Beethoven lived a difficult life, plagued by an abusive father, constant illness, and deafness for most of his life. He wrote his 5th Symphony between 1804-1808 while completely deaf. The symphony broke new ground through its use of dramatic tension, modulation between unexpected keys, and innovation in orchestration. It began with the famous "fate knocking at the door" four-note motif and ended in a triumphant C major key, representing Beethoven overcoming adversity through his artistic genius.

1. Beethoven
Lived 57 miserable years
Abusive Father
Constant illness
Deaf most of life
Never had a patron
Wrote to make the aristocracy respect him

2. Symphony = a piece for orchestra in 4 movements
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Scherzo and Trio
IV. Allegro

3. 1-2 Like Mozart and Haydn
3-5 Deaf
Expands to romantic style
Getting long
6-9 Chromatic harmonies
Considered Romantic Era
th st
(9 1 to use chorus)

4. Symphony #5 in c minor
First performance took place in Vienna on December 22, 1808
Jean Lesuer, a famous French
composer and theorist, found it such
exciting music that he felt it shouldn't
even exist.
Louis Spohr, in his Autobiography, finds
the theme of the first movement wanting
in dignity, the Trio of the Scherzo too
grotesque, and the last movement
replete with unmeaning babel.
Albert E. Wier, The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven in Score,
Bonanza Books

5. Motif or Motive
vs.
Theme
First Movement.
2/4 meter c minor
Sonata-allegro From

6. Sonata-allegro Form
Exposition
Theme 1 - c minor
Theme 2 - Eb Major :||
Development
Expansion on both themes, create tension
Not repeated
Recapitulation
Same themes as exposition w/ different instrumentation
(Oboe cadenza! - never happened before or since!)
Coda
Emphasizes finality

7. Beethoven #5
2nd MVT
Ab Major
3/8 meter
Form - Double Theme and Variations
Theme 1
Theme 2
Variation 1 (of theme 1)
Variation 1 (of theme 2)
Variation 2 (of theme 1)
Variation 2 (of theme 2) etc.
Coda

8. Beethoven #5
3rd MVT
Scherzo & Trio
c minor
3/4 time
A1 :||: A2 :||: B1 :||: B2 :|| A1 | A2 || Coda
"Rocket Theme" = melody low to high
quickly then back down..
Coda - tympani represents death knocking
"Out of despair comes joy"
th
directly into 4 MVT (joy)

9. Beethoven #5
th
4 MVT
Sonata-allegro C Major 4/4 time
Exposition
Theme 1 - C Major
Theme 2 - G Major :|| (Exposition repeats)
Development
Expansion on both themes, modulation to create tension
Recapitulation
Same themes as exposition w/ different instrumentation
Coda
Emphasizes finality, very long

10. List of firsts:
Cadenza in symphony
Start in one key and end in another
( c minor to C Major)
New instruments used in a symphony
(piccolo, trombone, contra bassoon)
No break between 3 rd and 4 th movements