Furthermore, where the exposition presented an E-flat major horn call followed by other major themes, suggesting the problem will be solved in favor of C major in the recapitulation, the recapitulation weakens the solution by using the milder-toned bassoons for the horn call rather than asking the E-flat horns to change to C crooks, and, the C major closing theme is smashed by an insistent C-minor shift that remains for the entire, lengthy coda. Unlike codas in Classical symphonies, where the goal was to come to a quick conclusion, here the coda is lengthy and unstable, proceeding as a second development section. For example, in the first movement, Beethoven gave essentially equal length to all four sections of the sonata form-exposition, development, recapitulation, coda-creating structural balance. Secondly, Beethoven experiments with different balances and goals of the symphonic cycle. The similar “heroic character” can be perceived in his other C minor multi-movement works, such as the Piano Sonata No. 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. In every case, it reveals Beethoven as Hero. Charles Rosen was one of many commentators on Beethoven’s “C-minor mood,” stating,īeethoven in C minor has come to symbolize his artistic character.
The latter may have influenced Beethoven’s choice of C minor, but this was a key of special importance to Beethoven. 83 in G minor) and one of the “London” symphonies, Symphony No. Of Haydn’s late symphonies, which would have been known to Beethoven, only one of the “Paris” (No. (Lockwood, Beethoven’s Symphonies, 97.) Only ten of Haydn’s over 100 symphonies were minor, most of them during his Sturm und Drang years 168-72. 40 and the scherzo of the Fifth Symphony. The Eroica sketchbook shows a connection between the finale of No. Mozart only composed two minor-mode symphonies, Nos. Minor-keyed symphonies were not unheard of, but were not the norm at the time. Most particularly, it was the first symphony that Beethoven wrote in a minor key-C minor. It received its public premiere in December of that year, along with the Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto, Choral Fantasy, “Gloria” from the Mass in C, and a piano improvisation by Beethoven. During the long four-year period of composition Beethoven broke convention on several aspects. Beethoven finally completed the Fifth Symphony in 1808. 3, Eroica, but the composing progress was interrupted by several works such as Fidelio, the three Razumovsky string quartets, and the Appassionata piano sonata. ( Lewanski, Beethoven and the Romantic Sublime.) Indeed, the “fate motif” is the most essential element of this symphony but it is not the only thing that makes the Fifth Symphony great.īeethoven started to sketch the Fifth Symphony in 1804, almost immediately following the completion of Symphony No. Instead, Beethoven put it throughout the entire piece-an obsessive repetition of the motif at different pitch levels, combined with interruptive stops that fight its restless momentum.
One of the aspects that makes the Fifth Symphony remarkable is that the “fate motif” is not treated as simply a first theme. Beethoven wrote in a letter: “I will seize fate by the throat it shall certainly not bend and crush me completely” (Lockwood, Beethoven Symphonies, 95). Hoffman praised it as “one of the most important works of the time.” Its famous four-note opening gesture is not only credited as, “Fate knocks at the door” by Beethoven’s factotum and biographer Anton Schindler, but also represents the “fate” that Beethoven wants to overcome during his lifetime, because he was experiencing an increasing deafness, psychic pain and depression. In his epochal review of Beethoven’s Symphony No. Image available at IMSLP and Beethoven-Haus.įirst published score: May 1826, Breitkopf und Härtel, Vienna. Image available online.įirst published parts: April 1809, Breitkopf und Härtel, Vienna.
Orchestra size for first or early performance: 12-16.3-4.3-4.3-5/single winds.Īutograph Score: Staatsbibliothek, Berlin. IV): Strings, Pic IV, 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Cl, 2 Bsn, CBsn IV, 2 Hn, 2 Tr, ATBTbn IV, Timp.įirst performance: 22 December 1808, Akademie at Theater-an-der-Wien. 4).ĭedication: Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz (also Wikipedia, and portrait) and Count Andrey Razumovsky (also Wikipedia, and portrait).