# Slow, quiet and sad. Classical recommendations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688 "2013-06-11T02:03:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/21 "2013-06-11T19:21:41Z")
I guess it’s neoclassical, but [Cantus for Benjamin Britten by Arvo Part](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUcazplAc58). Great swellings of strings against a church bell. It’s an astounding piece. The album that it’s from, [Tabula Rasa](http://www.amazon.com/Arvo-Part-Tabula-Rasa/dp/B003TT733G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370978394&sr=8-1&keywords=arvo+part+tabula+rasa), is profoundly moving. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/22 "2013-06-11T19:26:07Z")
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, 1st movement (although it’s not that slow) ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/23 "2013-06-11T21:47:46Z")
2nd movement of Beethoven’s Piano concerto #4 in G Maj Op. 58: [ii. andante con moto](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXvSusmvOn4) As far as your car goes, MP3 players are pretty affordable now and can jack directly into most modern car stereos, as well as be powered by your car’s battery (most modern smartphones also have this capability, but with less storage capacity; they’re more expensive too, but if you already have a smartphone anyways…). Failing that, most modern car stereos can play MP3-format discs, which can hold a fairly large amount of music (several hours worth per disc). ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/24 "2013-06-11T21:52:40Z")
The slow movement of Saint-Saens Symphony #3 (Organ Symphony). Serene mostly, but introspective. ---
**Author:** ![Tess\_Trueheart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Tess\_Trueheart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_Trueheart)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/25 "2013-06-12T01:11:15Z")
Leos Janacek’s “In the mists” Leos Janacek’s “Sonata 1.x.1905” Domenico Scarlatti’s sonata L.108 / K.213 ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/26 "2013-06-12T01:16:55Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for strings” is one of the all-time great downer pieces. While you’re listening to Barber, also check out the second movement of his Violin Concerto, Op. 14. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/27 "2013-06-12T01:36:48Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Ravel’s _Pavane for a Dead Princess_ Beaten to it! ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/28 "2013-06-12T01:37:46Z")
> [@D18](#): > > The Prologue to Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion, as performed by Werner Klemperer. Nitpick: **Otto** Klemperer. (a.k.a. Maestro Klink.) ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/29 "2013-06-12T01:40:22Z")
I also really like Introduction and Allegro by Elgar. Oh my god is that an awesome piece! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/30 "2013-06-12T02:01:59Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, 1st movement (although it’s not that slow) The 2nd movement is closer to what he’s looking for. And [Tchaikovsky’s “The Seasons: June”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xLQW5rm92s) (except for a brief boisterous section in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![chewsick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@chewsick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chewsick)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/31 "2013-06-12T02:10:25Z")
Try Shostakovich Str Qrts – all of them. There is something of that experience in any composer, ceteris paribus. Mahler? Vaughan-Williams? And so forth. Listen to it all. And learn to know what feelings are. Welcome to the world of music. ---
**Author:** ![chewsick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@chewsick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chewsick)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/32 "2013-06-12T02:32:50Z")
OK, I see on specifics. I like [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Of_6GtDSs) Bach’s long fugue from the e Partita for your mood. But also the Brahms Op. 118 no. 6 – the “Dies Irae” based intermezzo (which is, I guess, supposed to be a lighthearted piece, and this one is, but one old friend said when I was playing it again, “How can you stand to play so much beauty?” (srsly it was like a weird moment, since I always liked it and just thought it was normal). Look up Luba Edlina’s performance, I guess. Gould is OK, but why not get some thunderous octaves under your belt first. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/33 "2013-06-12T02:47:54Z")
> [@chewsick](#): > > Try Shostakovich Str Qrts – all of them. Special mention for the last one, No. 15. Six movements…all marked “Adagio.” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/34 "2013-06-12T06:01:32Z")
Debussy, nocturne for orchestra “Nuages” (“clouds”) [Debussy: Nocturnes - No. 1. Nuages, Conductor: W. Sawallisch - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bPchm--OJ4) Debussy, prelude “Footsteps in the Snow” [Debussy: Book I~VI. Footsteps in the Snow - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLKLWl23XJ0) Ravel, Mother Goose suite, sections 1 and 2 [RAVEL - MOTHER GOOSE SUITE : 1. Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzG-v85XvH0&list=PL4411540B4EBF238E) Ravel, Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, sections Assez lent, Presque lent, and Epilogue: lent [Weissenberg - Ravel Valses nobles et sentimentales - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLlloWPvfcg) Holst: The Planets - Neptune [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApfGfCQHGWw) Chopin prelude in B minor [F. Chopin - Prelude No.6 in B Minor, Op.28 - Evgeny Kissin - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9F4zDhgHcQ) Bach, sarabande from Orchestral Suite in B minor [Bach - Bwv1067 Orchestral Suite - 03 - Sarabande - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QFgxPWjdvw) Bach, sarabande from unaccompanied cello suite #2 [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WxnXerG4cM) Bach, Largo from Concerto for violin in G minor, BWV 1056r [Bach Violin Concerto In G Minor, BWV 1056 - Largo - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7XPT9RL-Qs) Bach, Adagio from Concerto for violin in E, BWV 1042 [J. S. Bach: Violin Concerto in E major - 2nd movement - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXgeCnyD8_g) Bach, sarabande in D minor for unaccompanied violin, BWV 1004 [Anne Sophie Mutter - J. S. Bach Sarabande - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNJDNVDhCKI) Bach Suite 5 for unaccompanied cello IV. Sarabande [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3dgACCAzwM) ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/35 "2013-06-14T13:55:46Z")
> [@Tess\_Trueheart](#): > > Leos Janacek’s “Sonata 1.x.1905” Youtube breaks this up as 1/2 for 95% of its listings and that part didn’t hit me like I thought it would. Faith in poster, I dug further to find one of the few 2/2 listed. So. Worth. It. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Tess\_Trueheart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Tess\_Trueheart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_Trueheart)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/36 "2013-06-14T17:07:36Z")
It’s written in 2 movements- “The Presentiment” and “The Death” - and tells the story of a student protester who was killed. The second movement is chilling. My favorite performer of all things Janacek is the pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/37 "2013-06-14T18:51:16Z")
Elgar - “Nimrod” from Enigma Variations [Youtube link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqwwsrhJiqI) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/38 "2013-06-14T19:59:25Z")
The [Adagio](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6ZBSdjzKfk) from Khatchaturian’s _Gayane_ is about as sad is it comes. One of my favorite pieces, and may be familiar because it’s used quite hauntingly in Kubrick’s **2001**. Of course, in the entire suite, Sabre Dance comes in a little later and picks up the pace. ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/39 "2013-06-14T22:31:54Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#): > > Another extra-slow Bach is the Stokowski version of [Air on a G String.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e2OoJamNLMQ) This is the first one I thought of. One of my absolute favorites. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688/40 "2013-06-15T00:19:19Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Holst: The Planets - Neptune [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApfGfCQHGWw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApfGfCQHGWw) Amen. This piece is stunningly beautiful transcendental impressionism. Given a choice, I’d go with the Ormandy/Philadelphia recording (download for 99¢ here _[Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/Holst-The-Planets/dp/B001V4SKGU/ref=sr_1_19?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1371255403&sr=1-19&keywords=holst+the+planets)_) not that I’ve heard all the others of course. > [@MovieMogul](#): > > The [Adagio](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6ZBSdjzKfk) from Khatchaturian’s _Gayane_ is about as sad is it comes. One of my favorite pieces, and may be familiar because it’s used quite hauntingly in Kubrick’s **2001**. Also used to similar effect for the opening of **Aliens** by James Horner who “interpreted” it virtually note-for-note without acknowledging the actual composer (Khachaturian). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-quiet-and-sad-classical-recommendations/660688.md?page=3)