10 Incredible Orchestral Climaxes
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- čas přidán 21. 10. 2022
- Seek and ye shall find! 10 central orchestral climaxes that will blow your mind (and eardrums) to smithereens:
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 (1st movement)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (1st movement recapitulation)
Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (thunderstorm)
Elgar: Symphony No. 2 (3rd movement: Scherzo)
Leifs: Geysir
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 (1st movement fugue)
Roussel: Symphony No. 3 (2nd movement: Adagio)
Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 (1st movement)
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Finale, before choral entry)
Sibelius: En Saga - Hudba
Mahler's 10th, the first Movement - That dissonant chord never ceases to astonish.
Absolutely, it's one of the most terrifying music moment that I ever heard.
Barshai's orchestration of the shriek is the only thing that gets me to listen to recordings of his version of the piece.
That being said, the climax at the end of the development with the very long timpani roll over the accretions of counterpoint before suddenly cutting out to land back at the 1st subject is also great, and frankly as worthy as most of the entries on this list.
Honestly, I suspect the only reason Mahler's 10th was left out of this list is because the creator feels all Mahler 10 reconstructions are illegitimate.
You understand that a climax is really an incredible climax when you don't need to listen to it, but the description of it it's enough to give you chills.
I really love Richard Atkinson's description of the Beethoven 9 recapitulation, calling it the world's "most terrifying D Major chord".
I'd go as far as to say that it's the greatest single moment in all of music.
The Bruckner 8 adagio climax is Great as well
You verbalizing all the music is the best way to avoid CZcams copyright claims. Genius.
It's already been on a few lists, but the 2nd hammer strike in Mahler 6 is one of the most exhilarating climaxes ever!
Mahler 4th, third movement, where the gates of heaven open.
My favorite would have to be the middle of the first movement of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony. It really builds up to a frenzy that gives me wonderful chills every time I hear it.
I immediately thought that Sunrise from Daphnis et Chloe would have pride of place on a list of orchestral climaxes.
I think we ask for these lists (at least in part) to see if our own choices are mentioned ☺️
Tchai6 is a must! Best climax, most emotional, most terrifying, most everything. But you're right, there are many to choose from in the Ballets. I also love the climax at the end of the first movement of Manfred when the main theme returns and is blasted out on the horns. The Ninth - yes! Alpensinfonie - yes! Mahler2 - YES!!! Especially when the conductor also brings the chorus to their feet at the same time. Hairs on back of neck stand up for that one!!
I also love the climax at the end of the first movement of La Mer.
I’m loving these lists - please do a top ten choral climax list, Dave! Here’s my list of in-the-middle orchestral climaxes):
1. Bruckner Symphony No. 6 (second movement): The passage in the middle of the movement (bars 97-108) contains my favorite non-end-of-movement climax in all of Bruckner’s output.
2. Strauss Symphonia Domestica (final movement): My favorite mid-piece climax in Strauss’ orchestral music is in the final movement. It’s well on its way to the climax by the “plotzlich etwas breiter”(suddenly somewhat broader) and builds to the apex where the violins climb to a d7. This passage is vintage Strauss at his most dazzling, and it is only occasionally surpassed by his climaxes in some of his operas.
3. Beethoven Symphony No. 2 (fourth movement): Near the end of the finale is where my favorite climax in the Beethoven symphonies resides. It starts with a sudden outburst (German sixth) at bar 372 after a quiet suspenseful passage and lasts until bar 402, which leads into the coda. I especially love the two occasions where that crazy four bar head-shaker of a figure played by the woodwinds and lower strings at bar 386 and again at bar 394. What a dizzying climax inside such an exciting and manic finale!
4. Harty An Irish Symphony: The section that starts with the fast tempo near the end of the movement and ends with the tam-tam stroke is one of the most rip-roaring climaxes in a symphonic setting.
5. Atterberg Symphony No. 3 (third movement): I love this movement, and, in particular, I love the sixteen bar passage early in the movement that starts at the Un poco piu motto (bar 53). The soaring melody over the strident organ-like orchestration is irresistible. Also, I’m a sucker for downward harp glissandi.
6. Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 (first movement): Although the movement ultimately ends quietly, the cadenza leads to a cataclysmic climax with the horns wailing the theme.
7. Grainger The Warriors: Near the end of the piece at the Lento: Molto maestoso (bar 428) through the Presto (bar 442) is the most colorful orchestral climax I have ever heard!
8. Sibelius Night Ride and Sunrise: The section that starts at the Piu largamente (five bars before rehearsal 46) and runs until four bars after rehearsal 48 is not the biggest climax of the piece, but it is the most satisfying to my ear. There is a mid-piece climax in one of Sibelius’ choral works that I like even more, but this one is easily my second favorite in all of Sibelius.
9. Nielsen Helios Overture: The huge fortississimo climax right after the fugue is the main climax that the whole overture has been working towards, and it is a doozy!
10. Sinding Symphony No. 3 (third movement): The all-winds section near the end of the scherzo that starts off comically with the bassoon and builds layer upon layer to a full climax is remarkable. It’s both humorous and breathtaking! Sinding, frankly, is a second-rate composer who wrote some interesting music every now and again.
The unnerving bit about 2/3rd through Stockhausen Gruppen for three orchestras where that massive chord bounces around the three groups. A masterstroke which never grows old !
My limited beginner knowledge can only refer to Debussy's La Mer - of course - the last movement. When you get viscerably swapped away by that ginormous wave straight out of the Hokusai painting. Incredible!
I’d like to put in a plug for the very end of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony! I performed in it and it’s one of my favorite musical moments!
In Mahler's Eight, first movement, a great free-modulating passage is moving to a mind-blowing climax.
The cymbal clash at the climax of the second movement of Bruckner's seven!
Love the video of the cymbal player waiting for his big moment!
The Beatles’ Day in the Life has an orchestral climax 😂 by that underrated orchestrator(?) George Martin.
This has been an incredible set of talks, and I can't wait for the 10 Incredible Orchestral Caesurae that pairs with this one.
My TOP10 climaxes:
Mahler 2nd, 1st movement before recapitulation
Mahler 2nd again, 3rd movement, the scream before its closing
Schnittke: Nagasaki, 1st part
Kabeláč: Mystery of Time
Shostakovich 8th, 3rd/4th movement attacca
Martinů 3rd, 2nd movement, recapitulation of the first theme
Martinů 6th, 3rd movement, before the calm ending
Respighi: Fontana di Trevi
Janáček: Sinfonietta, 3rd movement orgasm
Pettersson 8th: approximately 10 scary climaxes in the second half of the first movement
I was wondering if the Pettersson might make Dave's list as I watched the video--those climaxes are so awesome (in the full sense of that word!).
that octave c leap in mahler's 2nd 1st movement is one of the most exhilarating bits of music that i have ever heard, only because the build up to it is so perfectly executed
Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony, the big climax in the 4th movement.
Atterberg: Symphony No. 5, in the slow movement.
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9, in the 3rd movement, near the ending.
I'm so glad to see mentioned the giant fugue of Shostakovich Fourth! It's probably my favorite Shostakovich Symphony. Another similar climax could be the fugue for the chase in Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin, it's just terrific.
But I mention the central climax in the first mouvement of the Eroica, it's like a giant scream, totally pulverizing! I began listen to music with heavy metal, and that passage is totally heavy metal :-D
Seriously, it's incredibile that was written in the very beginning of 19th Century!
4th Symphony is my favorite. Love the ending.
@@Metrofin1 Me too. The celesta is so spooky!
For me it's got to be the huge dissonant climax within the Eroica's Funeral March movement. Especially powerful under Barbirolli and the BBC, where the measured pace and build-up really makes it pack a punch.
One of the most ridiculously intense climaxes of music history is the one in the middle of the 1st movement of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony.
The climax in the first movement of Copland's Third Symphony. Just amazing orchestral power. All instruments fully "open".
There should be a list of the 10 best Hurwitz videos. It’d include the ones where you mention Roussel 2, 3, and the Suite in F. Thank you for your service!
Not to mention how after the climax it melts into that gorgeous violin solo which starts low and somber and travels to the most heavenly cadence in the stratosphere. Like clouds clearing after a storm. Love it!
My favorite Hurwitz video is the one where he says some of us suggested he should not sing in his videos to which his answer is “Fat chance of that!”
That first movement crescendo in Beethoven’s 9th likely shaped my interest in classical music. I remember well the first time I heard it at about age 5 and telling my dad how much I liked it. Great inclusion for the list. Anyone who thinks the 9th is only the Ode to Joy (not anyone who’s a regular here) can have their minds opened by that moment.
When it comes to Shostakovich 4, the third movement climax is the one for me. And I think it qualifies since it’s not the end. That blows the whole audience to the back of the hall when it’s pulled off. The first movement climax is quite the ride, but for me it’s all about being beat up by the third movement and left for dead by that denouement.(The brief climax of the funeral march is awesome too.)
Regarding your tam tam example, hope you had your earplugs in. 😊
My two greatest are Bloch's Schelomo and Rachmaninoff's Die Toteninsel. Complete aural devastation both!
Thanks for playing that big Tam Tam behind you. I've always wanted to hear what it sounded like .I know it is just for Show but it is nice to hear it as well.
He did whack it in one of his videos, but I forget which, unfortunately.
About this Elgar climax: From wikipedia: "Elgar (...) tied it to a section of a Tennyson poem related to a corpse's experience in his grave ("...the hoofs of the horses beat, beat into my scalp and brain...")."
That's exactly how I hear it!
Ha, ha, Hurwitz and the tam tam in Mahlers second. Unforgettable!
Your mention of panic in Shostakovitch's 4th reminded me of The Rite of Spring and an incredible moment of mayhem and terror announced by a terrifying roll on the tympani ('Danse de la Terre 14.53 on the Zweden CZcams performance). The tamtam tops the tympani and then pandemonium from the rest of the orchestra. Bernstein brings it off superbly.
Speaking of Shostakovich my introduction to his symphonic output was a live concert back in mid-90s where Rudolf Barshai conducted our Budapest Festival Orchestra in the 11th Symphony and I remember so vividly the shock of the climax in the middle of the 2nd movement supposed to depict the gunfire into the crowd gathering in front of the Winter Palace. My absolute favourite climax since then in any music...
That's a shocking one!
Enjoyed... BTW, the end of the Development Section of the I Movement of the Mahler 2nd is really good, as is the beginning of that very same Development Section.
Another great list! Thanks to you and the fine folk who suggested it! I look forward to discovering the Leif, which is, until now, unknown to me, so special gratitude and thanks for that one!…May I suggest a theme that comes to mind as I write this?….though, at the same time, there’s a niggling thought that it’s one you’ve already done…earlier today I had Radiohead’s “Kid A” album playing, which is generally regarded as one of the most severe “left turns” stylistically/audibly of an album to its predecessor (OK Computer being the one before)….it got me thinking of classical composers’ oeuvres, chronologically, and whether there were significant examples of compositions (regardless of specific genre/instrumentation) that were also major “left turns” when seen in relation to whatever work immediately preceded it…presumably it would be two works, either side of a composer’s “eureka” moment, maybe regarding issues of tonality/form/style/structure???….as I say, I’m more than a little reticent writing this, as bells are increasingly ringing, in the memory of having heard you speak on this subject in a previous post….heading to your archives now to search! Apologies if you have and I’m having a senior moment.
i never thought i would ever hear someone bring up the "Geyser" piece for the rest of my life - but lo and behold, here it is - lol - i will never forget when i first heard the work while driving into work maybe 25 years ago - my ears were astounded as it came spouting out of my terrible automobile audio system - so glad the local classical music radio station had the good sense to play an unfamiliar piece of music every now and then
What came to my mind was the near-final and apocalyptic variation in Eliott Carter's Variations for Orchestra, at least in the Prausnitz Columbia recording.
some hard hitters too:
rachmaninoff piano concerto no 2 1st mvt before the recapitulation
shostakovich symphony no 7 1st mvt, the middle 10 minutes climax
bruckner symphony no 4 4th mvt finale ending
One of the most gutwrenching climaxes for me is the great, tortured outburst section in the middle of the Shostakovich 10th’s opening movement. There’s nothing quite like it!
Hey Dave, how about a top 10 list by musical form or even by tempo? Top 10 rondos, minuets, fugues, etc. Top 10 adagios would be extremely tough hahaha!
to me, the first two climaxes that come to mind is the fortissimo c major chord in Bruckner 7th's Adagio, which is a quite trival pick, and the second one, since you talked about thunderstorm, might not be orchestral tout court, but it is the stabbing of Gilda during the storm in Rigoletto. Boy, I feel so drained after every time I listen to it.
Thank you for your video!
Have you thought about making a list of top 10 books on music? (Other than your own wonderful books, which you already have a video about). I am thinking of things like Berlioz’s ‘Evenings with the orchestra’. Another of my favourites is ‘The rest is noise’ by Alex Ross, which gives a wonderful overview of 20th century music.
'Evenings' is both sublime and funny.
I would add the climaxes of the first movements of Dvorak's 8th (an absolute clinic in creating a powerful yet concise climax) as well as of Lloyd's 4th and 7th (thrilling buildups of tension). Two notably powerful, heartrending climaxes of slow movements that come to my mind are those of Schmidt's 4th and Korngold's Symphony. And for sheer cataclysmic power, there's the climax of the finale of Ludolf Nielsen's 3rd!
I always feel shattered and broken at the end of The Rite of Spring - in a good way :)
Perhaps the part with the 11 blows would have been worthy of the list, but then again it’s not quite a climax like these other moments are. Nothing in the Rite of Spring really is, come to think of it.
Can’t get more climactic than dancing yourself to death!
@@MDK2_Radio end of the first part??
Muti with Philadelphia does that for me with Rite of Spring.
@@jakenowell5211 no, it’s when the mysterious sounding opening of the second suddenly yields to the maelstrom. It’s 11 massive chords repeated by the entire orchestra. The Glorification of the Chosen One.
I really prefer quiet endings, I think they often take more skill to compose, especially if it's an interesting ending. My choice for the best quiet ending is En Saga so I'm glad to see it top a list no matter the list title.
Bruckner climaxes should be also worth mentioning! I love the climax from the slow movement of Bruckner´s 8th symphony.
The best Mahler ever.
I certainly can't argue with the Mahler choice! But when I saw the title of this video, my first thought was that orchestral tutti that ends the development section of the *first movement* of the 2nd.
I don't know if you're looking for more list suggestions, but here's one: top 10 funniest orchestral moments. (For me such a list includes the end of the first movement of Mahler's 1st.)
Love music "The Tempest" Tchaikovsky. " Don Juan" Strauss Alma's theme ,preferably repeated twice ,Sym 6 ist movement Mahler. " Italia" Casella
That recap moment in Beethoven's 9th is the most diabolical sounding major chord in history
That Scriabin ecstasy thing, and I think Henze's 3rd Symphony has a pretty good climax too. That old DGG album from the local library used to cause my old Silvertone needle to jump.
Before listening to these list-talks, I always try to imagine what could go on it. The only ones I was quite certain about was that Mahler would figure (shoe-in), and Schubert's ninth. Schubert's ninth contains what I have so far experienced as the most devastating mid-movement climax, when the andante inexorably builds towards the catastrophe that silences the whole orchestra for a long time, before the spell is finally broken by a couple of very quiet pizzicato notes in the low strings. Absolutely shattering. One of my desert-island musical moments.
And then Schubert's ninth was, staggeringly, not there! :-)
And the world will never be the same.
Speaking of Alpine Symphony, do you think the newer Jurowski/RSB or Nelsons/BSO recordings beat out the Kord/Warsaw disc? I must admit I am loving ALL of Jurowski's new releases with this new one being no exception!
What? No Bruck ner (lol). Truth is, there are so many composers and so many examples, where do you start (or end). Regarding the French not being known for symphonic climaxes, I can think of a really good one: Saint Saens' Phaeton. Another great climax , is the middle of the Adagio from Khachaturian's Spartacus.
The double-time section at the end of the Et Vitam Venturi fugue of the Missa Solemnis leads to a pile-up which then culminates in a grand triumphal statement with the orchestra, chorus, and organ all going full blast in unison. But as always, the music needs the right performers and conductor to “sell“ the moment. First time hearing it live was with Giulini and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Unforgettable. And then the slow, slow diminuendo to the quiet close.
I want to propose a choral climax list. Choral music has so many great in-the-middle climaxes!
@@rbmelk7083 Here’s a candidate for your list: the “All Hell breaks loose” moment in the Damnation of Faust.
Sibelius 7. The melodic climax happens very early in the symphony (around the 5 minute mark), so the feels like an enormous coda.
Hello Dave, it's always a pleasure to listen to you. Have you ever thought about a "Great organ symphonies" list ? Kind regards,
Possibly!
@@DavesClassicalGuide Thank you very much ! I've just discovered Widor's 3rd, and I'm still overwhelmed by it. I was wondering how many other symphonies of this type existed, and especially what the great recommendable versions might be. I wish you a nice Sunday (another Dave, from France).
In 1972 I saw an LA Phil performance of Nielson's 4th that made the tympani battle Cage-esque. William Kraft would pound out his part, but the destructive acoustical interference at my seat in Big Bridges Theater in Claremont made the other tympani, positioned at the other side of the stage, completely inaudible!
Glad to see Alpine Symphony here. One of my secret crushes.
Rudolf Kempe's recording with the Royal Philharmonic is amazing!
@@robertjones447 I've always found Kempe's Strauss to be dependably excellent.
@@leestamm3187 I have only heard Alpine Symphony by Kempe, but he's my fave in that. My go-to's for Strauss are Reiner, Mehta, Toscanini, and Mata. I will give Kempe a wider listening. Thanks!
@@robertjones447 You're welcome. It's a always a matter of personal opinion, of course. I like Reiner, too. Szell did some excellent recordings, as well. Both of those guys knew and worked with Strauss. Dave may kill me, but I think Furtwängler also did some fine renditions. There are others, to be sure. Keep on listening.
@@leestamm3187 Szell is not one of those conductors who showed up on my radar much, and I think it mostly had to do with upbringing. Mainly, I was raised on RCA Red Seal Living Stereo (and New Orthophonic mono) and Mercury Living Presence records my parents and grandfather played - so I grew up with Munch, Toscanini, Kubelik, later Ormandy, Leinsdorf, Paray, Reiner - you get the picture. We all agreed Columbia Masterworks records were poorly balanced and sounded "thin" - thus, not much Szell or 1950s/early 60s Ormandy, or Bernstein. By the time I was buying my own records it was around 1980, so even though I was buying CBS, it was of newer conductors, like Mehta and Michael Tilson Thomas - Szell died in 1970.
Since then, I have gotten a few reissues by Szell on CD and vinyl, or older LPs. I'm especially enamored with his Beethoven's 5th, his recordings with Leon Fleischer, and an earlier Handel's Water Music on Decca. Back to the topic of Strauss, I need to give Szell a listen, too!
I knew Mahler would be in there somewhere, but thought you might use the climax in the middle of the first movement of the 2nd symphony.
A little more to the subject: The Boston Globe this week published a story about the BSO’s percussionist.
An operatic climax, but without voices: the one before Wotan's Farewell, where the Sleep Motif rises in the horns. On the Fürtwängler La Scala Ring, it is overwhelming, even with the horrible sound.
I can't deal with the slowness of the performance, but Scherchen in Mahler 2's scherzo whips up an unbelievable climax as though from nothing. This is the passage re-introduced at the start of the finale.
Perhaps the British composer Elgar was the inspiration for the British heavy metal band Spinal Tap's album "Brainhammer."
Is it possible to imagine a soft climax, or is that a contradiction in musical terms? Consider that incredible transfigured moment--you know the one--in the slow movement of Mahler's Fourth. That is, for me at least, the emotional climax of that movement and one of the most emotional climaxes in music, just breathtaking--but it isn't loud. Does a climax by definition blow eardrums (as well as minds) to smithereens?
On a different note, Dave, you are wonderfully unpredictable. When I saw what this video was about I thought for sure you'd be talking about the climax in the opening movement of Beethoven's Eighth, but you brought out the Ninth. (I also thought the Sibelius pick might be the mid-finale swans of the Fifth, but you went with En Saga). I love how these lists keep me guessing!
Great call for Mahler 4 III
Tovey (Dave has a video about him) wrote about pianissimo climaxes in Beethoven's Triple Concerto.
For me the greatest orchestral climax in all music is the beginning of the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th symphony.
Especially with the transition from the scherzo.
10 great works for human voice outside Operas?
What about the greatest beginnings of Finales of Symphonies or other more movement works ...?
I think that's pushing things a bit too far.
You did episode about film music.
Today I was watching interview where an European actress said Hitchcock was a genius filmmaker of "long shots".
That he was 10 levels better than anybody of his colleagues.
She said the filmmakers are not stupid they knew he was a genius, but they never gave him the Oscar for anything, on purpose, to torture him little bit,
for that reason that nobody was as good as him.
And they gave him the Oscar at the end of his life, for his lifetime achievements.
Ohhh...BTW...hail to Donner Hurwitz! ;-)
The hits keep coming. Great list. Regarding the Beethoven 9, many conductors don't seem to grasp how mind blowing that recapitulation should sound. If one doesn't palpably feel Beethoven's anger and inner strife, it's not hitting the mark. Actually, if done well, much of the movement should be raising the hairs on the back of your neck.
Yep, this needs to be played MAXIMUM possible forte by the orchestra especially in the entire strings section. Shake the entire room.
How about a list of marvelous orchestral fugues, e.g the last movement of Mozart's Jupiter Symphony?
We could do that...
@@DavesClassicalGuide That would be a fascinating list!
I thought to mention the "Nimrod" variation, with the caveat that if it is overplayed the rest of the piece sounds anticlimactic.
I’m surprised Bruckner isn’t on the list. Well, I typed too soon. Bruckner’s come at the end of movements. I don’t think there are exemptions.
I’ve got an in-the-middle Bruckner climax. Just need to finish writing my list and get it uploaded:)
Neighbors think David does thunderstorm. :)
Maybe you didn't want to overrepresent any one composer, but if I had to pick just one entry from Shostakovich, it would have to be the start of the recapitulation of Symphony 8-1. The hideous allegro parody of the first subject reaching an unbearable frenzy before dropping out just to a drum roll and triumphant facesmash that is the opening in full brass.
Nothing tops it in Shostakovich's entire oeuvre imo.