Solo Endings?

[jsnfmn]

This isn't what I was thinking of earlier, but Kurt Atterberg's 6th Symphony ends with a solo Bass Drum hit, one beat after a nice fat C major chord in the orchestra.

And, a late Stravinsky piece, the Variations - Aldous Huxley in memoriam, ends with a fermate on a solo note in the bass clarinet.

[sbeckmesser]

I wouldn't count pieces that end with a solo instrument + chordal harmony of any sort. Any piano concerto where the pianist plays on the last chord would then qualify. So would many violin concerti (the Sibelius). Without addition restrictions this makes the task far too easy. Start your own thread if this is what you want to find.

--Sixtus

PS: So far I've been the only one to come up with a piece from before the 20th Century (the Strauss Burleske from the 1880s). Another possibly fruitful source of true solo-instrument-ending orchestral pieces would be 19th century concert overtures or tone poems, which, due to possibly programmatic content, would be more likely to end with a last note from a solo instrument (likely playing piano or pianissimo) than a larger work, like a symphony or an opera.

[Lyle Neff]

If I'm not mistaken, Mozart's "Schlittenfahrt" ("Sleigh-Ride") dances for orchestra end with unaccompanied sleigh-bells.

[jsnfmn]

I finally figured out what I was thinking of earlier, helpfully pointed out to me by being played at a concert I just saw. As this Overture is more often played on its own at orchestral concerts rather than the entire opera being performed, I think it should count as an ending for these purposes. It's Kabalevsky's Overture to Colas Breugnon. It ends with with a big chord in the full orchestra plus most of the percussion, minus the two soloists. First, the Bass Drum solo, then the Timpani solo. Wish I could think of some earlier ones though...

[sbeckmesser]

Sorry, the Mozart Sleigh Ride doesn't count. The piece is the third of the 3 German Dances K.605. The final chord is played by two sets of bells (one set with pitches C and E and other set playing only G). Even assuming these would be played by a single player, there are two separate instruments involved. The clincher is the final chord also has a last C from a posthorn (in F). So according to the score available at IMSLP, that's three instruments on the last note. Recorded performances may end with only the sleigh bells fading into the distance, but that's not what Mozart wrote.

Good try, though. There might be other programmatic orchestral pieces from the Baroque or Classical eras that might have a similar type of ending with only a solo instrument. "Battle" pieces with a final fatality might be a good place to look.

--Sixtus

http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/f ... _K.605.pdf

[sbeckmesser]

Sibelius' In Memoriam, a quite Mahlerian orchestral funeral march from 1910, ends with a single low C on the timpani. This is a VERY interesting and effective piece and I urge an audition by all interested in Sibelius or in Mahler.

--Sixtus

http://imslp.org/wiki/In_memoriam,_Op.5 ... ius,_Jean)

[gardano]

Josef Reicha's Cello Concerto in G (I know it from a recording "Aus Schlössern Und Residenzen: Oettingen-Wallerstein" -- an old Telefunken recording, I believe) with Anner Bijlsma and Concerto Amsterdam ( but have no idea how to get hold of the score) ends with just the cello stroking (in pizzicato) some chords. Very effective ending to a very operatic concerto.

[sbeckmesser]

Carter's Piano Concerto ends with the piano solo (orchestra tacet) and with just one note. As notated, a low G# in the left hand outlasts a dissonant chord in the right hand by a fraction of a second.

--Sixtus

[pocoallegro]

Vaughan Williams has several examples. A solo viola ends "In the Fen Country" and "The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains" and "The Lark Ascending" ends with the solo violin. His "Pastoral Symphony" ends with a soprano singing a wordless mellisma.

[pml]

Sorry, but no to RVW’s Pastoral: the last notes (plural!) are the first and second violins tutti, holding high As in octaves after the vocalist has finished. The Lark is good, though.

Regards, PML

[jsnfmn]

Got a couple more:
Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite (solo BD)
Liszt: 1st Symphonic Poem, Was man auf dem Berge hort (two solo BD notes), 11th Symphonic Poem "Hunnenschlacht' (solo Organ chord)

[sbeckmesser]

The Hary Janos brings to mind Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances (his greatest orchestral work, I think). The last of these ends with a short, loud full orchestra chord. Unlike the other instruments, however, the tam-tam is not damped immediately. So, depending on the interpretation, it's possible for the last thing you hear with this piece is that long-ringing tam-tam.

--Sixtus

[Huilunsoittaja]

Griffes' Poem for Flute and Orchestra has the flute end the piece all alone.

Glazunov's Karelian Legend ends with a single flute mimicking a bird.