Best Endings

[allegroamabile]

In my opinion, there is nothing better than ending a great piece with an amazing coda. Here are some endings that I compiled. Take note that thery are in no particular ranking.

Prokofiev: first movement of String Quartet No. 2
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 in E minor
Brahms: String Quintet No. 2, Op. 111 (first movement too)
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini
Holst: first movement of Suite No. 1 for Military Band in E-flat major
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 in G major
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major
Saint-Saens: Tarantelle for Clarinet, Flute, and Orchestra
Tchaikovsky: first movement of the Manfred Symphony
Brahms: first movement of Violin Sonata No. 2
Weber: Invitation to the Dance
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3 (first movement too)

I don't have enough time to collaborate on my selections. Please add if you wish.

[vinteuil]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15

[ZacPB189]

Rossini's William Tell and Barber of Seville Overtures.
Holst Suite for Military Band in Eb in General has 3 nice codas.
Haydn's "Joke Quartet" and Trumpet Concerto.
Mozart's Musikalischer Spass.
Beethoven 3,5, and 9.
Shosti 5 and 7.
Havegal Brian's Gothic Symphony.
Hans Rott's Symphony in E is a little drawn out but still very nice.
Bruckner 5,8, and 9 and Te Deum.
Mahler 2,3,4,6,8, and 9 and Das Klagende Lied and Todtenfeier.

[wurlitzer153]

Beethoven 3,5, and 9.

And you can't forget the 7th!

[Lyle Neff]

Beethoven 3,5, and 9.

And you can't forget the 7th!

I can -- very easily.

[dwil9798]

For my money, the best ending of any piece of music is Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. The final resolution to the B-Major chord is almost transcendental, in a sense. Some of my other favorite endings (not necessarily the best) are:

Scriabin - Prometheus (The final F-sharp Major chord acts in a similiar way to that of the finale of Tristan. In both works, the music has been ambiguous throughout until it is resolved on their final chords.)
Puccini - Suor Angelica (I usually can't stand Puccini, but this opera I feel is far superior to his others and its ending is really amazing.)
Mozart - Symphony in C Major, K. 551 "Jupiter" (All of Mozart's music has great endings, but from the Coda to the final chords really is quite astonishing.)
Stravinsky - La Sacre (For obvious reasons) and The Rake's Progress (I like the moral, and I think the music is very creative.
Ives - Symphony No. 2 (If you haven't listened to this piece, I really think you should. It reminds me more of Brahms than Ives. Lots of quotations, though, so definitely Ives. Really wonderful piece with a great, surprising ending.

I could go on and on. These are just some of the ones I remember the most.

[allegroamabile]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15

Really?

I spent time and money to get that recording. Is this a joke?

[KGill]

Is this a joke?

Doesn't seem like a joke to me. DSCH 15 is a bawdy, tragic, esoteric masterpiece, and the ending is incredibly haunting.

[pml]

A very mixed bag...

Giovanni Gabrieli, In ecclesiis - in the last section of the work, Gabrieli invents a massive "19th century" pedal point on the dominant, quite farsightedly for circa 1600 :)
Hector Berlioz, Le corsaire, and Judex crederis from Te Deum - both deserving of the superlative "astonishing"
Claude Debussy, coda of Dialogue du vent et de la mer from La Mer
Arnold Schönberg, Seht die Sonne! final chorus from the Gurre-lieder
Gustav Holst, coda of Neptune from The Planets - voices alone fading into the interstellar distance over an alto flute and double harp glissandi...
Olivier Messiaen, Turangalîla-Symphonie
Havergal Brian, Symphonies Nºs 3, 9 and 16
Carl Orff, Apparizione di Afrodite from Trionfo di Afrodite - "how many pieces of percussion would you like with your fortissimo, Mr Orff?"

[vinteuil]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15

Really?

I spent time and money to get that recording. Is this a joke?

I like percussion, open fifths, etc...so this worked nicely.
However, I realized that the Bach Canonic Variations on Von Himmel Hoch...is sooo much better.

[Lyle Neff]

The ending of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera-ballet Mlada is to die for. (Well, given what has happened by that point in the plot -- a flood that consumes everyone -- it's only appropriate that the music be worth it. ) The chorus recalls a haunting melody from Yaromir's dream in Act I, this time in full harmony with brilliant orchestra.

[allegroamabile]

Ives - Symphony No. 2 (If you haven't listened to this piece, I really think you should. It reminds me more of Brahms than Ives. Lots of quotations, though, so definitely Ives. Really wonderful piece with a great, surprising ending.

WOW... That piece is fantastic! What an ending! and it was indeed susprising to say the least.
Thank you so much for suggesting this magnificent work.

[vinteuil]

Well, Ives always works out, unlike Boulez, who can't seem to end something. Carter, however can usually inject some nice humor, and Sciarrino is veery good at ending.
However, I was always disappointed by the ending of All the Way Around and Back.

[allegroamabile]

What about best beginnings?

Beethoven- Symphony No. 5 (of course)
Beethoven- Symphony No. 8
Borodin- Polovtsian Dances
Borodin- Symphony No. 2
Glazunov- Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 5
Brahms- String Quintets Nos. 1 and 2
Handel- Music for the Royal Fireworks
Dvorak- Te Deum
Mendelssohn- Concert Piece No. 2 for Clarinet, Basset Horn, and Piano in D minor
Walter Piston- Violin Concerto No. 1
Johann Strauss II- Tales from the Vienna Woods (very serene opening)
Tchaikovsky- String Quartet No. 1
Wagner- Prelude to Die Miestersinger
Wagner- Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin
Weber- Overture to Euryanthe
Weber- Der Beherrscher der Geister (The Ruler of Spirits) Overture
Brahms- Symphony No. 3
Brahms- Symphony No. 1
Barber- Violin Concerto, Op. 11
Barber- Symphony No. 2
Barber- Overture to "The School for Scandal"
Bartok- The Miraculous Mandarin, Sz. 73
Prokofiev- Russian Overture
Borodin- String Quartet No. 2
Mozart- Requiem
Hindemith- Clarinet Sonata
Copland- Appalachian Spring (very transcendental)
Haydn- The Creation
Rimsky-Korsakov- Procession of the Nobles from Mlada
William Schuman- George Washington Bridge
Beethoven- String Quartet No. 7, "Rasumovsky"
William Grant Still- Festive Overture

I could go on forever, but I generally like beginnings that get going right at the first note. If anyone catches your eye, you should definitely take look at it.

[vinteuil]

Bach: Cantata No. 54 (Widerstehe Doch Der Sunde)...wooooow.
Bach (C.P.E.): Symphonies, Wq. 183 - all very surprising, except No. 4, which is just nice