At Halloween time, classical piano music may be very spirited – as in eerie. Here is a sampling, which may have surprising popular culture connetoins.
Viewers of Disney's 1940 movie Fantasia witnessed an abstract visual interpretation of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor. The opening chords followed by a rippling effect are hard to forget.
Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata Opus 27, was written at the start of the 19th century. The nickname of the piece, bestowed after Beethoven's death, alluded to a musical suggestion of moonlight reflected off a German lake. Even without the moonlight, the tone of the piece is ghostly.
Schubert is known for his lieder. His 1815 piece The Elf King was based on a Goethe poem. The rushing sound evokes haunted galloping horses, and may be heard in some horror films.
Chopin's Funeral March (Piano Sonata no. 2) was played at Chopin's own funeral – as well as the funerals of John F. Kenny, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. It is often played in the media: from Beetlejuice to cartoons.
Rachmaninoff compared his Prelude in C# minor (Opus 3, no. 2) when he was only 19 years old. Also known as the “Bells of Moscow” because of its bell-like opening. The piece was indirectly inspied by Edgar Allan Poets gothic writing.
One could say that these piano compositions are scary good, which is why they have featured in film as well as concert halls. They can spirit one away...
