A finale is the last movement of a sonata, symphony, or concerto; the ending of a piece of non-vocal classical music which has several movements; or, a prolonged final sequence at the end of an act of an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

or work of musical theatre. Michael Talbot wrote of the finales typical in sonatas: "The

rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

is the form par excellence used for final movements, and ... its typical character and structural properties accord perfectly with those thought desirable in a sonata finale of the early nineteenth century."

Carl Czerny Carl Czerny (; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and ...

(1791–1857) observed "that first movements and finales ought to—and in practice actually do—proclaim their contrasted characters already in their opening themes." In theatrical music, Christoph Willibald Gluck was an early proponent of extended finales, with multiple characters, to support the "increasingly natural and realistic" stories in his operas that "improved continuity and theatrical validity" beyond the earlier works.Koopman, John
"Expressivity 1760–1850"
''A Brief History of Singing'', 1999,

Lawrence University Conservatory of Music Lawrence University Conservatory of Music is a conservatory on the campus of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1894, it is the one of the oldest operating conservatories in the United States. Attached to a liberal arts colleg ...

, accessed June 28, 2012

Sources

{{Musical form Formal sections in music analysis

See also

Sources