Jón Leifs / Hekla - [Op 52 (1964) for orchestra and percussion] (Extremely loud. The score calls for the use of anvils, chains, sirens, etc. Will probably seem weird if you're not familiar with modern orchestral music.)

Vagn Holmboe / Symphony No. 8 (Kind of similar to the Nielsen/Sibelius symphonic type of music)

Leoš Janáček / Sinfonietta (Great piece for any new classical listener...upbeat, catchy)

Carl Nielsen / Symphony No. 3 (The first movement is probably exactly what you're looking for)


I can provide more once I get some feedback on these four.

I will have to try Roivas's list. The Janacek sinfonietta is the only one I recognize - (and that is a cool piece!)

Here is my two-cents' worth:

Try:
Beethoven Symph No. 5 (1st movement)

A small part of Beeth Symph No. 6 described a thunder-storm

Mahler had a tendency towards the thunderous. I especially recommend parts of Symphony No. 2

Try Copland's Organ Symphony. (AKA Symphony No. 1 - but I personally prefer the recordings that have ORGAN.)

There is a thunderstorm in Act 2 of John Adams' opera "Nixon in China" that would be worth your time.

The "Dies Irae" of the Verdi Requiem would probably fit the bill. I once saw a percussionist play the bass drum like he was swinging a baseball bat!

Parts of the Carl Nielsen Symphony No. 4 (nicknamed "Inextinguishable" Symphony) could be called thunderous. There are TWO sets of tympani.

I agree with everyone who recommended "Mars, the god of war" from "The Planets" by Holst. A cool little tune in 5/4 time.

You might like the climax from Leonard Bernstein's "Mass" (which was the piece that opened the Kennedy Center in Washington DC).

And, of course, there is the last movement of Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite ... which described in music the sudden thunderstorms that can break out over the canyon. Also try Grofe's "Niagara Falls Suite."


You probably know Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor," but that is the most "thunderous" piece I know from the Baroque era.

Haydn's "Mass in the Time of War" (Missa in tempora belli) sorta comes to mind too.

If you can find a recording of William Bolcom's "Black Host" for organ, percussion and tape, I think you will find that very satisfying too.

Some parts of the "War Requiem" by Benjamin Britain are pretty thunderous, IMHO.

There is my two-cents' worth.

With Holmboe you'll probably want to start with one of the BIS CDs. Sound quality and performance of those pieces is unmatched at this point in time.

I see there is a complete list of most of my favorite thunderous classical already here, I'll add one more though, Richard Strauss's "Sprauch Zara Thustra"...one of the most awesome intro's ever written, it does calm down after that though. Oh and give Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" a listen,,,I'm Positive you've heard the first song of this album but just didn't know it.

Here's another one to think about,,,"The Pines Of Rome" by Ottorino Respighi, it's very accessible especially if you're are just getting into classical music. Look for a version with organ accompaniment it's more stentorian than the regular version. And even though it's not exactly Thunderous,,,give Modesto Moussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"(Edited by Maurice Ravel) a listen, look for a version with "A Night on Bald Mountain"(Edited by Rimsky-Korsakov) they are usually packaged together. Moussorgksy was probably as famous for his duels as his music, a very flamboyant Russian. One more to consider,,,"Symphony Fantastic" by Hector Berlioz, his most famous work and very accessible as well.

I have a list of my favourite music on my blog: theviolinhouse.blogspot.com. Well, that says it... I play the violin.
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Mousorgsky: Pictures in an Exhibition
Beethoven: Symphony No.6 "Pastorale" (the whole of it)
Beethoven: Symphony No.9 "Chorale" (only the 4th movement if you run out of patience)
Wagner Overtures: Tanhausser, Flying Dutchman, Die Meistersinger
Richard Strauss: Don Juan
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker ballet suite (selection, highlights)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade

I trust these should get you started. All are quite melodious, with catchy tunes. If they are not "complex" enough for you, I can come up with more later. :)

I forgot to mention the most thunderous recording ever made, it's already listed but the Telarc Soundstream vinyl album of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is Awesome...I'll dig it out of my closet and post a picture of the album itself,,,this is as close to a zero hertz analogue frequency ever recorded on a record.(I'm not counting sound effects test records, just real music, symphonies etc.) In fact I had to replace one of my woofers which I destroyed by playing this album too loud many many years ago. LOL,,,it came with a warning "Danger do not play this record too Loud, it will damage your equipment!", of course being young and having a few drinks led to me blowing out my speaker. It may have been equaled now with DVD technology but back in the early 80's there was nothing like it period.

Haha... on the note of 1812 destroying speaker... I used to be in an orchestra, and we performed 1812 in an outdoor environment. No we didn't use cannons, just bass drums (in substitute as cannons). She managed to break the drum skin. It made a "crack" sound, and we were all very surprised by that, and saw the percussionists all had a shocked expression on their face, while the bass-drummer quickly recovered and turned the drum over to hit on the other side... right on time for the next entry. :)

Haha that's pretty cool Clavis,,,was your percussionist taking supplements or something?? When I played my vinyl recording the first time in my Dad's basement, both of our neighbors came running over to see what was happening,,,LOL,,,one of them thought we had an explosion of some kind, and the other one was in his basement and when the biggest canon fired,,,his tool board fell off his basement wall and he thought for a minute there was an earthquake. After that my Dad wouldn't let me play it except at very low volume.

My favorites:
Beethoven - 3rd part of Moonlight Sonata
Chopin - Revolutionary Etude

More:
Camille Saint-Saens - Danse Macabre
Edvard Grieg - In The Hall of the Mountain King (from Peter Gynt)
Modeste Moussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain
Gounod - Faust - Act2. 04 Le veau d'or est toujours debout (mephistopheles aria). I love the phrase "people die for metal", so poeticly devilish.
Alan Silvestri - Journey To Transylvania (from soundtrack)
Shinjuku Thief - Sacred Fury (avant-garde, but fairly easy to listen to)
Alfred Schnittke - Koncherto-Grosso #1 (28 minutes of avant-garde, not easy to listen to, but very beautiful)
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire (avant-garde jazz, but close to classical)


If you're playing the piano, here are two simple parts that are really fun to play march-style:
Michal Oginski - Polonez Rodina 3rd part
Fur Elise 3rd part
They don't sound like it on recordings, since nobody plays them like that (except me, I guess). I think the best thing about those 3rd parts is that you can play angry. :D