The Finale in Western Instrumental Music

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1. First Thoughts
2. The Idea of a Movement
3. The Idea of a Finale
4. The Relaxant Finale
5. The Summative Finale
6. The Valedictory Finale
7. Hybrid Solutions
8. Patterns of Development
9. Codas and Finales
10. Final Thoughts
Bibliography
List of Musical Examples
Index to Musical Works
General Index

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The knowledge that finales are by tradition (and perhaps also necessarily) 'different' from other movements has been around a long time, but this is the first time that the special nature of finales in instrumental music has been examined comprehensively and in detail. Three main types of finale, labelled 'relaxant', 'summative', and 'valedictory', are identified. Each type is studied closely, with a wealth of illustration and analytical commentary covering the entire period from the Renaissance to the present day. The history of finales in five important genres -- suite, sonata, string quartet, symphony, and concerto -- is traced, and the parallels and divergences between these traditions are identified. Several wider issues are mentioned, including narrativity, musical rounding, inter-movement relationships, and the nature of codas. The book ends with a look at the finales of all Shostakovich's string quartets, in which examples of most of the types may be found.

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Well-researched ... Well written and well produced, this book deserves a place on the shelves of musicologists, who ought to ponder Talbot's judicious balance between historical and analytical enquiry

One of the strengths of Talbot's attitude towards his very diverse material is his straightforwardness concerning the reasons for subtle, gradual changes in the nature of the finale

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