Poignant and beautiful! A collection of recommended piano pieces
Among the many musical instruments, the piano is one of the most familiar, and it’s a quintessential instrument that makes you admire anyone who can play it.
Melancholic melodies can draw you into their world before you know it.
In this article, we’ll introduce popular piano pieces themed around “sadness.” In addition to classic standards, we’ve gathered a rich variety of poignantly beautiful, piano-centered works featured in soundtracks for films, anime, and video games.
If you love wistful piano music, this is a must-check!
- Piano × Dark Pieces: Classic Masterworks to Sink Deep into Sorrow
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- [Classical Piano Masterpieces] A carefully selected collection of moving pieces that will bring you to tears
- [For Adults] Recommended for Piano Recitals! A Curated Selection of Impressively Sounding Masterpieces
- [Beginner] Recommended for adult piano beginners! Beautiful & stylish piano pieces
- Beautiful Melodies: A Collection of Masterpieces and Moving Piano Songs
- Today's Piano: Masterpieces and Popular Pieces Woven with Delicate Tones
- [J-POP] I want to listen to songs with impressive, beautiful piano tones! Recommended piano cover tracks
- [Masterpiece Classics] A special showcase of gem-like masterpieces so beautiful they’ll move you to tears
- It’s so cool if you can play these on the piano! A selection of irresistibly charming masterpieces.
- [For when you want to cry or feel sad] Tear-jerking masterpieces that make you cry when you listen
- [Intermediate Level] Cool Piano Pieces You Can Play [Great for Recitals Too]
Heartachingly beautiful! Recommended piano pieces (31–40)
Suite bergamasque, No. 3: Clair de LuneClaude Debussy
Among Claude Debussy’s works, the most famous is Clair de Lune.
It is a dreamlike and beautiful piece that conjures up the image of a moon faintly floating in the quiet night sky and the mysterious space bathed in its light.
Although it is one of the pieces in the piano suite Suite bergamasque, it is often performed on its own, and many adults take up piano inspired by this piece.
While it is not particularly difficult from a technical standpoint, expressing the world of the music is extremely challenging.
Looking at photos of moonlit landscapes to expand your concrete imagery as you play is also recommended!
Etude Op. 10 No. 3 “Farewell”Frederic Chopin
Etude Op.
10 No.
3 by Frédéric Chopin, known as the “Farewell” (Tristesse) Etude.
Chopin composed 27 piano etudes that, in addition to technical elements, possess a high degree of artistry, and among them this piece is considered one of the most popular for its beautiful melody and approachable character.
Although it is relatively less difficult compared to other Chopin etudes, careful practice of fine techniques is essential.
At the same time, to avoid a mechanical performance that fixates solely on finger movement, it is advisable to focus on the smoothness of the melody and on conveying the shifts in character in the middle section.
energy flowSakamoto Ryuichi
Energy Flow, by Ryuichi Sakamoto—one of Japan’s most celebrated composers—was reportedly completed in just five minutes.
To finish a piece this beautiful, combining poignancy and grace, in mere minutes can only be called genius.
There’s even an anecdote that Sakamoto himself could only give a wry smile at the song’s unexpected mega-hit status.
With its relaxed tempo and relatively few notes, it’s approachable for beginner to intermediate players.
If you can clearly convey the shifts in musical character, you’ll achieve a performance with greater breadth and impact.
10 Pieces, Op. 24-9: RomanceJan Shiberiusu
Let me introduce No.
9, Romance, from Jean Sibelius’s “Ten Pieces, Op.
24,” a selection of ten piano works composed between 1894 and 1903.
Pianists are especially fond of performing this piece.
It was written in 1901, around the time when Sibelius’s tone poem Finlandia—premiered the previous year—was elevating his reputation across Europe.
Although Sibelius is known for his later reclusive years, before that he apparently led a rather extravagant private life.
This piece, too, seems to mirror his character: it unfolds dynamically from a poignant main theme.
If you enjoy music that is both achingly beautiful and dramatically full of contrasts, be sure to give it a listen!
Melody Op. 4-2Fanny Mendelssohn
A short piece in C-sharp minor, notable for its melody that sings as if it were a song.
This work is included in Fanny Mendelssohn’s piano collection “6 Melodies, Op.
4,” in which she explored a distinctive pianistic style different from her brother Felix’s.
The dense harmonies layered over the delicate melody are quintessentially Fanny Mendelssohn, conveying a nuanced emotional sensitivity; even the slightest misjudgment in expression can risk diminishing the piece’s introspective allure.
Published under her own name in 1846, it quietly yet unmistakably reveals her firm resolve.
It is a piece one would especially want to savor alone on a night when one wishes to sink deeply into sorrow.
When performing it, the paramount key is how you make the melody sing.
Poignant and Beautiful! Recommended Piano Pieces (41–50)
Seaside at Dusk, H.128: No. 3 “The Stormy Seashore”Bohuslav Martinů
Here’s a piano piece that will make you forget the summer heat: “Evening at the Shore, No.
3” from Bohuslav Martinů’s 1921 collection for solo piano, Evening at the Shore, H.128.
The piece vividly conjures the image of standing on a stormy shoreline, weaving the undulating motion of waves through arpeggios while balancing it with a firm sense of musical form.
The middle section surges with storm-like intensity, leading through a virtuosic cadenza before settling into a calm recapitulation—one of the work’s highlights.
It’s a piece that will sweep away summer languor and bring a cool breeze to the heart.
Highly recommended for those who want to immerse themselves in evocative musical scenery or who enjoy a dramatic musical arc.
Petite Suite: I. En bateauClaude Debussy
In the heat of summer, let me introduce a piano duet by Claude Debussy that feels like a refreshing breeze for the soul.
First performed together by Debussy and his publisher’s representative in February 1889, this work opens a suite of four short pieces.
Its gentle, beautiful melody evokes a small boat gliding serenely over the water—utterly enchanting.
Though it has no lyrics, it is said to have been inspired by poems of Verlaine, and it conjures images of a boat drifting under moonlight, along with an elegant atmosphere from a distant era.
The shimmering piano timbres wrap the listener in a pleasantly cool calm.
The orchestral version is also well known, offering an even richer palette of colors, and you might even hear it as background music in public spaces.
Do give it a listen when you’re a bit worn out from the heat or when you want to settle your mind in quiet.
As Debussy intended for the salon—‘not too heavy and not too short’—it allows you to slip easily into a graceful mood.