# Best Piece Endings!



## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

I'd like to start this thread to see the most popular endings to different pieces of music. While "ending" is a bit of a vague term, I think this might be fun to hear opinions on some finishes that left a big impact, be it a grand chord that shakes the concert hall... or the dying of sound until the notes become lighter than air.

To get the ball rolling, one of my personal favorites is the last apotheose of Stravinsky's "Scenes de Ballet." This finale seems to be over flowing with emotion, particularly a mix of tragedy and joy and regret and uneasiness, which Stravinsky did so well... usually utilizing the major 7th. The last chords are great examples of this as the trumpet screams the high root attempting to not be pulled down onto the 7th. I remember walking home from school on a day I felt depressed for no apparent reason, and listening to this piece as I walked. The finale came as I arrived to my house, and I immediately lay on my bead, staring at the ceiling fan, as the final chords blasted and shouted and I lay there watching the pieces of wood go round and round. Its emotional impact brought me to tears which I cannot say for many other pieces of music.

here is the piece linked with the exact time as the ending:





alright, your turn!


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

Hmm, maybe Neptune/ Holst.....I'm generic  But it's striking and unusual if you've never heard it before, I'm surprised the same effect was not really used by other 'pretty' 20th century composers in any piece I've listened to.


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## omega (Mar 13, 2014)

One of my favourite endings is _Neptune, The Mystical_ from Holst's suite _The Planets_. After some very energic, quite "bombastic" movements (Mars, Jupiter), Holst has chosen to end his depiction of the solar system with peaceful and visionary poetry.

*Edit: * Oops, I did not see Gaspard and I had the same piece in mind! :tiphat:


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

How many do you want?

I am also a big fan of the ending of Holst's _Planets_. Sometimes quiet endings can be very effective. For example Bax's _Third Symphony_ or William Schuman's _Sixth Symphony_.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

Gaspard de la Nuit said:


> Hmm, maybe Neptune/ Holst.....I'm generic  But it's striking and unusual if you've never heard it before, I'm surprised the same effect was not really used by other 'pretty' 20th century composers in any piece I've listened to.


I have heard this piece... a very mystical ending. My cousin has heard it live and said there is nothing like the invisible choir entering, and this effect was magnified for him as his position in the concert hall was that which was very near the invisible choir.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

arpeggio said:


> How many do you want?


As many as you'd like to give. :- )


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

dzc4627 said:


> As many as you'd like to give. :- )


No you don't because I can probably give you a hundred endings.

All right I will give you one obscure one. The finale of Persichetti's _Symphony Number Six_ for band. It ends on a massive tone cluster on a quadruple forte.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

This is the most exhilarating recap and coda I know


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## kikko (Jun 19, 2014)

Schubert's last impromptu.

6:12


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I've always liked Stravinsky's finale to _The Firebird_. So majestic.

On the other end of the spectrum, the end of Appalachian Spring is great, too. The diminuendo of the last major 9th chord -- it's very satisfying, complete. Wonderful stuff!


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

My favorite "great" ending:
Beethoven Symphony 5. So triumphant and easy to whistle!

Two wild endings that always get my blood pumping:
Chopin's Grand Polonaise Brillante op22
Tchaikovsky's Concert Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Mahler 2, 3 and 8 (very obvious)
Bruckner 4 (as performed by Celibidache/Munchner Phil)






Rautavaara's 8 Symphony was heavily criticised by many, but I enjoy it very much and the ending is truly majestic.






As usual, I recommend lilstening to such pieces through huge sound system instead of computer headphones or... ehm... speakers


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Sibelius' 5th Symphony. 

I personally think a lot of composers (particularly from the Romantic era) overcook their endings. Too much wind up, too many "false" endings. Sibelius gets it right.


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

Tristan und Isolde.

Oh, not again!! Celloman, we're tired of hearing how much you like that piece...enough already! 

Ok, here are some others:

Das Lied von der Erde (The _ewig, ewig_, wafting through my ears, is absolutely sublime)

"Salve Regina" from _Dialogues des Carmelites_ - The effect of the nuns' voices cutting out between the strokes of the guillotine = harrowing and unforgettable

Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony - utterly depressing


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A: The brilliance and outward exuberance of this finale belie its formal and harmonic complexity.

Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: The liebestod is a stunning resolution of all of the musical tensions of the opera.

Mahler's Ninth: Is it about transcendence? Is it about acceptance? Either way (or some other way, even), this moving close to one of Mahler's more enigmatic works is always affecting in a good performance.

Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1: Pure ecstasy floods the last moments of the finale, capped off magnificently with the return of the main theme in the horns.

Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms: Luminous and calm C major harmonies.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

For fun, Mahler's Fifth.
For etherealness, Beethoven's last piano sonata.
For a feeling of immense pride at being a human being, Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

I'm a big fan of "endings". I'm an ending aficionado.  For that I'm not necessarily referring to the entire finale movement, but maybe just the final coda. An ending can make or break a piece of music.

It's hard to pick my favorite ending. I immediately think of Tchaikovsky's patended "drumroll" endings, the best of which is *Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture*. That is the ideal drumroll ending to me, complete with somewhat erratic chords during the roll. It's perfect. (The "ending proper" to me begins at 7:05 of this video: 



 )

And then of course we have the insanity that is Scriabin's *Poem of Ecstasy*. The final chord may be the "ecstasy" itself, referred to in the title. Some recordings drag it out as much as is possible (like this one - 21:00 for the beginning of the final stretch: 



) and some take it a little bit quicker (like this one - 8:26 for the same moment: 



) I like them both, and think the effect is still there in each recording.

But if I had to pick one work as having the quintessential "perfect" ending, it would have to be *Mahler's Symphony No. 7*. As much as I like the entire 5th movement, I'm specifically talking about the very end. Maybe it's the bells in the background or that final tense accidental before the concluding chord, but I think it's the perfect conclusion. Hearing it always puts a big smile on my face.

The "ending proper" begins at 1:11:50 for me (Abbado's expression during the "tense" part before the final chord is priceless):






Mahler's Symphony No. 7 can end the soundtrack to my life


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Celloman said:


> Das Lied von der Erde (The _ewig, ewig_, wafting through my ears, is absolutely sublime)


That was going to be my choice as well. To throw in another candidate: the last minutes of Bruckner 9 (in the perfect unfinished version, not the monstrous reconstructed 4-movement version).


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

My favorite endings often involve choirs:

Handel - Dixit Dominus - Gloria Patri





Scriabin - Symphony No. 1





Mahler - Symphony No. 8


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I am moved by the ending for Schoenberg's Guerrelieder for sure.


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

Ives 2 
Schnittke 1
Elgar Cello Concerto

I'd also second the Firebird and Sibelius 5.


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## Medtnaculus (May 13, 2015)

Listened through Scriabin/Nemtin's Preparation to the Final Mystery a while back and I must say I've never heard anything nearly as epic in my life. The ending is just brimming with tension. Can't see myself going through it all non stop again - at least not in the near future. Maybe when I'm revising again for finals next year.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

In a similar thread some years back I mentioned the ending Haydn's Symphony No. 73 in D major, "La chasse." It sort of peters out. If you skip to a minute or so before the end you'll see -- or hear rather. One reviewer claimed it shows the fox getting away and the hounds looking about, confused. I'm not sure I'd go that programmatic, but it's a fun ending.

More recently I've enjoyed the sudden brass blast ending of Schoenberg's piano concerto sounding almost unexpected yet final which you can hear a bit after 22:30 in the link. (Oh come now, dodecaphobes, you can handle _one minute_ of it.) I am saddened at the desultory applause in the video however.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The endings of Sibelius's later symphonies, #4 through #7, are all fascinating and original. #4 is disconcertingly bleak and taciturn, keeping its secrets. #5 is six blows of Thor's hammer on a mountaintop reached with superhuman but invincible effort. #6 ends as undemonstratively as it began, a backward glance at twilight, refusing to assess the day that's passed. #7 is a testament to the heroism of sheer endurance, its final moment a brusque wave of the hand, lingering not one moment for sentimental indulgence.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> The endings of Sibelius's later symphonies, #4 through #7, are all fascinating and original. #4 is disconcertingly bleak and taciturn, keeping its secrets. #5 is six blows of Thor's hammer on a mountaintop reached with superhuman but invincible effort. #6 ends as undemonstratively as it began, a backward glance at twilight, refusing to assess the day that's passed. #7 is a testament to the heroism of sheer endurance, its final moment a brusque wave of the hand, lingering not one moment for sentimental indulgence.


Let's not forget the 3rd symphony which builds up such a head of steam then ... it just stops, but then, where else could it go?


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## Autocrat (Nov 14, 2014)

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

How about the ending of Charles Ives 2nd Symphony ... that last chord! I suspect that Ives is chuckling every time that it is played.


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## Le Peel (May 15, 2015)

These two came to mind.


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

Rachmaninov, Symphonic Dances -- for the return of that remarkable dance of death at the end, and its defeat, in the very end.

Mahler, Symphony No. 6 -- because there is nothing as terrifying as that final A minor chord.

Tchaikovsky, Piano Trio -- for its tragically quiet march of death "in memory of a great artist".

Shostakovich, Symphony No. 15 -- because only he knows what any of it means (and for its subtle allusion to the equally compelling final bars of the 4th).

Bruckner, Symphony No. 5 -- because even Bruckner's brass fanfares aren't supposed to be that epic.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

The ending to Beethoven's third, first movement, never fails to give me the shivers. Although it depends a lot on the recording. My favorite symphonic ending by Beethoven. In this entire movement I hear such strength, confidence and determination. It knows exactly where it's going without any hesitation. The ending just tops it off with a perfect triumph. Just for a moment, most symphonic music seems to be not much more than whimsical hodgepodge in comparison. I said for a moment.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

The ending of Josquin's Missa l'homme arme sexti toni is amazing; it could have been written yesterday. In this clip, at 3:46, the melody is stated forward and backward at the same time, and it ends up sounding like it written by one of the minimalists.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Outside classical music, my favorite ending is the end to electronic album Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding (1981): 



It comes after a long, peaceful passage. Then it suddenly picks up the pace with this final push of synthesizer chords. The earth, planets, stars and galaxies passing by. The universe is one. Musically simple but the whole thing is very effective. 
All made on the "Mighty Serge" modular synthesizer. http://www.serge-fans.com/images/Braheny-1.jpg


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## Templeton (Dec 20, 2014)

Sorry to be so conventional but I have to go with Beethoven and his 7th and 9th symphonies. My only complaint with the 7th is that it has to end. I just want it to go on and on. I also have a very soft spot for Smetana's Má vlast (full version), which I associate closely with the Prague Spring and later, the end of the Iron Curtain, events that are close to my heart.


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

The ending of the Schmidt 4th Symphony, a quiet reprise of that angular motif that acts as a thread throughout the symphony


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

manyene said:


> The ending of the Schmidt 4th Symphony, a quiet reprise of that angular motif that acts as a thread throughout the symphony


I think Franz Schmidt's _Fourth Symphony_ is tragically neglected, myself. It certainly has its sublime moments.

I could never understand why Karajan never did it. Its right up his alley. He did the "_Intermezzo_" from Schmidt's opera _Notre Dame_ twice- but no Schmidt's _Fourth._


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## Marsilius (Jun 13, 2015)

Richard Strauss often ends orchestral pieces very effectively, if in a variety of different ways. Try "Death and Transfiguration", "Ein Heldenleben" or the "Sinfonia Domestica"


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

My other unexpectedly striking ending - Liszt's Transcendental Etude V, the Will-o-the-wisp, the final arpeggio of Bb major with the flatted sixth, a very mysterious tone.....played by Claudio Arrau in his somewhat slower tempo.......it sounds so.......transcendent, mysterious, yet playful? Incredible such an unlikely combination can even be achieved so successfully by a composer and/ or a performer..... IMO this piece stands out as so totally unique in the Romantic piano repertoire for it.



Azol said:


> Rautavaara's 8 Symphony was heavily criticised by many, but I enjoy it very much and the ending is truly majestic.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I actually listened to that and enjoyed it. I was expecting something aggressively arcane/ European modernist judging by the Finnish name but I guess I shouldn't stereotype.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

This is how I feel when I hear an awesome ending:


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

Ligeti's Atmospheres ends with quiet brushed piano strings, leaves one thinking 'wtf just did just happen', sort of like a cigarette after sex.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but Stravinsky's _Rite of Spring_ has a fabulous ending.


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Scriabin's Prometheus.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

The ending of _Gotterdammerung_ - the death of the old world and birth of the new.


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## echmain (Jan 18, 2013)

DeepR said:


> Outside classical music, my favorite ending is the end to electronic album Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding (1981)


My #1 favorite space music album of all time.

And speaking of the electronic realm, are you familiar with Global Communication 76:14? That last piece (12:18) is pure magic.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

And the ending of _Die Meistersinger_ - whatever happens in this turbulent world, the art remains forever!


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Chopin - Prelude Op. 28 No. 24 
The entire piece as ending to the set


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## GiulioCesare (Apr 9, 2013)

Cosmos said:


> My favorite "great" ending:
> Beethoven Symphony 5. So triumphant and easy to whistle!


The most boring answer of all, and yet I agree.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

"The most boring answer is usually the correct one." - 0-3-6-9


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

Big loud symphonic endings are always the most fun, and often the most obvious: Mahler's 2nd & 8th, Maslanka's 4th, Scriabin's Poem of Ecstacy, etc; but thinking about this thread I'm going to suggest a quiet ending: Devid Bedford's 'Stars End'.
Try this from 19:25 and just drift...


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