Beethoven’s Personal Life(Music)
The Fifth Symphony had a long development process, as Beethoven worked out the musical ideas for the work. The first “sketches” (rough drafts of melodies and other musical ideas) date from 1804 following the completion of the third symphony. Beethoven repeatedly interrupted his work on the Fifth to prepare different compositions, including the first version of Fidelio, the Appasionata, the Violin Concerto, the Fourth Piano Concerto, the Fourth Symphony, and the Mass in C. The final preparation of the Fifth Symphony, which took place in 1807–1808, was carried out in parallel with the Sixth Symphony, which premiered at the same concert in Vienna, and it soon became the standard against which many other symphonies were measured. Beethoven was in his mid-thirties during this time; his personal life was troubled by increasing deafness. In the world at large, the period was marked by the Napoleonic Wars, political turmoil in Austria, and the occupation of Vienna by Napoleon’s troops in 1805.
The fifth symphony is one of the Apex symphonies of his heroic period (1803-1815), during which he composed his third through eighth symphonies and broke from classical structures and introduced the romantic era. Yet the symphony does follow the conventional symphonic structure of four movements. The first movement is defined by the opening four notes that Beethoven had described this motif and the foundational idea of the entire work as “fate knocking at the door!” Alternatively, the opening is now known as the “Fate Motif.”
Form
The first movement of Beethoven’s 5th symphony starts with four world-famous notes played by the lower strings and clarinets: GGGF played short-short-short LONG. The famous refrain is then repeated a step lower. These four notes leave the listener with a sense of dread and anticipation for the music to come. The notes are filled with suspense, but the suspenseful theme is not necessarily carried on for the rest of the movement. Suddenly, the strings move into a piano, developing the opening motif. A long crescendo and loud chords lead back to the opening motif, this time played by the full orchestra, followed by the same sudden pianissimo. There is a crescendo and an ascension, giving the music a lighter, airier tone which is juxtaposed with the timpani drums. Suddenly there is a stop in the music, and the horns have their call motif, which acts as a transition to the second theme of the sonata-allegro.
The second theme of Beethoven’s 5th starts very differently than the first theme. Unlike the suspenseful, dense, heavy opening to the first theme, the second theme opens gently. It is played first by the lower strings, and then they are joined by the upper strings. This time the tone is more elated and happy. It employs flutes, piccolo, and the upper strings to reinforce the difference between the tones of the first and second themes instead of relying on the lower strings, brass, and timpani. Towards the end of the second theme, the woodwinds and horns have a rapid descent, preparing the listener’s ears and minds for the repetition of the Exposition, a quick jump back to the somberness of the first theme.
In Beethoven’s first movement, unlike the music of Mozart and other composers, there is a transition between the first and second themes. Because the ideas and flavors of the two themes are so different, a transition is used to prepare the listener for the tones to come. Even though the switch in tones is not necessarily logical, the transition does help bridge the two ideas.
Next, Beethoven moves onto the development. The development opens with a horn motif in a fortissimo, followed by the low strings, then high chords from woodwinds and brass, still held in a strong fortissimo. Suddenly, there is another horn call, this time accompanied by the full orchestra and a couple of key changes, the tonic and dominant keys “battling it out.” The opening motif is repeated one last time, and the Recapitulation begins.
The first theme, transition, and second theme are played once again to remind the listener of the ideas explored in the opening portion of the sonata-allegro. The Recapitulation is followed closely by the coda, which is very short. Towards the beginning of the coda, there are short, forceful, repeated chords with long pauses to give the phrase a dramatic air. The horn-call is again repeated by the lower strings and bassoons, along with a new violin melody in the tonic key. A short descending pattern in the violins leads to an entirely new theme that seems to be leading up, something that the listener now more closely relates to the second theme in the Exposition and Recapitulation.
Mozart and Beethoven’s styles
Mozart and Beethoven are the two connoisseurs with the largest authorities. While they are well known as the best classical music composures who walked on earth, there are sharp differences in their works. This makes adequate know-how of these two masters imperative for a talk on music. Most of them represent music with quite a contrasting difference in style and formation. While discussing the differences in music between Mozart and Beethoven, the first aspect is the time. Mozart played before Beethoven. The latter wanted to study Mozart as his foundation in music but followed Haydn. Even though it is apparent that Beethoven still has his foundation in Mozart’s work. Similarities between the two can be found in the early works of Beethoven, but later on, he became more complicated, drifting away in his style.
The significant differences in their music lie in the backdrop of their personalities. Mozart was a court musician who composed his first piece at the age of 5. His life was short-lived and was pleasant for most of his 35 years. This is reflected in his music as they are bright, pleasant, and light. Although he composed music depicting a wide range of moods, his creations feature easy, simple, and balanced pieces. Beethoven was a moody and lonely person, with several personal and physical issues in his life. Thus, this complexity of his life and personality is abruptly apparent in his music. His compositions feature surprising changes in pitches and complex variations, which are not found in that of Mozart’s. His music was technically much complicated. His music is intense and accommodates a wide range of pitch. While most of his music is not pleasant for ears, they keep the audience engaged and fastened, being of high technicality and highly dramatic. His compositions were surprisingly beautiful, while Mozart’s were calm and full of aesthetics.
Works Cited
https://www.uberpanache.com/knowing-the-differences-between-mozart-and-beethoven-924133c3
https://medium.com/@bmsbmusic/beethovens-fifth-symphony-the-analysis-5e1449b6c23c
https://www.dw.com/en/beethovens-fifth-symphony-the-truth-about-the-symphony-of-fate/a-45472113
https://web.archive.org/web/20071222060307/http://www.carolinaclassical.com/articles/beethoven.html