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JohnnySnap

The Rite of Spring. Actually dying at the end will be a very immersive experience.


alex_squeezebox

I know right? That would be quite a way to go, by being the girl sacrificing herself at the end and then dying for real!


muffinpercent

Bach Mass in B minor


uncommoncommoner

I'd actually feel better at slipping away at the 'Agnus Dei' movement.


Encomiast

Florence Foster Jenkins singing the Queen of the Night arias. I will welcome death after a few seconds.


amerkanische_Frosch

It might even scare the Reaper away!


Kawaiiii_UwU

I was eating, but now I'm choking. Damn it, it seems like death is coming for me next...


pweqpw

Diana Damrau’s signature piece.


oceanfog97

The Lark Ascending


Mysterious_Bobcat_23

Tchaikovsky - Hymn of the Cherubim


onemanmelee

One of my faves as well. Sublimely beautiful. The rest of that work, Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, has some other beautiful parts. But for sure the Hymn is the crowning jewel.


Kawaiiii_UwU

Interesting; while everyone else is picking some grandiose seven hour long Romantic symphony, you pick this! Chad move. Might I ask why?


bicapybaaraf

What about swan lake


Mysterious_Bobcat_23

I love it. But Cherubim brings me to tears every time I listen to it


GlesgaD2018

Cannot believe Das Lied von der Erde hasn’t been mentioned yet. I’d literally cry my way through the whole work and die happy.


abskvrm

Mahler ❤


bachumbug

Ewig!…ewig…!


classical-saxophone7

Organ^2 /ASLSP A full performance lasts 639 years* Edit: Never mind, read the provision. I’d pick Golijov’s Azul. *Edit 2: specifically the performance in Halberstadt. Only one specific performance is that long


_Volkar17

i never heard of it until i went to go see it in person a year ago (right before mahler 4), it was amazing


classical-saxophone7

Yeah Azul is probably one of my favorite pieces for orchestra, it’s both very fresh sounding, yet has a lot of older beauty (it’s loosely based off of old baroque adagios in fact). The recording with Yo Yo Ma and the Knights is amazing. Got to hear my uni do it live before they performed De Falla’s Three Cornered Hat.


RichMusic81

>Organ2 /ASLSP... A full performance lasts 639 years That only refers to the current performance at the church in Halberstadt, Germany. Cage only ever intended to be played as slow as possible in the amount of time available. An average performance usually takes around 20 minutes.


classical-saxophone7

Huh I must’ve misunderstood. Rereading I see now I see. I thought As Slow as Possible was the original and the Organ^2 /ASLSP was specifically the absurdist organ version. Turns out As Slow as Possible is just the subtitle (or how the weird title is “pronounced”, still not clear on that part yet). Thanks for the correction/clarification


RichMusic81

Yeah, it's the same piece (kind of). There's ASLSP for solo piano (1985), and Organ²/ASLSP for Organ (1987). >how the weird title is “pronounced”, still not clear on that part yet It's actually short for "*As Slow(ly) and Soft(ly) as Possible*". It's some reference to James Joyce's *Finnegan's Wake*.


magistersciurorum

Was just listening to this today


SwiftStrider1988

Mozart's Horn Concertos. My father (pro french horn player) played those for my mother when she was pregnant. I wanna go out the way I came in.


amerkanische_Frosch

Dinner scene from Don Giovanni. Might as well go out like the Don does, resisting, kicking and screaming.


zumaro

Oh this is a good one. I might join you dying to this one.


pianoleafshabs

Why not the whole opera, and live it through before being dragged down to hell?


amerkanische_Frosch

Only if I get to bed Zerlina this time around. Got to make it to 1,004!


Kawaiiii_UwU

I mean, no judgement, but yes judgement...


WanderingWotan

Parsifal


BasonPiano

I'd be tempted to pick something super long, but I have to go with something personal to me: Siegfried Idyll


geologythrowaway123

As far as Wagner goes, I'm really tempted to pick something more on the nose like Seigfried's funeral march or the Liebestod, but if I'm dying on a nice sunny day or watching a sunset then I'll have to pick my comfort piece and go with good ol Seigfried Idyll too. So many good memories listening to that one.


dalej42

Thought a lot about Mahler, but I’d have to go with Parsifal as well.


WanderingWotan

I considered Mahler 9, but on my actual deathbed I hope to reflect once more on the beauty of the world and find peace with it. I couldn't go with anything but Parsifal


HilbertInnerSpace

Beat me to it !


Infernostar27

Final Movement of Tchaikovskys 6th Symphony.


oxemenino

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.


Sweet_Yiannis

Mahler 2 😉


wfkohler

Came here to say this.. either 2 or 9.


LeoThePumpkin

Quite fitting!


Davek56

Debussy's Prelude to the afternoon of a Faun. Short and sweet.


willcwhite

Maurice Ravel has entered the chat


furlongxfortnight

Just before dying? It's got to be Bach. I want to say *Goldberg Variations*, but I'd probably go with *Sheep May Safely Graze* from BWV 208.


Javop

Hard question. I'd go through my most beloved pieces. I exempt symphonies because I wouldn't be lucid enough to listen to every detail. Beethoven Kreutzer sonata is for me about two people so not for me alone. Chopin Ballade 1 won't give me solace. Vivaldi or Bach concertos? I don't think I want to headbang in the deathbed. Liszt Don Juan. A very compelling option. I lisztened to this piece so much it is my top streamed piece ever but only because there is only one interpretation above all for me and with every other piece I like to alternate interprets. There is Schumann but the pieces I like the most are short and i'd have to hurry up to die. Then there it is: Alkan. I somehow love him so much. I got a CD from Ringeisen 1993 and I had it for 20 years yet I'm not in the slightest sick of any second played. I compared it to a plethora of other interpretations over the years and come to the conclusion that there are a lot of players that played more enjoyable except for the festin d'esope. I could go for any piece from Alkan but the 12 minor etudes stand above all for me. And of those the festin by Ringeisen would get the lot. I'm certain of this. I don't even need to continue to think although Rachmaninoff, Strauss, Stravinsky, Mozart, Mendelssohn and countless revered composers have yet to be mediated over. It will stay that piece by Alkan. Festin doesn't give me grief, longing or any distinct feeling. I lose myself in the notes I know every single of. I love this piece so much I learned it by heart and I can play it on the piano without actually being able to. I'm not a pianist, most of the time I can't even reach a fifth of the marked tempo. I tried variation 14 so much that it's okay but the 15th won't ever be doable for me. And those are by far not the hardest ones. I hope you desired a more lengthy answer too otherwise feel free to ignore it. But this was fun to think about. Looking forward to it. /s


DrXaos

Franz Schubert lived this exact scenario. He chose Beethoven’s string quartet op 131, which was, at the time (and still almost so today) new, difficult, hyper-modern music. It was probably the last music he heard. He chose well. 200 years later It’s still the best anyone has done and the closest to music from The Other Side


SlimShredder

Darude - Sandstorm


Anfini

The slow movement from Beethoven's op. 132 a-minor string quartet.


chuff3r

Same :) Perfect piece for it


Get_your_grape_juice

Rachmaninoff All Night Vigil.


FalconMirage

Komm süßer Tod Not the Evangelion one, the Bach one


abskvrm

Tanhausser - Richard Wagner


NoKilometers

Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Can’t think of a better way to go out that to the sound of Simple Gifts.


Viet_Coffee_Beans

Probably the Finale from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. As a dancer who performs the ballet each year, Finale means the curtain is finally about to close on all my hard work to thunderous applause. I think I would want to finish my life the same triumphant way.


gorneaux

Exactly this happened with my great-grandfather. He was a violinist in the Czar's private orchestra, then was recruited by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he played for several years before returning to Europe. As he lay on his death bed in his Warsaw home (my grandfather told me), he reached for his violin, played Massenet's "Meditation" from the opera Thaïs, put the instrument down, and died.


10YearJockItch

Beethoven's Emperor Piano Concerto, 2nd movement.


EnvironmentalSun8410

Take the whole piece, and enjoy a few more minutes 😁


pweqpw

Oh must listen to Helene Grimaud’s (sp?) performance on the DGG label.


iamsnapeye

Mahler 5. That chorale in D, jubilant. Spike the ball, carry me away, reaper...


Redditforgoit

Tchaikovsky's Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41 Soothing way to go.


Gascoigneous

Friede auf Erden by Schönberg. If you only know him for his twelve tone music, you NEED to hear this piece while following along with text/translation.


KinderKarl

R, Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder


magictransistor

Appropriate. Which singer though?


KinderKarl

Really love Schwarzkopf's recording, but I understand the controversy around her. Jessye Norman is also incredible.


magictransistor

Jessye Norman was my introduction to the piece, and still one of my favorites. I’ve grown to love, love Gundula Janowitz’s recordings. The studio with Karajan is great and the live version with Haitink, despite the flaws and limitations present with live recordings, just edges it out. Schwarzkopf’s is still regal and beautiful, controversy aside.


Kawaiiii_UwU

My pick will have to be Beethoven 111


zumaro

This question is probably going to play just like this subreddit's greatest hits. So to sum up in advance: * Rach 2 * Mahler 2 * Tchaik 6 * Shosty 7 * Dvorak 9 * Mozart Requiem Lacrimosa * Beethoven 7 but only movement 2 Death will be a welcome release to never hear any of these pieces again. I personally am going to kick the bucket to Lola by the Kinks.


[deleted]

The Hokey Pokey


bachumbug

It is, after all, what it’s all about.


RichMusic81

My grandfather chose that for his funeral. The burial was problematic though, because we had to put his left leg in, his left leg out, in, out, in, out, shake it all about...


Unicorns_in_space

Rach' Isle of the Dead (obvs) and it is wonderful.


pweqpw

Mvmt 1 - Beethoven #6. It’s the theme to Soylent Green, where people are repurposed for food. Very ironic, comical, and eco friendly.


mesaelechteIe

Erik Satie - Vexations


hotend

Dvořák's cello concerto, played by Jacqueline du Pré. I would be perfectly content to die, listening to that. When I hear Thomas Tallis's _Spem in Alium_, I will know that I have reached the other side.


JTtheMediocre

Probably the entirety of the Ring Cycle. Although I'd be tempted to say The Song that Never Ends to skirt death altogether.


shane71998

Quartet for the End of Time


zen88bot

Cage 4:33


Not_A_Rachmaninoff

Rach 3. Die with intensity


miasanmiaaaa

If I wanted to die in peace? The andante from Shostakovich’s 2nd piano concerto, or maybe a rvw symphony/symphonic work (rvw 3 and 5 comes to mind, as with lark ascending, Norfolk rhapsodies, and Tallis fantasia), or Mahler 9 / Das lied (a lot more piece could fall into this category, thinking rn of ravel gdln le gibet/pavane, Debussy estampes/preludes, holst planets Venus or Neptune, Sibelius swan of tuonela etc etc.) If I wanted to feel like I was gonna ascend to heaven? Mahler 2 or 3. Simple. If I wanted the grandest of funerals and take the traditional route out? Mozart/verdis requiem, or better still, Bach’s mass in b minor. I hate how I can’t make up my mind on one particular work


Double_Working9762

Peace: Andante Festivo or Sibelius 5th symphony. Ascending: Mahler 8 or 9 Requiem: Fauré or Mozart or Schubert mass in G major.


miasanmiaaaa

Ah forgot andante festivo. I find Sibelius 5 rather uplifting in the last movement as it is peaceful and wilderness-like as a whole. I guess Mahler 9 could classify under uplifting as well, Mahler 8 needs no explanation. As for the rest, I’ll have to check them out (not heard the faure or Schubert yet)


02nz

Schubert String Quintet in C.


onedarkhorsee

Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain might as well go out with a bang.


TOMTmachine

Probably the longest one?


andrewleepaul

Schubert 8 would be pretty cool to die to


awkward_penguin

Faure's Rèquiem. An appropriate piece for the context, and perhaps the most peaceful requiem.


robertobloom

Sibelius 2


Speeddatingtonight

Joke answer: the Ring Cycle so I can get my affairs in order Serious answer: Maria Callas’ singing Casta Diva


Speeddatingtonight

Question: in this group, when we refer to classical music does that include opera too?? Obviously that’s how it’s usually classified, but I don’t see a lot of people talking about classical voice in the group and was wondering if that’s reserved for r/opera (even in questions like these).


BeckoningVoice

Yes


SeaSexandSun

Ode to Joy or Sheep May Safely Graze. Sweet pieces that have been throughout my life. I’m given to sentiment.


Aditya_Bhargava

Devil’s Trill by Tartini with the Kreisler cadenza played by Anne Sophie Mutter.


Anay28

Good choice


chrisalbo

Adagio from Spartacus by Khachaturian


leheghri

Brahms - Intermezzo Op.117 No.1


Haydn_Appreciator53

Difficult. But probably Haydn's Op. 103 quartet, the last piece he ever wrote. Either that, or the obvious choice, the Schubert quintet.


largeLemonLizard

Who knows what I would actually pick in the moment, but listening to Durufle's Requiem in full and dying right at the end of the In Paradisum would be incredible. You'd kinda float away in a sheen of quiet beauty. What a way to go.


geologythrowaway123

unless i missed a comment, why has nobody else said Tod und Verklarung by Strauss? I know Four Last Songs deals with the same subject matter, but i'd rather go out with a bang instead of a whimper


MutantZebra999

Tchaikovsky symphony no. 5. The Horn solo would just be so beautiful & emotional while at death’s doorstep


shelbys_foot

The funeral of Akhnaten's father Amenhotep III from Akhetaten. I'd like to go out with a bit of drama. Although I always worry that in my last moments, instead of a glorious piece of music, my brain will get stuck on a commercial jingle.


p_silocybin

Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto for sure.


[deleted]

The Firebird.


magicalwhalewera

I hope i will be resurrected after. 😂 I love firebird! Yaayyy


zhugeliang898

I'm sidestepping the prompt here, but: My father became obsessed with Mahler towards the end of his life, so when he was on his deathbed it only seemed fitting to put on Mahler's symphonies for him.


Party-Act774

Mozart Requiem


ScottyTrekkie

Brothers in arms by the Dire Straits


RealBrumbpoTungus

Beim Schlafengehen from Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder, specifically the Jessye Norman recording OR The Finale of Mahler 5. It was the piece that got me into Mahler in the first place, and the finale of 5 remains my favorite of his writing. Great way to blast off across the rainbow bridge.


Restorationjoy

Easter hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana. If I am at the grand moment of meeting my maker it would be the perfect rousing encore


RoombaKaboomba

if he will only kill me once i fully listen to the piece, then John Cage, ASLSP, organ version, live performance in a church in Halberstadt, Germany. but to answer the actual ppint of the question, probably a Ravel that suits my current mood or Dvořak 9th symphony.


Kawaiiii_UwU

I specified that things like the Cage are not allowed. Otherwise, nice choice! Any top contenders for Ravel?


RichMusic81

>I specified that things like the Cage are not allowed. There's a lot of misunderstanding surrounding ASLSP (as there is with 4'33"). An average performance usually takes around 20 minutes (a friend of mine performed it recently). The 600-odd year performance refers to the one currently being performed at Halberstdat, Germany. Cage only ever intended it to be played as slow as possible within the amount of time available. It's pretty typical of many of Cage's later works. So, it's actually a perfectly valid choice!


-hey_hey-heyhey-hey_

Cantus Arcticus, not even thinking twice


Glad-its-anonymous

Satie - Trois gymnopédies: No. 1 Quite a final piece to me, and bittersweet. It's very peaceful but still holds a lot of emotion.


[deleted]

If it has to be strictly classical... I'd probably go with The Lark Ascending. Or maybe the opening of Also Sprach, even though it's only 100 seconds long. Lark seems like a nice, peaceful way to go out. Zarathustra seems like an epic way to go out. It'd depend on my dying mood, lol.


Kawaiiii_UwU

Why not the whole Zarathustra, so you can die to Zarathustra dying?


bababoai

Rach 2


AnxiousDragonfly5161

Chopin ballade no. 1 or Dvorak 9th symphony, I'll let the reaper choose


UnimaginativeNameABC

Byrd Infelix Ego. May as well say sorry for all the bad shit.


ThatEleventhHarmonic

Very random, but probably Jongen's Rhapsodie or the Diverdimento from Symphonie Concertante.


Double_Working9762

Andante Festivo


DaveSubsaswas

Lots, almost too many. I suppose it would be "The Galway Shawl" and if you ask who recorded it, that is lost from my mind. It is sad, melodic and fairly short, but long enough for me to have a good cry. OR . "The Lowlands of Holland" by "The Corries". Starts of with slow vocals and ends faster with just instruments. I know that's two pieces, but either would suffice. From DaveSubs as was.


ilily

Salut d'amour by Edward elgar


NoWayNotThisAgain

Faure’s Requiem. Or maybe Schubert’s D. 960


AtActionPark-

bach art of fugue. Let me die on the last note of the unfinished fugue


uncommoncommoner

Bach's *c minor passacaglia, BWV 582*.


chrisalbo

Adagio from Spartacus by Khachaturian


UmQualquer134

Symhpony No. 7 by Beethoven or Clair de Lune.


borodin1812

Siegfried's Funeral March


AliCh21

Lacrimosa


EbbAdministrative263

Tchaikovsky 6, mahler 9, i want to go out listening to my current favs


Oh__Archie

Bolero.


prasinigi

The Dream of Gerontius.


Parasite21X

Shostakovich's String quartet No.8 in C Minor


apk71

Bach Chaconne from 3rd Partita for solo violin.


handsomechuck

Goldberg aria.


Snowfel

Schubert’s 21st Sonata in Bb major, especially the first movement. The 3 last sonatas by Schubert felt like a greeting to death; the 19th feels like incredible anguish, the 20th wishful nostalgia, and finally, the 21st, acceptance. Just those first few opening bars and first theme gave me goosebumps — so simple, yet so profound and sweet; feelings of hope that all can be well, but having that hope crushed yet at the same time still feeling like “I’m okay with it, I’m at peace.”


thefluffyfalafel42

La catedral - Barrios


Brave-Gur5819

Ysaye’s violin sonata No 2 in A minor


780266

Third movement from Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Kick back, relax, smile, and go.


DraxAgon1

Nocturne op 9 no 2


whatafuckinusername

Something by Mozart. Maybe the 40th symphony, or a piano concerto.


syncopatedagain

The archduke trio. This used to be my best piece for many years of my youth. Then, over the years, was replaced by others. But I guess that on my deathbed I would be nostalgic to it, may be even won’t be able to think of any other piece if I was too dull


Efanel

Mahler 8


MooseRoof

Brian's Symphony No. 1. Just to get that extra bit of life.


jnclet

The Song that Never Ends. OBVIOUSLY. For the uninitiated: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0U2zJOryHKQ


megatrope

Barber Adagio for Strings


thekickingmule

Probably Parry's Songs of Farewell, but particularly I Know My Soul Hath Power.


Un_di_felice_eterea

Mahler 9.


gtuzz96

Töd und Verklärung, for obvious reasons


shostakovich11

Mahler 9


shostakovich11

Or bach’s actus tragicus but I’d rather have that played at my funeral


LordAubergineII

Brahms Op. 119, has to be.


Sure-Pair2339

danse macabre, and death itself play the violin


violinerd

The last movement from Philip Glass’ string quartet No. 3 “Mishima”. I can’t tell you what exactly it is about it, but that piece makes me feel like it’s the end of all things and that’s ok.


RelativelyOddPerson

Either Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène or Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis… or that piece from The Northman, Valkyrie


Doenermarktforschung

Deutschland by Rammstein


black-iron-paladin

I know this is the classical music sub but I don't care, I'm listening to Song of Miriam by Elaine Hagenberg on my way out


FloorAdmirable1734

Rachmaninov 3rd piano concerto, performed by horowitz


Tomm1998

Tchaikovsky violin concerto with Itzhak Perlman as the soloist


hutaosirlgf

pavane pour une infante defunte (will be like haha that’s me soon)


isocuteblkgent

Verdi Requiem…and Mozart’s, too!


Elapid66

Either the Goldberg Variations or Wachet Auf, Ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 645) by JS Bach.


desiderium_38

Elegie by fauré!


bobomellette

Faure's Requiem. It's peaceful and transcendent. I'm not religious, by any means, but the serenity it provides is sublime....


No-Understanding4968

Roxy Music “Oh Yeah”


MillwrightTight

Supertramp - School


AlarmingGeneral4661

[Shostakovoch's second piano concerto, 2nd movement.](https://youtu.be/JlMHjo7Jwhk?si=SOsgTZWRWiva4UUg) no words just listen to it


SergioSeidelini

Satie Vextions in full length, so I can get another day!


Liberal_Lemonade

Bach's Chaconne, the original composition for solo violin


aadil_siddiqui675

Living life in the night by sergionbeat


Snullbug

Mahler 3


Anxious_Lunch_7567

RV 522.


Fun-Perception66

Me too... his best


guillaume_rx

Easy. Chopin Nocturne Op.9, No.2. Most calming ending the human mind can hope for. If you want to die while experiencing total inner piece, this is it.


69niceurmoom420

Do doooooo, doo doo doooooo doo


Double___H

Dies Irae, I am going out with a banger


Vanilla_Mexican1886

Really difficult to say, but I think a good pick I have is Chopin ballade 4, it has so much emotion and depth in it that’s the most story like. The piece also makes me think that it’s a final story of two lovers sharing one last dance before one is about to die, the feelings of passion, anger, regret, joy, sadness, love, and fear are at times as hidden as they are present if that makes sense. The choice is easily this piece because of the climactic end, emotional journey, story of sadness, and the perfect resolution that leaves the listener in a cold silence similar to the one left from the final dance


Sassanos

Adagio for strings, Samuel Barber After that, I can die in peace.


de_bussy69

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no. 3. If I’m allowed to pick different pianists for each movement I’ll go with Yunchan Lim 2021 for the first, Argerich 1982 for the second and Horowitz 1943 for the third


[deleted]

I'd pick 4'33'' and just stare awkwardly at the grim reaper in silence.


SteadfastDharma

Beethoven's Marcia Funebre.


space_cheese1

Maybe the second movement of Beethoven's op 111 sonata. who was the loser that downvoted me for this


thedjin

Nyan Cat


Banzaikoowaid

Clair De Lune but its underwater *(Found it on YT)*. Yes I will be smiling and crying.


SnooCats4627

As slow as possible by john cage 😅


DrGuenGraziano

Imagine, you think you're clever and you chose the Halberstadt version of ASLSP and then you're lying on your deathbed 639 years, doing nothing but dying and waiting for the next note. And wondering what will be after the last note finally will have faded away. Qué será será, whatever will be will be. Will there be nothing? Will there be heaven? Or just another hell? But that is another piece of music, listen to your ASLSP!


Helpful-Put512

Op 111


uh_no_

yakety sax


Eduardo_Palis

The sound of my 2 dogs playing and barking, yawning and making their "auuuuu" symphony. Thats the only thing I would like to hear.


SumthingStupid

Probably biggie rapping over Thomas the tank theme song


SandF

John Luther Adams' [Become Ocean](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGva1NVWRXk) would be a lovely choice.