerto
Ravel - Scarbo
Schubert - Fantasie D. 940
Scriabin - Sonata No. 9
Sibelius - Symphony No. 4

Bonus excerpts from bigger works: the final nightfall of Eine Alpensinfonie and the "migraine" in Elgar 2

Edit: just remembered "Memorial to Lidice"

Mirror Image

Here goes nothing...in no particular order:

Schoenberg: Erwartung
Berg: Wozzeck
Bartók: String Quartet No. 3
Penderecki: Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
Shostakovich: Viola Sonata, Op. 147
Schnittke: Symphony No. 8
Pettersson: Symphony No. 12, "The Dead on the Square"
Ligeti: Requiem
Schuman: Symphony No. 9, "Le Fosse Ardeatine"
Lutosławski: Musique funèbre




Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 20, 2021, 06:42:47 AM
Here goes nothing...in no particular order:

Schoenberg: Erwartung
Berg: Wozzeck
Bartók: String Quartet No. 3
Penderecki: Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
Shostakovich: Viola Sonata, Op. 147
Schnittke: Symphony No. 8
Pettersson: Symphony No. 12, "The Dead on the Square"
Ligeti: Requiem
Schuman: Symphony No. 9, "Le Fosse Ardeatine"
Lutosławski: Musique funèbre

This is definitely your chromatic-rhythmic-textural-haunting side, John.  ;)
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Mirror Image

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on August 21, 2021, 03:57:31 PM
This is definitely your chromatic-rhythmic-textural-haunting side, John.  ;)

Indeed. ;D We all have a musical dark side and I suppose these works exemplify more than words ever could. :) I have to say, though, reading Brian's list, it sounds like he has yet to succumb to complete and utter darkness. The works he listed don't make me feel uncomfortable at all. Anyway, don't worry, we'll pull him into our void --- it won't be easy, but he will give in sooner or later. :P

kyjo

My list is pretty "tame" compared to Cesar's and John's, but here goes:

Arnold: Symphony no. 7
Bloch: Piano Quintet no. 1
Boulanger (L): Psalm 130 "Du fond de l'abîme"
Braga Santos: Symphony no. 5
Bridge: Oration (Concerto elegiaco)
Honegger: Symphony no. 3
Pettersson: Symphony no. 8
Prokofiev: Symphony no. 6
Schnittke: Cello Concerto no. 1
Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 6
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Mirror Image

Quote from: kyjo on August 24, 2021, 06:51:03 AM
My list is pretty "tame" compared to Cesar's and John's, but here goes:

Arnold: Symphony no. 7
Bloch: Piano Quintet no. 1
Boulanger (L): Psalm 130 "Du fond de l'abîme"
Braga Santos: Symphony no. 5
Bridge: Oration (Concerto elegiaco)
Honegger: Symphony no. 3
Pettersson: Symphony no. 8
Prokofiev: Symphony no. 6
Schnittke: Cello Concerto no. 1
Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 6

Those Pettersson and Schnittke works are certainly bleak and as black as night, Kyle. Good choices. ;) ;D

Jo498

Mahler 6th
Sibelius 4th
Berg 3 orchestral pieces
Hartmann Concerto funebre
Haydn Symphony #49
Liszt Totentanz, Lugubre Gondola, Nuages gris etc.
Brahms op. 118,6
Schubert: Winterreise
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Mirror Image

Quote from: Jo498 on August 24, 2021, 07:45:58 AM
Mahler 6th
Sibelius 4th
Berg 3 orchestral pieces
Hartmann Concerto funebre
Haydn Symphony #49
Liszt Totentanz, Lugubre Gondola, Nuages gris etc.
Brahms op. 118,6
Schubert: Winterreise

I could've very well put some Hartmann on my list as well. Great choice there.

krummholz

Weighing in...

Holmboe 9th symphony
Mahler 6th and 9th, Das Lied von der Erde
Sibelius 4th
Schoenberg String Quartet #2, Chamber Symphony #2
Shostakovich 4th symphony, 8th symphony
Tubin 6th

More 4 sure, but that's my top 10...

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: kyjo on August 24, 2021, 06:51:03 AM
My list is pretty "tame" compared to Cesar's and John's, but here goes:

Arnold: Symphony no. 7
Bloch: Piano Quintet no. 1
Boulanger (L): Psalm 130 "Du fond de l'abîme"
Braga Santos: Symphony no. 5
Bridge: Oration (Concerto elegiaco)
Honegger: Symphony no. 3
Pettersson: Symphony no. 8
Prokofiev: Symphony no. 6
Schnittke: Cello Concerto no. 1
Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 6

Braga Santos is quite dark in the 5th indeed. Some of his late pieces convey a sense of terryfing atmosphere. Gripping works.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: krummholz on August 24, 2021, 08:34:51 AM
Weighing in...

Holmboe 9th symphony
Mahler 6th and 9th, Das Lied von der Erde
Sibelius 4th
Schoenberg String Quartet #2, Chamber Symphony #2
Shostakovich 4th symphony, 8th symphony
Tubin 6th

More 4 sure, but that's my top 10...

Sibelius 4th has been elusive to me, but I'm coming to grips with it more and more. Maazel and the WP do a great job in that piece (Decca).
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Mirror Image

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on August 28, 2021, 07:46:39 PM
Sibelius 4th has been elusive to me, but I'm coming to grips with it more and more. Maazel and the WP do a great job in that piece (Decca).

Do you know the Karajan DG performance, Cesar? This is my reference recording for this symphony.

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 28, 2021, 07:50:02 PM
Do you know the Karajan DG performance, Cesar? This is my reference recording for this symphony.

Yes, another very convincing reading for sure. This is one of those cases where the performance makes a difference. Not all they manage to persuade the listener and show itself like truly meaningful.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Mirror Image

#18
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on August 28, 2021, 08:27:39 PM
Yes, another very convincing reading for sure. This is one of those cases where the performance makes a difference. Not all they manage to persuade the listener and show itself like truly meaningful.

The 4th was elusive to me as well until I heard the Karajan DG recording. To be honest, this is one of the only pieces of music that brought tears to my eyes. The third movement had ahold of me and I never looked back. Not only is this my favorite Sibelius symphony, but one of those desert island works for me. Vänskä with the Lahti SO is another favorite performance of this work. Oh and I also love the Barbirolli/Hallé performance. If this performance doesn't give you frostbite, I don't know what will! :P

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 28, 2021, 08:32:33 PM
The 4th was elusive to me as well until I heard the Karajan DG recording. To be honest, this is one of the only pieces of music that brought tears to my eyes. The third movement had ahold of me and I never looked back. Not only is this my favorite Sibelius symphony, but one of those desert island works for me. Vänskä with the Lahti SO is another favorite performance of this work. Oh and I also love the Barbirolli/Hallé performance. If this performance doesn't give you frostbite, I don't know what will! :P

I'm making sure of compilating a good bunch of their recordings. I know I want to get deeper in Sibelius's soul.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky