Something like Ravel’s “Bolero” meets “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Any suggestions?
If I can’t find anything else I’ll just use “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” but I was hoping for something just a little longer and maybe with a bit more variation.
And not “Humoresque”–I already used that. Though something else along those lines might work, too.
I love the second part of Monti’s “Czardas” for both of those qualities, but it’s such a short piece, and the part in question is even shorter.
The part in question starts at about 1:30.
Give a listen to Felix Mendelssohn : The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave) - Overture
Danse Macabre? Too seasonal? Camille Saint-Saëns - Danse Macabre - YouTube
How about a Rossini Overture: The Barber of Seville, The Thieving Magpie and William Tell all have those elements.
The Gallop, from “The Comedians,” by Kabalevsly.
Or Fortune plango vulnera, from “Carmina Burana,” by Orff.
“Battle on the Ice” from Alexander Nevsky by Prokofiev. It speeds up as it goes. If you get a good recording, by the climax you should want to be cleaving someone with a battleaxe.
Found a “video” of the Nevsky. The exciting bit starts around 2:15.
Rimsky Korsakov “Le Coq d’Or” (4: The Wedding)
“Battle of the Knights,” from Prokofiev’s “Romeo & Juliet”:
Bartrok, “Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.”
Shostakovich’s C major piano concerto.
That is all.
If you can it through the boring parts (heh) Beethoven’s last piano sonata. For that matter his Op. 126 Bagatelles – all kinds of spritely. Those are solo piano, of course, so might not work for you.
Ooh, yeah! This! I forgot about this…
Wow, thanks everybody! Lots of possibilities!
The Carmen Suite, by Bizet. A medley of some of the opera’s greatest music, and since it is a medley, if you’re looking for something with lots of tempo / style changes, this is a fun option.
This may be a little overused, though it fits your criteria:
Just discovered this on YouTube, played the way the piece should be: