Beethoven Symphony No. 5

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Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Program Notes

The  four  notes  (three  short,  one  long)  are  instantly  recognizable  as  the  most  famous  opening  to  a  classical  piece.  Beethoven  refers  to  the  pattern  throughout  the  symphony.  (There  is  some  technical  debate  about  whether  to  call  it  a  theme  or  a  motif,  but  no  matter:  this  thematic  unity  would  inspire  Berlioz,  Schumann,  Liszt,  and  countless  other  composers.)  Praising  the  work,  Romantic  poet  and  critic  E.T.A.  Hoffman  described  it  as  Dzone  of  the  most  important  works  of  the  time,dz  and  in  another

vein,  American  composer,  humorist  and  conductor  Peter  Schickele  used  itfor  the  extremely  funny  DzBeethoven  5th  Symphony  Sportscast.dzAs  an  even  greater  indication  of  this  symphony’s  place  in  posterity,  when  the  two  Voyager  spacecraft  were  launched  in  1977,  they  included  golden  discs  of  representative  data  about  of  life  on  earth,  chosen  by  a  NASA  committee  chaired  by  Carl  Sagan  (author  of  Cosmos).  Alongside  diagrams,  photographs,  star  charts,  spoken  word  greetings,  recordings  of  animals,  human  laughter,  heartbeats,  and  a  kiss,  were  included  folk  songs,  jazz,  and  compositions  by  Bach,  Mozart,  Stravinsky  and  Beethoven.  The  representative  example  of  the  Symphony,  as  a  genre,  is  the  entire  first  movement  of  Beethoven’s  5th.  Now  in  interstellar  space,  two  recordings  of  this  piece  (with  London’s  Philharmonia  Orchestra)  are  traveling  outward  at  a  speed  that,  it  is  estimated,  will  bring  one  of  them  to  a  planetary  system  in  about  40,000  years.    The  second  movement,  Andante,  is  in  theme  and  variations  form,  a  familiar  pattern  which  may  invoke  Haydn’s  later  symphonies.  Also  from  the  classical  tradition,  the  third  movement  is  in  fast  triple  time  with  an  ABABA  form.  Beethoven  poses  a  musical  question,  answered  by  the  first  movement’s  motif,  first  in  the  horns  then  emphasized  by  the  whole  orchestra.  The  B  sections  (the  Trio)  are  built  on  vigorous  fugal  string  writing,  before  an  unsettled  and  mysterious  episode  finally  ends  the  movement.  The  triumphant  fourth  movement  emerges,  with  the  orchestra’s  three  trombones  joining  the  orchestra,  silent  up  to  this  point.  As  an  improviser,  Beethoven  had  a  reputation  for  testing  the  endurance  of  his  listeners,  and  it’s  impressive  how  he  does  this  in  the  symphony,  by  returning  to  music  of  the  third  movement,  before  an  exaggeratedly  long  and  energetic  coda.

Categories: Program Notes