1. Beethoven and the Symphony
Chapter 14: Beethoven
Beethoven and
the Symphony

2. Key Terms Rhythmic drive Motivic consistency Psychological progression
Scherzo
Fragmentation
Rhythmic motive

3. Ludwig van Beethoven (1) (1770-1827)
Son & grandson of Bonn court musicians
To Vienna in 1792 to study with Haydn
Began a career as pianist & composer
Progressive deafness diagnosed in 1802
Beethoven considered suicide
Chose to devote his life to his art instead
His music now took on a new urgency
Forceful, strong-willed, uncompromising
He all but demanded support from nobility

4. Ludwig van Beethoven (2) (1770-1827)
Probably the 1st person to make a career solely from composing
Seen as a genius, he seemed to live for his art
Many affairs, but he never married
Totally deaf by 1820
Adopted his orphan nephew in later years
Beethoven was much too overprotective
Shock of his nephew’s suicide attempt hastened his own death
20,000 attended Beethoven’s funeral

5. Beethoven and the Symphony (1)
Beethoven created excitement & urgency by maximizing musical elements
Higher and lower registers
Sharper syncopations & stronger accents
Harsher dissonances that must struggle to arrive at yet more profound resolutions
New demands on instruments
Expansion of the orchestra
Classical forms stretched to their limits

6. Beethoven and the Symphony (2)
Beethoven wrote only nine symphonies
He wrote many more piano sonatas (32) & string quartets (16)
But Beethoven is associated especially with the symphony
Wrote some of the greatest symphonies ever
Orchestra provided the greatest range of expression, variety, & sheer volume
Even his sonatas & quartets of sound like symphonies – and require new techniques of piano & string playing!

7. Beethoven and the Symphony (3)
Beethoven’s “symphonic ideal” can be observed in his Fifth Symphony (1808)
Three main features have impressed generations of listeners
Rhythmic drive
Motivic consistency
Psychological progression

8. Rhythmic Drive
Blunt, even ferocious rhythms produce a palpable physical impact
Beethoven hammers the meter
Emphasizes meter & disrupts it with equal vigor
Piles accent upon accent, rhythm upon rhythm
Rhythmic motives surge forward
Long-range rhythmic planning & goals
A far cry from the elegance & wit of Classical style

9. Motivic Consistency Constant repetition of a single motive
Especially in 1st movement of Symphony 5
Motive repeated, yet constantly varied
Variations never sound random
Motive becomes more significant & vivid as work progresses
Creates a feeling of organic growth – like a plant’s leaves growing from a single seed

10. Psychological Progression
Symphony no longer simply 4 contrasting movements
Beethoven now traces a coherent & dramatic psychological progression
“There fate knocks at the door!”
Beethoven on the 1st movement
But Fate is trampled under by a military march in the the last movement
Symphony now expresses an inspirational life process – a drama to rival opera!

11. The Scherzo Beethoven substitutes a scherzo for the traditional minuet
Italian word scherzo = joke
Aristocratic minuet too formal
Scherzo shares a few features with minuet
A B A form & triple meter
But scherzo was much faster
Rhythmic drive & frequent syncopation give it a brusque, jocular, even violent feel

12. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, I (1)
Motivic consistency prominent here
A single rhythmic motive dominates
It forms the first theme
It initiates the bridge
It appears as background to lyrical 2nd theme
It emerges again in the cadence material

13. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, I (2)
It is used throughout the development
It continues to grow in the long coda
Motive gives the work a gripping urgency

14. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, I (3)
Listen for—
Arresting, primal first statement of Theme 1 motives separated by fermatas
Horn-call bridge announces Theme 2
Theme 1 variant announces the development
Thematic fragmentation in the development
Oboe cadenza in the recapitulation
Recapitulation’s 2nd group in major key
LONG, developmental coda with new theme
Main motive repeated & varied in every bar!

15. The Remaining Movements
First movement ends with a standoff at the end of a heroic struggle
Later movements respond to and resolve this struggle
The rhythmic motive recurs in each movement to remind us of the struggle
C minor passages also recall the struggle
C major passages point to the ultimate triumph over Fate

16. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, II
Double theme & variations form
Six variations on Theme 1
Primary key is A-flat major
Modulates to C major 3 times for powerful, triumphant fanfare passages
Rhythmic motive appears in mysterious retransition to A-flat

17. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, III (1)
Scherzo movement in A B A form
A section recalls 1st movement
Spooky a theme is in C minor with fermata interruptions
Rhythmic motive dominates forceful b theme

18. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, III (2)
B section (Trio) points to Fate’s defeat
Humorous fugal section in C major
Return of A completely transformed
Mysterious pizzicato & oboe
Leads into doubly mysterious transition

19. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, IV (1)
Eerie transition leads directly into IV
Rhythmic motive in timpani
Music grows gradually louder & clearer
At climax, full orchestra (with trombones) announces marchlike 1st theme of the 4th movement – in C major
Straightforward sonata form movement
Theme 2 based on the rhythmic motive

20. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, IV (2)
End of development brings back 3rd movement’s b theme & eerie transition
A final reminder of the struggle
Recapitulation & coda provide a great C-major celebration
No surprises in recapitulation
LONG coda in three sections revisits previous themes
Final section accelerates tempo for a rousing Presto finale
Ending drives home C major chord

21. Conclusions
The dramatic strength & rhythmic power of this work went far beyond earlier music
Beethoven unified the symphony
Motives appear in more than one movement
Movements can be connected without pause
The symphony narrates a dramatic “story”
Beethoven single-handedly changed the nature of the symphony genre
Never again would the symphony be a simple entertainment