# Most awe-inspiring fortissimo moments



## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

What are, in your opinion, the most awe-inspiring, overwhelming fortissimo moments in music? Some of mine:

- The ending of Parry's Blest Pair of Sirens

- That massive blast in Part II of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius (the point where the composer says every instrument must exert its fullest force)

- The organ solo in the third movement of Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia antartica


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Ending of *Sibelius's* 7th symphony.
Ending of the first mvt (scherzo section) of *Sibelius's* 5th symphony.


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## Toddlertoddy (Sep 17, 2011)

The climax in Daphnis et Chloe part 3


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## Andolink (Oct 29, 2012)

The fortissimo final chord of Mahler's 6th symphony which erupts in shocking fashion only after the music has very slowly wound down to complete silence.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Toward the exact middle of Strauss' _Also Sprach Zarathustra_ is a full orchestra blast reprising (for the umpteenth time, but in a good way) the three note opening fanfare motif. I never learned the different segment names of this piece, but it's where most vinyl LPs ended side 1. I used to rattle the windows and shake the floor with it. It's not so much that it is loud, it's that it seems the decisive end of a discussion, brooking no argument.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

The tremendous, apocalyptic orchestral outburst after the cadenza in the first movement of Prokofiev's second piano concerto. 

Well, I don't know if that is actually fortissimo, but it sure packs some punch.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

brianvds said:


> The tremendous, apocalyptic orchestral outburst after the cadenza in the first movement of Prokofiev's second piano concerto.
> 
> Well, I don't know if that is actually fortissimo, but it sure packs some punch.


I can't top that example, Brian. Packs a punch indeed!


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

The huge full orchestra + organ explosion towards the end of Holst's "Mars" from "The Planets", and then the final stabbing, dissonant chords. All marked _ffff_

The moment at the climax of the storm section from Strauss "An Alpine Symphony", where the thunder sheets do their thing!

The massive orchestral interlude about 2/3 of the way through the first movement of Shostakovich's 13th symphony; and the percussion-led bombastic section at about the same point in the 2nd movement of his 11th symphony.

The 'Revolution' section in Prokofievs' "Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution"


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

Another awe-inspiring moment for me is the ending of the fifth movement of Havergal Brian's Symphony No. 1 (The Gothic). With 500 voices, a huge orchestra, brass bands and organ, it must be one of the loudest sounds in all music.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)




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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

The last part of Scriabin's Prometheus. I've heard it live and it's absolutely overwhelming. At the final chord it felt like I got lifted from my seat and the concert hall was trembling on its foundations.

In this video from 17:50 to the end:


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

*@brianvds re Prokofiev 2nd*

Cool, you beat me to it! I was going to mention that D minor spot - it is one of the superior things about the Browning/Leinsdorf/Boston recording that I recently acquired - all the parts come through instead of being buried in the brass - the flutes clawing their way up in arpeggios to 4th register D (shrieks) 8 x's and then down again. Great moment. Oh, and there are plenty brass and piano arps, too, they just took care to mic all the woodwinds so they aren't just wasting breath 



brianvds said:


> The tremendous, apocalyptic orchestral outburst after the cadenza in the first movement of Prokofiev's second piano concerto.
> 
> Well, I don't know if that is actually fortissimo, but it sure packs some punch.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

This could be the loudest dynamic ever heard at that time.



jani said:


>


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Andolink said:


> The fortissimo final chord of Mahler's 6th symphony which erupts in shocking fashion only after the music has very slowly wound down to complete silence.


It's not _quite_ complete silence: cellos and bass clarinet are holding a single note at the time, although it's hard to hear on recordings.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I believe there was a certain Mr. Bruckner who knew a thing or two about fortissimos... 

I think his are unsurpassed: they shake you up not just on a visceral level, but on oh so many other levels as well.


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## julianoq (Jan 29, 2013)

I am _surprised_ that nobody mentioned Haydn's Surprise Symphony No.94 yet


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

The last couple minutes of the Lacrymosa in the Berlioz requiem.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

The eruption of Krakatoa, Dutch East Indies; 27 August 1883.

Hiroshima, Japan; 6 August 1945 
Nagasaki, Japan; 9 August 1945.

(hmmmm... seems August is a hot month.)


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## Notung (Jun 12, 2013)

Rex Tremendae-Mozart

Not really fortissimo. But it's descending strings at the beginning blow you away one-by-one, then bang: the chorus.

Ah, Wolfy...


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

PetrB said:


> The eruption of Krakatoa, Dutch East Indies; 27 August 1883.
> 
> Hiroshima, Japan; 6 August 1945
> Nagasaki, Japan; 9 August 1945.
> ...


Let's not give contemporary composers any more ideas please.


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

The ending of Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

DUM...
DUM...
Doo.. da ..doo..dee DUM

(i.e. Great Gate of Kiev movement from Pictures at an Exhibition)


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

brianvds said:


> The tremendous, apocalyptic orchestral outburst after the cadenza in the first movement of Prokofiev's second piano concerto.
> 
> Well, I don't know if that is actually fortissimo, but it sure packs some punch.


Same for me, beat me to it.


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## aszkid (May 12, 2013)

Mahler's 9th, the very first minutes. Probably not fortissimo, but feels like it


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

The middle of Leifs' Hekla?

Best regards, Dr


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## FLighT (Mar 7, 2013)

For me, one awe inspiring fortissimo comes about 3/4 of the way through the Mahler 2nd 1st movement. The strings have been marching along to the accompaniment of horn fanfares. Then trumpets take over playing staccato notes, and are then joined by clarinets and oboes, violas, cellos, and basses. Suddenly the tuba drags the strings and bassoons down to hell as the horns continue to hold on to those staccato notes. At the bottom the whole orchestra attacks the final 2 notes violently. 

Done right (tempo, phrasing) it should be a shattering experience. What makes it work for me is not this passages duration or loudness, but the building and contrast from start to finish.

(I also like the final bars of Sibelius 7th -strings and horns swirling into an overwhelming mass and suddenly just disappearing into the ether.)


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## kfking (Mar 31, 2013)

The climax of the second movement of Beethoven's op 135 Quartet. It is brilliant and extremely unusual for the time it was made. 20 seconds of rapid ostinato in the cello, viola, and violin 2. Only the violin 1 varies and it is mostly rhythmic. It makes one wonder what sounds we would have heard from Beethoven if he lived 10 more years.

I've never looked at the score though but I'm pretty sure its fortissimo.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

This bit at 0:18 where Isolde finally arrives to hold Tristan as he draws his final breaths of life. Strings are doing some toe-curling chromatic rising fluttering thing and then the brass roars the famous Tristan chord motif.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

Und es waaard Licht!!! The beginning of Haydn's Creation - how can one not mention this one??


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

HaydnBearstheClock said:


> Und es waaard Licht!!! The beginning of Haydn's Creation - how can one not mention this one??


Because the question was to identify one that does it for you and obviously so far Es werde licht does not not do it for some, but does for you. That's the beauty of music, it's personal and the proverbial something that one person likes may be distasteful to someone else.

Anyhow, welcome to the forum HaydnBearstheClock!


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

The finale of Shostakovich sym#4 with the utterly devastating fade out at the end.


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Well, that felt good. I think I'll add some more.
Also Sprach Zarathustra. The opening fanfare and the finale of mvt 1
Wagner Finale to Gotterdammerung
Saint-Saens Beginning of 4th mvt Organ symphony, Orgiastic/orgasmic ending of the Bacchanal from Samson and Delilah
Bach: neopolitan chord at the end of the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor
Ravel Bolero, last statement of the themes and the coda
Wagner Tannhauser overture Last statement of the pilgrims chorus at the end of the overture in the trombones
Tchaikovsky 1812 overture. Hey, it had to be said.
Shostakovich 5th sym finale. A tympanists dream solo
Beethoven 9th sym final measures
Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries
Rossini William Tell overture the horn and trumpet fanfare that starts the "revolutionary march" That's not an easy part, speaking as a horn player


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

There is point about two thirds into the first movement of Shostakovich's second piano concerto, where, after a good buildup by hammering piano solo accompanied by orchestral hits, the orchestra finally bursts into a blaze of triumph. To me there is something very Soviet about that bit: this is the Red Army crushing Hitler in his bunker, or Yuri Gagarin blasting off into the history books. Immensely exhilarating stuff.

Apparently Shostakovich himself disliked the work, but on this one point I have to disagree with him.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

The finale of Brahms' third symphony contains some absolutely glorious moments of high drama, somehow made all the more exciting by their contrast with those soft, shimmering recollections of the symphony's opening in the last few bars.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

> There is point about two thirds into the first movement of Shostakovich's second piano concerto, where, after a good buildup by hammering piano solo accompanied by orchestral hits, the orchestra finally bursts into a blaze of triumph.


Good call. And the very best recording I've heard of this is the RTV Symphony Orchestra of Slovenia conducted by Paul Freeman on Hallmark Classics, would you believe!


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*Verdi Requiem*

One of my favorites that has not been mentioned so far is the "Tuba Mirum" from the Verdi _Requiem_. I have had the opportunity to perform this work twice. Being in the middle of the orchestra on the stage the sound is even more overwhelming than hearing it in the audience.:trp:


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