String Quartet No. 2 in A minor by Béla Bartók (1920) – Written between 1915 and 1917, it was developed during the first World War and the emotions that were felt are clearly conveyed through a continuous level of dissonance in each movement. Notably, the second movement contains a rather simple melody, but it is carried quickly and energetically through the piece, accumulating then dropping down drastically for a calm, eerie first chord of the third movement, which is shockingly light and uneasy. It too gathers and drops, but contains a huge range of dynamic contrasts, and is described as “brooding” and “suffering”, as if the second movement was the battle, then the third is the aftermath. This quartet is a prime example of Bartók’s style, which portrays emotions through it’s rough harmonies and dissonances, differing from the previous common musical style similarly to Stravinsky. 

Lyric Pieces, Op. 68 – Badlnat by Edvard Grieg (1899) – It is a quiet, serene, intimate solo piano piece, conveying a strong sense of nostalgia with a melody that is carried across two lines, ending in a lush lower octave before the highest octave takes over for a soft final chord progression. The Lyric Pieces are a series of ten volumes, published between 1866 and 1901, and while they are not as well known or as flashy as other Grieg works, they maintain a spot in my playlists for having simple yet expressive melodies.