Like chopsticks, but not chopsticks. A strange piece

[HullandHellandHalifax]

That is just the point Soh Choon Wee, the pieces themselves are in general not bad music but they have that "something" that at the same time encourages performance of them and at the same time brings out that "Oh no not again" reaction. It is a formula that if you could bottle it, it would make a fortune for you.
I think it is basically over-exposure in a lot of cases like pop music, after the novelty has worn off you don't want to hear it ever again or at least not until it has been erased from your memory for some time, but in some of the pieces here mentioned there is something in the music that sends irritating shivers down your spine, quite possibly by the performers, the chopsticks theme, the Fur Elise opening few bars they instantly make me cringe, are they just trite melodies, I don't know, I will leave that up to you and the others to suggest possible causes.
cheers
Brian

[fredbucket]

I suspect it's just overexposure. There are quite a few pieces such as Fur Elise, which owe their studential popularity to the 'here is a nice piece by BEETHOVEN!!!" syndrome. After a while the brain develops an automatic reflex which immediately alerts the 'danger, Will Robinson' trigger and the rest of the brain snaps into the well known 'OMG, not again' mental state, which in my case in particular can only be cured by a nice cold beer...

Regards
Fred

[bingo]

Thanks Parag

Yes, this is the piece. Bingo. Finally a mystery solved.

There's also Russ Conway's version "Lesson One"

[timgill]

When someone asks me to play the Moonlight Sonata I always play the last movement.

[HullandHellandHalifax]

I have the same problem and approach to the Rachmaninov Prelude, nice to have more to choose from that no-one seems to know.

[bingo]

When someone asks me to play the Moonlight Sonata I always play the last movement.

An old acquaintance of mine who occasionally played in bars, used to ask for requests, and then play the Hammerklavier.