# Favourite build ups/crescendos



## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

I love listening to a slow build up with a great climax, such as Wagner's liebstod or many pieces by Rachmaninoff. Does anyone know any other huge crescendos in music?


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Like the last movement of Pines of Rome? The Schmidt 4th from the introduction up to the second theme? The closing group of the first movement of Raff's 5th? The coda of the Bruckner 6th first movement? Oh yes, those carefully thought out crescendos can send shivers up the spine. Or at least, they should: sometimes conductors get in the way and mess things up. But when it's done well....nothing like it.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

erroneus .............. .


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Then there's Ravel's _Bolero_, very exciting as originally intended -- a dance work commissioned and performed by Ida Rubinstein.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The ending of Respighi's _Saint Gregory the Great_ from Church Windows.

I also love the whirlwind ending of Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

BenG said:


> I love listening to a slow build up with a great climax, such as Wagner's liebstod or many pieces by Rachmaninoff. Does anyone know any other huge crescendos in music?


So many examples, Wagner, Bruckner and Mahler would take up a whole thread themselves....
One of my favorites is an early one, and it is really cosmic!! 
Beethoven - Leonore Ov #3....the wonderful ascending tune of the Allegro. After the slower introduction....this builds and builds, then simply erupts, as full irchestra storms the heavens with the great theme....this is like a great sonic dam bursting, and the energy runs full on all the way to the first trumpet call....when done right, it is quite magical...try Szell/CO...wonderful, or Toscanini/NBC ''39...amazing!! The orchestra is just screaming....orchestras didn't, as a rule, play that way preWWII.
I got to play this at school, with Walter Hendl conducting, great conductor, miserable person....he drilled and drilled the strings on their difficult parts...for the big crescendo, he wanted it just right. Start very soft, no dragging the tempo, then MOLTO FORTISSIMO at the climax...it was really thrilling to play...goose-bump raising stuff...I still remember it well.
Some "must mentions":
Wagner- Prelude to Lohengrin I
Tristan and Isolde -Liebestod (Toscanini, Reiner)
Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral from Lohengrin - band transcription by L Cailliet,
Fenell, Eastman Wind Ensemble... a real sound soectacular!!


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Sibelius Sym #5 finale - Bernstein/NYPO
Wagner - Siegfried's Funeral Music - Solti/VPO
Shostakovich - Sym #7, mvt I, and conclusion of Finale...Bernstein/CSO (incredible!!)


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

Mars, from Holst's Planets Suite.


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

Bartok, _Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste_, first movement.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

BenG said:


> many pieces by Rachmaninoff.


Is Rachmaninoff - Étude-Tableau op.39 no.6 "Little Red Riding Hood" one of them?


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## brunumb (Dec 8, 2017)

I like the build up to the finale of Sibelius symphony No. 2


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## Cadenza (Sep 24, 2012)

Saint-Saenz’ Organ Symphony - multiple finales tumble over one another - they seem to last for a couple of minutes. Wonderful music.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

It's not as long as some of those mentioned but I love the one in the Marriage of Figaro Overture that happens right before the final big push.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

The French seem to have a way for crescendos. 

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune - Debussy
Daybreak Daphnis et Chloé - Ravel


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Bruckner: Symphony VII (build-up to the climax in the slow movement)
Braga-Santos: Symphony no. IV (build-up leading to the coda)
Glazunov: The Seasons (Summer)


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Orfeo said:


> Bruckner: Symphony VII (build-up to the climax in the slow movement)




Yes. The Adagio of Bruckner #7 is one of the best...so is mvt I of Shostakovich #8.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

Heck148 said:


> Yes. The Adagio of Bruckner #7 is one of the best...so is mvt I of Shostakovich #8.


One might be able to say that Bruckner didn't write symphonies, rather, he wrote giant crescendos. I'm pretty sure you could just suggest Bruckner: Crescendos 1-9 (as well as the non-numbered crescendos) and have a pretty good list of suggestions.

As for non-Bruckner suggestions, the Lachrymosa from Berlioz's _Grande Messe des Morts_ has quite the build-up.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

One that springs to mind is the choir and orchestra giving it some at the 'and then there was light' moment near the beginning of Haydn's _Die Schöpfung_. I gather the audience at the premier burst into spontaneous applause.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Orfeo said:


> Bruckner: Symphony VII (build-up to the climax in the slow movement)


Yeah, that build-up is so great. But the climax itself is a little disappointing to me. I prefer the climax of the adagio of the 8th, which also has a great build-up.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

DeepR said:


> Yeah, that build-up is so great. But the climax itself is a little disappointing to me.


?? Interesting...i find it just the opposite.. #7 is so concentrated, definite...try Solti/CSO or von Matacic//CzPO...or ultimate - Tennstedt/CSO...amazing!!.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

elgars ghost said:


> One that springs to mind is the choir and orchestra giving it some at the 'and then there was light' moment near the beginning of Haydn's _Die Schöpfung_. I gather the audience at the premier burst into spontaneous applause.


That's a sudden outburst. It would have startled the audience because there's no buildup to it.

I'm having difficulty thinking of an exciting buildup in music before Beethoven, though the Mannheim Orchestra was supposed to have introduced the extended crescendo in the 18th century. No instances come to mind, though.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> I'm having difficulty thinking of an exciting buildup in music before Beethoven, though the Mannheim Orchestra was supposed to have introduced the extended crescendo in the 18th century. No instances come to mind, though.


Agreed, tho the Bach b minor Mass hss some possible examples.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Heck148 said:


> Agreed, tho the Bach b minor Mass has some possible examples.


The opening "Kyrie" certainly gathers tension, as do some other Bach fugues, and a gradual crescendo works well. The same applies to the "Amen" in Handel's _Messiah._ No crescendos are marked, and we don't know how the composers wanted the music performed, but the effect is cumulative in any case.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> The opening "Kyrie" certainly gathers tension, as do some other Bach fugues, and a gradual crescendo works well. The same applies to the "Amen" in Handel's _Messiah._ No crescendos are marked, and we don't know how the composers wanted the music performed, but the effect is cumulative in any case.


I was thinking the "Gratias agimus tibi [#6] fits the bill...starts soft, in the basses....achieves crescendo by addition, and reaches a big climax...this same piece concludes the work as "Dona Nobis Pacem".
some of the quieter arias and choruses erupt into full chorus/orchestra numbers as well, but these are not so much crescendi - more _subito forte._


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

*A Day in the Life - The Beatles*

But if we're limiting this to classical, then I nominate *Bolero*. The whole damn piece is a buildup.


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

Roy Harris's 6th Symphony 1st movement "Awakening".


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## soni (Jul 3, 2018)

Serious question - has Webern's Concerto op 24 ever been surpassed in this regard? I mean specifically the third movement.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

There is a mysteriously beautiful climax in the passacaglia movement of Ravel's piano trio that is among my favorites.


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## Ravn (Jan 6, 2020)

Heck148 said:


> Yes. The Adagio of Bruckner #7 is one of the best...so is mvt I of Shostakovich #8.


Thinking of it as a pure crescendo, I find that the ending of the first movement is even greater, as it is purely a big crescendo.


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

Favorite all time "build up", without question, comes in Bach's Fourth Brandenburg, third movement, when the music's polyphony, fugal and canonic interplay gets to a point where Bach as much as says: "Yeah, I'm in trouble. I can't stop. The musical ideas are cranking. The recorders are blissfully soaring over the polyphony like Lutheran angels and the only way Bach can put on the brakes is with those skipping half note chords.


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## leonsm (Jan 15, 2011)

Atterberg's Symphony no. 3, mvt. III, the build-up to the coda is amazingly well crafted.

Prokofiev's Symphony no. 4, mvt. IV, final section, it is, like others Prokofiev works, dazzling and beautiful.

Respighi's Vetrate di Chiesa, mvt. IV - San Gregorio Magno, don't need more explanations to that one.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Bruckner 9 - Movement 1, coda
Although I'm very specific about it and don't like the sound of most recordings I've heard.
I guess it's hard to capture its true grandiosity.
There needs to be a fair bit of audible reverb, so it sounds almost a bit like a church organ. If it's very "dry" it will sound small, confined, metallic and quite simply awful. Also, it should not be rushed, especially at the beginning, the string intro should be delicately performed and is a very important part of the build-up.


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## perdido34 (Mar 11, 2015)

--First movement of Sibelius 5, and the end of the last movement
--Buildup to the climax of first movement of Shostakovich 5
--end of Brahms Piano Quartet 1


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

A lovechild of Bolero and Holst's Jupiter about to win World War 2. Joel Goldsmith's wonderful overture to Call of Duty 3 (of all things)





Although the real background are likely his own theme for the television series "The Untouchables" mixed with his father's [Jerry Goldsmith's] marches from the films such as "Blue Max" and "Patton".


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Daybreak music from Ravel _Daphnis et Chloé_; beginning of Ravel _Concerto for the Left Hand_; sequence in Sibelius' _Pohjola's Daughter_ following Väinämöinen's being mocked by Pohjola's daughter and resolutely taking up his sledge and moving on--absolutely spine-tingling music. _Lemminkäinen's Return_ also has Sibelius in top excitement mode.


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

The bridge between the 3rd and 4th Movements of Beethoven's 5th symphony. Quite huge as done here (at the beginning) by Bernstein.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

The Bruckner 7th Adagio holds a special place in my heart. The first time I heard it, I broke down in tears- not just a few little stray drops, but full-on sobbing. I thought I was being raised up to the heavens. Very similar reaction to the final climax of Mahler 2. Also the prelude to Wagner's Das Rheingold- really sounds more like the awakening of a primordial force rather than any sort of music (I guess that's the intent). And then the great string hymn of Sibelius 7 that culminates in the release of that grand trombone theme like an eagle soaring over a towering mountain valley. When I listen to that passage, I experience a sensation that hasn't been matched by any other music.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Two of the most satisfying build ups for me are Otto Klemperer's with the Philharmonia Orchestra (EMI) in Brahms' First Symphony at about two minutes prior to the finish of the work, and his close with the same orchestra in the final two minutes of Wagner's Tannhauser Overture (also EMI). In both instances he projects an impressive sense of grandeur. Eduard Van Beinum conducting the Amsterdam (Royal) Concertgebouw Orchestra also displays an exciting final run in roughly the last minute and a half of _his_ reading of the Brahms No.1 recorded in 1958.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Ravn said:


> Thinking of it as a pure crescendo, I find that the ending of the first movement is even greater, as it is purely a big crescendo.


Bruckner's music is filled with examples...it is totally his style...same with Wagner.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

leonsm said:


> Atterberg's Symphony no. 3, mvt. III, the build-up to the coda is amazingly well crafted.
> 
> Prokofiev's Symphony no. 4, mvt. IV, final section, it is, like others Prokofiev works, dazzling and beautiful.
> 
> Respighi's Vetrate di Chiesa, mvt. IV - San Gregorio Magno, don't need more explanations to that one.


Atterberg's build-up to the coda in the Third Symphony is pretty extraordinary. A close runner-up, now that I'm thinking about it, is the build-up to the coda of the second movement of the glorious Second Symphony (originally planned as a two-movement work before he was prevailed upon to add another movement).


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## mrdoc (Jan 3, 2020)

I am not surprised that BOLERO was only mentioned 2 or 3 times it has to be the best but because it is so popular even with the great unwashed common people it cannot be very good, well I give it my vote.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Scriabin's Prometheus, as a whole.

It starts slowly, mysterious, searching, gradually becomes more focused, powerful, electrifying and ends in a glorious, radiant outburst. 
I think the overall build-up of this piece is fantastic. In this aspect, it's even better than the Poem of Ecstasy.


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## Fredrikalansson (Jan 29, 2019)

Pre-romantic example: build up to the choral entry in Handel's Coronation Anthem _Zadok the Priest_


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## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

Completely agree, the choral entry is just glorious


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## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

DeepR said:


> Bruckner 9 - Movement 1, coda
> Although I'm very specific about it and don't like the sound of most recordings I've heard.
> I guess it's hard to capture its true grandiosity.
> There needs to be a fair bit of audible reverb, so it sounds almost a bit like a church organ. If it's very "dry" it will sound small, confined, metallic and quite simply awful. Also, it should not be rushed, especially at the beginning, the string intro should be delicately performed and is a very important part of the build-up.


Which recording(s) do you recommend?


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## mrdoc (Jan 3, 2020)

Fredrikalansson said:


> Pre-romantic example: build up to the choral entry in Handel's Coronation Anthem _Zadok the Priest_


Yes it is marvelous check this version arranged by Schoenberg.


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