Ludwig Van Beethoven

Ishleen SainiMusic 1010

Biography

Ludwig Van Beethoven was born on 16th December, 1770 in Bonn, Germany

was the grandson of Lodewijk Van Beethoven, who was also a musician

His father Johann worked as a tenor

His father was his first music teacher

Biography

In 1779 he started his musical studies with the court’s Organist, Christian Neefe

March of 1789, Beethoven his first composition: a set of keyboard variations

In 1792 he moved to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn

With Haydn he published many unpublished works

Biography

Beethoven’s first public performance in Vienna was in March 1795. He performed one of his piano concertos

Soon composed his first six string quartets between 1798 and 1800

He became one of the most significant composers after his first two symphonies were performed

Biography

He started to lose his hearing around age 26

Had a ringing sensation in his ears which stopped him from hearing music clearly

His conditioned worsened, he started to feel depressed

He wrote “Heiligenstadt Testament” to his brothers, sharing his suicidal thoughts

Biography

Wrote a total of 75 pieces

He wrote nine symphonies, 7 concertos, 17 string quartets, 32 piano sonatas, and 10 sonatas for violin and piano

His last work was the alternative finale to the String Quartet

Beethoven died on March 26th, 1827

Fifth Symphony History

Was written between 1804 and 1808

It is divided into four movements and lasts 30-40 mins

Beethoven interrupted the work on this piece by composing other pieces in the meanwhile

The composition of this was parallel to that of the sixth symphony

Fifth Symphony History

Final preparation took place in 1807-1808

It was performed in Vienna’s Theater an der Wien on December 22nd 1808

The concert took place under bad conditions:

It was too long and the orchestra had just one rehearsal prior to performing

Fifth Symphony History

A year after it was first perfomed, ETA Hoffmann gave it an amazing review

Has been performed at many places such as New York Philhamonic in 1842 and U.S. National Symphony Orchestra in 1931

Was first recorded in 1910 by the Odeon Orchestra

Listening Guide

Music Piece: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5

1st and 2nd movement

Duration: 13.6 minutes

Listening Guide

0:00 First theme

 0:35 Opening motive is played ff by the strings and clarinets in octaves and then repeated a step lower.

 1:01 Sudden p, strings immediately develop opening motive.

 1:39 Crescendo and loud chords lead to a high sustained note in the violins. Then there’s a transition.

1:44 Opening motive, ff, played only once by full orchestra. Sudden p, further development of the opening motive by strings. Strings gradually crescendo and ascend. sudden stop.

2:08 Horn-call motive. ff is played as well.

Listening Guide

2:11 A contrasting gentle melody, p, relative major key. Accompanied by a version of the opening motive in the lower strings.

 2:23 Crescendo and ascent lead to another new melody: a jubilant theme, ff, in the violins, played twice.

 2:40 Woodwinds and horns rapidly descend, twice; then a cadence in minor, using the rhythm of the basic motive. Pause

 (Entire exposition is repeated.)

Listening Guide

Development

 2:50 Opening motive in horns, ff, in F minor, echoed by strings. Sudden p, basic motive developed by strings and woodwinds.Another gradual ascent and crescendo, leading to forceful repeated chords.

 3:25 Horn-call motive in violins, ff, followed by descending line in low strings, twice. Pairs of high chords in woodwinds and brass, ff, alternating with lower chords in strings, ff. Sudden decrease in volume, key changes. Sudden ff, opening motive repeated many times, leading back to recapitulation.

Listening Guide

Recapitulation

 4:08 First theme. Opening motive, ff, in tonic (C minor), full orchestra. Opening motive developed, strings, p, joined by slow-moving melody on one oboe. Oboe unexpectedly interrupts the music with a short, plaintive solo.

 4:39 Transition occurs. Development of opening motive resumes in strings, p. Gradual crescendo, full orchestra, ff, repeated timpani notes, sudden stop. Horn-call motive.

 5:02 Second theme. Contrasting gentle melody, p, in C major, played alternately by violins and flutes. (Basic motive accompanies in timpani when flutes play.) Woodwinds and horns rapidly descend, twice, followed by a cadence using the rhythm of the opening motive. Then, without pause, into:

Listening Guide

Coda

 5:52 Forceful repeated chords, ff, with pauses. Horn-call motive in lower strings and bassoons, along with flowing violin melody, C minor.

 6:17 A completely new theme in the strings, rising up the minor scale in four-note sequences. Four-note fragments of the new theme are forcefully alternated between woodwinds and strings. Repeated notes leads into a return of the opening. A swift and dramatic return to full orchestra.

Listening Guide

SECOND MOVEMENT

 0:00 Theme A. Lyrical melody in tonic (Ab major), first presented by violas and cellos, p. Accompaniment in basses, pizzicato.

 0:26 Melody is continued by woodwinds, concludes with alternation between  woodwinds and strings.

 0:59 Theme B (in two parts) A gently rising theme in the clarinets, p, in the tonic.

 1:15 Clarinet theme is taken over by violins, pp. Sudden crescendo forms a transition to: A brass fanfare in C major, ff. Violins continue this theme, pp. Slow sustained chords and a cadence in the tonic key form an ending to Theme B.

Listening Guide

2:14 Theme A, varied, in the tonic, again on the violas and cellos, p, enhanced by a smooth, continuously flowing rhythm, and with long notes from the clarinet. Again, a conclusion with an alternation between the violins and woodwinds. dolce Violas, Cellos Clarinets Violas, Cellos

 3:05 The B theme—clarinet part as well as fanfare part—is presented with a more active accompaniment. The concluding sustained chords, pp, are now accompanied by quick repeated notes in the cellos, and ended by a brighter cadence.

 4:11 Theme A, varied, again enhanced by a smooth, flowing rhythm, but twice as fast as the first variation, and with long notes from the woodwinds.

This embellished melody is repeated by the violins, pp, in a higher register.

Listening Guide

4:47 Then the embellished melody is played by the cellos and basses, accompanied by powerful repeated chords. The variation ends on two rising scales, leading to a high sustained note.

 5:12 Central Section. Sudden pp, repeated string chords accompany a short, delicate phrase based on Theme A and played by the clarinet, bassoon, and flute in turn.

 6:12 Brass from Theme B, ff, with timpani rolls, in C major. A short repeated motive in the strings, pp, leads to: Staccato passage in the woodwinds based on Theme A, but in Ab minor. Ascending scales in the flute and strings, crescendo, into:

 7:43 Climactic restatement of melody from Theme A by the full orchestra, ff. (Violins play melody, while woodwinds work in imitation with violins.) The end of the first section of the melody is accompanied by rising scales in the strings and woodwinds. Once more, a conclusion with an alternation between the violins and the fl