The music that makes me cry

[John Kim]

In order of the intensity of making me cry,

1. DLVDE

2. M9 (1st & 4th movts.)

3. B7 (2nd movt.)

4. B8 (2nd movt.)

5. M3 (6th movt.)

6. M8 (the last 10 min. of Part II.)

7. M2 (5th movt.)

8. Shosy 13th Babi Yar

9. Shosy 8th

10. M4 (3rd and 4th movts. when I am drunk)

11. Strauss Metamorphosen

This is why I RARELY listen to 1).

Shostakovich said if the Soviet Russia sends him to a remote island but would allow him to bring only one musical score, he'll choose DLVDE.

John,

[david johnson]

i can feel the various emotional effects music has upon me, but they are never demonstrated in tears unless the music is deeply rooted in personal experiences. when one of my students sang at my mom's funeral it got me, but the same selections today do not produce tears.  i often sound 'taps' at funerals.  the tune affects the deceased's family and attending vets, but not myself that much.

dj

[Damfino]

I do not "cry" over any music, but I can get teary-eyed on occasion. But it is not because the music is particularly sad. I think it is when I get blown away by the beauty and perfection of some pieces that it effects me emotionally. Here are a few I can think of:

I think I get most teary-eyed with Puccini's La Boheme, particularly the end of the first act, when Rodolfo and Mimi are offstage, and you see the empty attic garret and hear their "L'amour, l'amour" offstage. I think it's just the sheer perfection of the moment that gets to me. Their duet in act III is also moving to me. Act IV, when Mimi dies, does not do much for me, even though it is "sadder".

I find myself overcome by the ending of Gounod's Faust  as well.

In Mahler, only the ending of the last movement of Symphony # 2 moves me to tears. Again, just because it seems so perfect that I get overcome with emotion.

[John Kim]

Hey, you folks all have steely hearts or something?? .

........

Of course, I didn't mean I 'cry' every time I listen to the music. Perhaps I should have written, "Music that makes my eyes teary and can make me cry ".

How about that?

John,

[wagnerlover]

Rosenkavalier, ends of Acts I and III.

Meistersinger, Quintet Act III.

db

[James Meckley]

I rarely cry while listening to recorded music unless I'm already in an emotionally vulnerable state. Like Damfino above (if I read him correctly), my crying occurs during particularly powerful and compelling live performances. I find myself laughing and crying simultaneously, as if experiencing some sort of emotional overload (in fact, that's exactly what it is).

James

[Russell]

For me (and I suspect for most others), it's not just the music itself but also the performers.  I was surprised at myself for actually sobbing while listening to Mitsuko Uchida's performance of the final moments of the Beethoven 32nd piano sonata--and this was while in my car!  I guess I was feeling quite overwhelmed while contemplating the meaning of it all.  (Uchida does a great job with all of the late Beethoven sonatas, BTW.)  I also get teary-eyed over Matthias Goerne's performance of Schubert's 'Die schöne Müllerin', particularly the final 3 songs, where he sings them like no one else.  (I like both of his recordings.)  There are also those heart-stopping moments where time seems to stand still and nothing else matters: the Presentation of the Silver Rose in 'Rosenkavalier' (Barbara Bonney in a 1984 YouTube performance is divine), or Leontyne Price floating her high C in 'O patria mia' from Aida (just about any performance), or Leontyne again in 'Madama Butterfly' (the love duet and all of Act II).

And oh yes, the finale to the Mahler 8th gets me every time, too.  (And it doesn't even have to be a great performance, either!)

Russell

[alpsman]

"Steely hearts" fantastic John.

But hey watch out if you guys cry in concerts, maybe the others think you have H1N1.

Seriously now, cry and wet eyes etc. are ok in home-car listening. But in live concerts it's a little embarassing .  I had to fight with this situation in some cases ie. Tchaikovsky pathetique( under Dohnanyi),Cavatina from quartet no.130( alban berg quartet), M9 finale( Sinopoli), Wintereise, M3 finale.

[John Kim]

OK, the only time I seriously cried upon listening to any music was when I got really drunk and played Mahler Fourth. I think it was Szell/Raskin/CLVO/Sony CD. For some reason I burst out in the fourth movt. Perhaps I was thinking Mahler's sentiments and his vision of the Heaven is too idealistic and far from my reach, or something like that .

John,

[barry guerrero]

Janacek's "Cunning Little Vixen".

[Jot N. Tittle]

"Ewig. . . ewig. . . ewig. . . ." accompanied with Scotch usually does the trick. Sometimes, just talking about it will break me up. Those present with little knowledge of Mahler wonder, WTF?

Strauss's Four Last Songs, especially the last one, can do the trick too.

And the second movement of Schubert's Quintet in C.

Death around the corner?

     . & '

[Leo K]

For some reason, every time I hear The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band) I cry like a baby.  Theres just something so real about that song, as if it was written during the Civil War!

Also...The Beach Boy's Surf's Up, the coda of the song...has made me burst into tears.

I can't think of any classical-orchestral that has done this to me...

I've had tears come during Mahler, but only 'cause I'm impressed and very elated.  Tears of elation I get from most classical...Mozart's piano concertos to name one.


oops...forgot that Schubert has made me shed the sad tears...it's the Quintet in C...cry like a newborn infant from that one, especially the trio of the Scherzo.

--Todd

[John Kim]

Common guys, so how does the music of Mahler affect you, if it doesn't make you teary or cry?

John,

[john haueisen]

Great posting John!
I see so many moments I share with others here.
Jot N. Tittle mentions the slowly fading "Ewig" which always transports me to another world.
I was glad to see Russell mention Barbara Bonney in Rosenkavalier's "presentation of the rose."  It's one of those magic moments where time stops, and we remember our first realization of love.

For me, M2 and M3 provide very special heart-wrenching tearful moments.  In M3, the beginning of the theme that Liberace incorporated as his themesong:  the pop song "I'll be seeing you," is overwhelmingly nostalgic as it echoes back to the posthorn serenade, remembering friends we no longer have among us.
In M2, so many parts of the finale grip me:  Auferstehen, wirst du, mein Herz in einem Nu!  (rise again, will you, my heart, in a nano-second) or "Sterben werd' ich um zu leben"  (I will die, in order to live!)  Even the fourth movement, Urlicht, breaks my heart with the simple statement of the transitory fragility of life:  "O roeschen rot"  (Oh little red rose).  Everything we enjoy so much about life is like a fragile little rose that, for all its beauty, will be gone tomorrow.

If we can't tear up, are we really allowing ourselves to experience Life?! 
--John Haueisen

 

[john haueisen]

Come on, fellow admirers of Mahler.
The two Johns are not brazenly asking you to cry in public;  we're simply asking what music (including non-Mahler) do you find really moving--what music evokes a response from you?