Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony #5 Mvmt I, 1804–1808
Ludwig van Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, first movement is one of the most well-known pieces of classical music. Of his time. He overcame many obstacles and his music was the beginning of the romantic are of the classical genre. It is also one of the most frequently played by orchestras across the globe. The symphony was played in Vienna at der Wien for a very cold audience in 1804, The famous first movement is called Allegro con brio, and has been noted for being a victorious piece in times of war. The piece, along with many other classical works have been used for students to study by and teachers for background music as children read or perform math. Beethoven probably had no idea how versatile or how well studied this symphony would be in the centuries to come after his lifetime. After listening to his symphonies, it is difficult to imaging that he was slowly losing his hearing throughout the middle years of his life. (Automatisering, 2016)
This piece of music is cyclic and reminds me of the varied cycles in nature. There are several ways to describe it. The changing of the seasons in an apple orchard is one visualization that can be used. For example, at the beginning the listener can close his or her eyes and imaging that with each pull of the bows across the strings that blossoms are opening up, then the bees come in and pollinate each one. Next, the blossoms die and become little green baby apples. As the music continues the listener can imagine the apples growing into ripe juicy fruit. The apples fall as animals and humans gather them, eat them, and store them for later. Then there are ones that rot, and are covered by the autumn leaves. The seeds from the rotten apples sink into the ground with the rain, and as the music starts getting loud again, the seeds become seedlings and grow into trees. As winter comes, everything is covered with snow and the music is quiet. However, as it begins to get loud again, the blossoms come back and pop open as the cycle starts again. This image is what Beethoven’s 5th symphony creates in this writer’s mind.
The era of Beethoven was the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century in Europe. At this time, the people were discarding the old thoughts and entering the enlightenment period. Tye were happy to explore a new way of thinking and found that there is power in knowing about everything they discovered. The architecture, education, and music were enlightening and powerful and awe-inspiring. It is during this period that Beethoven pushed the boundaries of music and created one of the most influential symphonies of his time.
Although this piece may be considered one of the greatest of Beethoven’s musical works, the people of the early 1800s were still cherishing his third symphony. However, as the audiences started to understand how his pieces were connected to his life, the fifth symphony became the new popular favorite. This particular piece was a work of long labor as it took Beethoven about four years to write it because he was busy with other projects at the time. The fifth symphony was placed in the same dedication concert with his sixth symphony for Prince Lobkowitz and Count Andreas Rasmovesky. Several musicians who did not have enough preparation, seemed to have several mistakes and Beethoven started the entire piece again, which made the concert much longer than planned. (Automatisering, 2016)
The fifth symphony was not the most popular of this works, as most people preferred his third and sixth symphonies. However, in the early 1900s, after The Philadelphia Orchestra played the piece flawlessly, the fifth symphony became one of Beethoven’s most well-known works. It has been connected to war battles, life cycles, and the struggles for humanity several times. The piece seems to bring on a myriad of emotional connections to almost anyone who listens to it. (Automatisering, 2016)
Beethoven was 30 in 1801, when he started to reveal that he was losing his hearing, however, he had greate tenacity and decided that he would not let this limit him. He began to create with fervor. Although it is one outright obvious to the listener, there is a symbolic nature of the 5th symphony because of his increasingly deaf challenge. He was often described as heroic in his middle career years because of his deafness. Although, it took four years, from the beginning of spring 1804 to November 1808 for the piece to become complete, this period of Beethoven’s life was perhaps the most active. (Automatisering, 2016)
Beethoven’s entire 5th symphony is a work of art that seems to grow like a tree or another way to look at it is the all four movements could be symbolic of all four seasons. Each movement has a build up to the next movement, just as the seasons have a distinct change one after the other. He seems to build in intensity throughout the entire 5th symphony. However, the first movement is a reflection of spring and the intense way that it comes into blossom and starts the growing cycles of nature. (Automatisering, 2016)
Throughout the entire sympohy the opening motif is repeated several times. This gives the entire piece the feeling of emotional connection to each movement and seems to be used at pints that are intense and suspenseful. As Beethoven uses this heroic and intense motive, he also uses the key of C minor. He preffered this key in several of his symphonies. There are several speculations about why Beethoven used this as his favorite. However, there are not any written documents that show his true reason for using this key to set the stage for his work. (Automatisering, 2016)
Although the modern symphony does add horns when a conductor wants to be creative with this piece, the original score is preferred in most classical circles. The original score seems to be the version that most scholars point to as most influential as it holds the true emotional connections to the music. Several studies have shown that it is the original score that science uses to measure the effectiveness of classical music for students to study with or as a background sound when reading and writing. This piece is also said to have an effect on the maturing minds of young children, along with other classical sounds. One thing is for certain, the opening motif for Beethoven’s 5th symphony is unmistakable, even in the 21st century, 200 years after it was first played for the prince and count.
References
Automatisering, R. (2016). Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 in C minor: description -- Classic Cat. Classiccat.net. Retrieved 9 May 2016, from http://www.classiccat.net/beethoven_l_van/67.info.php
