String trios for violin, viola and cello came about as a form roughly in the last half of the 18th century. They came from the earlier form of trio sonata for two or three solo instruments plus basso continuo. There were three parts to the earlier trio sonata, even if there were in actuality 3 soloists and continuo, as the continuo played the bass and harmonies and was always included. The continuo was most often a keyboard instrument, but the bass line itself was often doubled by a bass instrument such as the cello. The trio sonata designation came from there being three parts to the work, regardless if there were three, four or sometimes five performers. J.S. Bach and other Baroque composers wrote trio sonatas for organ where the right hand, left hand and pedals each have their own part.
The continuo was slowly done away with when music moved from counterpoint towards a melody with accompaniment. The first string trios were for two violins and cello, with a further development beginning with Haydn of violin, viola and cello.
Beethoven wrote a total of five string trios, all of them early in his career. The first two, Opus 3 and 8, are more in the style of the serenades of Mozart as they are in six and seven movements respectively. It is with the three trios of Opus 9 that Beethoven takes the form with more seriousness. The content of the works themselves and the fact they were written in 4 movements each show that Beethoven did not mean for them to be considered light entertainment as a serenade.
Beethoven wrote the trios of Opus 9 in 1797-1798 at a time when he was the toast of Vienna, mostly for his performances as a virtuoso pianist and improviser. He had been composing since he was still a child with a steady progression quality and artistry in his work. Most of his previous opus numbers involved the piano either as a solo instrument or with string soloists. There were a few other works for strings alone, but it was with the opus 9 trios that saw his ability to write for strings take on the qualities of a master. That they are seldom played anymore has nothing to do with the quality of the writing. Perhaps Beethoven himself considered these trios as a warm up to writing string quartets, a form that was viewed at the time (and still is) as the pinnacle of compositional artistry. After Beethoven wrote the six string quartets of opus 18, he never returned to the string trio.
While all three trios are worthy of listening, it is the third one in C minor that shows flashes of the Beethoven to come. The key of C minor is an important one in Beethoven's oeuvre, as some of his most dramatic and innovative music is written in that key. I. Allegro con spirito - The first movement is in sonata form and Beethoven begins straight away with the three instruments playing a short motive in unison. The 1st theme is in C minor, and is repeated after the first hearing as the cello takes over the theme as the violin plays running 16th notes. The theme is cut short as the violin plays some syncopated chords that lead to the next theme. This 2nd theme is in E-flat major and is simply stated by the violin and cello, while the viola gives a feeling of tension with running staccato 16th notes. Roles are reversed in the repeating of the 2nd theme. There are other fragmentary themes played before the movement closes in the key of E-flat major. The movement is repeated. The development section begins with treatment of one of the lesser themes heard at the end of the exposition. Where the development section ends and the recapitulation begins is blurred by Beethoven's technique of bringing back the main themes of the movement in different instruments amid a bustle of activity. A coda ties up all the ends that Beethoven cares to, and the movement ends in C minor.
II. Andante con espressione-As impassioned as the first movement is, so is the second movement soft and sweet. Beethoven writes in 4 parts in C major in many places in this movement, which gives the music a fullness that belies that there are but three instruments playing. The music sings throughout, and ends quietly in C major. III. Scherzo: Allegro molto e vivace-Beethoven returns to the home key for this tart and brisk scherzo. With sudden accents and bursts of sound, there is no trace of a minuet. A calm middle section in C major gives contrast. The scherzo returns and ends pianissimo.
IV. Finale: Presto - The tone of the scherzo and 1st movement continues with the finale written in sonata form. Scales, accents and extremes in dynamics give a hectic feel to the music. The trio ends quietly in the key of C major.
The plays of Shakespeare have inspired other playwrights and composers for many years. Shakespeare wrote a play entitled Coriolanus, which is based on the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Evidently, a story good enough for Shakespeare was good enough for the early 19th century Viennese playwright Heinrich von Collin. His play was entitled Coriolan, and even though the play had good actors cast, the play itself was not very good. It opened in 1802 and closed shortly after that.
It was the play by the Viennese playwright that Beethoven wrote the overture for, not the Shakespeare version of the story. The story on which the overture is based:
The Roman General Coriolanus is banished from Rome after he throws a hissy fit over the citizens renouncing his bid to be elected counsel of Rome. In revenge, he goes over to the side of the enemies of Rome and plans to sack the city. He lays siege to the city and refuses to grant amnesty to his own people. In desperation, his wife and mother go to him and plead with him to spare his family. He settles in favor of his family which makes him a traitor to his allies, the enemies of Rome. In Shakespeare's play, Coriolanus' allies kill him while in the Collin play he commits suicide by falling on his sword.
The overture is written in a very distilled sonata form, with the first theme representing the uncompromising rage of Coriolanus while the second theme represents the pleadings from Coriolanus' mother and wife. The pleadings are consumed by the repetition of the jagged rage of the first theme. The exposition continues to expound the moral dilemma Coriolanus is in, whether to continue to slay all of Rome, including his innocent family, or to spare them. When the main theme is heard at the beginning of the recapitulation, it is now beginning to waver in its resolve. The theme slowly crumbles away, the rage is gone, the heart of Coriolanus quits beating as the music dies with the dull thumps of pizzicato strings.
Beethoven wrote only one opera, Fidelio, and it cost him much in labor and time. He never again wrote for the opera theater, but that doesn't mean his music couldn't be dramatic. This overture shows that while Beethoven may not have been a natural composer for dramatic opera, he could write pure music that could convey drama without the use of any words. It was this kind of overture that lead to the symphonic poems of Liszt and others. It would not be a stretch at all to say that this overture could be called a symphonic poem, and it is a very good example of how Beethoven inspired the composers of the Romantic era.
The following video of Carlos Kleiber conducting the overture shows how orchestral conducting is just as much an art as a science. Kleiber translates the mood of the music through his actions, and the orchestra responds. The end of the work shows how much the audience was swept up by the music, for whether they were hypnotized, stunned or perhaps equal measures of both, the applause does not start until the music had long since stopped. That is the greatest tribute an audience can give a performer, prolonged silence before the applause begins.
Beethoven's career took a different turn after the occupation of Vienna by Napoleon in 1805 and 1809. The stress caused by the occupation, plus his increasing deafness put serious composing on the back burner. In the years 1812 to 1814 after composing his 7th Symphony Beethoven did little composing except for a few pot boilers like Wellington's Victory and the revision of his only opera Fidelio.
Beethoven finally returned to his more serious composition efforts in 1814 with his 27th piano sonata. It is a two-movement work, and at one time had a program for it written by the composer himself. The first movement is in E minor, and has the heading Conflict between head and heart, the second movement is in E major and has the heading Conversation with the beloved. The origin of these titles stems from when his friend Count von Lichnowsky, whom Beethoven dedicated the sonata to, asked for the meaning of the music. Beethoven replied that the sonata was a representation of the Count's love life. The Count was contemplating marriage to a woman his family disapproved of, the conflict between head and heart, and a a vision of marital bliss, the conversation with the beloved. Presumably the two had a good laugh over the titles and Beethoven did not have them published with the score. But the music does have the feeling of Beethoven's descriptive headings.
Each movement is prefaced by tempo indications in German instead of Italian, Beethoven's answer to musical nationalism. Tempo indications had traditionally been given in Italian because the first large music publishers happened to be in Venice, Italy. Beethoven was serious about his music and serious about how he valued German music, hence his break with tradition for the sake of German art.
The first movement is restless, the second peaceful. Beethoven was a composer of contrasts, and these two movements contrast each other very much. And it is interesting to note that the second movement is longer than the first, almost twice as long. Is the second movement wish-fulfillment on the part of Beethoven, a man who had many conflicts, illness and stress in his life, that he could have double the peace and calm in his life as he had stress? Recent scholarship has shown that for much of Beethoven's life, especially the final decade, he was an ill man. Add to that his deafness, and the will to not only go on living but to grow as an artist must have taken every ounce of strength and determination he could muster.
Whether this sonata actually does follow the program Beethoven gave to the Count, or is something much more personal can never be ascertained. That this is a sonata of contrast is certain.
When Beethoven came to Vienna in 1792 he began to make a name for himself with his piano playing. He made the rounds of the elite salons in Vienna and stunned listeners with his impassioned playing and remarkable skill as an improviser. He had composed and performed his first two piano concertos within three years and began to make a name for himself as a composer. In his early years Beethoven managed to nominally stay within the bounds of musical forms as practiced by Haydn and Mozart, but his harmonic audacity was evident from the start, as well as his delight in sudden dynamic changes and accents. A music critic of the time wrote:
If the composer, with his unusual grasp of harmony, his love of the graver movements, would aim at natural rather than strained or recherché composition, he would set good work before the public, such as would throw into the shade the stale, hurdy-gurdy tunes of many a more talked-about musician.
The Opus 11 trio is written for clarinet, cello and piano and was published with a part for violin instead of the clarinet for use by amateur musicians. Of course the late 18th century had no sound recording technology, so the only way music lovers could hear compositions were by playing them themselves or hiring professional musicians which only the rich nobility could afford. There were some complaints about the difficulty of Beethoven's compositions, but they still sold well.
The trio was written and published in 1798 and is in 3 movements:
I. Allegro con brio -The trio begins with a unison statement of the first theme. The rest of the themes in the exposition come one after the other and it is difficult to tell what is a theme and what is transitional material, quite similar to what Mozart did (and Beethoven was a great admirer of Mozart) in some of his expositions. There is a full close that does at least divides the themes into two groupings. The exposition is repeated and with such a wealth of thematic material, it needs to be to help the listener grasp what is going on. The development section begins with one of the secondary themes, with a variant of the opening theme following, along with development of it. The recapitulation consists of some of the secondary themes going through Beethoven's highly individualistic modulations until a short coda is reached that abruptly ends the movement.
II. Adagio - The cello sings the opening theme first, then the clarinet. The piano makes its own statement after the two solos, then the instruments gently play off each other. A most satisfying, gently moving interplay between the three instruments keeps the music moving towards the gentle close done by the piano.
III. Allegretto - This is a set of variations on a tune from a popular opera of the time, The Corsair In Love by Joseph Weigl, which premiered in 1797. The tune is called Pria ch'io l'impegno - Before beginning this awesome task, I need a snack. Some credited Beethoven's publisher with suggesting the tune to Beethoven, others credit the idea to a clarinetist that commissioned the work from Beethoven. Whatever the circumstance, it was one of the few times Beethoven used another composer's music for a set of variations. This tune is the basis for the nickname of the trio, Gassenhauer or Popular Song trio. Beethoven writes nine variations full of surprises on the tune and a quirky finale that is no less surprising.
The piano played a key role in the life of Beethoven. It was as a young virtuoso that he made his first mark in his adopted home of Vienna. As he played in the salons and homes of his patrons, his reputation as a pianist grew. His skill as a improviser was unmatched, his contemporaries called him the greatest improviser of his era.
It was a natural thing for Beethoven to compose for the piano. Not that it came to him easily. We have proof in the form of his sketchbooks how he would mull things over on paper and in his mind until the composition was as he wanted it, polishing and perfecting. The thirty two piano sonatas he wrote are part of the core piano repertoire and music in general. They hold a vast mount of musical ideas, challenges for playing and interpretation, and the sheer variety and range of emotion contained within them dictate that they will remain part of the core repertoire. If Beethoven had written nothing but these 32 sonatas, chances are he would still be regarded as a great composer.
Beethoven wrote his final sonata in 1821-1822, twenty seven years from the writing of his first, but there is more than years that separate the two. The first sonata is full of youthful exuberance, is in four movements, and shows flashes of originality and brilliance while still maintaining at least a passing nod to the sonata structures of Haydn and Mozart.
The last sonata sees a Beethoven that has weathered much, learned much, and progressed much. The work is in two movements, the first being written in raw-sinewed, sprawling sonata form that has a short introduction that Chopin paid tribute to in the opening of his 2nd piano sonata (Beethoven's 32nd piano sonata was a favorite of Chopin's). it also has a first theme that is deep and ominous that is given a fugal treatment in the middle of the movement. The second movement is an Arrietta and variations that take piano writing to new heights and sounds. From the jazz-sounding section to the cosmic trills near the end of the work, Beethoven transcends the instrument and writes music of a purity that is rare and beautiful.
When it is remembered that Beethoven was almost totally deaf when he composed this sonata, we can only marvel at the precision and clarity of his 'mind's ear' that created something so beautiful, had the wherewithal to write it down in such a precise way, without ever actually 'hearing' it. Just look at the two lines of music for one of the Arietta variations printed below:
The variations end with sustained trills that accompany the theme as the music slowly winds down and ends.
Liszt was a tireless champion of Beethoven and his music. He was the first pianist to play the late piano sonatas, he gave a series of concerts where all the proceeds went to the cost to erect the Beethoven commemorative statue in Beethoven's birthplace of Bonn. Liszt did this with many other composers besides Beethoven. His arrangements of other composers works runs the spectrum of literal transcriptions such as the Beethoven symphonies and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, to the 'paraphrases' other composers operas where he would use a tune or a theme from the work as the basis of his original thoughts. The ruins Of Athens Fantasy on the incidental music that Beethoven wrote for the play of the same name by playwright August von Kotzebue. Beethoven's work was written in 1811 in Pest, Hungary for the dedication of a new theater there.
Beethoven's original music was comprised of eleven musical numbers interspersed throughout the play. Liszt uses three of these numbers for his fantasy. Liszt wrote three versions of this fantasy, for piano solo, for two pianos, and for piano and orchestra. It is the version for piano and orchestra that is heard on the video.
Liszt begins the fantasy with an introduction that uses material from a March and Chorus section from the original music. The introduction is for orchestra only, and is brief. The second part begins with the solo piano loudly making an entrance and the theme of the first part is replaced by the whirling dervish music of the original. After the initial statement of this theme, the orchestra joins the piano. The third part is the Turkish March taken from the original. It is slowly introduced by piano and various instruments before it is given full voice. There is a short return of the preceding themes, and the work ends.
Liszt was one of the best sight-readers ever known. He could take a piece of music he had never seen and play it perfectly, in tempo, at sight. He could reduce orchestral scores to the essence of the music and play the most complicated music from sight. It was also said that the only time Liszt could play a piece of music and be faithful to what was printed on the page was the first time. After that, he began to change things in the score to suit him, at least with the new composers of the time. He was forever tinkering with other composer's music as well as his own. This musical tinkering no doubt lead to his many transcriptions, and lead to things like the Ruins Of Athens Fantasy. But it also must be remembered that piano versions of great works were sometimes what made the work well known. The expense of an orchestra has always been great, no less so in Liszt's time, and to be able to hear a new orchestral work was a luxury many listeners did not have. Liszt himself made Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique more well known when he would play his piano solo version of it in recital. As it had been many years since Beethoven's original music had been heard, Liszt no doubt wanted to expose the listener to what he considered some of the best parts of it. Liszt was a man inspired by other composers music in many ways. The use of another composer's tunes can be a sign of respect, and with Liszt's known regard for Beethoven's music, he no doubt meant it as such.
Beethoven approached the composition of his first symphony with caution, as the symphonies of Mozart and Haydn were still in the ears of music lovers, and he knew that much would be expected of his first effort in the form. The earliest documented evidence of when Beethoven began to compose his 1st Symphony dates from 1795. Beethoven completed its composition and it was first performed in April of 1800 in Vienna.
Beethoven kept within the traditions of the two older masters, but also included his own style to the mix. The1st Symphony shows Beethoven's already strong penchant for the unusual. With extremes of dynamics, strong accents on and off the beat and harmonic peculiarities, Beethoven kept his contemporary audiences guessing. As the years progressed Beethoven continued to evolve and grow as a composer. In the 1st Symphony Beethoven pays homage to symphonic tradition while at the same time announcing to Vienna, the city of both Mozart and Haydn, that he had arrived.
I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio – Beethoven begins his debut symphony in tonal ambiguity. No doubt the experienced listener of his time expected something much different than what Beethoven gives them; an introduction that begins with a chord progression in the wrong key. The twelve-bar introduction leads to the first theme of the movement in the home key of C major. The second theme is in the expected key of G major, but Beethoven also throws in snippets of other themes in the exposition before he sticks with tradition and repeats the exposition. The development deals with the first theme. The recapitulation repeats the exposition with the obligatory key change of the second theme. The coda harks back to the first theme and rounds off the movement with repeated C major chords.
II. Andante cantabile con moto -Written in F major, the second movement is also in sonata form. The first theme is played by the violins and repeated by the other strings contrapuntally. The second theme is a little lighter in feeling. After the development section deals with two themes, the recapitulation plays the music of the beginning of the movement with a few differences. A coda develops the first theme slightly, after which the woodwinds have a short dialog with the strings and the movement ends.
III. Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace -Although Beethoven calls this movement a minuet, the material and the tempo show this to be a scherzo. Beethoven uses passages of scales, syncopations and sudden changes in dynamics in this movement that doesn't have much in the way of genuine thematic material. But he makes good use of short motives and accents to convey a sense of rapidity and wit.
IV. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace -In another surprise, Beethoven begins with a loud G played across the instruments of the orchestra, which is followed by snippets of a scale climbing upward in a slow adagio. This all is by way of an introduction to this finale which is also in sonata form. The scale passages end on a fermata and the first theme of the movement bursts onto the scene. The second theme by contrast is a dancing theme. The finale emulates many of Haydn's rapid and witty symphony finales but is underlined by Beethoven's style (what some of the time would call excesses) of dynamic, rhythmic and harmonic variety.
Among the teachers Beethoven studied with early on was Joseph Haydn. Beethoven took counterpoint lessons with Haydn but the relationship took a turn for the worse when Haydn suggested that Beethoven add the words 'a pupil of Haydn' on his first compositions to be printed, the Opus 1 piano trios. Haydn possibly offered the suggestion to give the young composer's work the prestige of Haydn's world-wide fame, but Beethoven took it the wrong way and balked at the suggestion. Beethoven later said that he had learned nothing from Haydn when he was his student, but Haydn thought enough of Beethoven to consider taking him along on his second journey to London in 1796. But that didn't happen, and when Haydn made the trip the lessons with Beethoven stopped. For the most part, it looks as though Haydn treated Beethoven well, although he did call him 'the great Mogul'. In any case, Beethoven was never an easy personality to get along with, even in his younger years.
Beethoven and Haydn came to respect each other, with Beethoven considering him an equal to Mozart and Handel. Haydn too respected Beethoven's talent and compositions. And as far as Beethoven not learning anything from Haydn, perhaps he didn't learn a great deal in the formal lessons he took from him, but from Haydn's compositions Beethoven learned much.
The first piano sonatas Beethoven had published were the three sonatas in his Opus 2, all of them dedicated to his old teacher Haydn. The third one in the set, in C Major, is written for a virtuoso and is a good example of Beethoven's piano playing abilities. It is in 4 movements:
I. Allegro con brio - Beethoven opens the piece with a motive in triplet thirds that test the musicality of the performer right off:
What makes this movement unique for the time it was written is that Beethoven uses three instead of the customary two themes in sonata form. After the first theme there is the first secondary theme:
After the statement of the theme Beethoven works his way to the second secondary theme:
This all happens in the exposition of the first movement amid virtuosic passages and key modulations. In the working out of these themes in the development section there are more surprises as Beethoven uses his skill and imagination to keep the listener interested. Beethoven even uses a cadenza towards the end of the movement, something most generally heard in a concerto at the time.
II. Adagio -The slow movements in Beethoven's sonatas are distinctive for their ingenuity and expansion of mood and emotion. This slow movement has moments of serenity juxtaposed with moments of fury, an indication of Beethoven's personal temperament.
III. Scherzo: Allegro - The scherzo of this sonata begins with a theme that is treated contrapuntally, and by way of contrast the trio is a simple minor key melody played in the bass while the right hand scampers about playing arpeggios.
IV. Allegro assai -Beethoven throws a few 'curves' at the listener in this movement. This sonata was written while Haydn was still alive and having a grand success with his second batch of 'London' symphonies. The great Mozart was only 5 years dead. This sonata was written in a grand virtuoso style by Beethoven, but it also contains much that was characteristic and original to Beethoven that were increased in his later compositions.
Two major influences on Ludwig van Beethoven in his apprentice years were the two great composers of his era - Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven wanted to take lessons from Mozart and went to play for him in Vienna when Beethoven was sixteen, (with Mozart reportedly saying "Watch out for that boy. One day he will give the world something to talk about") but Beethoven had to rush back to his home town of Bonn when his mother became critically ill. By the time Beethoven could manage a trip back to Vienna, Mozart had died.
Beethoven did manage to take some lessons from Haydn, but Haydn was preoccupied with writing symphonies for another planned trip to England. Beethoven even supplemented his studies by taking lessons from other teachers without Haydn's knowledge. Beethoven's talk of Haydn was always somewhat disparaging, especially after Haydn suggested that one of Beethoven's three Opus 1 piano trios should not be published because it needed more work. Beethoven often said that he learned nothing from Haydn, but he dedicated his opus 2 piano sonatas to Haydn.
Beethoven composed in most of the forms used by Haydn and Mozart, and one of his most popular compositions was his Septet in E-flat major. It is in all but name a Serenade or Divertimento, musical forms used by Mozart and Haydn a great deal. Beethoven's natural originality usually saw him making changes in his music that set him apart from others. While many Serenades were written for instruments in pairs, Beethoven uses seven single instruments, - clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and string bass. This ensemble of instruments must have appeared odd at the time, and in a way it still does. But Beethoven knew how to blend this odd combination when he wanted and have any instrument stand out in contrast when he wanted, and he wanted to show off his skill.
But it was not only in instrumentation that Beethoven showed his creativity. He expanded the from by writing two extended introductions to the first and last movements and by substituting a scherzo for the second minuet. It was written in 1799-1800, performed in 1800 and was a great success, so much so that Beethoven wrote a version of it for clarinet (or violin), cello and piano. Over time, Beethoven came to loathe the work because of its popularity and the continuing requests from patrons to compose more of the same kind of music.
While the Septet does resemble a serenade or divertimento, it is but a superficial resemblance. The whole character of the piece is more symphonic, a little more serious in spots and daring (even quirky). Beethoven wrote it while he was still sketching out his first symphony, so perhaps the Septet was one of the pieces Beethoven stretched his 'symphonic' muscles with to get limbered up for genuine symphonic composing. The Septet is in 6 movements: I. Adagio - Allegro con brio -The slow, tuneful introduction leads the way for the beginning of the sonata form allegro con brio. The first theme is heard in the violin, and then taken up by the clarinet. The second theme also begins in the violin and is taken up by the clarinet. After a short section containing some new material, the exposition is repeated. The short development section begins with the opening of the first theme and explores the possibilities of material already heard. The recapitulation of the themes contain subtle changes in accompaniment and shifts in key. A coda leads to the end of the movement. II. Adagio cantabile - A gentle, singing melody mostly played by the stars of the septet, the violin and clarinet. But Beethoven doesn't stick to the conventional division of the treble instruments playing the melody and the others the accompaniment. There is a great deal of swapping of roles. III. Tempo di minuetto - The tune of the minuet was taken from the minuet of Beethoven's Piano Sonata Opus 49, No.2, a work that was written very early in Beethoven's career but only published later on, hence the large opus number. IV. Tema con variazioni: Andante -A set of 5 variations on a Rhenish folk tune. V. Scherzo: Allegro molto e vivace -The horn begins the scherzo with a rasping dotted rhythm and is a main player in the movement. The scherzo hops and prances until the trio section where the cello is in the spotlight. VI. Andante con moto alla marcia - Presto - The introduction to the finale is rather dark and brooding, but it lasts but a short while, after which the first theme is played by violin followed by the clarinet. The horn plays a descending figure after the theme is played. Other thematic material is heard and the exposition is repeated. During the development section new themes are heard along with a short solo for violin which leads to the recapitulation. The descending figure in the horn takes a dark turn as it is given in a minor key which leads to the second theme repeat. A coda develops a fragment of the first theme until the violin takes off and the movement ends.
The 5th Symphony of Beethoven with its familiar three short and one long note motif, is the most recognizable and popular pieces of music ever written. Beethoven premiered the work at a massive 4-hour concert in December in Vienna in 1808. due to the coldness of the theater and the fact that the symphony only had one rehearsal earlier in the day, there was not much critical input about the work. But a little over a year later the work was repeated to rave reviews. All through the 19th century it slowly became a cornerstone of symphonic repertoire, and has been one ever since.
Don't let the familiarity of the symphony cause a bias against it. There are wonders within it, way more than the famous 'fate knocking at the door' motif that begins the symphony. This motif acts as the raw material that is used to construct the first movement, and it makes an appearance throughout the entire work, albeit sometimes in altered form. This is a prime example of why I think Beethoven is the greatest composer of them all, in the sense of the word that means putting together a coherent composition from original material. His musical structures are solid, he was a total master of sonata form. Beethoven seems to have found his freedom of expression within the form itself. He would alter the form as his ideas dictated, but still kept the bare bones of the form. There are musicians and composers that had a greater gift for melody, some that were more brilliant at orchestration, some more daring harmonically. But for the total package, which includes being a master architect of musical form, no one outshines Beethoven.
The 5th Symphony is in 4 movements: I. Allegro con brio -The famous opening that is the seed of the entire symphony catches the ear immediately. It is pregnant with drama and struggle, and is heard throughout the first movement as it keeps hammering home the sense of struggle. The movement is in sonata form, and Beethoven seems to have compressed and reduced the music into a pungent musical language that is given little relief. Even the short oboe near the end of the movement is full of pathos. The work hammers the motive home again, and it ends.
II. Second movement: Andante con moto -The second movement is a double variation, there are two melodies heard one after the other in the opening, then they are both varied in turn.
III. Third movement: Scherzo. Allegro -A Scherzo full of mystery and a repeat of the 'fate' motive of the first movement in the horns, as well as a fugal trio section. When the scherzo begins again after the trio Beethoven changes the orchestration ad dynamics and with the timpani gently beating out the note of 'c', the movement segues into the finale.
IV. Fourth movement: Allegro -The finale is also in sonata form, with the second theme repeating the 'fate' motive. Just as the orchestra really gets going, a rapid change happens and parts of the Scherzo reappear for a few bars until the finale themes return ablaze. The finale keeps hammering away with the chords of C Major having won the struggle and defeating the C minor triad, and the work ends triumphantly.
Modern listeners can really never appreciate how Beethoven's music sounded to his contemporary listeners. What has become common place ( if not outright cliché) was once very innovative and original. Some of the wonder of the music is no doubt lost on us, but one way to get an idea of the novelty and originality of it is to listen to it with ears that can take on an historical perspective.
When Beethoven left his home town of Bonn for Vienna for the second time in 1792, his friend and patron Count Waldenstein wrote this in a letter to him:
"In leaving for Vienna today, you are about to realize a long cherished desire. The wandering genius of Mozart still grieves for
his passing. With Haydn's unquenchable spirit, it has found
shelter but no home and longs to find some lasting habitation.
Work hard, and the spirit of Mozart’s genius will come to you
from Haydn's hands."
It was Beethoven's intention to receive instruction from Mozart on his return trip to Vienna, but Mozart had died before he got there. Whether Mozart would have proven a better teacher for Beethoven is of course not known, but there is evidence about the relationship between Beethoven and Haydn. Beethoven evidently found Haydn somewhat old-fashioned in his teaching methods, as he had Beethoven do exercises in counterpoint for six months. Beethoven sought instruction from other teachers while he was still a student of Haydn, but did it in secret as to not offend the elder composer.
In Haydn's defense, this was a busy time as he recently had been invited to London by concert promoter Johann Peter Salomon. Haydn was occupied with travel plans as well as composing new symphonies for the trip. And the personalities of the two composers could not have been more different. Beethoven, the brash, rude, passionate pianist/composer was nicknamed "The Great Mogul" by Haydn. With Haydn's conservative dress, powdered wig and courtly manners, Beethoven most likely couldn't relate too well either.
What came to be Beethoven's Opus 1 compositions, three piano trios, were first performed with Beethoven at the piano in the home of Count Carl von Lichnowsky with Haydn present. Haydn was enthusiastic about the first two trios, but cautioned Beethoven about the third one in C Minor. He suggested it needed more work because it wouldn't be understood or appreciated by the public. For whatever reason, Beethoven took offense at the criticism, but held off publishing the trios for two years, perhaps to rethink the C minor trio. Haydn's remarks were most likely constructive criticism meant to help Beethoven's first official Opus 1 to be a success. With Haydn's fame being wide-spread, there could not have been any cause for jealousy on his part. Evidently Beethoven never forgot the affront, and if he did take Haydn's advice and rework the C minor trio he never said, but the two remained cordial and in Beethoven's later years he mellowed in his opinion of Haydn.
The C Minor Piano Trio of Opus 1 consists of 4 movements: I. Allegro con brio -Haydn's sense of form and mastery of sonata form in particular influenced Beethoven greatly, no matter what the younger composer said.. The first movement of this trio begins with a string of short themes that go from minor to major keys and back again. These themes are developed in the next section, sometimes the whole theme, sometimes parts of it. The recapitulation is masterfully handled as things fall into place for a well-rounded ending to a turbulent first movement.
II. Andante cantabile con Variazioni - A set of variations, bread-and-butter to a composer that was more well-known for his improvisations in his early years in Vienna than for his compositions. A splendid contrast to the passion of the first movement.
III. Minuetto, Quasi allegro -The piano begins by playing a quirky tune:
The tune is in C minor, and gives way to a Trio section in C major that has rippling scales in the piano as the violin and cello alternate between playing the melody and accompanying.
IV. Finale - Prestissimo -Was it this final movement, full of spit and fire, that was the reason for Haydn's criticism? Haydn's finales could be playful and rather light-weight, which this movement definitely is not. Dramatic and extroverted, the music propels itself along until Beethoven's final surprise - music that reduces in volume in anticipation of another eruption, but then quietly ends with a simple cadence
Ludwig van Beethoven first worked on what was to become the sixth symphony in 1802 and there is evidence found in sketchbooks that he worked on the fifth symphony at the same time. The two symphonies can hardly be more different (at least in feeling), but Beethoven usually worked on more than one composition at a time, at least early in his career.
Both symphonies also shared the same premiere date, in the same concert of December 22, 1808. As well as the two symphonies the 4th Piano Concerto, Choral Fantasia and various other compositions of Beethoven's were played. The concert lasted roughly four hours, the theater in Vienna where it took place was unheated, and with only one rehearsal held the morning of the concert.
...However, as far as the execution of this academy concert is concerned, it could be considered lacking in all respects...Most noticeable, however, was the error that occurred in the last [Choral] Fantasy. The wind instruments varied the theme, which before, Beethoven had played on the piano. Now it was the oboes' turn. The clarinets--if I am not mistaken!--miscounted and set in at the same time. A peculiar mix of tones emerged; B. jumped up and tried to silence the clarinets, however, he did not succeed until he called out quite loudly and rather angrily to the orchestra: Silence! This will not do! Once more--once more! and the praised orchestra had to accommodate him and play the unfortunate Fantasy again, from the beginning--! The effect of all of these pieces on the mixed audience, and particularly of the pieces of the second section, obviously suffered from the amount and the length of the music. Moreover, it is known that, with respect to Vienna, it holds even more true than with respect to most other cities, what is written in the scriptures, namely that the prophet does not count for anything in his own country...
The critical reception of any of the works in this concert never came to light as all the descriptions of it deal with the inordinate length and other happenings. As for the sixth symphony in particular, George Grove in his book Beethoven And His Nine Symphonies quotes from the Harmonicon the leading musical publication of the time, about an early performance of the work in London in about 1817:
"Opinions are much divided about its merits, but few deny that it is too long. The Andante alone is upwards of a quarter of an hour in performance, and, being a series of repetitions, might be subject to abridgment without any violation of justice either to composer or hearer."
The issue about the length of the sixth symphony caused it to be cut in some performances, a practice not thought of today. But over-length was not a complaint unknown to Beethoven. The same was said of the third symphony, the fifth, and other works.
The work gets its name Pastoral from the composer himself, for right after the dual dedication of the work to Prince von Lobkowitz and Count von Rasumovsky are the words:
Pastoral Symphony, or a recollection of country life. More an expression of feeling than of painting.
The symphony is far from the first example of program music. Bach and Handel to mention but two earlier composers used subtle musical references to things that evoked feelings in the listener. Beethoven used musical references too, but he also gave each movement a brief description. Beethoven knew the risk of musical scene painting and kept it to a minimum. Beethoven was a nature lover and was well-known around Vienna for his long walks in the countryside where he would become so preoccupied with his thoughts that he could be seen as he sang and shouted, or stood in the middle of the street and jotted down a musical idea that had come to mind. The 6th Symphony 'Pastoral' has five movements, a novelty at the time:
I. Allegro ma non troppo 'Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside.' - Written in sonata form, the movement's first theme is partially heard straight away, and soon the orchestra plays the full theme in full. The rest of the thematic material of the movement consists of short motifs that blend into each other seamlessly. The exposition and repeated. The development section begins with the first theme as it goes through key and dynamic changes. Other themes are expanded and varied until the return of the main theme which signals the recapitulation. Themes are reviewed and modulate. A coda begins by playing the opening of the main theme played in the 1st violins while the 2nd violins play in contrary motion with the violas and double bass. Woodwinds play a two-note figure over a simple accompaniment by the strings. A clarinet, violins, flute and finally full orchestra play the last gentle chords of the ending of a movement that in its organic growth of small melodic motifs reflects he organic growth in nature itself. II. Andante molto mosso 'Scene by the brook.' -As in the first movement, this movement grows out of the seeds of small melodic motifs that are played by the 1st violins while the rest of the string section plays the murmuring depictions of a brook. The mood is placid as the music gently sways with motifs passed from instrument to instrument. The first inkling of a bird call is heard in the flute as the music grows while remaining placid. This is the movement that the London critic thought so oppressively long and repetitious! The movement continues on its placed way until reaches a mild climax and then halts, after which the celebrated bird call imitations occur, with the Nightingale in the flute, quail in the oboe and cuckoo in the clarinet:
This is repeated, and the movement gently closes. III. Allegro 'Merry gathering of country folk.' - The movement begins with a scherzo of subtle humor that grows into a loud joke. The second part of the scherzo is one of wry humor as Beethoven imitates a village band with an oboe that plays a syncopated tune to a monotonous accompaniment by the violins, along with a bassoon player of such limited playing ability that his bass accompaniment consists of only three notes:
After the village band plays their tune, the tempo increases and the time signature to two in a bar in a rapid round dance. After the round dance, the entire scherzo repeats. With the end of the round dance, the scherzo makes an attempt at another repetition, but just as the village band is about to play yet again, the music segues to the next movement without pause.
IV. Allegro 'Thunder. Storm.' -Agitated strings stir up the dust as droplets of rain as the approaching storm gathers momentum. With thunder in the timpani, whistling winds in the piccolo and a feeling of great tension the storm pelts the countryside. Beethoven has the cellos play 5 notes against 4 notes in the double bass for added rhythmic tension and confusion. The music begins to die away with distant rumbles of thunder as the music flows into the last movement without pause. V. Allegretto 'Shepherd's song. Happy and thankful feelings after the storm.' - The primary theme of this movement begins in the violins, and returns to the pastoral feeling of the first two movements, and also shares the building of a musical movement by the use of small, repeating parts. The coda reflects on the main theme a little more before it leads to the final close.
Beethoven wrote in one of his sketchbooks that, "All painting in instrumental music, if pushed too far, is a failure." The composers that used Beethoven's example of program music as a justification to write their own did well to remember his words, and the master composers like Berlioz, Liszt and others did. If a little hint or written suggestion helps a work to be understood, so much the better. A great musical work doesn't need a thousand-word explanation to be appreciated, for music is its own reward, its own explanation.
The Age of Enlightenment began towards the end of the 17th century and lasted until the end of the 18th century. It was a movement spearheaded by intellectuals that sought to reform and challenge traditions of society and to further knowledge by the use of the scientific method. The movement swept across Europe, Russia, Great Britain and their colonies in the New World. Indeed, it was the political and governmental philosophies of The Enlightenment that helped to create The United States.
The movement also encouraged the arts, and in Germany Johann Goethe and Friedrich Schiller were
two of the most well-known Age of Enlightenment writers. Both authors eventually ended up in Wiemar, where they developed a friendship and worked together to revive German theater.
The art of music was also affected by the changes brought about by The Enlightenment, as a developing middle class became more involved in playing music and attending concerts, which gave composers more opportunities to compose for the public instead of royal patrons. George Handel was one of the early composers that composed his operas for public exhibition as well as works for keyboard and small ensemble that were made for playing at home.
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770, and was a child of The Enlightenment. Although he still relied on the patronage of royalty, he was enthusiastic about the French Revolution (at least in the beginning) and had definite Republic leanings. Beethoven read the works of Goethe and Schiller but it was a poem by the latter printed in 1785 that resonated within him so deeply that he wanted to set it to music. It took him almost thirty years and a few false starts to finally used the poem Ode To Joy in a composition. The Choral Fantasiaof 1808 can be considered an experiment in setting text for soloist, chorus and orchestra, as well as many sketches in his notebooks of themes and possible versions of the text.
Friedrich Schiller
He began writing the 9th Symphony in 1818, but most of the real composing of the work happened between 1822-1824. The first three movements were completed first, with the last movement causing the most trouble. He was determined to use the poem in the last movement, but struggled with how to transition from three movements of instrumental music to a finale with soloists and chorus. He came to a solution to the dilemma and completed the work in February of 1824.
The premiere of the work was given in May of 1824 in Vienna. There are many anecdotes written about the premiere, some of them in differing versions, so it is hard to know what really happened and what didn't, but there are a few details that are likely to have happened. Beethoven was on stage and beat out the tempo before each movement, but as his deafness had become almost total he did not participate otherwise in the performance. Beethoven had his following in Vienna, and with the span of 12 years between the 8th Symphony and the 9th, the house was full. There is evidence that only two rehearsals of the work were held, sand with a work as novel and demanding as the 9th, the performance could not have been very good. But the audience gave the work and composer a standing ovation.
The work is scored for a very large orchestra with woodwinds in pairs, contra bassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, bass drum, triangle, cymbals, four soloists, chorus, and strings. The work is in four movements:
I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso - The beginning of this symphony is one of the most recognizable pieces of music ever written. To some it sounds like an orchestra tuning up, which is in keeping with the ambiguity of the work. Technically, the ambiguity is profound when it is known the notes being repeated are A and E, empty fourths and fifths which can be a hint at A major or A minor:
This continues as the scrap of a motive is passed back and forth in the strings while other instruments slowly join in the accompaniment until a crescendo leads to a loud statement and in a flash Beethoven asserts the key to D minor with a full statement of the first theme. This is expanded until it reverts back to the style of the beginning, but this time the two notes that are repeated are D and A, the bare fifth and fourth of either D major, or minor. Another surprise is in store as Beethoven plays the first theme again, only this time it is in B-flat major, but not for long. Transitional material goes through various key changes in preparation for the second subject. After more transition, a third theme is heard. The exposition is not repeated, but segues directly to the development section that begins with the tonal ambiguity of the opening, but swiftly modulates to a different key. The development goes far a field as Beethoven works and reworks the themes to a fever pitch with the recapitulation and impassioned repeat of the first theme. The other themes are repeated in different keys. The coda begins with the first theme and develops it further. A ritard leads to a new theme played in the woodwinds while the strings play an agitated chromatic accompaniment. The entire orchestra builds in volume and intensity until the strings play a tremolo figure with a wide compass while the rest of the orchestra plays a strongly rhythmic commentary until the orchestra plays a fragment of the first theme until it abruptly ends.
II. Scherzo: Molto vivace – For the first time in one of his symphonies Beethoven places the scherzo as the second movement in place of the usual slow movement. The scherzo begins with a lightening strike imitation of a fragment of the first theme of the previous movement:
The scherzo continues as the theme is expanded in counterpoint. The music continues to run through the orchestra until it reaches a quiet section that anticipates a change in the music, but this is a false impression as the music repeats the section that began after the introduction. After the repeat, the quiet section leads to the second part of the scherzo that begins in D major but soon reverts back to the tonic. The quiet section again appears and leads to the repeat of the second part of the scherzo. The scherzo then transitions directly to the trio which begins in D major. The trio evens out some of the rhythmic angularity of the scherzo but it too races along at a fast clip. The trio ends when the scherzo takes it from the top and begins with the lightning strike. Each section of the scherzo is played once, and after the second section it sounds as if the trio is to be repeated, but it is Beethoven tricking our ears as the short reference to the trio stops abruptly, and after a full bar's rest the orchestra plays broken octaves and ends the movement on the home note of D spread throughout the orchestra.
III. Adagio molto e cantabile -The slow movement begins in B-flat major, but there are many key changes throughout. The first theme is played by the violins, with another more passionate theme in the low strings directly after the first. The first theme is varied, as is the second theme for what is essentially a set of double variations. There is a loud interruption played twice during the movement, a fanfare in E-flat major. The movement comes to rest pianissimo in B-flat major. IV. Finale - The beginning of this movement is also one of the most recognizable openings in music, but unlike the veiled mystery and ambiguity of the first movement, the lightening bolt suddenness of the scherzo, this opening is famous for its harshness and anger. It is a dissonant chord played in the woodwinds and brass that is followed by octave racing up and down that settle on an A, once again the dominant of the home key of D minor. A passage marked recitative is played by the low strings until another dissonant chord and octave racing that settle on a D minor chord. These two dissonant chords confused most listeners and musicians for many years. Some took them as proof Beethoven was not in his right mind. Some conductors smoothed them over by removing the offending accidentals. Louis Spohr, violinist and composer, knew Beethoven and blamed his deafness:
His constant endeavor to be original and to open new paths, could no longer as formerly, be preserved from error by the guidance of the ear. Was it then to be wondered at that his works became more and more eccentric, unconnected, and incomprehensible? ... Yes! I must even reckon the much admired Ninth Symphony among them, the three first movements of which, in spite of some solitary flashes of genius, are to me worse than all of the eight previous Symphonies, the fourth movement of which is in my opinion so monstrous and tasteless, and in its grasp of Schiller's Ode so trivial, that I cannot even now understand how a genius like Beethoven's could have written it. I find in it another proof of what I already remarked in Vienna, that Beethoven was wanting in aesthetical feeling and in a sense of the beautiful.
Other famous musicians such as Berlioz struggled with the meaning of the dissonances, only to come to no conclusion:
[The chord] grinds dreadfully against the dominant and produces an excessively harsh effect. This does indeed express fury and rage, but here again I cannot see what motivates such feelings, unless the composer, before making the chorus leader sing... had wanted in a strangely capricious way to vilify the orchestral harmony. [My] efforts at discovering Beethoven’s purpose are completely in vain. I can see a formal intention, a deliberate and calculated attempt to produce a double discordance, both at the point which precede the appearance of the recitative, instrumental at first and later vocal. I have searched hard for the reason for this idea, and I have to admit that it is unknown to me.
After the two dissonant chords and recitative of the cellos and basses, Beethoven brings back reminisces of all three previous movements, one at a time with each being cut short by the low strings as they continue their recitative. The low strings then play the main theme of the final movement, first by themselves and then with other instruments added with an increase in volume. The entire final movement contains many variations of this theme. A climax is reached, and a short transition section leads to yet another massive dissonant chord, this time by the entire orchestra. After the octave racing, the bass soloist sings a recitative with words written by Beethoven:
Bass:
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Freude! (O friends, not these tones! Let us sing more pleasing, and peaceful ones! Joy!)
Then the bass soloist sings the first section of the poem and the main theme of the movement that has already been heard in the low strings: 1st Section Bass and Chorus:
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. (Joy, beautiful spark of divinity, Daughter of Elysium, We enter, burning with fervor, heavenly being, your sanctuary! Your magic brings together what custom has sternly divided. All men shall become brothers, wherever your gentle wings hover.)
The chorus then repeats the last four lines of this section.
The next section has the soloists continuing the poem: 2nd Section Sporano, Alto, Tenor, Bass and chorus:
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund! (Whoever has been lucky to become a friend to a friend, Whoever has found his beloved wife, let him join our songs of praise! Yes, and anyone who can call one soul his own on this earth! Anyone who cannot, let them slink away from this gathering in tears!)
The chorus repeats the last four lines of this section also.
The soloists continue the poem in the third section: 3rd Section Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass and Chorus:
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. (Every creature drinks in joy at nature's breast; Good and Bad alike follow her trail of roses. She gives kisses and wine, a true friend, even in death; Even the worm was given desire, and the cherub stands before God.)
The chorus repeats the last four lines of this section, with the last two words vor Gott repeated until a massive chord is held molto tenuto .
The music changes key to B-flat major as the bass drum and bassoons play a rudimentary rhythm that is soon picked up by other instruments in the orchestra. The cymbals and triangle add to the basic rhythm as Beethoven has transformed his noble music into an imitation of a German oom pah pah band (perhaps a section Spohr had in mind in the quote above) as the piccolo plays a variant of the main theme of the movement. The tenor soloist then continues the poem in the fourth section: 4th Section Tenor and Male Chorus:
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, (Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. Gladly, just as His suns hurtle through the glorious universe, So you, brothers, should run your course, joyfully, like a conquering hero.)
After the singing of this section of the poem the orchestra takes off on a flight of conflict over major or minor key in a flurry of passionate music that begins to be resolved as the music plays rhythmic octaves reminiscent of the main theme of the first movement. A quiet transition then grows in intensity until the chorus repeats the 1st section of the poem. After the repeat, the music suddenly halts.
The chorus then begins to sing the next part of the poem on a new theme in the fifth section: 5th Section Chorus:
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen. (Be embraced, you millions! This kiss is for the whole world! Brothers, above the canopy of stars must dwell a loving father. Do you bow down before Him, you millions? Do you sense your Creator, o world? Seek Him above the canopy of stars! He must dwell beyond the stars.)
The chorus reaches the limits of its upper register on the words He must dwell beyond the stars as the orchestra shimmers a delicate accompaniment. There is a fermata, and the final section begins.
The chorus begins a double fugue beginning with altos and sopranos with the main theme and the new theme. Tenors and Bass enter as the orchestra accompanies. The soloists sing part of the first section. The chorus takes over until the soloists re-enter with an intricate variant that is lightly accompanied by the orchestra. The music then quickens, the chorus with words from the first section until the music broadens. After the chorus repeats the lines Freude, schöner Götterfunken the orchestra takes over at a gallop and ends the symphony at break neck speed and intensity.
String trios for violin, viola and cello came about as a form roughly in the last half of the 18th century. They came from the earlier form of trio sonata for two or three solo instruments plus basso continuo. There were three parts to the earlier trio sonata, even if there were in actuality 3 soloists and continuo, as the continuo played the bass and harmonies and was always included. The continuo was most often a keyboard instrument, but the bass line itself was often doubled by a bass instrument such as the cello. The trio sonata designation came from there being three parts to the work, regardless if there were three, four or sometimes five performers. J.S. Bach and other Baroque composers wrote trio sonatas for organ where the right hand, left hand and pedals each have their own part.
