Sergi Rachmaninoff: Prelude Op.3 No.2 in C-sharp minor

The sad classical music piece today is another by Sergi Rachmaninoff. This, ladies and gents, is about as good as it gets for emotional piano pieces in my opinion. I simply love this piece in every way. The passion and dark attitude of the piece is amazing. The delivery of those huge, heavy (can I say badass?) chords at the beginning of the piece with the suspenseful wait between each delivery gets my heart racing everytime. This is one of the first pieces composed by Rachmaninoff after he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892. He was only 19 years old at the time!

Claude Debussy: Clair de Lune – third movement of Suite Bergamasque as heard in the movie TWILIGHT

I am proud to bring you today’s piece of sad classical music. It is Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy. It has been used in so many contexts that I am sure almost everyone can recognise the tune by ear. Clair de Lune is actually the third movement of Debussy’s Suite bergamasque written in 1890, although it was not published until 1905. The Suite bergamasque is one of the most famous piano suites byClaude Debussy with the third and most famous movement being Clair de Lune. Interestingly, Clair de Lune means ‘moonlight’ in French – which I think fits the mood of this piece perfectly.

Robert Schumann: Traumerei

Today’s piece of sad classical music is by the great composer Robert Schumann. In the video above ‘Traumerei’ is being played by Vladimir Horowitz. What a beautiful piece. Check out how captivated the audience is in the video above – truly moving.

If you would like to buy this piece of sad classical music, I recommend the album The Best of Schumann from Amazon.com.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s piece of sad classical music.

Erik Satie: Gymnopaedia No 1

I stumbled across this particular piece by Erik Satie today. It is one of three three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie and published in Paris starting in 1888. As always, you can read more about this piece at Wikipedia. I had not heard of the name of this piece before, but it was instantly recognisable. It has been used in countless movies and tv shows over the years. I really like this piece – it fits the category of sad classical music as it has a tinge of melancholy and sadness. Infact, according to Wikipedia:

the melodies of the pieces use deliberate, but mild, dissonances against the harmony, producing a piquant, melancholy effect that matches the performance instructions, which are to play each piece “slowly”, “dolorously” or “gravely”

Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 – 2. The Death of Aase – “Aase’s Death”

Thanks to Jo Solterane for suggesting this beautiful piece of sad classical music. As I keep saying, I love violins, so this piece really resonates with me. The piece builds in intensity throughout, and has a refined power to it. It makes me think about orphaned children for some reason.

What does it make you think about? What are your reactions? Do you like this piece?

This sad classical music was written by Edvard Grieg, a Norwegian composer that wrote this piece in 1888. Originally Grieg was asked to write incidental music for the play of the same name ‘Peer Gynt’, written by Henrik Ibsen in 1876. Grieg extracted eight movements to make two four-movement suites, which included Op. 46 being presented here. You can read more about the history of this piece on Wikipedia.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor “Quasi una fantasia”, Op. 27, No. 2, (Moonlight Sonata)

Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven is a dark classical music piece that is very well known. In fact, of all the pieces of sad classical music that I have added to this site to date, this would definitely be the most known be people generally. There are not many people around that have not heard this, and most people will also know what it is called (at least the commonly known name at least.

I am not sure what to say about this piece of sad classical music. It is a piece of classical music that is, well, classic. It has been used in movies, tv shows, advertisments, played at countless recitals, studied in schools all around the world. If someone was asked in an episode of the Family Feud television show ‘name a piece of classical music’, I bet that one of the top responses would always be Moonlight Sonata.

Maurice Ravel: Pavane pour une infante defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess)

This is a beautiful piece of sad classical music, that holds a melancholy tone throughout the 6 to 7 minutes that it usually spans. I do not think it is the saddest piece of sad classical music out there, but this is of course subjective. It is an emotional ride that gives me images of defeat on the battlefield. The piece, to me, seems to dip into the pits of sadness and just before reaching its depths, rockets the listener back to more stable emotional ground. The tension and release of this piece of sad classical music is unmistakeable.

Maurice Ravel composed this piece when he was only 24(!) in 1899, while studying under Gabriel Faure at the Paris Conservatoire. The piece carries an interesting title, of which Ravel explains: