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Beethoven and the Transition to Romanticism 77 out, in his own way, how ludicrous it was to require dance music in a concert work. After Beethoven’s Second Symphony, he and almost all later composers essentially abandoned the minuet as part of a symphony. The Third Symphony, the Eroica, was composed in 1803 and is considered to be the first truly Romantic symphony. Originally dedicated to Napoleon (who Beethoven admired greatly) and subtitled the Bonaparte symphony, the symphony was crafted to heroic proportions. Shortly before Beethoven sent the work in to the publisher, word came that Napoleon had crowned himself emperor. The story goes that this news infuriated Beethoven and shattered his impression of Napoleon as a crusader for the people. He reportedly tore out the dedication from his score and angrily retitled the work Eroica, “dedicated to the memory of a great man.” Whether this account is accurate or not, does not diminish the importance of this great symphony or its innovations. The string section was virtually doubled in size to augment the dynamic capabilities of the orchestra. The scope of each movement was enlarged greatly. The symphony grew to over fifty minutes in length, and the form for each movement became less clear because of the expanded nature of the work. The first movement, loosely based on a sonata-allegro form, is now almost twenty minutes long. The second movement, a funeral march, is over fifteen minutes of dark, brooding music that eventually unravels and dies. The third movement is an exuberant, almost manic scherzo, and the fourth movement recaptures the heroism of the first. The power of this music changed symphonic writing forever. After the Fourth symphony (1806), which was a return to a simpler, more superficial style, Beethoven composed two giant works, the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. Composed in rapid succession and premiered on the same concert in 1808, they each brought something entirely new to symphonic writing. The Fifth Symphony was the first work of its type to contain a psychological connection among its four movements. Indeed, the Fifth symphony, for the first time, treated the four movements of a symphony as parts of a single progression of thought. One can easily hear the emotional progression from frustration (first movement), through introspection (second movement), defiance (third movement), and then finally to triumph (fourth movement). This connected progression is accomplished through several devices Beethoven pioneered. First, the rhythmic idea of short-short-short-long, as stated in the familiar opening of the first movement, pervades every part of the entire symphony. Sometimes the rhythm is instantly apparent, sometimes it is buried within the music, but it is always there, and the idea (sometimes called the “fate” motive) binds the work together in an organic way. Second, the music follows a very logical emotional journey, which many people experience when confronted with adversity. The music illustrates how man can overcome adversity and fundamentally change fate from defeat to victory. Indeed, the fate motive is evident in the last movement as well as the other movements, but its character is no longer ominous— it is celebratory. The addition of trombones for the fourth movement gives the orchestra added power for the finale. Also, the transition between the third and fourth movements proceeds without pause, contributing to the effect that the triumphant culmination of the journey is inevitable. Movements played without pause are said to be performed segue which means no break between movements. Though many hear the first few notes of the Fifth symphony and think, “oh yes, I’ve heard this before,” listening closely to the entire work can be an extraordinary, almost life-changing experience.
78 Chapter 7 Listen to This Track #8 Beethoven, Symphony #5, 1st movement Notice that the familiar four-note idea that starts the symphony forms the basis of the first theme. This movement is a fairly standard first-movement form. Theme 1 is full of anger and frustration, with the four-note idea pervading everything. After a short transition, Theme 2 is strikingly different, but quite lyrical and short lived. As is the case with all classical works, the exposition is repeated. The development section shows Beethoven’s true genius. Perhaps no composer has ever had a better mind for development than Beethoven. He takes the four-note idea and first expands it into a longer melodic idea after which he dissects it. By the end of the development, the four-note idea has been chopped in half and chopped in half again so that only one note is left. It is a short development, but a miraculous display of Beethoven’s imagination. The recapitulation proceeds in a fairly predictable manner until the end. The closing section actually expands into a third theme, finally terminating in an abrupt, forceful coda. The Sixth Symphony, composed around the same time as the Fifth, is almost as important in music history. Entitled the Pastoral symphony, it could not be more different in character than the Fifth. Whereas the Fifth is an emotional trip from frustration to fulfillment, the Pastoral symphony is a simple, beautiful account of a day in the country. Indeed, this symphony is often regarded as the first truly successful symphonic example of program music, which can be defined as music that depicts or describes something. Although much music had been written before that made such attempts, such as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the effect of these earlier works fell short of communicating the intended subject. With the Pastoral symphony, Beethoven was arguably the first composer to accurately evoke not only the images of the subject, but also the emotions of each moment in the story. The Sixth symphony is set in five movements, each with a subtitle that is designed to prepare the listener for a part of the outing in the country. The movements are: 1. “The Awakening of Joyful Feelings Upon Arrival in the Country” 2. “By the Brook” 3. “A Merry Gathering of Country Folk” 4. “The Storm” 5. “Shepherd’s Song: Glad Feelings After the Storm” The third, fourth, and fifth movements are connected as one, giving the listener a seamless journey through a picnic (third movement) which is interrupted by a thunderstorm (fourth movement), and the aftermath of the storm (fifth movement). Beethoven’s innovative use of five movements and performing movements without pause are further evidence that he considered the emotional impact of the music as his first priority. Adherence to formal structures, while not entirely ignored, took a back seat to dramatic considerations. The Seventh and Eighth Symphonies, while crowd-pleasing favorites, broke no new ground from a compositional standpoint. However, the Ninth symphony stands as a pivotal work in music history. The Ninth, subtitled the Choral symphony, is a
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Track Title/Composer/Performer Musi
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M usic to Your Ears An Introduction
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Contents Preface vii 1 What Is Musi
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7 Beethoven and the Transition to R
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Preface The purpose of this book is
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2 Chapter 1 that might have puzzled
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4 Chapter 1 Writings from the Greek
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6 Chapter 1 Figure 2 The treble cle
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8 Chapter 1 Often a musician will f
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10 Chapter 1 Key Terms adagio mezzo
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2 Musical Instruments Evidence exis
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saxophone Musical Instruments 15 ho
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Musical Instruments 17 musician to
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The Percussion Family timpani Music
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The Symphony Orchestra Percussion H
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Name Date Chapter 2 Review Musical
Page 37 and 38: 26 Chapter 3 Gregorian Chant Gregor
Page 39 and 40: 28 Chapter 3 requirements of the Ch
Page 41 and 42: 30 Chapter 3 Summary residences at
Page 44 and 45: 4 The Renaissance Music History Tim
Page 46 and 47: The Mass The Renaissance 35 Since b
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Page 58 and 59: Music of the Baroque 47 chord progr
Page 60 and 61: Music of the Baroque 49 Astute read
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Page 73 and 74: 62 Chapter 6 A. (statement) Twinkle
Page 75 and 76: 64 Chapter 6 The Symphony First Mov
Page 77 and 78: 66 Chapter 6 The Concerto The fourt
Page 79 and 80: 68 Chapter 6 Composer Profile Wolfg
Page 81 and 82: 70 Chapter 6 Summary Haydn’s symp
Page 84 and 85: 7 Cultural Overview Beethoven and t
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Page 103 and 104: 92 Chapter 8 decline rapidly. He wa
Page 105 and 106: 94 Chapter 8 Composer Profile Franz
Page 108: Name Date 1. What is a lied? 2. Who
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128 Chapter 10 American works by or
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130 Chapter 10 that the sounds arou
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132 Chapter 10 Key Terms absolute m
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11 Introduction Beyond Classical Mu
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The Big Band Era Beyond Classical M
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Beyond Classical Music 139 This aca
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Beyond Classical Music 141 was noth
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Glossary a cappella Vocal music tha
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Glossary 147 cadenza Unaccompanied,
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Glossary 149 country western Type o
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Glossary 151 fusion A type of jazz
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inversion Mirror image of a melody
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Glossary 155 Neo-Classical Strictly
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Glossary 157 pure music Music that
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Glossary 159 spiritual Sung by Afri
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Glossary 161 triple meter A metric
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Bibliographic References Apel, Will
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166 Index chant, 25-27 character pi
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168 Index Neo-Romantic, 118, 124 no
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104 Chapter 9 music drama as “a t
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