Six great endings in music.

Started by vandermolen, August 20, 2009, 12:25:53 PM

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Lisztianwagner

Quote from: madaboutmahler on November 09, 2011, 01:36:36 PM
Yes, I suppose I should have started with Das Rheingold... :( But I so desperately wanted to hear Gotterdammerung after being amazed by the excerpts I had heard, such as the Immolation Scene! I shall start from the beggining next time :)

Karajan, Solti and Barenboim are the three I am considering at the moment - if you had to pick one, Ilaria, which one would it be? ;)

I think the answer is expected, of course it would be Karajan ;)

I can share the feeling, Gotterdammerung is absolutely poetic and powerful, with that sublime, passionate finale (indeed, my favourite Ring opera alongside Siegfried)......but I think if you start from Das Rheingold and continue listening to the whole cycle, at the end you'll be more thouched and involved by the extreme beauty of Gotterdammerung :)
"You cannot expect the Form before the Idea, for they will come into being together." - Arnold Schönberg

Octo_Russ

Holst The Planets, Neptune, what a way to end a work!, a female chorus that ends in eerie nothingness.
I'm a Musical Octopus, I Love to get a Tentacle in every Genre of Music. http://octoruss.blogspot.com/

Cato

Dudes!  Dudettes!

I have just skimmed the pages, and must agree with the choices, with which I am acquainted (except for Prokofiev's Seventh Symphony, for which I have a blind ear, but that is another story.)

I am amazed, however, that the name Arnold Schoenberg has not yet appeared!  (Unless my skimming eyes missed it!)

Allow me to offer for your consideration the endings of:

Arnold Schoenberg
: Verklärte Nacht


Arnold Schoenberg
: Pelleas und Melisande


Arnold Schoenberg
: Erwartung

and possibly the most amazing ending in opera:

Arnold Schoenberg
: Moses und Aron

and possibly the most amazing and beatific ending in a cantata:

Arnold Schoenberg
: Jakobsleiter

"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on November 09, 2011, 01:55:48 PM
I think the answer is expected, of course it would be Karajan ;)

I can share the feeling, Gotterdammerung is absolutely poetic and powerful, with that sublime, passionate finale (indeed, my favourite Ring opera alongside Siegfried)......but I think if you start from Das Rheingold and continue listening to the whole cycle, at the end you'll be more thouched and involved by the extreme beauty of Gotterdammerung :)

Oh, of course :) How silly of me to even doubt it would be anyone apart from Karajan! ;)

I see what you mean, I can understand that the finale to Gotterdammerung would be even more touching after listening to the whole cycle! :)

Hope you are well Ilaria!

Quote from: Octo_Russ on November 09, 2011, 04:16:52 PM
Holst The Planets, Neptune, what a way to end a work!, a female chorus that ends in eerie nothingness.
Certainly agree... perfect, magical ending.

Quote from: Cato on November 09, 2011, 05:05:45 PM
I am amazed, however, that the name Arnold Schoenberg has not yet appeared!  (Unless my skimming eyes missed it!)

and possibly the most amazing ending in opera:

Arnold Schoenberg
: Moses und Aron


Certainly, Schoenberg did write many great endings. Pelleas und Melisande and Verklarkte Nacht in particular for me, as you mention.
Although surely the most amazing ending in opera has to go to Gotterdammerung?!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: madaboutmahler on November 10, 2011, 08:10:47 AM
Oh, of course :) How silly of me to even doubt it would be anyone apart from Karajan! ;)

I see what you mean, I can understand that the finale to Gotterdammerung would be even more touching after listening to the whole cycle! :)

Hope you are well Ilaria!
Certainly agree... perfect, magical ending.

Certainly, Schoenberg did write many great endings. Pelleas und Melisande and Verklarkte Nacht in particular for me, as you mention.
Although surely the most amazing ending in opera has to go to Gotterdammerung?!

I'm fine, thank you, hope you're well too :) I suppose you're very excited for the concert this Saturday, I wish you all the best  :)

I agree about Neptune as well, what a sublime ending, so evocative and mysterious!

Well, if it couldn't go to Gotterdammerung, Tristan und Isolde would certainly have the most beautiful ending in opera, haha ;)
"You cannot expect the Form before the Idea, for they will come into being together." - Arnold Schönberg

jowcol

Quote from: Octo_Russ on November 09, 2011, 04:16:52 PM
Holst The Planets, Neptune, what a way to end a work!, a female chorus that ends in eerie nothingness.

If you like that, I'd suggest Debussy's Nocturnes (which I've always liked better than La Mer).

Similar eerie ending-- sans chorus, would be RVW's 6th.
"If it sounds good, it is good."
Duke Ellington

TheGSMoeller

Quote from: jowcol on November 10, 2011, 12:26:30 PM
If you like that, I'd suggest Debussy's Nocturnes (which I've always liked better than La Mer).

This.  ;D

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on November 10, 2011, 12:09:40 PM
I'm fine, thank you, hope you're well too :) I suppose you're very excited for the concert this Saturday, I wish you all the best  :)

I agree about Neptune as well, what a sublime ending, so evocative and mysterious!

Well, if it couldn't go to Gotterdammerung, Tristan und Isolde would certainly have the most beautiful ending in opera, haha ;)

Glad you are well! I am rather happy as well, thank you! :) Yes, very excited about the concert on Saturday - although a little nervous about what the response from the audience will be! I hope they will like it! :) Also happy because of A. (see facebook! ;) ) :) Thank you Ilaria!

Another great ending! Other amazing operatic endings would be those of Strauss!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Cato

Quote from: madaboutmahler on November 11, 2011, 09:02:14 AM
Glad you are well! I am rather happy as well, thank you! :) Yes, very excited about the concert on Saturday - although a little nervous about what the response from the audience will be! I hope they will like it! :) Also happy because of A. (see facebook! ;) ) :) Thank you Ilaria!

Another great ending! Other amazing operatic endings would be those of Strauss!

And specifically the ending to Elektra!   0:)

"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Wanderer

Quote from: Cato on November 11, 2011, 11:13:22 AM
And specifically the ending to Elektra!   0:)

Oh, yes! And Salome.



Three more exquisite (the last one, brilliantly understated) operatic endings off the top of my head: Schreker's Die Gezeichneten, Zemlinsky's Eine florentinische Tragödie and Schoeck's Penthesilea.

madaboutmahler

"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Lisztianwagner

And why not also Die Frau ohne Schatten? ;)
"You cannot expect the Form before the Idea, for they will come into being together." - Arnold Schönberg

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on November 11, 2011, 02:11:21 PM
And why not also Die Frau ohne Schatten? ;)

Definitely again!  ;D That would certainly be one of my all time favourite operatic endings! :)
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: madaboutmahler on November 11, 2011, 02:14:39 PM
Definitely again!  ;D That would certainly be one of my all time favourite operatic endings! :)

It would be one of my favourites too, and moreover, absolutely my favourite Strausses opera :)
"You cannot expect the Form before the Idea, for they will come into being together." - Arnold Schönberg

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on November 11, 2011, 02:20:31 PM
It would be one of my favourites too, and moreover, absolutely my favourite Strausses opera :)

Would be hard for me to pick an absolute favourite Strauss opera! Love them all so much!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven