7 Curiosity About 5th Symphony that Will Change your Credences about L.v. Beethoven
First performed in Vienna's Theater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterward. E. T. A. Hoffmann described the symphony as "one of the most important works of the time".
As is typical of symphonies in the classical period, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is in four movements. It begins with a distinctive four-note "short-short-short-long" motif.
1 - When was first premiered the 5th Symphony?
The concert lasted for more than four hours. The two symphonies appeared on the programme in reverse order: the Sixth was played first, and the Fifth appeared in the second half.
The programme was as follows:
The 19th century musicologist Gustav Nottebohm first pointed out that the third movement's theme has the same sequence of intervals as the opening theme of the final movement of Mozart's famous Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550.- The Sixth Symphony
- Aria: Ah! perfido, Op. 65
- The Gloria movement of the Mass in C major
- The Fourth Piano Concerto (played by Beethoven himself)
- (Intermission)
- The Fifth Symphony
- The Sanctus and Benedictus movements of the C major Mass
- A solo piano improvisation played by Beethoven
- The Choral Fantasy
2 - Were there Some Influences to the 5th Symphony?
While such resemblances sometimes occur by accident, this is unlikely to be so in the present case. Nottebohm discovered the resemblance when he examined a sketchbook used by Beethoven in composing the Fifth Symphony: here, 29 bars of Mozart's finale appear, copied out by Beethoven.
3 - Fate motif
The initial motif of the symphony has sometimes been credited with symbolic significance as a representation of Fate knocking at the door. This idea comes from Beethoven's secretary and factotum Anton Schindler, who wrote, many years after Beethoven's death:The composer himself provided the key to these depths when one day, in this author's presence, he pointed to the beginning of the first movement and expressed in these words the fundamental idea of his work: "Thus Fate knocks at the door!"Schindler's testimony concerning any point of Beethoven's life is disparaged by experts (he is believed to have forged entries in Beethoven's conversation books). Moreover, it is often commented that Schindler offered a highly romanticized view of the composer.
4 -Beethoven's choice of key
The key of the Fifth Symphony, C minor, is commonly regarded as a special key for Beethoven, specifically a "stormy, heroic tonality". Beethoven wrote a number of works in C minor whose character is broadly similar to that of the Fifth Symphony. Writer Charles Rosen says,Beethoven in C minor has come to symbolize his artistic character. In every case, it reveals Beethoven as Hero. C minor does not show Beethoven at his most subtle, but it does give him to us in his most extroverted form, where he seems to be most impatient of any compromise.
5 - Repetition of the opening motif throughout the symphony
It is commonly asserted that the opening four-note rhythmic motif (short-short-short-long; see above) is repeated throughout the symphony, unifying it.
"It is a rhythmic pattern (dit-dit-dit-dot*) that makes its appearance in each of the other three movements and thus contributes to the overall unity of the symphony" (Doug Briscoe);
"a single motif that unifies the entire work" (Peter Gutmann);
"the key motif of the entire symphony";
"the rhythm of the famous opening figure ... recurs at crucial points in later movements" (Richard Bratby).
The New Groveencyclopedia cautiously endorses this view, reporting that "the famous opening motif is to be heard in almost every bar of the first movement—and, allowing for modifications, in the other movements."
6 - Use of La Folia
Folia is a dance form with a distinctive rhythm and harmony, which was used by many composers from the Renaissance well into the 19th and even 20th century, often in the context of a theme and variations.
It was used by Beethoven in his Fifth Symphony in the harmony midway through the slow movement (bar 166–177). Although some recent sources mention that the fragment of the Folia theme in Beethoven's symphony was detected only in the 1990s, Reed J. Hoyt analyzed some Folia-aspects in the oeuvre of Beethoven already in 1982 in his "Letter to the Editor", in the journal College Music Symposium 21, where he draws attention to the existence of complex archetypal patterns and their relationship.
