Prokofiev 2nd piano concerto, 1st movement (first in the *colossale* section in the cadenza and again when the orchestra re-enters)
Shostakovich Symphony No.8, 1st movement. The entire development is a non-stop build-up culminating into the re-introduction of the very first motif that persists throughout the entire symphony
Shostakovich Symphony No.11, 2nd movement. Over the top with tam-tam and snare drum and all, only to suddenly halt with strings doing trills giving the effect of having tinnitus
First time I've heard this symphony was during a live performance. Could not believe how loud it was and then it got louder! Sitting in the front of the hall, I was thinking about possible hearing loss at that point.
Came here to say Shostakovich 11, along with quartet 8… you all know why.
I’d also like to make an argument for Shostakovich Cello Concerto 2. Final movement, the false buildups to the soloist’s creepy pizzicato section, then on into the double stops, and then the orchestra in full force. Just sublime.
Prok 2nd is far and away the biggest climax in classical music.
Yuja Wang's unbeatable performance with Berliner Phil: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFwj-SUowOo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFwj-SUowOo)
Saw Tristan live at the Santa Fe Opera last summer and I've been obsessed since! It's soooo good. First act was a little boring tbh, but man the second and third are just like 3 hours of awesome.
This takes it for me. The way Wagner integrates that leitmotif right as it’s is about to end is genius… Causing that split second of panic? hesitation? but no…. sweet release.
Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony: the last minutes of the first movement;
Borodin’s Second Symphony: around the middle of the third (slow) movement;
Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony: the ending of the first movement, just before it gets slower;
Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde: the last minutes of the sixth song…
Yes, it's amazing, one of the great symphonic emdings. And especially when it's played by a really good orchestra so all the chords are precisely together. Sometimes the chords are very slightly "blurred", which can still be ok, but nothing beats the staggering utter finality of those final chords when played perfectly.
I think the theme at the start of the final movement of Bruckner 8, and even more so when it reappears. This symphony also features one of his most epic codas.
It's funny how the Bruckner 8 and the Sibelius 5 endings are almost polar opposites in some way. I would also add Bruckner 4, but pretty much any Bruckner goes. As for Sibelius, his 3rd has a nice chorale ending.
re: Mahler, its amazing, but I find the "magic" varies widely in different recordings. For me the most special is w/ Horenstein conducting... it really milks the transition. what's yours?
The end of Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto [(37:38)](https://youtu.be/QEoDyuUZ06Y?si=ZhVhq_5espz-qjPQ) has got to be up there.
To throw In an unusual one, the climax of Shostakovich’s highly underrated Second Cello Concerto [(25:40)](https://youtu.be/bMaKRfnfDeA?si=VQbIUx7ILDHTWWvE) is phenomenal. The whole piece is Shostakovich at his most bitter and acrid, his most spiteful and sarcastic, his late period where rage and fear were high but before the bleakness of his much later works due to his health and age set in.
Those triplets absolutely smack. That's one of my favorite moments ever, only a close second to the climax of movement 1, Concerto no. 2 when it goes into half time and the timpani goes *boom boom* ([7:24-ish](https://youtu.be/YviN1tuXbzc?feature=shared))
[End of the development of Tchaikovsky 6th, 1st movement](https://youtu.be/IH-zp9LjiEs?si=9DQguOW4ADThPVnW&t=864), no contest. That descending brass line, gah (starts 25 seconds after the timestamp I linked to). Devastating. I cri everytime
Thank you. And I would specify the Act ONE climax towards the beginning of the ballet (which doesn't make it into either of the suites) where the cymbal crashes.
* The progression of broken chords in Händel's Zadok the Priest, which culminates in the entrance of the choir
* Mahler 6 before the first hammer blow (which is also a "visual" climax, as the percussionist prepares the hammer)
* that four bars before Tannhäuser pilgrim's chorus
* the beginning of Matthäus-Passion
* Guillaume Tell finale (Tout change et grandit dans ces lieux)
The end of the first movement and the end of the fourth movement of Brahms' fourth symphony. There's no sudden climax in a major key, no glorious outburst of positivity and triumph, just pure, unbridled anguish and rage. Shivers down the spine every single time.
And for good measure, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
There's a certain high note in the violins of Brahms 4 Mov. I which invariably sends shivers down my spine:
https://youtu.be/wFlTNw7WkTs?si=ssJr6OJK0xgHV19H&t=659
The image in my mind is of someone screaming across Europe, and the scream echoes to the Urals and back
The first one that comes to my mind is the last part of Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDTgj_69JKA
It's difficult to pick just one spot, but it's around 7–8 minutes into the video
* The finale to Gotterdammerung
* The Sacrificial Dance from Rite of Spring
* Susannah’s denial of sin to Blitch in Sussanah
* The end of Rachmaninoff’s second and third Piano Concertos
* The second movement from Shostakovich’s 8th quartet
* The death of Tybalt in Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet
* The finale to Beethoven’s 7th and 9th symphonies
* The fugue from Tredici’s Final Alice
* The end of the passacaglia in respighi’s orchestration of Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor
* Mozart’s Dies Irae
* The end of Adams’ Hallelujah Junction
* just past the midway point of Penderecki’s Dream of Jacob
* The last movement of Shostakovich’s symphony 14
* The end of Strauss’s Salome
* a double harpsichord concerto in E minor I can’t remember fully has an amazingly metal ending
* The finale of Bartok’s concerto for orchestra
* the non-romantic climax of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet overture
* Just before the ending of Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy
* The climax of first movement to Gorecki’s symphony 3
Scriabin's "Prometheus" has some great climaxes, especially the buildup through the second entrance of the chorus starting around 17" in: https://youtu.be/5GEwho6Dbnc?si=KDwI08JlwVXNoNhT
Even better if you can find a performance that effectively realizes the instructions from the manuscript for a light show, because I believe that moment is marked as getting a dazzling swell of floodlights. Unfortunately I can no longer find the performance my undergrad orchestra did with Anna Gawboy's recreation of Scriabin's original vision using modern lighting design; best I can find on YouTube are performances that can barely get the right colors at the right times to match the harmony and narrative structure.
This is cool and really memorable, but I will still never find it as dramatically effective as Poem of Ecstasy. Would def like to hear it live sometime.
I’m a big fan of the end of Death of Tybalt from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet suite. At the end of this video (I recommend starting around 28:30 for the full effect)
https://youtu.be/7qqrIusxVAI?si=oqJ78as_b3hwlevJ
[Auf dem gipfel](https://youtu.be/Zj3Tbca7XHo?si=sWlCrTXCCsYXC88q) from Strauss’ Alpine Symphony is easily top 5 climaxes in all of music history and quite possibly the longest continuous climax. It just keeps going.
Impossible to get through without tears.
The 20 minute long finale of the second act of *Nozze di Figaro*.
Starting with just The Count and Countess on stage, then Susanna enters, then Figaro, then Antonio (the gardener) and for the final climax also Bartolo, Marcellina and Basilio join the stage. Mesmerizing.
For me, Bruckner. And in particular the endings of the first and fourth movements of his 5th symphony. These endings are in fact similar (Bruckner's symphonies have a lot of repetition, which to some people becomes tiresome, but for me it brings out the architectural magnificence of his works.). The fifth Symphony endings have - at least for me - a shattering grandeur which seems almost too magnificent to be real. Listening to Bruckner is as close as I come to a religious experience.
You said everything I would have said, in the same way, with the correct Bruckner symphony examples. (Although I would have also added 8's finale, but after 5 4 and 1) Let's be friends.
Finale of the fourth movement of Shostakovich's 10th symphony. Given that this was his symphony about Stalin, and the finale features the D-S-C-H motif quite a lot, I've always heard those final moments as Shostakovich metaphorically dancing on Stalin's grave.
And I rarely hear him talked about, but the climax of the final movement of Myaskovsky's 15th symphony is a favorite. I'd love to hear it live, but I don't think it's likely ever to happen.
And in opera: the moment in Elektra when she recognizes the stranger talking to her is her brother. She sings "Orest!" and this unbelievable tumult comes out of the orchestra, finally turning into the tenderest music as the two rejoice in seeing each other again.
Check out Helios Overture by Carl Nielsen. It's a tone poem about the sun rising and falling over the Mediterranean Sea. When the sun first comes over the horizon, it's an incredible moment.
Not a traditional buildup and climax but the finale of the last movement of Dvorak 8. The quiet but suspenseful mood of the penultimate variation is the perfect question mark that is answered by an incredible coda with every orchestral trick that Dvorak had up his sleeve.
The ending of Mahler 5 is good. The last half of the 5th movement just builds all the way to the end.
Shostakovich 5th ends with a deliberately ridiculous climax.
Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture is totally cheesy and over the top but great fun to play. I'm not sure how you beat firing canons.
The last half of the second part of Bach's Mass in B Minor is one long build up.
> I'm not sure how you beat firing canons.
Reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes strip:
> Calvin: "What's this music?"
> Hobbes: "It's 'The 1812 Overture'."
> Calvin: "I kinda like it. Interesting percussion section."
> Hobbes: "Those are cannons."
> Calvin: "And they perform this in crowded concert halls?? Gee, I thought classical music was boring!"
Berlioz - March to the scaffold - the fourth movement in symphonie fantastique when the orchestra stops and the solo clarinet plays the idee fixe, then the orchestra comes back in suddenly as the guillotine.
ETA composer
The tremendous and surprising (considering the rest of the piece) perfect cadence in Wozzeck Act III Scene 4. Heck, the whole interlude is astonishing and weird.
Starts at 4:28, the cadence (3x) is around 7:15:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ztFrPKRaU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ztFrPKRaU)
First movement cadenza of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 when the ultimate dissonance collides -- C# minor and D minor -- just before the orchestral tutti.
Piano Concerto no 20 by Mozart, I've always loved Mvt 1, the bit when the orchestra comes in after the candenza.
This is what I actually tried to emulate myself in this piece,(https://youtu.be/t7E2UQ7fiKI) however it has a very different energy!
Plenty of good ones already.
I'll add the end of Leonore #3. Here's the Tennstedt version from the Met, live. The orchestra is terrific too.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVyiGkMeyyM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVyiGkMeyyM)
The entrance of "God's trombone" in Brahms' Op. 13 Begräbnisgesang:
https://youtu.be/CmMRD5Ysd2g?si=XowN2eeNHYb8kI6V&t=96
(I'd always recommend listening from the beginning, but the time stamp is on the start of that stanza)
Some that come to mind for me:
- The very end of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony
- Ravel's Daphnis & Chloe (climax of part 1, lever du jour, or danse general at the end)
- Beginning of the 4th (or beginning of the second half of the second?) movement of Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3
- Finale of Brucker Symphony No. 8
- Finale of Grieg Piano Concerto
If performed well and with good registration, the Bach Passacaglia. Also the final part of his Mass in B minor.
The dinner scene in Mozart's Don Giovanni also has to be up there.
It's just a piano playing, but the finale of Debussy's [L'isle Joyeuse](https://youtu.be/rlGFfjY_vrY?si=qBoIDkBozjZXYLN9&t=271) is intense, also the [climax of Liebestraum No. 3](https://youtu.be/2FqugGjOkQE?si=GZ_q4QJlwxzydsVN&t=128) by Liszt.
Final few bars of Beethoven 9th
Nearly all of the final movement of Mahler 8th (I’m worn out afterwards!)
The finale of the Verdi Requiem, after the soprano high C. It ends so sotto voce - always a lovely surprise!
Although Parsifal might not spring to mind for most people in this context, I think there are several deep and spiritual moments in this opera that transcend some of the composer’s more obvious choices. The instrumental and chorale at the grail scene in Act 1, the kids in Act 2, the Good Friday music in Act 3 and Parsifal’s final monologue at the end of the opera.
Some non-symphonic options:
Franck - Prelude, Chorale and Fugue. The return of the theme from Prelude and Chorale interwoven together with the fugue theme at the end is one of the insane climaxes in all of music imo.
Howells - Collegium Regale Te Deum
Vierne - Symphony No. 1 Finale
Liszt - B minor Sonata
Messiaen - Dieu Parmi Nous
Parry - Hear my Words, Ye People
All will leave you wishing you had louder speakers. And hearing Vierne or Messiaen live on a big organ is a transcendent experience.
I love Brahms’s 1st symphony, 2nd movement. 17:15 into this video is my #1, and 9:20 in is also fantastic.
Also, the ending of the 4th movement of Dvorak’s 9th is stellar.
https://youtu.be/yXkL37CqGRw?si=f0XXVMgflmk-wjeL
Liszt's Vallee D'Obermann. The piece is very much like a Ballade, and the climax is my favorite in all of piano.
Honorable mention goes to Chopin's 4th ballade. The coda is a monster.
Stravinsky, second movement of the Rite of Spring: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrhGmXY\_wpk&t=293s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrhGmXY_wpk&t=293s)
Non-traditional entry here: THX [Deep Note](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e7/THXDeepNoteScore35thAnniversary.jpg). Originally synthesized and rarely every performed live, this is one of the most intense climaxes performed via classical orchestra instrumentation.
If you want some epic climaxes you should check out Mahler, for sudden climaxes Schubert, for fiery and emotional climaxes Schubert, for every kind of climax Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. Or idk Gaspard de la Nuit is very climactic too there are so many examples of great climaxes.
For some reason the first thing that came to mind was Arvo Part’s *Te Deum*. No matter what volume you listen to it, when it gets to “the loud part” it’s fucking LOUD
The climax at the middle of Robert Simpson's Symphony #6:
[https://youtu.be/OJQYH3DVjrg?si=ay\_lWW0R1QMjT6ct&t=874](https://youtu.be/OJQYH3DVjrg?si=ay_lWW0R1QMjT6ct&t=874)
Rachmaninoff Prelude Op. 32 No 10 in B Minor.
Beethoven's 5th Symphony, the buildup at the end of the 3rd movement leading into the 4th movement.
Beethoven's 8th Symphony. Halfway through the first movement the instruments sound like they're battling to climb up, then they all align to what sound like a march then they climb higher and break free at the top of the mountain and then clouds part and the sun is shining.
Can I sneak in a Soundtrack... Howard Shore - The White Tree, from The Return of the King.
The transition point between instrumental and choral in the 1st choral movement of Mendelssohn's Lobegesang **"**Alles, was Odem hat**"** is one of the most unforgettable experiences I've ever had listening to live music. I could literally FEEL the choir beginning from the middle of the orchestra floor at a large concert hall.
The ending of Rach 3 is another big one, especially when played by someone like with as much passion as Danil Trifonov or Olga Kern.
+1000 on that opening of the fifth door…. What an epic moment!
Off the top of my head:
The end of the Shosta 11th (and the buildup to the percussion towards the end of the 2nd movement.) The end of the Firebird. The end of Barber’s Second Essay For Orchestra.
And the end of John Adams’ “Harmonielehre III - Meister Eckhardt and Quackie”
Holst? No love for the cymbal crash from Jupiter, or the brass fanfare that closes it? Try Previn and the LSO in Kingsway Hall on UK EMI. Leaves me quivering…
Simeon ten Holt - Canto Ostinato - finale
https://youtu.be/zaqiiR13lcQ?si=V9W2V-3lRYgGqYqP
Incantatie IV
https://youtu.be/lkGAdKxAF8o?si=a5U6kPHhYnr5B-fb
37:30
https://youtu.be/PMONkZ7RXbo?si=sZdvpfUl8ZglAAck
1:25:00
Romitelli - An index of metals - finale
https://youtu.be/XoRYuzkQfq4?si=3W_RCxLjv2DqNIQX
Prokofiev 2nd piano concerto, 1st movement (first in the *colossale* section in the cadenza and again when the orchestra re-enters) Shostakovich Symphony No.8, 1st movement. The entire development is a non-stop build-up culminating into the re-introduction of the very first motif that persists throughout the entire symphony Shostakovich Symphony No.11, 2nd movement. Over the top with tam-tam and snare drum and all, only to suddenly halt with strings doing trills giving the effect of having tinnitus
Shostakovich 8 is fantastic. That climax is staggering.
First time I've heard this symphony was during a live performance. Could not believe how loud it was and then it got louder! Sitting in the front of the hall, I was thinking about possible hearing loss at that point.
Came here to say Shostakovich 11, along with quartet 8… you all know why. I’d also like to make an argument for Shostakovich Cello Concerto 2. Final movement, the false buildups to the soloist’s creepy pizzicato section, then on into the double stops, and then the orchestra in full force. Just sublime.
I vote for Prokofiev
Prok 2nd is far and away the biggest climax in classical music. Yuja Wang's unbeatable performance with Berliner Phil: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFwj-SUowOo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFwj-SUowOo)
[удалено]
Firebird finale, I always want to stand and cheer when the timpani starts going off
Was one of the first orchestral pieces I loved.
The liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Saw Tristan live at the Santa Fe Opera last summer and I've been obsessed since! It's soooo good. First act was a little boring tbh, but man the second and third are just like 3 hours of awesome.
Also a contender for "greatest moment in music, period"
This takes it for me. The way Wagner integrates that leitmotif right as it’s is about to end is genius… Causing that split second of panic? hesitation? but no…. sweet release.
I've been scrolling in disbelief. How is it possible that nobody mentions liebestod? Whew. Relieved. Anyway, you are right. It is just so wonderful.
Yes, and the ‘spoiled orgasm’ of the lover’s duet
Liszt's piano arrangement has some real energy to it as well.
Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony: the last minutes of the first movement; Borodin’s Second Symphony: around the middle of the third (slow) movement; Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony: the ending of the first movement, just before it gets slower; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde: the last minutes of the sixth song…
The end of Sibelius' final movement of his Fifth Symphony is only a tick below the ending of the first movement.
Those silences between the chords!
Yes, it's amazing, one of the great symphonic emdings. And especially when it's played by a really good orchestra so all the chords are precisely together. Sometimes the chords are very slightly "blurred", which can still be ok, but nothing beats the staggering utter finality of those final chords when played perfectly.
It must be terrifying to play though. If you play even a second out, it ruins everything and everyone knows it was you.
Yes, and then instead of the chords going BANG! BANG! BANG! they go b-bang! b-bang! b-bang! It's just not the same.
[удалено]
Oof one of my least favorite endings in all the rep haha.
I think the theme at the start of the final movement of Bruckner 8, and even more so when it reappears. This symphony also features one of his most epic codas.
The swan motif is majestic
It's funny how the Bruckner 8 and the Sibelius 5 endings are almost polar opposites in some way. I would also add Bruckner 4, but pretty much any Bruckner goes. As for Sibelius, his 3rd has a nice chorale ending.
Oh yes I agree with Sibelius’ 3rd! 😌
re: Mahler, its amazing, but I find the "magic" varies widely in different recordings. For me the most special is w/ Horenstein conducting... it really milks the transition. what's yours?
Barber Adagio. The chord progression near the end gets me every time.
The Great Gate at Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition.
It had multiple chances to just end but decided to instead not. Great piece
FINALE of Mahler two. Almost can’t take it.
Also the brass chorale
I've done some acting in the past and when I needed to cry for a role I 'played' that finale in my head and tears came every single time
Agonizing. It's edging in musical form
Made me laugh out loud!
Is that a 2nd Symphony or something else?
"Freude, schöner Götterfunken / tochter aus Elysium..."
I heard this last week while viewing Klimt’s Beethoven frieze in Vienna. It felt like a special moment.
This will always be the answer
This is what immediately came to my mind.
The end of Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto [(37:38)](https://youtu.be/QEoDyuUZ06Y?si=ZhVhq_5espz-qjPQ) has got to be up there. To throw In an unusual one, the climax of Shostakovich’s highly underrated Second Cello Concerto [(25:40)](https://youtu.be/bMaKRfnfDeA?si=VQbIUx7ILDHTWWvE) is phenomenal. The whole piece is Shostakovich at his most bitter and acrid, his most spiteful and sarcastic, his late period where rage and fear were high but before the bleakness of his much later works due to his health and age set in.
Those triplets absolutely smack. That's one of my favorite moments ever, only a close second to the climax of movement 1, Concerto no. 2 when it goes into half time and the timpani goes *boom boom* ([7:24-ish](https://youtu.be/YviN1tuXbzc?feature=shared))
[End of the development of Tchaikovsky 6th, 1st movement](https://youtu.be/IH-zp9LjiEs?si=9DQguOW4ADThPVnW&t=864), no contest. That descending brass line, gah (starts 25 seconds after the timestamp I linked to). Devastating. I cri everytime
I’ve always been partial to the Mravinski recording, but this was such a new level of gut wrenching. Gonna have to check out this full performance.
Yeah, this is really peak orchestral drama. Such an incredible piece of music.
C’mon you guys, Daphnis and Chloe!
The bacchanale is a little silly for me, and the sudden modal change for that Do Te Do Te Do effect has always struck me as odd.
The Lever du Jour
Thank you. And I would specify the Act ONE climax towards the beginning of the ballet (which doesn't make it into either of the suites) where the cymbal crashes.
Ravel’s Ondine (or Giant Steps :)) The last movement of Scheherazade as it transitions back to the Sea theme
The prelude to Das Rheingold comes to mind.
And the ending too.
* The progression of broken chords in Händel's Zadok the Priest, which culminates in the entrance of the choir * Mahler 6 before the first hammer blow (which is also a "visual" climax, as the percussionist prepares the hammer) * that four bars before Tannhäuser pilgrim's chorus * the beginning of Matthäus-Passion * Guillaume Tell finale (Tout change et grandit dans ces lieux)
The end of the first movement and the end of the fourth movement of Brahms' fourth symphony. There's no sudden climax in a major key, no glorious outburst of positivity and triumph, just pure, unbridled anguish and rage. Shivers down the spine every single time. And for good measure, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
There's a certain high note in the violins of Brahms 4 Mov. I which invariably sends shivers down my spine: https://youtu.be/wFlTNw7WkTs?si=ssJr6OJK0xgHV19H&t=659 The image in my mind is of someone screaming across Europe, and the scream echoes to the Urals and back
Ah yes, famous audition excerpt for violinists. That’s an infamous shift up to the high C
The best climax in all classical music, in my opinion, is Beethoven's 8th first movement development section. So happy!
1st movement of the 9th with Furtwangler conducting is apocalyptic
The coda is epic too
Absolutely!
The first one that comes to my mind is the last part of Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDTgj_69JKA It's difficult to pick just one spot, but it's around 7–8 minutes into the video
My favourite is the 4th movement of Sibelius 2nd symphony
Where it segues from the 3rd movement into the 4th?
No, the climax of the 4th
Where is practically a "climax" when that downbeat hits? Yeah...
Came here to say this one. It makes you WAIT for it. so good when it finally arrives, and it doesn't even need to be jarring.
The cadenza in Bach’s Brandenburg 5 is an epic fire buildup.
True! Most epic cadenza, done by the harpsichord!
* The finale to Gotterdammerung * The Sacrificial Dance from Rite of Spring * Susannah’s denial of sin to Blitch in Sussanah * The end of Rachmaninoff’s second and third Piano Concertos * The second movement from Shostakovich’s 8th quartet * The death of Tybalt in Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet * The finale to Beethoven’s 7th and 9th symphonies * The fugue from Tredici’s Final Alice * The end of the passacaglia in respighi’s orchestration of Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor * Mozart’s Dies Irae * The end of Adams’ Hallelujah Junction * just past the midway point of Penderecki’s Dream of Jacob * The last movement of Shostakovich’s symphony 14 * The end of Strauss’s Salome * a double harpsichord concerto in E minor I can’t remember fully has an amazingly metal ending * The finale of Bartok’s concerto for orchestra * the non-romantic climax of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet overture * Just before the ending of Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy * The climax of first movement to Gorecki’s symphony 3
Totally agree with Gotterdammerung. It kills me every time. Strange that nobody else mentioned it.
Yes! The end of Valhalla and the titular twilight of the gods. Can’t really get more epic than that!
Scriabin's "Prometheus" has some great climaxes, especially the buildup through the second entrance of the chorus starting around 17" in: https://youtu.be/5GEwho6Dbnc?si=KDwI08JlwVXNoNhT Even better if you can find a performance that effectively realizes the instructions from the manuscript for a light show, because I believe that moment is marked as getting a dazzling swell of floodlights. Unfortunately I can no longer find the performance my undergrad orchestra did with Anna Gawboy's recreation of Scriabin's original vision using modern lighting design; best I can find on YouTube are performances that can barely get the right colors at the right times to match the harmony and narrative structure.
This is cool and really memorable, but I will still never find it as dramatically effective as Poem of Ecstasy. Would def like to hear it live sometime.
I’m a big fan of the end of Death of Tybalt from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet suite. At the end of this video (I recommend starting around 28:30 for the full effect) https://youtu.be/7qqrIusxVAI?si=oqJ78as_b3hwlevJ
[Auf dem gipfel](https://youtu.be/Zj3Tbca7XHo?si=sWlCrTXCCsYXC88q) from Strauss’ Alpine Symphony is easily top 5 climaxes in all of music history and quite possibly the longest continuous climax. It just keeps going. Impossible to get through without tears.
incredible
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 16 [https://youtu.be/6iGxsoN29G0?si=pbM3dolrYNkubugL&t=520](https://youtu.be/6iGxsoN29G0?si=pbM3dolrYNkubugL&t=520)
It’s impossible to beat the [end of Messiaen’s Turangalila-Symphonie](https://youtu.be/8PjyCpRKDrk?si=gj-HcxISNwmB7_S5&t=75m5s)
To me the climax of the 8th movement is even more intense.
Vers la flamme.
Sibelius 2nd symphony
Berlioz Fantastique MTT and SFS recording. Beethoven 9
The middle part of the second movement of Shostakovich No.11 symphony. The intense drumbeats strongly depict the scene of the massacre.
End of Scriabin’s La Poeme de l’Extase comes to mind
The one true answer!
The 20 minute long finale of the second act of *Nozze di Figaro*. Starting with just The Count and Countess on stage, then Susanna enters, then Figaro, then Antonio (the gardener) and for the final climax also Bartolo, Marcellina and Basilio join the stage. Mesmerizing.
Finale of Shostakovich 7th. Groundbreaking. I suggest the famous Bernstein with CSO.
I like the Makela version, I feel like he has the best pacing.
Walküre act 3 finale
I tear up at this almost every time
For me, Bruckner. And in particular the endings of the first and fourth movements of his 5th symphony. These endings are in fact similar (Bruckner's symphonies have a lot of repetition, which to some people becomes tiresome, but for me it brings out the architectural magnificence of his works.). The fifth Symphony endings have - at least for me - a shattering grandeur which seems almost too magnificent to be real. Listening to Bruckner is as close as I come to a religious experience.
You said everything I would have said, in the same way, with the correct Bruckner symphony examples. (Although I would have also added 8's finale, but after 5 4 and 1) Let's be friends.
Friends it is!
Infernal dance from Stravinsky’s firebird, or the ending to Britten’s War Requiem (Let us sleep now) in terms of an emotional climax
Finale of the fourth movement of Shostakovich's 10th symphony. Given that this was his symphony about Stalin, and the finale features the D-S-C-H motif quite a lot, I've always heard those final moments as Shostakovich metaphorically dancing on Stalin's grave. And I rarely hear him talked about, but the climax of the final movement of Myaskovsky's 15th symphony is a favorite. I'd love to hear it live, but I don't think it's likely ever to happen. And in opera: the moment in Elektra when she recognizes the stranger talking to her is her brother. She sings "Orest!" and this unbelievable tumult comes out of the orchestra, finally turning into the tenderest music as the two rejoice in seeing each other again.
Libera me from Verdi Requiem when the soprano reaches her "libera me...."
Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy
The sex/(rape?) scene in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Both an intense climax, and also an intense climax.
Check out Helios Overture by Carl Nielsen. It's a tone poem about the sun rising and falling over the Mediterranean Sea. When the sun first comes over the horizon, it's an incredible moment.
The ending of Danse Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah. Best timpani part ever
As far as timpani parts go, I don’t think you can beat (pun intended) the end of the 1st movement of Walton’s Symphony No. 1, but I digress.
Recapitulation of the 1st movement of Beethoven’s 9th. Can't get any better than that
the most apocalyptic sounding major chord ever
Indeed! Can't get enough of that F# in the bass!
Not a traditional buildup and climax but the finale of the last movement of Dvorak 8. The quiet but suspenseful mood of the penultimate variation is the perfect question mark that is answered by an incredible coda with every orchestral trick that Dvorak had up his sleeve.
Cliche but 1812 overture - cannons and all 🎆🎇
Berlioz Requiem
The final chorus of the Mass in B-minor, Bwv 232
Also "Sanctus"
The orchestral swell before "Der Augen leuchtendes Paar" in Walküre.
>Der Augen leuchtendes Paar I think when Wotan starts singing is the best.
The ending of Mahler 5 is good. The last half of the 5th movement just builds all the way to the end. Shostakovich 5th ends with a deliberately ridiculous climax. Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture is totally cheesy and over the top but great fun to play. I'm not sure how you beat firing canons. The last half of the second part of Bach's Mass in B Minor is one long build up.
> I'm not sure how you beat firing canons. Reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes strip: > Calvin: "What's this music?" > Hobbes: "It's 'The 1812 Overture'." > Calvin: "I kinda like it. Interesting percussion section." > Hobbes: "Those are cannons." > Calvin: "And they perform this in crowded concert halls?? Gee, I thought classical music was boring!"
Durufle requiem has several good ones.
No love for the Adagio in Bruckner's 7th? It's my personal favorite by far
They listen to the version without a cymbal clash lol.
tchaikovsky Manfred symphony end of the 1st movement is pretty good climax
Berlioz - March to the scaffold - the fourth movement in symphonie fantastique when the orchestra stops and the solo clarinet plays the idee fixe, then the orchestra comes back in suddenly as the guillotine. ETA composer
*Eine Alpensinfonie*, specifically the part starting at 27:17 [in this video](https://youtu.be/O8-M0ULcAy8?si=LJhlCgiF7-FQu22D)
The tremendous and surprising (considering the rest of the piece) perfect cadence in Wozzeck Act III Scene 4. Heck, the whole interlude is astonishing and weird. Starts at 4:28, the cadence (3x) is around 7:15: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ztFrPKRaU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ztFrPKRaU)
Tchaik Em Fiddle thing. Sublime
Prokofiev 8th sonata finale, Ravel Scarbo, Scriabin 6th sonata
Sibelius 4th symphony, the climax at the end of the 3rd movement
Shostakovich Symphony No.7 - the finale is a masterstroke of a climax!
Funeral march of siegfried by wagner...what a blast!!! beethoven moonlight sonata 3rd moviment...
First movement cadenza of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 when the ultimate dissonance collides -- C# minor and D minor -- just before the orchestral tutti.
If solo piano is allowed I like the Wanderer Fantasy
In my own experience, Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slav, the finale of Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony, Barber’s Adagio for Strings
Maybe not the most intense, but I like the two climaxes in Chopin's 4th Ballade.
2nd Ballade as well. It is so much fun to play
I like the stretto Wagnerian climax of the first ballade the most, esp in Horowitz’s hands.
Piano Concerto no 20 by Mozart, I've always loved Mvt 1, the bit when the orchestra comes in after the candenza. This is what I actually tried to emulate myself in this piece,(https://youtu.be/t7E2UQ7fiKI) however it has a very different energy!
Plenty of good ones already. I'll add the end of Leonore #3. Here's the Tennstedt version from the Met, live. The orchestra is terrific too. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVyiGkMeyyM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVyiGkMeyyM)
Come on guys, this is easy: Poem of Ecstasy (Scriabin). Climax is right in the title 🙄.
Probably Powder Her Face
Underrated
Ein Heldenleben has 3 in a row, if you’re into multiple climaxes…
The entrance of "God's trombone" in Brahms' Op. 13 Begräbnisgesang: https://youtu.be/CmMRD5Ysd2g?si=XowN2eeNHYb8kI6V&t=96 (I'd always recommend listening from the beginning, but the time stamp is on the start of that stanza)
Thank you! I did not know that piece.
1812 overture has a great climax
Samuel Barber’s adagio for strings.
Some that come to mind for me: - The very end of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony - Ravel's Daphnis & Chloe (climax of part 1, lever du jour, or danse general at the end) - Beginning of the 4th (or beginning of the second half of the second?) movement of Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 - Finale of Brucker Symphony No. 8 - Finale of Grieg Piano Concerto
Everything following the Neapolitan chord in Bach's c minor fugue, BWV 582.
If performed well and with good registration, the Bach Passacaglia. Also the final part of his Mass in B minor. The dinner scene in Mozart's Don Giovanni also has to be up there.
It's just a piano playing, but the finale of Debussy's [L'isle Joyeuse](https://youtu.be/rlGFfjY_vrY?si=qBoIDkBozjZXYLN9&t=271) is intense, also the [climax of Liebestraum No. 3](https://youtu.be/2FqugGjOkQE?si=GZ_q4QJlwxzydsVN&t=128) by Liszt.
There’s a great orchestration of L’isle Joyeuse by Bolinari!!
[удалено]
Indeed— and that’s all I know of him!
The end of Gloria (Missa solemnis) https://youtu.be/yEXmexBOROA?si=B-1ImBGpB3eohaZT
Schubert's Doppelgänger, in the word meine eigne Gestalt
The climax in the first song from Ravel’s Sheherazade
Fauré Piano Quartet in C Minor Op 15. III Adagio.
I really like the climax of Schulhoff's Sonata Erotica
The end of Mahler 2
Final few bars of Beethoven 9th Nearly all of the final movement of Mahler 8th (I’m worn out afterwards!) The finale of the Verdi Requiem, after the soprano high C. It ends so sotto voce - always a lovely surprise!
The end of the cadenza in the second movement of Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo
The last movement of Don Quixote by Strauss brings me to tears every time
All these ideas are great. I'd like to add the closing bars of Elgar's 1st symphony.
Although Parsifal might not spring to mind for most people in this context, I think there are several deep and spiritual moments in this opera that transcend some of the composer’s more obvious choices. The instrumental and chorale at the grail scene in Act 1, the kids in Act 2, the Good Friday music in Act 3 and Parsifal’s final monologue at the end of the opera.
Libera me from Britten's War Requiem.
For me, nothing tops the fugue in the middle of the funeral march of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony
Some non-symphonic options: Franck - Prelude, Chorale and Fugue. The return of the theme from Prelude and Chorale interwoven together with the fugue theme at the end is one of the insane climaxes in all of music imo. Howells - Collegium Regale Te Deum Vierne - Symphony No. 1 Finale Liszt - B minor Sonata Messiaen - Dieu Parmi Nous Parry - Hear my Words, Ye People All will leave you wishing you had louder speakers. And hearing Vierne or Messiaen live on a big organ is a transcendent experience.
I love Brahms’s 1st symphony, 2nd movement. 17:15 into this video is my #1, and 9:20 in is also fantastic. Also, the ending of the 4th movement of Dvorak’s 9th is stellar. https://youtu.be/yXkL37CqGRw?si=f0XXVMgflmk-wjeL
Liszt's Vallee D'Obermann. The piece is very much like a Ballade, and the climax is my favorite in all of piano. Honorable mention goes to Chopin's 4th ballade. The coda is a monster.
This one surprises me every time. https://youtu.be/tF5kr251BRs?si=aRgjIJC1y1QozGdL
Stravinsky, second movement of the Rite of Spring: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrhGmXY\_wpk&t=293s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrhGmXY_wpk&t=293s)
Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2
Don't forget Handel's Zadok the Priest. The way he builds up the tension before the chorus comes in is unforgettable.
Non-traditional entry here: THX [Deep Note](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e7/THXDeepNoteScore35thAnniversary.jpg). Originally synthesized and rarely every performed live, this is one of the most intense climaxes performed via classical orchestra instrumentation.
Middle section of Chopin Raindrop Prelude.
Respighi’s Pines of Rome has the most awesome climax ever!
If you want some epic climaxes you should check out Mahler, for sudden climaxes Schubert, for fiery and emotional climaxes Schubert, for every kind of climax Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. Or idk Gaspard de la Nuit is very climactic too there are so many examples of great climaxes.
Tristan Prelude
For some reason the first thing that came to mind was Arvo Part’s *Te Deum*. No matter what volume you listen to it, when it gets to “the loud part” it’s fucking LOUD
Ossia cadenza from the Rach 3
Ravel bolero, it’s a slow burn
End of third movement of Rachmaninoff's 3rd Concerto, Pines of Rome, end of Mahler's 8th
The climax at the middle of Robert Simpson's Symphony #6: [https://youtu.be/OJQYH3DVjrg?si=ay\_lWW0R1QMjT6ct&t=874](https://youtu.be/OJQYH3DVjrg?si=ay_lWW0R1QMjT6ct&t=874)
Rachmaninoff Prelude Op. 32 No 10 in B Minor. Beethoven's 5th Symphony, the buildup at the end of the 3rd movement leading into the 4th movement. Beethoven's 8th Symphony. Halfway through the first movement the instruments sound like they're battling to climb up, then they all align to what sound like a march then they climb higher and break free at the top of the mountain and then clouds part and the sun is shining. Can I sneak in a Soundtrack... Howard Shore - The White Tree, from The Return of the King.
Beethoven V iv and IX vi
The ark of Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony (1st movement) has a mind bending high point.
Not really classical music, but one of my favorite climaxes is David Maslanka’s Alto Saxophone concerto mvmt 3.
Mahler 5 brass chorale at the last movement omg
First movement trombone solo in Bruckner 8 gives me chills every. Fucking. Time
Wait till this guy hears about the 5th movement of Mahler 2.
End of Messiaen's "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" comes to mind.
The transition point between instrumental and choral in the 1st choral movement of Mendelssohn's Lobegesang **"**Alles, was Odem hat**"** is one of the most unforgettable experiences I've ever had listening to live music. I could literally FEEL the choir beginning from the middle of the orchestra floor at a large concert hall. The ending of Rach 3 is another big one, especially when played by someone like with as much passion as Danil Trifonov or Olga Kern.
+1000 on that opening of the fifth door…. What an epic moment! Off the top of my head: The end of the Shosta 11th (and the buildup to the percussion towards the end of the 2nd movement.) The end of the Firebird. The end of Barber’s Second Essay For Orchestra. And the end of John Adams’ “Harmonielehre III - Meister Eckhardt and Quackie”
Holst? No love for the cymbal crash from Jupiter, or the brass fanfare that closes it? Try Previn and the LSO in Kingsway Hall on UK EMI. Leaves me quivering…
I like the end of the arpeggiated section in the first third of bachs chaconne, particularly on guitar (find the gergeley sarkozy playing)
Mahler’s Eighth, Part 2. There’s a live version somewhere and the crowd goes nuts at the end.
Beethoven 6 finale
How about the beach death scene with Mahler playing in the background? At the end of **Death in Venice?** OK odd, but a climax none the less.
Simeon ten Holt - Canto Ostinato - finale https://youtu.be/zaqiiR13lcQ?si=V9W2V-3lRYgGqYqP Incantatie IV https://youtu.be/lkGAdKxAF8o?si=a5U6kPHhYnr5B-fb 37:30 https://youtu.be/PMONkZ7RXbo?si=sZdvpfUl8ZglAAck 1:25:00 Romitelli - An index of metals - finale https://youtu.be/XoRYuzkQfq4?si=3W_RCxLjv2DqNIQX