# The Greatest Last 5 Minutes of any Symphony!



## Muddy (Feb 5, 2012)

Ha! This began as a thread about the most unappreciated symphonies ever. I was gonna promote Mahler's 8th. Then I found myself listening to Mahler's 2nd and Beethoven's 9th...so I ask: what are the greatest last 5 minutes of any symphony, ever?


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

I would agree with Beethoven 9th.


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## Mister Man (Feb 3, 2014)

Beethoven's Pastoral and Eroica, ever.

Ever


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Beethoven's 5th. But I do think the coda should be repeated!


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

Plenty of contenders, of course. I would include in any list that of Shostakovich's 10th, where his own theme eventually bludgeons his demon(s) into submission after a vicious struggle throughout most of the final movement. Victory, but at a cost where certain wounds will never heal if indications in various subsequent works are anything to go by.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

With the last five minutes of Mozart 40 you get the whole of one of the most sublime symphonic movements ever conceived. Just sayin


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Mahler 9, if we don't count Das Lied von der Erde as a symphony.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

The coda of Beethoven 7 as conducted by C. Kleiber with the VPO (DG) is really breathtaking.


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Nothing competes with the end of Mahler 2!

With wings which I have won for myself,
In love’s fierce striving,
I shall soar upwards
To the light which no eye has penetrated!

Die shall I in order to live.
Rise again, yes, rise again,
Will you, my heart, in an instant!
That for which you suffered,
To God will it lead you!


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## stevens (Jun 23, 2014)

"The coda of Beethoven 7"

Yes! Beethoven should have written more codas!


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

For its immeasurable sorrow, Tchaikovsky 6th.

For its grandeur, Bruckner's 8th.

For its beauty, Mahler's 9th.

Bonus pick: I know it's not quite a symphony, but the final moments of Rachmaninov's _Symphonic Dances_ are incredible (from when the dance of death begins to return ...).


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## Piwikiwi (Apr 1, 2011)

This is not really a contest: Mozart 41st symphony of course.


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

Aside from the ones mentioned, the last stretch of Shostakovich 11 always gets the blood pumping.

Also, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Also not a symphony, but the first thing to cross my mind (without being home to consult my catalog) was Mussorgsky / Ravel orchestrated Pictures at an Exhibition. Those bells and the triumphant theme of the opening gates. . . wow!

The trouble with symphonies is if they are true to form, they're a bit anticlimactic after the recapitulation, however loud or adamant the coda. It's the recapitulation that is usually the climax for me. Still, five minutes is probably enough time to include the recapitulation, so I'm not sure why no symphonies come to mind.


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

Some options --

Brahms 4
Brahms 2
Mahler 5 (call it "most fun")
Mahler 10
Mozart 41


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## mikey (Nov 26, 2013)

Agree with most here but will add Brahms 2, Scriabin Poem of ecstasy and Prometheus (sometimes labelled his 4th and 5th symphonies), Prok 5 and 6 coz it's so dam ambiguous.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Oh man! I love the final coda of the Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony. Completely wild abandon!!!


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## csacks (Dec 5, 2013)

For me, Brahms´ first finale is mind-blowing. The coda of Tchaikovsky´s fifth is also in between my favorites.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2014)

I'm not sure I would name Beethoven's 9th here. As much as an explosion of divine ecstasy as it is to have that movement come in after the three grand preludes, it's not really any stronger than the other 3 movements by the time you get to the last 5 minutes.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

hpowders said:


> Oh man! I love the final coda of the Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony. Completely wild abandon!!!


The problem is that almost no one plays it fast enough. Mravinsky and Solti are the only two.

Sibelius 2nd is a good one too. It's especially great live in a great acoustic with good reverb. The time I heard it in the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall was the best.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

MoonlightSonata said:


> I would agree with Beethoven 9th.


Especially when conducted by Ferenc Fricsay/Berliner Philharmoniker (1958, DG)! Nobody does the final movement and the final stretch like Fricsay did.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Another one, the last few minutes of the Mahler 5. An incredible coda, leaves me breathless!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Another one, the last 5 minutes of Mahler 8 is absolutely incredible!

If Mahler wasn't the greatest composer of all time, he sure has done a wonderful impersonation of it!!!


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## Cheyenne (Aug 6, 2012)

Another one which hasn't been mentioned yet: the triumphant coda of Bruckner's fifth symphony. Here are five different versions, all conducted by the estimable Wand:


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

My choice is Beethoven's 5th. Honorable mention - Mozart's Jupiter.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> Mahler 9, if we don't count Das Lied von der Erde as a symphony.


Quite possibly the most difficult 5 minutes for any string section to play.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

as far as I've heard
Mozart 41
Beethoven: finales of the first movements of both the 3rd and 5th symphonies are far better than the finales of the last movements + I don't like 9
Mahler 2, 8
Scriabin 1 (and 4 and 5 if they count)

I've heard Beethoven 3, Mahler 2, Scriabin 1 (and 4 and 5) live


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Sibelius 5. 

A lot of the most beloved ones come across to me as a bit over the top. This one gets it right.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

^^^^^^ And Sibelius 2&3


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

MagneticGhost said:


> Nothing competes with the end of Mahler 2!
> 
> With wings which I have won for myself,
> In love's fierce striving,
> ...


Hopefully, he's not wrong....


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Ah - I've thought of one. Haydn's Symphony No. something-r-other, "The Hunt." It's middle range, No. 64, or 54, or something like that. It just sort of cleverly peters out as the fox gets away. They don't all have to be triumphant orgasmic endings.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Of course there's also the last few minutes of the Brahms Symphony No. 1 and also the Schubert Symphony No. 9.


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## tgtr0660 (Jan 29, 2010)

The last minutes of Mozart's 41 can't be any more glorious. and Brahms, a master of the codas, the last minutes of 4th are fantastic.


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## revdrdave (Jan 8, 2014)

If we're talking _sublime_ and not just louder and faster, my vote goes to the closing pages of Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony. And, in the same vein, Mahler's Ninth ain't too shabby, either. That said, the last five minutes of Respighi's _Pines of Rome_--while not a symphony--is great stuff.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

Then why not the end of Roman Festivals too? That's awesomely vulgar. I love it!


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

That magical moment in Rach 2 when a slow theme returns to break your heart in two just before the tempo codetta. Who dared to call it Schamlz earlier!!

And I love the end of Dvorak's New World when the carpet is pulled from under your feet temporarily...


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Radames said:


> Then why not the end of Roman Festivals too? That's awesomely vulgar. I love it!


I wouldn't characterize it as 'vulgar,' but I would characterize it as orgiastic, aristocratic revelry-- which of course, I'm all for.

Thumbs-up.


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## Karafan (Aug 18, 2013)

For sheer, visceral excitement - the end of Tchaikovsky 5 in Karajan's 1970s EMI recording takes some beating. I defy you not to conduct!


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

There are some great symphonic endings already mentioned but I make no apology for naming them again
Brahms 4th
Mozart 41
Schubert 9th
Beethoven 7th


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

Like you said, the last five minutes of Mahler's 2nd are excellent and what I though of immediately. I would also say the last five minutes of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

The angry fugal coda of Vaughan Williams 4th or the exuberant last movement of Herrmann's only symphony. Love the demented piccolo before the coda.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

Does it count when the last 5 minutes of many of Haydn's symphonies take you to the middle of the 3rd movement?

I strongly agree with Beethoven 3 and 5
I strongly disagree with Beethoven 6 and 9


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

*Bruckner's* 5th & 8th Symphonies.
*Rachmaninoff's* First.
*Tchaikovsky's* Fifth.
*Lyatoshynsky's* Third.
*Franz Schmidt's* Fourth.
*Glazunov's* Fourth.
*Braga-Santos'* Fourth.
*Atterberg's* Third.
*Sibelius'* Second.
*Bax's* Third & Sixth.
*Mahler's* First, Second, Third, Eighth & Ninth.
*Shostakovich's* Seventh
*Myaskovsky's *Sixth, Thirteenth, Twenty-first.
*Suk's* "Asreal."


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## trazom (Apr 13, 2009)

Yes, yes, yes to the Schubert, Brahms, and Mozart symphonies already mentioned, and Mendelssohn's third and fourth symphonies too. I disagree with Beethoven's 5th, I've always found the end annoyingly over the top in hammering home that C major; or, as one poster on a different forum said once, the "BAM- baba-BAM baba BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM wake me up when it's over" coda.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Webern's Symphonie, op. 21. Thus including the entire second movement.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Sibelius #7. It eschews glib triumphalism for hard-won affirmation.


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## DamoX (Sep 14, 2014)

Not a real last phrase of a symphony but why can I avoid Bruckner's Sym. 9?


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## mikey (Nov 26, 2013)

Not one that immediately came to mind until I thought of Lenny's performance
4th Symphony, last mov - 2:34:40


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

The last 60 seconds or so of Dvorak's 8th is wild and thrilling.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Interesting offerings, thus far. I agree with all of them.

But my mind bends towards the final five minutes of Tchaikovsky's Sixth. Sheer devastation exudes greatness, too.


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## schuberkovich (Apr 7, 2013)

What about Dvorak's 9th, with the last movement's main theme treated incredibly dissonantly right before the final chord, with lingering woodwinds giving that feeling of openness.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

That Mt. Everest apex of Mozart's 41st symphony is already several times mentioned. I agree it is certainly a pinnacle.

Adding that *Stravinsky* _sure knew how to end his pieces._ 
One of the most quietly effective of his endings is in his (relatively) understated _*Symphony in C*._





*Debussy ~ La Mer*; the multi layered polyrhythmic finale is like the lid of a pressure cooker blowing off. _(Some folks just refuse to believe La Mer is an actual symphony just because Debussy called it something else, Lol.)_ 
...start at 04'00'' ~





Because it is so effective, and the piece, imo, deserves more attention...
*Lucas Foss ~ Symphony No.2 symphony of chorales*
This is the composer conducting the Boston Symphony, a tape of a radio broadcast.
The work uses a multitude of chorales, harmonies and tunes. The finale is a scramble, start-stop of many themes tossed about, juxtaposed, often in counterpoint, and going from fuller orchestra to small chamber groups. The finale-coda is a knockout; you can even hear an audience member say, "Wow!"


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## batswirl (Oct 10, 2014)

Mravinsky had never played Tchaikovsky fourth, the Leningrad orchestra did it several times. But I must agree. This is the most powerfullsich, emotionalist and vibranter final.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Others have said Mozart's 41st and I completely agree, but may I put in a vote for the 40th, it's one of my all-time favorite finales. 

Also, Brahms' 4th and Mahler's 9th.


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## SottoVoce (Jul 29, 2011)

Erwartung! That slowly moving, but abruptly broken, chromatic scale is unbelievable and shocking even after many listens.

Edit: Did not read that the topic only asked for Symphonies. Since Schoenberg didn't have a Symphony, this will have to count (even though it is nothing like the Symphony in either form or texture... but oh well.)


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

SottoVoce said:


> Erwartung! That slowly moving, but abruptly broken, chromatic scale is unbelievable and shocking even after many listens.
> 
> Edit: Did not read that the topic only asked for Symphonies. Since Schoenberg didn't have a Symphony, this will have to count (even though it is nothing like the Symphony in either form or texture... but oh well.)


YUSYUSYUSYUSYUS!!!!! And, now that you mention him, the last part of the Chamber Symphony Op.9 is incredibly rocking


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

Mahler 2 and 8 obviously, as others have said above.
A few not yet mentioned though: Hovhaness 11th "All Men are Brothers"; Maslanka 4th; Dopper 7th "Zuiderzee"...Also Nielsen's 6th Symphony "Sinfonia Semplice" for it's beauty, humour and that final raspberry


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## Polyphemus (Nov 2, 2011)

Mahler 2 
Tchaikovsky 5
Bruckner 5
Fasten your seatbelts.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I also enjoy the buildup and final coda of the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 and also the Schumann Symphony No. 2.


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## mikey (Nov 26, 2013)

Can I put down Sibelius 4 coz it's the only piece I know of to end mf?
(It's also a piece I don't understand a bar of)


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

DeepR said:


> as far as I've heard
> Mozart 41
> Beethoven: finales of the first movements of both the 3rd and 5th symphonies are far better than the finales of the last movements + I don't like 9
> Mahler 2, 8
> ...


Mahler 2 was probably the most impressive of those I've heard live, but the most electrifying was Scriabin 5 (Prometheus, ok not a symphony).

And since I'm always the only one mentioning Scriabin 1 anywhere, here it is for greater justice


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

I've been skipping past this thread, but the subject must have been lurching around in my head. The ending 5' of a symphony as a summation; I mean the where it's been heading toward, emotionally. Three _different_ targets, well hit:

Beethoven's 9th ............... Halleluiah!

Tchaikovsky's 6th ............... Dead, but not defeated - damn your eyes!

Dvorak's 9th .................... The end of a glorious ride... !

There are many others that don't miss, and many more that don't seem to be aiming for the bullseye anyway.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Piwikiwi said:


> This is not really a contest: Mozart 41st symphony of course.


I'm with Piwikiwi: Mozart 41. Of course!


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## omega (Mar 13, 2014)

Lots of Mahler here:

Mahler's Eighth and its Universe of Sound
Mahler's Second (_Aufersteh'n! Ja Aufersteh'n!)_
Mahler's Third, when your heart beats with the timpani
Mahler's Sixth, when you calmly recover from your emotions, and you get eventually knocked out by tragedy.

But others, too:

Bruckner's Fourth: One of the most thrilling and mystic moments in music.
Beethoven's Fifth: undescriptible?!
Tchaikovsky's Sixth
Debussy's _La Mer_: not a symphony, but deserves to be mentionned here!
Messiaen's _Turangalîla_: ecstatic!
Berlioz's _Symphonie Fantastique_: humoristic.
Borodin's First: for sure, more simple than the previous works. But I like this forgotten symphony very much!


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

Shostakovich 11. I understand this is not his most beloved symphony. However, I've felt myself under its spell from the first listen. And the ending - is it banal? Over the top? I don't mind, I'm blown away by it every time.


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Andreas said:


> Shostakovich 11. I understand this is not his most beloved symphony. However, I've felt myself under its spell from the first listen. And the ending - is it banal? Over the top? I don't mind, I'm blown away by it every time.


Not banal, seeing as you love it and for something to be banal it has to be "obvious and boring." As for over the top...where/what is the 'top,' and who decided on it? Different composers have different temperaments, ideas, tastes, and 'tops,' as do different listeners. The second you started to love it, it confirmed once again that it was never banal or over the top.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I love the last 5 minutes of the Schubert Symphony No. 9. It's the other 45 minutes I have issues with.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Mozart 41! Unbelievable music and I'm a sucker for a fugue or some great counterpoint.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

omega said:


> Mahler's Third, when your heart beats with the timpani
> M


That's a great one.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I wouldn't characterize it as 'vulgar,' but I would characterize it as orgiastic, aristocratic revelry-- which of course, I'm all for.
> 
> Thumbs-up.


But muh dear, "orgiastic, aristocratic revelry" _is_ vulgar


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

hpowders said:


> I love the last 5 minutes of the Schubert Symphony No. 9. It's the other 45 minutes I have issues with.


Which recordings have you heard?


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## Marc (Jun 15, 2007)

Great examples so far.
I've got nothing to add.

Oh well, just 3 personal favourites.

For pure musical enjoyment: Mozart 41.
For tears of despair: Tchaikovsky 6.
For tears of comfort and joy: Mahler 2.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Der Leiermann said:


> Which recordings have you heard?


I have Toscanini/Philadelphia, C. Davis/Dresden Staatskapelle and my favorite, the tremendous Solti/Vienna Philharmonic.


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

hpowders said:


> I have Toscanini/Philadelphia, C. Davis/Dresden Staatskapelle and my favorite, the tremendous Solti/Vienna Philharmonic.


You could try any of Mackerras' recordings, maybe the HIP one with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.


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