Interesting list and to each his own as music is completely subjective...But for someone so enthralled by the majestic endings of Bruckner, it beats the heck out of me why you didnt include his most epic ending of all- that of the 8th symphony?
Ahahah, yes that's a comment I've often received down here. But for some reason the 8th's finale doesn't convince me as much as the other Bruckner's finali do, that's just my preference. I definitely love it, it's glorious and bright, but I find it too celebrative and with not much going on to be honest - probably the 4th movement of the 8th is the perfect example of what many musicologists refer to as the "Bruckner finale problem", which for me shows quite well in the 3rd, the 4th and here in the 8th. But this is just my preference, and surely doesn't take anything away from Bruckner's genius.
@@andreduarte9746 Franckly for the few Mahler symphonies i have listened to yes 2nd symphony's ending is propably the most epic finale i have ever listened to yet
To me, the Bruckner 9th is perfect in 3 movements. Like " Art of the Fugue" ending mid-phrase. The slowing tempo, the clock marking the hour, the final sound of the horn disappearing into space. It was meant to end this way.
@@decibellic Presumably then it was a reconstructed 4th movement we were hearing. I know the other 3 but not that. Sounds like they did a good job even if not the real article.
@@alanrobertson9790 Yes, it was reconstructed but probably less than what everyone would think. Simon Rattle is one of the most renowed musicians that advocate for the fact that most of the 4th movement of the 9th was already sketched out if not written down. The major issue for me is not, as everyone else think, that this reconstructed movement is not genuinely from Bruckner himself, but that even if Bruckner had written a complete version of the last movement, he later would've spent more months in re-adjusting it or changing few passages, if not whole sections as he did for the Scherzo.
@@decibellic In the meantime I've become very familiar with this movement. I understand that 18 out of 24 mins were written by Bruckner so that its only the coda at the end that needed writing anew. To anyone familiar with his other symphonies it sounds exactly like Bruckner. Some people are anti this movement but for me its exactly what is needed. The 3 movements of the 9th made for a super depressing symphony but adding this 4th movement makes the overall symphony uplifting and to my mind far more satisfactory. (However as art is essentially subjective I'm happy if someone asserts the exact opposite).
Great List! As always, some great pieces are left on the cutting room floor. I love the endings of Copland No. 3, Mahler No. 2, Tchaikovsky No. 5, Franck's in D Minor, Bruckner No. 8, Sibelius No.2 and Rachmoninoff No.2. I wonder how your list would look with a one entry per composer rule?
I got to number 2, and I said to myself 1 has to be Bruckner 8th. Controversial to pick the 9th since he didnt complete it. The coda of the 8th is sublime. I would have also included Mahler 2, and may Shostakovich 5
I agree with you completely. The coda of the third movement of 8 is also transcendent. The only problem with AB’s endings is that I never want the piece to end in the first place.
Very strange list for someone who is so Bruckner oriented, not to include his magnificent 8th somewhere near the top or the two greatest endings in classical music, the Mahler 2nd and the Shostakovich 7th. But you are entitled to your opinion and these are wonderful pieces.
I dont know why but i never liked the coda, i loved the counterpoint that proceeds it but the harmonies in the coda are boring imo, it always reminds me of plain chant. Maybe its because the themes arent cadential and are rather scalar and diatonic.
Dvorak has actually a great symphony output, he's a splendid orchestrator and melodist. I suggest the Dorati recording for the 7th, clear and powerful.
Very nice list! To extend it to TOP20, my proposals would be: Martinu 1st, Berlioz Fantastique, Kalinnikov 1st, Shostakovich 11th, Dvořák 8th, Mahler 1st and 2nd, Kabeláč 5th, Janáček Sinfonietta, Beethoven 7th... ...there are many "noisy" ones, but also several chilling silent endings, even harder to choose the best ones :-)
Tchaikovsky's 6th being one of the chilling silent endings ones. It's like he was predicting his death which happened shortly thereafter. It always gives me teary eyes
As much as I love this list, Mahler 6 definitely deserves a place on this list. The hero being ultimately knocked down at the end and tragedy triumphing is such a profound ending. The final minor passage has a brief shift to major tonality for a brief final death throe in the struggle for hope but it is all crushed with a powerful tutti A minor chord and ends with a pizzicato.
The Bruckner 9 finale/coda is not by Bruckner who left only rough sketches for the 4th movement, tentatively suggesting his Te Deum as the finale. That has not stopped various composers (Carrigan etc.) from trying their hand at being Bruckner, whose final thoughts we will never know. Of the finales he did write, the coda to the 8th is undoubtedly the greatest, combining as it does all the major themes of the preceding movements into a glorious apotheosis.
Shostakovich 7 not being here is wild to me. After hearing the CSO recording of it with Bernstein conducting it, I'll never hear a better symphony finale.
Bit repetitive and drawn out for me, and dramatic, rather than emotional. I like Elgar S1 and Rach S2. Everything on this video was drama rather than melody - just leaves you with tinnitus.
Mahlers 9th is an epically emotional ride from beginning to end, but the last 5 minutes are heart stopping. My all time favorite. HOWEVER....for sheer symphonic power, you can’t beat the coda of his 8th. Adding full organ, (but you need a GOOD ONE...and off stage brass is the game changer.
Congratulations! Nice selection, and with several from Bruckner, master of the heaven - storming coda. And I had a huge smile when you picked the cod of the finale of the 9th! My God that was brave choice for no 1 when so many don't consider it Canonical Bruckner at all . Mind, that version didn't Quite get the penultimate trumpet discord than makes the Final chord of the coda perfectly telling.
Bruckner 1 has many of his hallmark Brucknerian elements that of course shine more strongly in his later symphonies, but you can just tell its him even from that fist symphony.
I'm glad the finale of Eroica is getting some love. I always considered it to be the crowning jewel of the symphony because it shows B's mastery of learned topic (variations, counterpoint etc)
For me the 3rd movement of the Eroica ruins the momentum. The 1st two movements are perfect and the mood of the scherzo is too carefree after the funeral march in the 2nd.
@@johntravena119 I kinda agree with you though, but remember Eroica is in Ed MAJOR, it's supposed to be heroic not sad all the time. That being said ive always loved how the major movement in the 5th worked better into the piece than the Schezo from Eroica did.
So basically they should be 1.narurally building the tension to the maximum, 2, but not exaggerating in repetition, and 3.summarizing the thematic and harmonic materials in a eloquent way. A good list. Just a little bit surprised to see Nelsons and esp.the completed version of Bruckners 9th. I love it.
If you’re going to choose a Nielsen ending, surely the 2nd symphony with those repetitive chords in quick succession, building to a climax and marching in rhythm, would have been better choice than his 3rd.
Beautiful, masterful pieces of music all of them. I wonder if we can have an honorable mention for Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. It's not a symphony, but that ending with the cannons ...
Shows the biases when Bruckner gets four of his top 10 spots. IMO, the ending to Shostakovich 4th is what, as an extended musical essay, symphonic form is all about and summarizes the theme of his essay to the world better that any symphony before or since. Glad it wasn't performed for ~35 years. Glad he also wrote symphonies after it. (Buckner, and Mahler, both bore me. I find 10 to 15 minutes of music interesting within their oeuvre. What it is for me.)
I'd put Bruckner 5 somewhere in there. I haven't understood most of the symphony, but the coda is good. If I just consider the coda, I choose Celibidache's 1986 Munich (not Tokyo) recording, and Konwitschny's 1961 recording.
Oh that 5th is quite something else. It has some confidence and almost attitude that really doesn't appear in any other brucknerian symphony. The thing that makes me giggle everytime is the final fugue with that incredibly irreverent subject almost alla Berlioz. It is an extraordinary symphony nonetheless, in between the exuberance of the brass one can still feel the profundity of this piece.
Beethoven 5th symphony, with those massive and alimighty forte chords, one after the other like blows delivered in a boxing ring -as it reaches its climax.. with the great enlongated Cmajor final note, triple forte.
Haha I was waiting for Mahler 8 I knew it *had* to be on here since it’s so grand. Interesting that you’re not as interested in any more modern composers (really I mean any from the 20th century). For me Shostakovich has some of the best endings but that’s just my opinion. Also you can’t go wrong with the end of the Firebird. Have the agree that maybe putting Bruckner’s 9th wasn’t a good choice (at least for first) *just* because it was incomplete, I think it kinda goes against the composer’s wishes. Great list tho, never heard Dvorak 7 and it’s great!
Bruckner is amazing when it comes to symphonies, but here’s what I think should’ve been on the list despite the order: Mahler 1&2, rach 2, Shostakovich 5&11, tchaikovsky 4,6 & manfred, sibelius 2, dvorak 9 (im more of a romantic genre listener, so couldn’t come up with the Haydn/Mozart symphonies)
Excellent list! Each selection has an exciting dramatic coda. The ending of Dvorak's 7th is a personal favorite of mine, and I could listen to it over and over. I would add 2 more: Schubert's 9th (the Great C Major) and Tchaikovsky's 5th.
I, too, love Bruckner, and it's great to see that in the last half a century or more he's enjoyed a resurgence. Still, for me, number 1 would be Mozart's final symphonic utterance; the coda that concludes his Jupiter Symphony No. 41.
A fascinating, intriguing list - I am surprised that Bruckner 8's cataclysmic ending isn't there, or indeed Bruckner 7. A few suggestions - Mahler 1 and 2 (he was great at endings), Shostakovich 10, Sibelius 5, Walton 1. As a change from emphatic endings, I suggest the ineffable beauty of Vaughan Williams 5.
Agree whole-heartedly with RVW getting a mention. But 6's ending might be the more impactful quiet ending, something Vaughan Williams was not scared to attempt in his symphonies... and more than attempt he did.
Finale of Bruckner 9 was epic!!!! However, I won’t put it on my list since this movement wasn’t entirely composed by Bruckner. For me, Bruckner 5 and 8 were more reasonable!!!
All the threes! Copland 3 Arnell 3 Magnard 3 ... and Walton 1 The climax (the whole movement, one long crescendo) of Respighi's Pines of Rome (effectively a symphony), especially with George Pretre conductings is (insert superlative of choice).
Great choice, and not just the usual suspects. I like the emphasis on Bruckner and not just Mahler. Perhaps you would undertake a second list of ten finals.
As you said, your personal favourites, therefore no right or wrong. Definately not a bad list at all. I wouldn't put a piece like the Bruckner 9 on there because that coda is not part of the sketches available and therefore complete conjecture on the part of whoever decides to make a performing version of the Finale. But it is not a bad ending either, even it is not written by Bruckner. I miss Rachmaninov 1st on this list. ;)
Thanks. Yes that 9th is quite controversial here, but really I personally cannot put anything above that recorded coda in terms of power, depth and greatness. I always wonder how the coda would've been if Bruckner had lived enough to write his definitive version.
With all the respect for the giant that Shostakovich is, I don't think the term "great" can be applied to him, at least in this specific sense I inferred throughout this video and comments.
Listening to these spectacular endings again and reading the comments, it's interesting no one mentions Berlioz Symphony Fantastique, which I omitted in my earlier comment.
Definitely Copland 3, Brahms 1, Sibelius 2, Shos 5, (and if I can stretch the rules a bit: Brahms Piano C I, Tchaik Violin C and runner up: Candide Finale)
I love your list. I'm glad to see there is another Bruckner fan out there - we are so disparaged! Just to add to the fun and greatness. . . Ironically, I've always loved the finale to Nielsen's 3rd Symphony, but the 1st movement! The way the frenetic energy builds and the horns reach the climax is exhilarating. Of course, the Sibelius 7th. And, if I may interpolate a bit. If one could see the 4 movement Reger Psalm 100 as a symphony (a stretch, I know, but humor me), I would say the finale of the 4th movement is one of the greatest in all classical music. Does anyone even listen to it? If Bruckner fans are in the dog house, Reger fans are, alas, "behind you in the smallest room in your house" - if you get the reference.😪
Sheesh, what's with all these happy symphonic endings? Can't we include some great dark ones like Tchaikovsky 6, Mahler 9, and Shostakovich 5. Also here are two underrated symphonic endings that I would probably put on a list are Beethoven Symphony 6 and Mahler 3
Interesting choice, there are many more though. I would have considered Sibelius maybe 2 and 5, Saint Sean's organ symphony, Berlioz fantastique. Tchaikovsky 4 or 5, Beethoven 5 and 9 Schumann 2. Bruckner 8 (the finale of 9 , here was not written by Bruckner).... There are some of the Shostakovich's as well... Big choice.
My choice is the No 8 : Synphony No 1 of Johannes Brahms , because your end is to another level and for me even more , I hear at least two times in the month this Synphonny complete.
Agree w you on Bruckner 9 despite the controversy. Bruckner never ended on a downer. Unlike say Mahler 6 or Tchaikovsky 6. Bruckner 9 adagio ends on such a sad note i find it hard to accept. However imperfect the completions are, they end in triumph like an angel ascending to heaven. The final bars transition from minor dissonant notes to triumph. Which version did you provide? Rattle? Or Schaller? Thx!
Bruckner was dying when he wrote this. If you are not particularly religious, dying is letting go of who you are, accepting the moment when the clock strikes, and releasing your spirit into the unknown. To me the 3rd movement conveys all of this.
@@davidthompson3255 This is nit the work of Bruckner, though, if we are being honest - it's a completion based on the sketchiest of sketches: those final bars are someone else's invention. That's not to say you're not allowed to like it, of course.
Sometimes the downer endings are the best way to end a work, though. Vaughan Williams comes to mind, but less "downer" sometimes and more just "quiet" like a final sigh. It can be just as uplifting or harrowing, like the 5th and 6th respectively.
I thought it was going to be the 3rd movement of Bruckner's 9th as the best ending ever. The unintended ending. The fear before the acceptance of death.
I don't see anyone rooting for Mahler 3...those final bars of the adagio is some of the most primordial transcendental sections of music ever composed...and its incredibly satisfying after listening to a feature film's length worth of music Also i feel if one has to add Beethoven in the top 10 list...then it should be 5,8 or 9. The coda of 5 is how Beethoven finally resolves all the intensity built over the three movements. 8 is one of Beethoven's most incredible musical jokes with its never-ending finale. The coda of 9 (when done in tempo) is pretty amazing as well. Also poor Mozart! The ending to Jupiter is an incredible technical achievement. Sure he didn't have good brass in his time...but that ending with its counterpoint..brilliant!
@@decibellic true that! However your top 10 introduced me to new repertoire...I hadn't listened to early Bruckner (symphonies 1-3) before this video...so thank you for posting it anyway!
First, where you found the 9th Bruckner's endding? Second, in my opinion, all enddings of Bruckner's symp. after the number 3 is included in the list. And there are many others enddings that are very good too from these composers... and I missed another composers, Tchaikovsky, Murssogy, Shostakovity...
I ignor under what concept you choose this list, was it because the bombastic, clangorous loud and majestic style of them? or for structural, musical scheme or creativity.. what was your criteria?
Great list! Like many other commentators, Mahler 2 tops everything for me. Nielsen 3 is good but I prefer Nielsen 4. Glad to see Bruckner 3 high up the list. Although not a symphony, his Te Deum has another superb ending. Some have suggested Sibelius 5, but I prefer his 2nd. Everyone to his own taste!
