Is the ending the best part? Some composers would have us believe so. Here are ten of the most powerful (if loud) and poignant (if soft) examples:

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (finale)
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4 (finale)
Dvorák: Symphony No. 8 (finale)
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 (first movement)
Magnard: Symphony No. 4 (finale)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (finale)
Walton: Symphony No. 1 (first movement)
Martinu: Symphony No. 3 (finale)
Haydn: Symphony No. 96 (first movement)
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 (finale)