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Examples of interesting modulations

2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Phil Classical Purist 
#1 ·
I always think that these moments where the key shifts can create the ineffable in music and remind me of the words of Albert Einstein:

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed." (From his essay 'The World As I See It' - 1931).

I would begin by citing this moment near the beginning of Sibelius' 7th Symphony - the horns with woodwinds (following the string dominated passage). It notable that this is recapitulated near the end of the piece. I find this kind of shift very mysterious.

Here's another: Sibelius' Tapiola - very eerie indeed.

Those in the second movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony are notable too.
 
#3 ·
Schubert loves to toss in unexpected chord and key shifts. Some of my favorite examples of this are from the Piano Sonata No. 16, particularly the first movement.
 
#8 ·
Check out Chabrier. He really throws some shockers in his pieces. So much so that you sometimes can sense the orchestra is having a time playing in tune when the new, unrelated key pops in.
 
#9 ·
Very true, Espana comes to mind.



I love the modulation at 2:15!
 
#10 ·
Liszt is excellent at modulating and does so experimentally--he had a real mastery of tone--while never making it hurt your head like Debussy, Ravel, and Scriabin. Modulation is a tool that must be used with restraint, it can really ruin a piece.

Mahler is another master of it; Das Lied von der Erde is filled with creative modulation that isn't narcissistic; that makes sense to what the piece is trying to say.
 
#12 · (Edited)
The modulation in the middle section of the middle movement of Ravel's PC in G, where the mood changes from dark to light - sublime.

So tasteful and refined, unlike some. :rolleyes:
Always loved that movement. The shift just after here is always startling, but I don't think you meant that one.

Ravel:
"That flowing phrase! How I worked over it bar by bar! It nearly killed me!"
 
#15 ·
The one in Dvorak's cello concerto near the end of the first movement always stood out to me. Usually changing from minor to major is a progression to triumphant, but this is the other way around.
 
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