Basking in Beethoven's Symphony No 5
The Best Moments
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
I'm Beethoven, and I'm glad to welcome you to the best moments of my Symphony No 5. You'll hear how four short notes at the very start grow into a stormy C minor struggle and finally break through into the bright C major of the finale. My fellow composers and I also teach you, here on this site, to recognize our pieces whenever you hear them, so come and try it with me.
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Four Notes and a Very Long Pause
I open the first movement with just four notes, three short ones and one long one, and I ask the orchestra to hold those pauses for as long as I like. It's a bit like someone clearing their throat before a speech, except that the whole room goes quiet and waits to hear what comes next.
Please Take a Seat, and Then a March Walks In
I follow the storm with a calm, singing melody for the violas and cellos in A flat major, so everyone gets a moment to catch their breath. That peace doesn't last, because a swaggering march with trumpets and timpani keeps turning up, like a guest who arrives at a quiet dinner with a brass band.
The Rhythm That Follows You Home
I bring the four-note rhythm back in the third movement, so you can't say I didn't warn you it would keep following you around. Later the scherzo returns played pizzicato, with the strings plucking so softly that they seem to tiptoe, and then a long transition over the timpani carries us into the finale without a break.
Someone Opened the Curtains
I save my biggest surprise for the finale, where the music bursts into C major and the piccolo, three trombones and contrabassoon join a symphony together for the first time. After all that darkness it feels as if someone has thrown the curtains open, and I even let the scherzo pop back in briefly, just to say hello.
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So, did you enjoy going through the best moments of Symphony No 5 with me? When I look back at it now, what I like most is the journey from the stormy C minor of the opening to the bright C major of the finale. It's a long way to travel in about 33 minutes, and I hope you felt every step of it. There's still plenty more to discover about this symphony. You could find out why the first night in Vienna in December 1808 didn't go the way I'd hoped, with a tired audience and an orchestra that had hardly rehearsed. You could also look into the story behind the nickname "Fate Symphony", which nobody can say for certain came from me. And you could listen for the moment in the finale when the piccolo, the trombones and the contrabassoon join the orchestra, because it changes the whole sound of the room. If any of that makes you curious, please click on the links provided and carry on exploring Symphony No 5. I'd be glad to think of you listening again, and noticing something new in those four little notes.