Final Compositions of Your Favorite Composers

[vandermolen]

Interesting thread. Janacek's Sinonietta comes to mind as perhaps his greatest work, right at the end of his career as does Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra and Piano Concerto 3 (althugh Bartok died prematurely).

As to my own favourite composers; Vaughan Williams's 9th Symphony of 1957-8 was completed in his 86th year and is considered by some (me included) to be one of his greatest works (his wife Ursula describes it as one of his most magical and mysterious works). Sibelius's Tapiola, from the end of his composing career.....although he lived another 30 years, is IMHO one of his very greatest works and his 7th Symphony can be seen as represeting a final synthesis of his musical ideas. How could his music develop further?
Bruckner's unfinished 9th is,in my view, his greatest score. Shostakovich's 15th Symphony and 15th SQ are amongst his finest, in my opinion, especially the mysterious end of the symphony. Popov's 6th Symphony is another eloquent last symphony as is Shebalin's No 5, Arnold's No 9 and Tubin's No 10 (No 11 is unfinished). Finally, Miaskovsky's 27th Symphony is, in some ways, his most eloquent and moving score, written when he was seriously ill with cancer and under critical disapproval from the stalinist regime. It has just been issued at budget price on Alto (in the UK at least).

[Ten thumbs]

Scriabin spent his last year working on his Mysterium and his output was more or less restricted to the 5 preludes Op74. These are a tantalising glimpse of a new musical direction.
Fanny Hensel's final compositions are all the more poignant for being full of optimism and growing confidence in the future. Her Piano Trio Op11 is an indication of what might have been.