The First Movement of Beethovens Symphony No. 5 - Essay Example

The First Movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 The First Movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 Introduction Music has always played a key role in the society since time in memorial and over the years many talented artists have risen from the obscurity of averageness to forever be remembered as one of the greatest musicians of their time. One of these musicians is Beethoven, who was and still is a force to reckon with in the classic music sector. One of his most famous compositions was his symphony NO. 5 and its introduction during the classical era led to a lot of influence emanating from it and rubbing on to other musicians and other classical music lovers(Fandel, 2007). The composition of this particular piece of classical music ensured that Beethoven’s name was ingrained into the foundations of genius artistry and established what can be termed as an everlasting presence on the influence of future classical positions. The Symphony No. 5 in C minor was written by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed over time and actually took a number of years (four) to be completed(Fandel, 2007). This goes to demonstrate the amount of work and effort that was put into this creation and establish the fact that this particular composition was not just another musician playing around with his instruments but the product of an utmost professional who put 100% into his work. This masterpiece was written between the years of 1804-1808 and after its completion, it became one of the most if not undoubtedly the most popular classical pieces of music in the world. The symphony was played in a wide and vast collection of musical performances where classical enthusiast would gather together in appreciation of this beautiful work of art. It was first performed in 1808 just after its completion in a theatre in Vienna known as Theatre an der wien and soon after that the piece of music received critical acclaim around the world. Over a century has gone by since then and this piece of classical music is still being played in theatres around the world by different bands specializing in classical music and by amateurs as well(Fandel, 2007). Lovers of the classical music genre have joined together to ensure that what can be considered to be one of Beethoven’s best pieces would not fade into obscurity regardless of the time elapsed since its creation. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 The beginning of Beethoven’s symphony No. 5 can be referred to as one of the most popular tunes to come into existence including in this modern times and even individuals who are not fans of classical music are familiar with it. It has been used in multiple scenarios and occasions including by modern media with no correlation to the actual symphony in their productions. The tune brings about a force of emotion that cannot be ignored by the listener and this unique characteristic has led to it being used in a large number of productions such as TV and radio shows, films and live performances by artistes or individuals who would like to elicit some emotion from their audiences(Fandel, 2007). The feeling can be said to be different in exactness by the particular listeners in terms of the level perhaps but it is safe to say that first part of the symphony elicits an overall emotion of expectation and excitement. The introduction of the symphony brings about the feeling that something big is about to happen be it being implemented in a (or during) a scene by the visual media or other audiences (Fandel, 2007). The beginning consists of a four note opening that is repeated twice and it is this simple composition at the start that holds such a focusing drive on the listeners’ attention that can be considered to be genius on Beethoven’s part. The shortness of the composition’s introduction and its somewhat pure simplistic virtue derived an undertone of a complex understanding of music and its creation by the composer(Fandel, 2007). The four notes can be described as an opening motif and has gained worldwide recognition as earlier mentioned partly due to the ease with which the motif can be duplicated by individuals with a wide variety of instruments. Though the piano can be said to be the main origin of this motif, it can be played on other instruments as well, and this served to enhance its popularity(Fandel, 2007). Themes in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 Various themes can be found from Beethoven’s classical compositions, and one of the most popular ones includes Romanticism. It safe to say that Beethoven in effect tried to bridge the gap between classical and romantic composers depending on which aspects of his music one looks at (Fandel, 2007). Beethoven ventured into new harmonic areas through his approach in his compositions as he steps down from an E-flat to progress to a D-flat before returning to his famous C-flat. This movement could be seen in earlier works of the composer such as Symphony No. 3 (Fandel, 2007). Theme one, which is the first motive, can be said to return in a modified manner in the form of Theme 2 following the transition. In fact, Beethoven’s furthers this similarity through the addition of the original version of Theme 1 playing the role of accompaniment to Theme 2 (Fandel, 2007). The sense of conflict in Theme 1 can be said to be utterly nerve-wracking leaving one at the edge of their seats. E. T. A Hoffmann and Richard Wagner – Critical acclaim of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 It should be noted that though the first ever performance of the Symphony No. 5 did not go down especially well with Beethoven actually having to start over at one point due to a mistake committed by one of the musicians (Fandel, 2007). However, this had nothing to do with the composition itself, but rather the ambience in the theatre at that time and other circumstances that can be considered to be beyond Beethoven’s control such as the production of the music (the band had only had one night to practice before their opening act. Thus it can be said to not have mastered the music by heart by then) and the auditorium did not create an ideal situation with which to enjoy the music, there had been a lengthy program that had left the audience restless and tired and the temperature in the building was uncomfortably low/cold (Fandel, 2007). However, the composition did receive critical acclaim after the score was published, and two of the leading critics who went down this avenue included E. T. A. Hoffmann and Richard Wagner. These two individuals fell in love with the classical composition and the mold of emotions that it brought onto a listener who was enjoying the piece. Hoffmann backed the theory that the piece aroused a flood of emotions in the listener through going through an in-depth analysis of how Beethoven was able to accomplish this using a myriad of devices(Hoffmann, 1908). A good example was the climax whose prolonged tenure led the listener to what he artistically described as “a world of the infinite”. Richard Wagner was not far behind in agreement describing Beethoven’s symphony as the “mystical goal of all his thoughts”. References Fandel, Jennifer. 2007. Beethovens Fifth Symphony. Mankato, Minn.: Creative Education. Hoffmann, ETA. 1908. Beethoven’S Instrumental-Musik. SämtlicheWerke 1 (1). Read More