Pieces with GREAT endings

[verywellmister]

I'm looking for some pieces with great endings or make a great concert closer.

I can name some off the top of my head.

Prokofiev Sonata no.7
Liszt Chasse Neige (this one's profound, not brash)
Liszt Don Juan
Chopin Etudes Op.25
Chopin Sonatas 2 and 3
Chopin Ballade no.4
Beethoven Sonata Op.57

I like playing these sort of pieces 

[dnephi]

Liszt Sonata
Dante Sonata
Norma
Any of the Liszt Etudes except TEs 3, 8, 7, 6 and Waldesrauschen.
Scherzo and March
Polonaise #2
Vallee' D'obermann
Chopin Ballade #2
Any Scherzo

Honestly, there's a lot of music that fits the bill.

[quantum]

Ginastera Sonata 1

[ilikepie]

Prokofiev Concertos no.1,2,3,5
Prokofiev Sonata no.2,3,7
Prokofiev Toccata
Liszt Tarantelle
A lot of the Liszt Etudes
Some of the Rachmaninoff Preludes and Etudes
Chopin Ballade no.2,4
All 4 of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concertos
Ravel Concertos
Ravel Gaspard de la nuit(all)
Ravel Miroirs(Une barque sur l'ocean and Alborada del Gracioso)
Ravel Jeux d'eau
Stravinsky Petrouchka
Debussy Estampes(all)
Debussy L'isle Joyeuse
Chopin Etudes (most)
Chopin Prelude(some, esp. no.24)
to name a few.

[pita bread]

Liszt-Wagner Tannhauser Overture
Rachmaninoff Elegy Op. 3/1
Barber Sonata

[leonidas]

Alkan Concerto for solo piano.

Best ever.

[thalberg]

Not good for an ending, but perfect for right after intermission--Berg Sonata.  Powerful enough to make a deep impression, and dark enough to make the non-musicians regret coming back for the rest of the concert.

[indutrial]

Liszt - La Campanella
Niels Viggo Bentzon - Partita (the last movement "Fanfare-Allegro-Fanfare" is pretty monstrous sounding).
Charles Wuorinen - Saxophone Quartet (end of this piece is something to behold, along with the rest of the piece).

[retrouvailles]

Ginastera's 2nd piano concerto has the most unexpected ending ever. So does Alkan's Comme le Vent (in before leonidas). Those two come to mind immediately.

[leonidas]

The end of Gaspard de la nuit is also insanely genius/annoying.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Too many possibilities, so just a few suggestions:

Liszt sonata
Beethoven op 111

and rather more in your face:

Alkan Symphonie
Thalberg Moses Fantasy (not well-known, but I can assure you the ending, with the "big tune" surrounded by wave after wave of arpeggios, really goes down well with audiences)

[soderlund]

Chopin's second scherzo, op.31 in Bb minor. It has a major key ending though. Another good piece would be his op.25 no.12 in C minor, that also has a wonderful major key ending, perfect for a concert.

[schubertiad]

Chopin's andante spianato and grand polonaise has a pretty insane ending, which builds up for about 3 minutes.

[pianogeek_cz]

Beethoven op 111

Seconded. I actually would let this sonata (plus a shorter piece for the audience to warm up after the break, possibly a major/minor pair of Scarlatti sonatas) fill the whole second half (or last part) of a recital. However, that would to some degree also dictate the first half, it's just too big to -not- determine the mood of the entire concert and anything played before would be remembered through the scope of this monster.

A less limiting choice which hasn't been mentioned yet would be Rach's last Moment Musicaux (preferrably preceded by a slower one, or, possibly, by the whole set).

(By the way, the Schumann Toccata would make a great opener - either right at the beginning, if the whole programme is more or less virtuosic, or after the break, if you had a lyrical first half.)

[slobone]

Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition (original piano version)

[houseofblackleaves]

I love the end of the Don Juan.  I love even more how 70% of performers miss the last chord/s.

Scarbo's ending is just astounding.  There's the shimmering/trembling, a menacing whisper, a bit of final tension, and then it all disappears into the darkness with a sigh of exhausted relief.

[cygnusdei]

IMHO by far the most satisfying coda is that of the first movement of Dvorak Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 33.

[retrouvailles]

Tons and tons of works by Messiaen have great endings, particularly some of the Vingt Regards, Turangalîla Symphonie, etc.

[pies]

a

[gerry]

I cast a vote for the ending of Schumann's Papillons - the A7 chord that "disappears" as the pianist lifts finger after finger.

[mcgillcomposer]

I have always loved the playful endings of Beethoven's Op. 31 No. 1 sonata - both the first and last movements.

[hodi]

Medtner Piano Concerto No.3

[jehangircama]

A very effective ending I heard last summer was Beethoven op 110 in A flat, the lovely fugue at the end.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Liszt HR2 or HR 6. Great finishing pieces.
And, for those who can play it at the end of a concert, Islamey?

[goldentone]

Brahms Symphony No. 4. 

The endings to the 1st and last movements can just take you away!

[clhiospzitn]

Sinding - Rustle of Spring

Chopin - Scherzo no. 4 (come to think of it, all of his scherzi have fantastic endings)
              Ballade no. 4

Liszt - Mephisto Waltz no. 1
          Hungarian Rhapsody no. 12

Prokofiev - Etude in D minor, op. 2 no. 1 (among others)

Brahms - Rhapsodie in E-flat major, op. 119

[lohshuhan]

hmmm... 

shall go off topic here...

the 3rd movement of Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony ends brilliantly.  most audiences who are hearing a live performance of the 6th symphony for the first time usually appluase atthe end of the third movement, but the stop only when they realise that there's a 4th movement.. 

[ctrastevere]

hmmm... 

shall go off topic here...

the 3rd movement of Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony ends brilliantly.  most audiences who are hearing a live performance of the 6th symphony for the first time usually appluase atthe end of the third movement, but the stop only when they realise that there's a 4th movement.. 

Ugh, yes, I've seen that happen before. I was unfamiliar with the symphony myself, but I knew it had a fourth movement because it was clearly written in the program. It was slightly annoying and sort of a mood-killer when everyone started clapping after the third, considering how sombre the final movement is. But I just thought I was in a really uncultured area... good to know that it happens elsewhere! 

[alpacinator1]

I'm really sure. I do know wome good hectic-sounding encore pieces, such as Copland's Cat and Mouse, and MacDowell's Will'o'the'Wisp.

[gaest]

Alkan Concerto for solo piano.

Best ever.

Wholeheartedly seconded.  Every time I hear this concerto, the ending leaves me thrilled and excited, and sometimes even breathless.  Fantastic stuff.

Rachmaninoff Elegy Op. 3/1

I second this too.  Beautiful piece, wonderful ending.

[damien]

Chopin-,4th ballade and Scherzo op 31, most of the etudes
Liszt-Hungarian Rhapsodies 6,10,12,9,2,La Campanella
Brahms-Most of the hungarian dances
that's all for now

[aewanko]

Beethoven Sonata 27, Opus 90

[verywellmister]

So what would be the ultimate final piece to close a solo piano recital with?

[amelialw]

chopin etude op.10 no.4 haha...I love the ending, it's hard but so fun

[pianogeek_cz]

*nods* One of the best encores ever.

(I've actually commited another heresy and tried ending the 10-4 in C sharp major (reching a high e sharp and then staying in major). Guess what, it's definitely not bad. An entirely different point, of course, and not really for public presentation, but interesting - and provides quite some insight.)

[pianorin]

rach's concertos and listz's la campanella.

[richard black]

I've just been playing ('hacking' might be more accurate, to be honest) through the Godowsky Passacaglia, which reminded me what a fantastic ending it's got. Even if the rest of the piece wasn't marvellous, which it most certainly is, it would be worth learning for the last page.

And by the way, for anyone who shares my enthusiasm for it, Nelson Goerner's going to be playing it at a concert or three in 2008/9.

[alzado]

The last selection in "Pictures at an Exhibition."  The piece is sometimes called "The Great Gate at Kiev." 

Huge-sounding piece, with lots of fireworks.  Some recapitulation of the earlier themes.

[gerryjay]

 it's not a poll but my vote is to prokofiev's 7th. what a final movement!

[point of grace]

humm
for me the prokofieff 3rd piano concerto is the best end i´ve ever heard.

 

[gyzzzmo]

chopin ballade no2! Great fireworks there, but hard to make it clear.