Beethoven

Life and Works,Periods and Styles

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)• Three Style Periods– Early Beethoven– Middle Period “Heroic Style”• beginning in 1803

– Late Beethoven

Early Beethoven

• Born in Bonn, 17 December 1770• First public performance at age 7• Appointed assistant to the

electoral court organist at age 10• Court singer and instrumentalist at

age 18• Sent to study in Vienna in 1792

Early Beethoven

• Studies with Haydn, Albrechtsberger, and Salieri

• Virtuosic performer and improviser in Viennese musical circles

• Op. 1 Piano Trios (1795)

Early Beethoven

• Sonata No. 8, Op.3 Grande sonate pathétique [Anthology 2-17]

– C minor– First movement• Grave• Allegro di molto e con brio• recall of the Grave

Early Beethoven

• First Symphony, 1800– “masterpiece”– “originality”– “bizarre”

Early Beethoven

• Septet, Op. 46 [Anthology 2-18]– clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, double

bass– 6 movements– traditional classical forms

Disaster

• Summer 1801– “For the past three years my hearing

has become weaker and weaker” (letter to Wegeler)

• Heiligenstadt Testament, 1802– unsent letter to his brothers– confession of deafness and despair

The Eroica

• Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55 (1803) [Anthology 2-19]

• “Heroic style”• Unprecedented scale• Premiered 1805

The Eroica

• Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55 (1803) [Anthology 2-19]– First movement

• lyrically cello melody with unexpected C#– Second movement

• Marcia funebre (Funeral March)– Third movement

• Scherzo (“joke”)• metric ambiguities

– Fourth movement • theme and variations

Fidelio• Beethoven’s only opera• Extensively revised– 3 versions, four different overtures

• Premiered 1805• “Rescue operas”• Opéras comiques

The Fifth and Fate

• Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 [Anthology 2-20]

• “Organicism”– all four movements grow from the opening

measures– three shorts and a long

The Fifth and Fate

• Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 [Anthology 2-20]– First movement– Second movement

• unusual two-themed variation form– Third movement

• vigorous scherzo and trio, leads directly into the fourth movement

– Fourth movement• introduction of three trombones• sonata form

The Pastoral Symphony

• Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68• “More expression of feeling than tone

painting”• Program music

Rising Fame and Decreasing Productivity

• Period of depression• “Immortal Beloved” (1812)• Legal battle over his nephew Karl• Wellington’s Victory 1813– celebrated Napoleon’s defeat

• “Conversation books”

Late Beethoven

• Large and imposing compositions– three piano sonatas (Opp. 109, 110,

11)– “Diabelli” Variations, Op. 120– Missa solemnis– Ninth Symphony– five string quartets (Opp. 127, 130,

131, 132, 135)– Grosse Fuge, Op. 133

Late Beethoven

• Unusual length• Structural fragmentation• Exploration of counterpoint• New deployment of instruments

Late Beethoven

• Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125– an hour long– unusual ordering of movements– vast finale for soloists, chorus, and orchestra• setting of Schiller’s “An die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”)

Inwardness: The Late String Quartets

• Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130 [Anthology 2-21]

– fifth movement, Adagio molto • “Cavatina”• “sotto voce” • “beklemmt”

Inwardness: The Late String Quartets

• Quartet in F Major, Op. 135– Final movement• Der schwergejast Entschluss (The Difficult Decision)• “Muss es sein?” (Must it be?)• “Es muss sein!” (It must be!)