Beethoven takes the main idea and turns it into a fugue, which is neither Classical nor Romantic, but a Baroque idea. Listen to the solo woodwinds holding the melody, with the strings adding a quiet rhythmic layer “chattering” underneath.ĥ:53 – Now, this gets really interesting. Yet, still with this yearning feeling about it, and not quite settled.Ĥ:53 – But, back to the main theme again, fifth iteration. So Beethoven boggles both sides of my brain at once, which is yet mind-boggling in and of itself…ģ:26 – How do you follow up something once it’s gotten so huge? Cool off, and go in a different direction – here, Beethoven switches from A minor to A major. But i’ll say this, that this is a very complex emotional expression here, and this boggles my mind too. what is the emotion of this section? Is it anger? Desperation? A cry of the soul? I’ve listened to this many times, and i’m honestly not sure what it is. Lastly, with the violins soaring, timpani thundering, brass punctuating, lower strings lurking. So here, I see that perfect balance of Classical control and Romantic fire. Yet, with a responsible conductor at hand to interpret Beethoven (And Leonard Bernstein here is among the best ever), the music doesn’t just take off and spin into an emotional frenzy – it’s all under complete control, which somehow, I think, actually adds to the emotional impact of this section, because the tension in all of this is sustained for so long, and it doesn’t give you that climax that would settle the matter – instead, it just keeps marching onwards in all of it’s power and intensity, while all firmly grounded to that first main premise. To me, the level of craftsmanship and quality of construction of this section is mind-boggling.īut let’s keep going – note how dramatic and emotional this section is. And with all these different ideas layered on top of each other, take note that you can yet hear each idea with perfect clarity. And meanwhile, several instruments continue the “long, short-short long, long” idea.
Listen for the lower strings adding a new rhythmic idea, in some technical terms, they are playing a triplet figure, while other parts of the orchestra are playing in a duplet figure, so there is this 3-against-2 rhythmic tension. As we saw him use a “building block” approach in the first movement of his 5th Symphony, this rhythmic idea here will serve as the building block for this movement.ġ:03 – Second iteration – As this movement progresses, we’ll see that Beethoven will take a strategy of “start with an interesting idea, and see how many different times we can reiterate it and develop it and keep things interesting.” So the second time now, the violins are added in, and a melody begins to emerge underneath in the cellos.ġ:49 – Third iteration – The melody rises up to the violins, and now the orchestra starts to build in volume and intensity.Ģ:34 – Fourth iteration – Now, the whole orchestra is in it, and there are all sorts of ideas happening at the same time. One could say that there is not really a melody in this (yet), and perhaps Beethoven is drawing attention to the rhythmic pulse (long, short-short long, long) as the main idea. AllegrettoĠ:15 – After a kind of mysterious opening chord from the woodwinds, the lower strings (violas, cellos, basses) introduce the main theme. His Seventh Symphony is classified as a middle-period work, and we’ll see this dualism in action.īeethoven Symphony No.
– Late (totally exploring uncharted territory)Ī similar topic about Beethoven is that his style (taken as a whole) is the perfect marriage of Classical and Romantic ideals – he maintains the form, precision, control, logic, and balance of the Classical Era, while simultaneously expressing the drama, passion, and “hugeness” of the Romantic Era. – Middle (pushing at or redefining the limits of Classical structure)
– Early (largely following Classical style) There are noted features about pieces in different times in Beethoven’s career, and his work is often divided into three periods: Beethoven was the composer who bridged the Classical Era and the Romantic Era, the point between them often pinpointed at 1803, when he unleashed his revolutionary 3rd Symphony.
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