most powerful climax in music history?

[edwardweiss]

 Havergal Brian-Symphony Number 3 in C sharp minor-Ending of fourth movement, Lento Solenne.

[ahinton]

The last 3 minutes or so of Sorabji's 4th Piano Symphony:

https://nietzsche.ryguillian.com/mefury.m4a

Hands down the most violent sh*t ever.

Best,

Ry

That link seems not to work...

Best,

Alistair

[ryguillian]

That link seems not to work...

Best,

Alistair

Whoops! https://ryguillian.com/mefury.m4a

I've lost track of me URLs!

[Etude]

I think this extract is only the end of the first movement, not the entire symphony, but I'd still agree with your remarks.  In fact, I find the end of the last movement fairly disappointing in comparison.

[point of grace]

the end of Prokofieff 3rd piano concerto.... besides this is the best ending i've heard from a piano concerto, amazing

[pk]

Agree,
absolutely the most powerful

What about the climaxes in the 1st movement of the Tchaikovsky Bb minor piano concerto. I think it beats everything here

[perfect_pitch]

Nah... for me the best climax is at the end of the first movement of Brahms 1st Piano Concerto in d minor....

It's even better when it's played by Stephen Kovacevich! He really plays it with a gusto and power that no one so far can match.

[furtwaengler]

I do like Stephen Kovacevich, but I'm still curious...how many performances/recordings of the Brahms 1st have you heard?

Btw, I enjoy reading this topic and its endless possibilities. If I was going to limit it to only solo piano music, I'd say the return of the Thème de Dieu in Par Lui tout a été fait from Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus is right up there.

[goldentone]

Well, the final movement of Brahms' fourth symphony I'll put in the running.

[furtwaengler]

^ Especially under the direction of my screen name. 

[worov]

Third movement of symphony no. 8 by Shostakovich. Terrifying.

[communist]

Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit: diabolically Spanish sounding section.

Villa-Lobos Rudepoema

the ending of Chopin's second ballade (the weakest ending is the strongest)

[weissenberg2]

The ending of the second movement of Schubert sonata D.959 is pretty powerful.

[perfect_pitch]

I do like Stephen Kovacevich, but I'm still curious...how many performances/recordings of the Brahms 1st have you heard?

Kovacevich's, Houghs, Horowitz's, Curzon, Gilels and maybe one or two through YouTube.

[argerichfan]

That link seems not to work...

Yet no link required for that utterly powerful climax in Gerontius. 

[furtwaengler]

Kovacevich's, Houghs, Horowitz's, Curzon, Gilels and maybe one or two through YouTube.

Hey thanks. Good pack. Conductor and orchestra are so important to this, and I think very highly of both Bruno Walter's contribution to the Horowitz broadcast (haven't heard Toscanini) and Jochum/RCO's to Gilels (great timps). I will definitely listen to Kovacevich this week on account of your post (I like the lieder couplings, especially the choice of op. 105 for the 2nd Concerto). I wonder what you would think of Gary Graffman's recording with Charles Munch and the BSO, here? https://www.haydnhouse.com/Hh7.htm

Yet no link required for that utterly powerful climax in Gerontius. 

"Take me away!"

Yes, huge! I always picture Sir John Barbirolli as my musical grandfather for some reason.

[goldentone]

^ Especially under the direction of my screen name. 

 

[perfect_pitch]

I wonder what you would think of Gary Graffman's recording with Charles Munch and the BSO, here? https://www.haydnhouse.com/Hh7.htm

I would love to hear it... except the link doesn't work. Do you have an updated link???

[•ÇØM]

This is pretty interesting. Scriabin's etude op. 42 no. 5 has a nice climax.

[ctrastevere]

I'm thinking that the end of the 5th movement of Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony could very well be the most cataclysmic climax I've ever heard.

[retrouvailles]

The climax in Louis Andriessen's piece De Materie in the 2nd movt tops all of the ones previously said, including the Havergal Brian examples. That will just knock you to the floor then stomp all over you.

[ctrastevere]

The climax in Louis Andriessen's piece De Materie in the 2nd movt tops all of the ones previously said, including the Havergal Brian examples. That will just knock you to the floor then stomp all over you.

I would love to hear this piece. Any chance of posting it? Send me a PM if you feel more comfortable discussing it that way.

[retrouvailles]

I would love to hear this piece. Any chance of posting it? Send me a PM if you feel more comfortable discussing it that way.

Check your PM box. I can also send it to others via PM.

[gep]

I'm a bit surprised that (most?) people seem to equate "climax" with "loudness/loudest". A quite bit, or even silence can be a great climax too, if not the greatest. I'll give a few examples of what I mean:

Ockeghem: Christe from Requiem (especially Christe II, i.e. the middle section)
Bach: Hohe Messe, Agnus Dei (Schwarzkopf/Karajan is almost unbearable for me here)
Bach: Matthäus Passion: the silence after "und verschied"; the aria "Aus Liebe"; last bar of final chorus, which almost ends in a seering dissonace, but manages (barely) to end on a minor chord; the silence after that final chord (provided there is no clap-lusty fool in the audience...).
Bach: Goldberg Variations: the da capo of the Aria is almost shocking after the whole "journey". .
Beethoven: Canzona from the Op. 130 String Quartet, especially the bit overwritten "Beklemmt".
Bruckner: ending of the Adagio of Symphony IX.
Mahler: ending of last movement of Das Lied von der Erde (such beauty after so much!)
Pettersson: last "canto" of Symphony no. 7 (Segerstam's recording is al but unbearable)
Hinton: last section of Pansophiae for John Ogdon
Simpson: last section (final "Tempo I" section) of String Quintet no. 2
Shostakovitch: most of String Quartet no. 15; second section of "Loreley" from Symphony no. 14.
Sorabji: beginning of Adagio from Opus Clavecimbalisticum (the near stillness Ogdon manages here is breathtaking).

[lmpianist]

The very end of the first movement of Bruckner's 8th

[gep]

The very end of the first movement of Bruckner's 8th

Indeed! To which one must add that what you refer to is the 2nd version of this mighty symphony. In it's original version this "fade out" is followed by an outburst on the main theme (with note values in fourfold enlargement), which is quite mindblowing too. And quite a shock when you hear it for the very first time, used as you are to that dying away...

Try the Tintner on Naxos!

[jbb]

Sticking to solo piano, the final movements of Schumann's Carnaval and Symphonic Etudes are very rousing climaxes and have brought the house down in any performance I've witnessed.

[lmpianist]

I'll have to give that a listen - thanks!

Indeed! To which one must add that what you refer to is the 2nd version of this mighty symphony. In it's original version this "fade out" is followed by an outburst on the main theme (with note values in fourfold enlargement), which is quite mindblowing too. And quite a shock when you hear it for the very first time, used as you are to that dying away...

Try the Tintner on Naxos!