The Most "MOVING" Pieces for you Personally.

[MadvillainQuas]

Welcome from me too. I share several of your choices including Moeran, Yoshimatsu and Boulanger.

Yep, I've definitely seen your face around the forums whilst lurking. It seems we have quite similar tastes in music  . It would be interesting to see an updated list, considering that 12 years have elapsed since your last one.

Thank you to all that have welcomed me to the forums, I really do appreciate it.

Great list! I love your username, should I take it to mean that you're a hip-hop head, too? There are not many of us here, I must warn you Hope you stick around!

You got the reference, that means you must be a hardcore head too  . To be frank, I used to be a big hip hop head until I got into the beat-making scene around 14 (I'm 20 now, for context). I swapped the rap for the instrumental scene, striving to find the most soul-hitting beats (obviously Madlib fits the description to a T, thus the nickname). It was around then, combining with my love for JRPG soundtracks (Hamauzu in particular) that got me into Classical, which has had a vice-like grip on me since.

+1 for the Elgar concerto, the Reger choral works.

I would add the slow introduction to Elgar symphony no 1, the cadenza and slow movement of his violin concerto and the introduction to part II of Mass of Life (Delius). Also Reger's Der Einsiedler, the Requiem's sister work.

Operas should figure here too, but being large scale works, the epithet 'moving' is likely to apply to particular scenes. Like the last scene from Bellini's Norma, starting at In mia man alfin tu sei, or the redemptive Immolation Scene of Wagner's Götterdämmerung.

Trust me, I still have a LOT to listen to. I've always found operas to be rather difficult to enter into, considering my listening experience revolves itself around the spiritual, rather than the corporeal experience; if I'm listening to a piece of music, for it to interest me, I'm looking for a transcendental, or cathartical experience. Moments like recitatives in Bach chorales, or story elements in Opera form dead-time for me in a musical sense, so finding the correct act and scene in a specific opera for such an experience is difficult. I'm definitely looking to get into some opera; I've definitely neglected the Italian scene in my musical search so far.

Der Einsiedler is definitely a masterful piece of work though, even if it didn't figure onto my truncated list. Love late opus Reger (and his music as a whole). Really fits into my own ideology of a perfect composer (for my own composition career): The structure of Bach, the mastery over time as a Beethoven or Brahms, and the harmonic language of a modernist (for my own example it'd be Hamauzu or Sagisu).

Would love to see more lists added to the pile. You never know, you could introduce someone to their new favourite piece of work!

[Holden]

I must have missed this thread  when it first came out in 2008.

Absolute top of the list is the Verdi Requiem

Others include:

Schubert Nacht und Traum

Wiren Serenade for Strings. One of the most ridiculously happy pieces of music I know.

Chopin Nocturne Op 48/1

Beethoven Op 2/3 slow movement.

Shostakovich Scherzo from the 8th Symphony

I could go on but this is enough for now

[Florestan]

Mozart Violin Sonata KV 301, Clarinet Concertp, Clarinet Quintet, Kyrie in F major KV 33
Beethoven Pathetique Sonata, Archduke Trio
Schubert Piano Sonata D 960, Arpeggione Sonata, Notturno for piano, violin and cello, Symphony no. 9 2nd mvt: Andante con moto
Schumann Three Romances for Oboe and Piano op. 94, no. 2: Einfach, innig; Kinderszenen op. 16: Träumerei and Der Dichter spricht
Chopin Polonaise op. 53, Barcarolle, Etude op. 10/3
Brahms Piano Trio op. 8, 2nd mvt; Scherzo, particularly the trio
Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings 2nd mvt: Valse. Moderato-tempo di valse, String Quartet no. 2 op. 22 2nd mvt: Allegro giusto
Rachmaninoff: Vespers, PC 2 & 3

[Christo]

Very moving for me are, often for personal & mostly also for sentimental reasons:

Vaughan Williams, A Pastoral Symphony
Vaughan Williams, Tallis Fantasia
Tubin, Symphony no. 4 'Lirica'
Tormis, Unustatud rahvad
Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Braga Santos, Symphony no. 3
Pärt, Te Deum
Leigh, Harpsichord Concertino
Einhorn, Voices of Light
Bridge, Oration - concerto elegiaco
Skalkottas, 36 Greek Dances
Debussy, La Mer
Gibbs, Symphony no. 3 'Westmorland'
Howells, Requiem
Ginastera, Variaciones concertantes
Tailleferre, Concertino pour harpe et orchestre
Guridi, Diez melodias vascas
Holst, The Hymn of Jesus
Barber, Second Essay for orchestra
Janáček, Intimate Letters
Avetissian, Oratorio
Szymanowski, Stabat Mater
Duruflé, Requiem
Brian, Symphony no. 6 `Tragica'
Pierné, Divertissements sur un thème pastoral
Martin, Polyptyque
Falla, El Sombrero de Tres Picos
Respighi, Metamorphoseon
Respighi, Lauda per la Nativitá del Signore
Kodály, Dances from Galanta
Hindemith, Fünf Stücke für Streichorchester

All still there, in my own tiny corner, yet happily there have been many newcomers also, e.g.:

Pēteris Vasks, Viatore
Ēriks Ešenvalds, Long Road & a handful of other choral songs
Eivind Groven, Symphony No. 1 'Towards the Mountains'
Hendrik Andriessen, central movement of the Symphonie concertante
Nino Rota, opening of Symphony No. 1
Ola Gjeilo, The Lake Isle
Stanley Bate, Symphony No. 3  &c. 

[vandermolen]

Oh, yes, especially that bit near the end of the final movement, actually there are two different parts, where the solo violins come in alongside the cello. Oh my gosh...

In addition to my earlier list I'd add:

Esenvalds: Visions of Arctic Night

W.Denis Browne (killed in World War One): 'To Gratiana Dancing and Singing' (song)

Here it is:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UjR91VzRxkQ

Miaskovsky: No.1 of 'Two Pieces for String Orchestra' (adapted from the Middle movements of Symphony 19)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGxpkF1yq-w

Stanley Bate: Symphony No.4 (Christo has already mentioned Symphony No.3)

V.Novak: 'Christchild's Lullaby' the last of the 'Eight Nocturnes for Voice and Orchestra'.

Coincidentally I was listening to one of my earlier choices, Richard Arnell's Fifth Symphony. The last movement, which quotes from an old song 'Dear old pals, jolly old pals', that Arnell's father liked to sing, is incredibly moving and someone with whom I communicated about it said that that section makes you want to jump out of your seat and applaud!

[Biffo]

When I was one-and-twenty (actually slightly less) I attended a course of Music Appreciation classes. We listened to a couple of the songs from Butterworth's A Shropshire Lad - one of them was Is my team still ploughing?. I found Housman's poems morbid and didn't enjoy the songs at all. Now that I am nearer three score years and ten I find the whole cycle almost unbearably moving, especially The lads in their hundreds.

[Total Rafa]

Here are a few contenders:

Beethoven: Waldstein Sonata
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, Études-Tableaux Op. 33/4, PC3
Schubert: String Quintet
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet (slow movement), Symphony No. 4, PC2
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 (Allegro espansivo)
Rautavaara: Slow movements from Symphony No. 7, Piano Concerto No. 1, and Cantus Acrticus
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Martinu: Symphony No. 4, Largo
RVW: Symphony No. 5 (slow movement)
Faure: Requiem
Smetana: Piano Trio, Vlatva
Mozart: slow movements from PCs 18, 22, 23
Liszt: much of Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, and Annees, PC2
Dvorak: Piano Quintet No. 2
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Bruckner: adagios of Symphony 7, 8
Babajanian: Piano Trio, Andante
Glass: Symphony 8, 9, PC1 Mvmt 2
Poulenc: Concerto for Two pianos
Schumann: Piano Quintet
Strauss: Metamorphosen
Shostakovich: Symphony No.5, Largo, VC1 Passacaglia, CC1 Moderato
Mendelssohn: Scottish Symphony, Violin Concerto

[vandermolen]

Here are a few contenders:

Beethoven: Waldstein Sonata
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, Études-Tableaux Op. 33/4, PC3
Schubert: String Quintet
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet (slow movement), Symphony No. 4, PC2
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 (Allegro espansivo)
Rautavaara: Slow movements from Symphony No. 7, Piano Concerto No. 1, and Cantus Acrticus
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Martinu: Symphony No. 4, Largo
RVW: Symphony No. 5 (slow movement)
Faure: Requiem
Smetana: Piano Trio, Vlatva
Mozart: slow movements from PCs 18, 22, 23
Liszt: much of Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, and Annees, PC2
Dvorak: Piano Quintet No. 2
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Bruckner: adagios of Symphony 7, 8
Babajanian: Piano Trio, Andante
Glass: Symphony 8, 9, PC1 Mvmt 2
Poulenc: Concerto for Two pianos
Schumann: Piano Quintet
Strauss: Metamorphosen
Shostakovich: Symphony No.5, Largo, VC1 Passacaglia, CC1 Moderato
Mendelssohn: Scottish Symphony, Violin Concerto

Interesting choices. I agree that the slow movements of Martinu's 4th Symphony is very moving and agree with some of your other choices as well.

[amw]

I feel like I've answered very similar thread topics in the past.

At the moment I would name the slow movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No.22 & Brahms's Variations on an Original Theme Op.21 no.1.

[André]

Many opera arias express emotions that particularly touch me: longing, abandon, resignation, a catharsis of the soul. Among those it seems that female characters have a quasi monopoly on the genre. Arias by Purcell, Gluck, Verdi, Puccini, Gounod, Thomas, Bellini. I won't list them all, but here are three I fall for every time:

Gluck: Ô malheureuse Iphigénie (Iphigénie en Tauride)
Gounod: Ô ma lyre immortelle (Sappho)
Purcell: When I am laid in earth (Dido and Aeneas)

[Roasted Swan]

When I was one-and-twenty (actually slightly less) I attended a course of Music Appreciation classes. We listened to a couple of the songs from Butterworth's A Shropshire Lad - one of them was Is my team still ploughing?. I found Housman's poems morbid and didn't enjoy the songs at all. Now that I am nearer three score years and ten I find the whole cycle almost unbearably moving, especially The lads in their hundreds.

For some reason that I really cannot explain I have always found the "Shropshire Lad" poems extraordinarily moving.  I did when I was younger but - as you - do now even more as I get older.  Its the the whole transience and loss thing I guess........

[Symphonic Addict]

One of the most moving pieces I've listened to lately is the 2nd movement from Wirén's Piano Trio No. 1. Short but incredibly touching. I'm glad I discovered that work!

[vandermolen]

One of the most moving pieces I've listened to lately is the 2nd movement from Wirén's Piano Trio No. 1. Short but incredibly touching. I'm glad I discovered that work!

Right, I must hear this!

+1 for A Shropshire Lad as well.

In the same spirit I'd like to recommend Patrick Hadley's 'The Trees so High'.

[flyingdutchman]

The most beautiful, the most moving for me is Tchaikovsky's 1st symphony, the second movement.  Beautiful, drenched with longing.  I love it.

[some guy]

Interesting choices. I agree that the slow movements of Martinu's 4th Symphony is very moving and agree with some of your other choices as well.

But Vandermolen, doesn't the subject of this thread say, explicitly, "for you Personally"? That would make any agreement or disagreement with anyone's choices a plain impertinence.

Of course, since we have many things in common, those of us who post here, there will be numerous pieces that do indeed move more than one person. But that's as may be, according to the subject line.

Also, I suppose I should do some thread duty, now. I'd rather not. What moves me, personally, is not surprisingly, a personal matter. But as I've crawled out from under my rock....

Bokanowski, L'etoile absinthe. One the more (if not the most) immediately compelling as well as continually engaging pieces of music I have ever heard.

Brümmer, La cloche sans vallées. A close second to L'etoile. I recall Ludger saying that this was his favorite of his pieces. But my memory is not at all reliable.

Ashley, In Sara, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven there were men and women. This is one of those pieces I do not play often because once I've started it, I cannot turn it off, for any reason. Bach's St. Matthew Passion is another one of those.

Bach, St. Matthew Passion.

Berlioz, Les Troyens.

Prokofiev, Semyon Kotko.

Janáček, not only Katya Kabanova but Osud, as well.

Britten, War Requiem.

Noetinger and Guthrie, Face Off. I do remember Jérôme saying, shortly after this came out, that this was his favorite. I'm sure of that. :-)

There's more. Lots more. By all of the people I've mentioned already along with dozens of others I've not. Only to be expected from a fan(atic). It's a big world, and I've been in it a long time.

[Biffo]

But Vandermolen, doesn't the subject of this thread say, explicitly, "for you Personally"? That would make any agreement or disagreement with anyone's choices a plain impertinence.

Of course, since we have many things in common, those of us who post here, there will be numerous pieces that do indeed move more than one person. But that's as may be, according to the subject line.

Also, I suppose I should do some thread duty, now. I'd rather not. What moves me, personally, is not surprisingly, a personal matter. But as I've crawled out from under my rock....

Bokanowski, L'etoile absinthe. One the more (if not the most) immediately compelling as well as continually engaging pieces of music I have ever heard.

Brümmer, La cloche sans vallées. A close second to L'etoile. I recall Ludger saying that this was his favorite of his pieces. But my memory is not at all reliable.

Ashley, In Sara, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven there were men and women. This is one of those pieces I do not play often because once I've started it, I cannot turn it off, for any reason. Bach's St. Matthew Passion is another one of those.

Bach, St. Matthew Passion.

Berlioz, Les Troyens.

Prokofiev, Semyon Kotko.

Janáček, not only Katya Kabanova but Osud, as well.

Britten, War Requiem.

Noetinger and Guthrie, Face Off. I do remember Jérôme saying, shortly after this came out, that this was his favorite. I'm sure of that. :-)

There's more. Lots more. By all of the people I've mentioned already along with dozens of others I've not. Only to be expected from a fan(atic). It's a big world, and I've been in it a long time.

Specifically for me, Didon's aria Adieu, fière cité and the song of the young sailor Hylas "Vallon sonore"

[vandermolen]

But Vandermolen, doesn't the subject of this thread say, explicitly, "for you Personally"? That would make any agreement or disagreement with anyone's choices a plain impertinence.

Of course, since we have many things in common, those of us who post here, there will be numerous pieces that do indeed move more than one person. But that's as may be, according to the subject line.

Also, I suppose I should do some thread duty, now. I'd rather not. What moves me, personally, is not surprisingly, a personal matter. But as I've crawled out from under my rock....

Bokanowski, L'etoile absinthe. One the more (if not the most) immediately compelling as well as continually engaging pieces of music I have ever heard.

Brümmer, La cloche sans vallées. A close second to L'etoile. I recall Ludger saying that this was his favorite of his pieces. But my memory is not at all reliable.

Ashley, In Sara, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven there were men and women. This is one of those pieces I do not play often because once I've started it, I cannot turn it off, for any reason. Bach's St. Matthew Passion is another one of those.

Bach, St. Matthew Passion.

Berlioz, Les Troyens.

Prokofiev, Semyon Kotko.

Janáček, not only Katya Kabanova but Osud, as well.

Britten, War Requiem.

Noetinger and Guthrie, Face Off. I do remember Jérôme saying, shortly after this came out, that this was his favorite. I'm sure of that. :-)

There's more. Lots more. By all of the people I've mentioned already along with dozens of others I've not. Only to be expected from a fan(atic). It's a big world, and I've been in it a long time.

I take the point in your opening sentence, although I was just pointing out that I found some of the works (slow movement of Martinu's 4th Symphony for example) moving as well. I'm not sure how this can be construed as impertinent as I was not 'disagreeing' with the other choices.

[Iota]

Bokanowski, L'etoile absinthe. One the more (if not the most) immediately compelling as well as continually engaging pieces of music I have ever heard

An interesting piece! Particularly expressive in conjunction with its title I felt.


Most moving pieces for me include:


Britten From the Gutter (Peter Grimes)

Mahler 9, 1st movement

Mahler 3, final movement

Schumann Davidsbundlertanze

Schumann Kreisleriana

Beethoven 9

Beethoven Op.111

Wagner Liebestod

Sibelius 7

Machaut Messe de Nostre Dame (Peres)

Vaughan Williams 5, Romanza


And I don't know if a lever's pulled and one disappears down a chute for mentioning the following, but I can't help myself:

Strauss Rosenkavalier Final Trio

Rachmaninov 2nd symphony, Adagio


Many I could add, some mood ones, but the above fairly constant over many years.

[vandermolen]

I wanted to add two Japanese scores, both of which I've found very moving. The long opening movement of Hayasaka's Piano Concerto, in memory of his brother and the victims of WW2 (he is best known as the composer of the music for the film 'Seven Samurai') and Moroi's Third Symphony, also in memory of the victims of WW2:

[relm1]

Mahler 2 for me.  It was the first time I heard a professional orchestra and chorus.  I was 16 years old and it was a very pivotal moment in my life.  That experience transformed me and I became a composer then.  I hadn't had any formal music lessons but started writing music and afterwords would go on to take courses on piano, theory, harmony, counterpoint, composition, performance, conducing, and eventually get a masters degree in composition.  I was fully onboard with music after that experience.  It will always be bittersweet memory for me though.