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i wondered what you were going contribute

Seriously, William seems to think Chopin's scherzo no 1 is pretty scary. The first few bars (after the big chords) do remind me of evil little clawed creatures scambling to hide themselves in the leaves.

I love how these old threads mysteriously revive themselves from time to time.

Rachmaninoff's " Isle of the Dead." It never fails to send shivers up and down my spine. I understand it is based on the Dore painting.
One can hear the piercing howls of the dead souls as they are being rowed across the river Styx toward Hades. Magnificent work---but not for the faint of heart. Gaby Tu

Gyorgi Ligeti was comissioned to write some very evocative choral music for the film 2001 a space Oddysey. These compositions for orchestra including chorus are chilling enough for me and anyone else. Listening to this music is like being transported through space in all it's awe, dread and loneliness. The incorporation of the music in the film was masterful and never to be outdone for eery effect.

No, he wasn't, these were originally (and are still) concert works. Kubrick just used them (and without permission, too).

I have a recording by Robert Shannon, from the George Crumb edition vol. 8.


Oh and good point, because Kubrick got in a spot of trouble for doing that haha

Are you sure about that? Unless he somehow had previously acquired the rights to the music, that would be a law suit waiting to happen and a breach of what most any filmmaker know is basic law - don't use other's materials without first acquiring the right. BTW, Kubrick also used his music in Eyes Wide Shut and The Shining (two other hauntingly chilling movies).

Yes, I stand corrected. The music was not composed specifically for Mr Kubrick's film. Perhaps this may help explain if I may quote from Keyboard magazine:

I wonder if any one on the boards has actually studied the forementioned etudes and wether they may be obtained as scores. Where might one listen to performances. I should definitely be interested in this composer's piano works as he aimed to be representative of the piano tradition and yet was interested in the cosmic sciences.

I like that part about him going to the film and suddenly realising it was his music. Did Mr Kubrick get his wrist slapped over that one I wonder? Probably a reimbursed ticket was in order.

Cowell's Banshee is particularly spooky if you are close to the piano. Fingernails along the windings of the bass strings are spine tingling or something like that.

Yay! First Post!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "The Sunken Cathedral". I think it's scary.

most defenitely 'das Wirtshaus', Winterreise by Schubert, makes me want to run away and enjoy life for as long as it lasts...

We were studying modern composers in music theory.

We listened to "threnody for the victims of Hiroshima"

That was hands down the most terrifying piece of music I have ever listened to!

You can literally hear the bomb sirens, and the explosion, and the screams of women and children... All through the orchestra. It doesn't get more eery than that.

Ah yes for organ.

Dont leave out Bach's Passacaglia in C minor!

Creepy:
Scriabin's 9th sonata, Vers la flamme
Liszt:transcendental etude 6 "vision" sometimes...


Sad:
Chopin's C minor nocturne op.48 no.1,
Rachmaninoff's 3rd musical moment
Scriabin's prelude op. 11 no.12

From the piano literature:
Liszt: Nuages gris; La lugubre gondole; Am Grabe R. Wagner
Schumann: Vogel als Prophet
and of course Le Gibet:

Richter, Ravel, Le Gibet

But if you're going for creepy you want the Lieder tradition:

Schubert: Der Zwerg (the all time winner)

Schumann: Die alten, bosen Lieder (I'm conflicted whether this is truly creepy or just extremely bitter)

Der arme Peter (genuinely creepy)

Der Zwerg
bosen Lieder
Der arme Peter

Chopin Second Ballade! When the main theme comes back after the explosive Presto, and then just stops.. it's the most unnerving moment of complete mystery. It's easy to lose that by becoming too familiar with it..

Also the middle of Schubert's D. 959 slow movement, in which the music as we know it is suddenly completely abandoned..

What about Chopin's 'Devil Trill' Prelude? Or Scriabin's Sonata #6?

I find being haunted by long-dead threads full of posts from people I've never heard of to be very creepy.