Beethoven – Symphony No. 5

History, , , , ,

Recordings:

Scores: From IMSLP

Lecture points

Review sheet for Beethoven and Symphony no 5

  • Viennese school – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
  • more ways to make a living outside patronage: touring, public concerts, commissions, publishing music

Beethoven’s 3 periods

  • early: Beethoven is a regular virtuoso pianist in Vienna (like Mozart before him)
  • middle: slow onset of deafness leads to “Heiligenstadt Testament”, Beethoven adopts heroic outlook, foreshadowing Romantic ideals
    • French revolution, Beethoven’s 3rd symphony “Eroica” dedicated/undedicated to Napoleon
  • late: Beethoven struggles with personal relationships (nephew Karl), more introverted, writes less music but of even higher quality
    • receives annuity from Prince Lobkowitz, 2 other noblemen to stay in Vienna

Romantic ideals

  • individual experience, individual freedom
  • reason is not the only way to see the world (Friderich Schiller, author of “Ode to Joy” – philosophy of Apollo/reason vs Dionysus/passions)
  • art is sublime, created through trials and suffering

Legacy

  • Beethoven is a superstar, his music becomes an ideological weapon
  • Nazi Germany elevated Beethoven’s music, Beethoven was banned in Allied countries
  • Beethoven also symbolizes freedom, 9th symphony played at fall of Berlin wall

Symphony no. 5

  • motif – short recurring musical idea
  • cyclical structure
    • large scale motion from C minor to C major
    • the so-called “fate” motif recurring in all movements
    • III leads without pause into IV
  • movement I: sonata form, long coda, hint of C major
  • movement II: double theme and variations, hint of C major
  • movement III: scherzo and trio, larger hint of C major
  • movement IV: sonata form, C major arrival, cameo of III in development and a brief look back at C minor, long coda